§ MR. REDDY (King's County, Birr)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that the farms of Cushcallow, near Banagher, known as the Trench estate, was bought, with the sanction of the Estates Commissioners, under the expressed conditions that it would be used to enlarge the uneconomic holdings in the neighbourhood; and whether these conditions will be adhered to and carried out.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners inform me that proceedings are pending for the sale of those lands to them, and they hope shortly to be in a position to make a formal offer for their purchase. In allotting the lands, the Commissioners will have due regard to the circumstances of occupiers of small holdings in the neighbourhood.
§ MR. KILBRIDE (Kildare, S.)Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the local parish priest and the local M.P. were willing to arrange this transaction on the distinct understanding that it should be divided amongst uneconomic holders in the parish to the exclusion of shopkeepers and business men, and that one of the Board's inspectors has been on the property recommending business men to get the land?
§ MR. BIRRELLI am not aware of that.