§ SIR WALTER NUGENT (Westmeath, S.)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will advise the Estates Commissioners in future not to advance money to nonresidential grazing tenants for the purchase of tracts of land held under grazing leases; and if he will further recommend them to make careful inquiry before making any advances of purchase money when there is any reason to believe that fraudulent leases have been created in order to permit transfers of land to be made, contrary to the spirit of the Land Acts and to the rules laid down by the Commissioners themselves.
§ THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR IRELAND (Mr. CHERRY,Exchange; for Mr. BIRRELL) Liverpool,My right hon. friend has asked me reply to Questions to day. The Estates Commissioners inform me that they exercise the discretion given to them by the Act of 1903 as to the amount, if any, of the advances to be made to non-residential grazing tenants holding under lease. It is the Commissioners' practice to make careful inquiries in all cases in which they have any reason to suspect that fraudulent means are being adopted in order to obtain advances.