§ MR. LUNDONI beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he can say whether negotiations for sale and purchase as between landlord and tenants are in progress in and around the parish of Murroe, County Limerick, between Lord Cloncurry and his tenants; is he aware that there are on this estate a number of what are commonly called future or excluded tenants who, in the arrangements between the landlord and themselves in the campaign over twenty-five years ago, were allowed back on ruinous terms; and will the Estates Commissioners, when prices are being fixed, interpose and fix the prices impartially between both parties, or is there in the immediate future a likelihood of legislation dealing with cases of the kind all over Ireland.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have no knowledge of any negotiations for sale between Lord Cloncurry and his tenants, and have no information as to the nature of the tenancies on the estate. The Commissioners have no power to interpose and fix prices. The hon. Member is, of course, aware that the Land Act of 1903 is based upon the principle of voluntary sale and purchase. I am not at present in a position to indicate the details of the Government's proposed measure for amending land legislation in Ireland.