HC Deb 01 December 1908 vol 197 c1268
MR. GINNELL

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what is the practice of the Irish Land Commission in eases in which a vendor induces a tenant, as a condition of allowing him to purchase, to give a mortgage at high interest on his holding, and the so-called purchaser breaks down under the double load of annuity and interest and is evicted; do they offer such a person any redress; do they hold the vendor, when in the jurisdiction of Irish Courts, to any extent responsible; and what steps, if any, do they take to prevent such transactions.

MR. BIRRELL

So far as the Land Commission are aware no case of the kind has ever arisen on the sale of a holding for default. The disposal of the proceeds of such a sale is regulated by statute, and the question of redress cannot therefore arise. If any such-transaction were brought to the notice of the Estates Commissioners, prior to the completion of a sale under the Land Purchase Acts, they would fully investigate it and, if unfair dealing were proved, would refuse to sanction the sale.