§ MR. LUNDON (Limerick, E.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether he is aware that negotiations for sale and purchase as between the landlady, Lady Grace, and her tenants on the town lands of Monard, and those adjoining in the electoral division of Ballykisteen, county Tipperary, have been entered into; can he say whether the agreements have as yet been lodged with the Estates Commissioners; is he aware that threats of raising rents on the non-judicial tenants, and of the exaction of old arrears with others of them by attorneys' letters and processes have been used in inducing some of the tenants to purchase at high prices; is he aware that tenants holding farms whose valuations jointly constitute more than one-fourth of that of the whole estate have refused to purchase; and, under all those considerations, will the Estates Commissioners declare the estate to be a separate estate for sale.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) Agreements for the purchase of fifty-five holdings on this estate were lodged with the Estates Commissioners in the early part of this year. The Commissioners have no knowledge that any threats were used in order to induce tenants to purchase. It is the fact that purchase agreements in respect of some of the holdings on the estate have not been lodged. The Commissioners will, when dealing with the estate, fully consider all the facts of the case, including the circumstances alleged in the Question.