§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIEN (Cork)I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what is the amount of purchase money agreed to under the Purchase Act of 1903, up to 1st November last in the county and parliamentary borough of Cork, and what is the amount paid for up to that date; what is the acreage covered by the agreements; how many occupiers have purchased and at what percentage of reduction and number of years purchase in the second term, first term, and non-judicial categories respectively; what is the average percentage of reduction obtained by the tenant purchasers as compared with the average reduction under previous Purchase Acts, and how does the average percentage of reduction obtained by tenant purchasers in Cork compare with the average reduction obtained by tenant purchasers in the rest of Ireland, abstracting the results obtained by the agreements in the county and parliamentary borough of Cork; whether there is any reason to believe that the purchase transactions in Cork have not given substantial satisfaction, both to vendors and purchasers; and whether, under these circumstances, he will consider the advisability in his forthcoming Bill of laying down the average prices agreed to in Cork as 1228 standard prices, above which the bonus will not be payable, relieving the vendors at the same time of the expense of proving title by recognising the receipt of rent for a fair number of years as sufficient proof for all purposes.
§ MR. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners inform me that up to the 31st October 1908, 17,507 purchase agreements were lodged for the sale of holdings in the county Cork, comprising an estimated area of 865,000 acres; the purchase money applied for in these cases amounts to £8,202,219, which is said to work out at 21.3 years purchase as compared with an average of all classes of rent of 22.5 years purchase in the whole of Ireland, but this figure is subject to revision. Up to the same date £1,960,875 was advanced in respect of 3,961 of these holdings, comprising an area of 183,032 acres. The Commissioners are unable to state at present in respect of the agreements lodged to the 31st October, 1908, the number of years purchase and percentage of reduction in second term, first term, and non-judicial categories, as only a proportion of the agreements have been so classified and analysed, but the hon. Member will find, on page 4 of the last Annual Report of the Commissioners, dated 28th July last, by counties and provinces, the number of years purchase and percentage of reduction in these categories of rent as regards the agreements which it had been found possible so to classify and analyse to the date of such Report. As regards the Question how the percentage of reduction obtained by tenant purchasers under the Irish Land Act, 1903, compares with that obtained under previous Acts, I would refer the hon. Member to pages 14 and 15 of the Report of the Departmental Committee on Irish Land Purchase Finance, where the matter is dealt with at considerable length. There is no reason to doubt that the purchase transactions in Cork have given satisfaction to both parties concerned. As regards the hon. Member's suggestion relative to the bonus, I must ask him to await the introduction of the Bill, His suggestion in regard to title is, I fear, quite impracticable. Not only must there be a prima facie title to sell, but title must be fully proved before the purchase money can be distributed.
§ MR. WILLIAM O'BRIENAs I understand, the Cork prices are, roughly speaking four years lower than the rest of Ireland. May I remind the right hon. gentleman he has omitted to answer my suggestion that the Cork prices should be standardised as the prices for the rest of Ireland. The figures he has given, as I suggest, would mean taking four years off the purchase price of the farmers of Ireland in general, and may I ask whether he is not aware that I have made that suggestion publicly on various occasions, and that it was never objected to by any landlord representative or by the landlord newspapers, provided always the vendors are relieved of the legal process of proving title?
§ MR. BIRRELLI assure the hon. Member that we have boon for weeks past considering the question on the very lines he has now suggested.