§ MR. JOHN O'DONNELL (Mayo, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether anything has been done by the Estates Commissioners to remedy the grievance 1238 of William Forde, a tenant on the Blake estate situate at Ballindereen, County Galway; whether they took any steps to ascertain the condition of things in connection with the stripping of that estate and the wrong done Forde excepting through the inspector, who treated the tenant harshly on the occasion; and whether, if the several plots now in the possession of Forde will be surrendered by him, they would give him a holding of land on some other estate where there are grass lands available for distribution.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have inquired fully into Forde's case, and do not consider he has any grievance. He holds a farm of about thirteen acres, comprising six separate plots, and, with a view to rearranging the holdings on the estate, the Commissioners offered to give him a new holding of about thirty-nine acres if he surrendered the six plots. This he at first said he would do, but subsequently refused, and the thirty-nine acres were otherwise allotted. If he informs the Commissioners that he is now willing to surrender the plots in question and to take other land in their stead, the matter will be considered when the Commissioners have land available.