§ Mr. BOWLESasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House any information as to the intentions of His Majesty's Government with regard to the ratification of The Hague Convention of the 18th October, 1907, relative to the proposed establish 1366 ment of an international court of naval prize, which was to be ratified by the 30th June, 1909, and of the Declaration of London of the 26th February, 1909, which assumed to set forth the principles by which the decisions of this new international court should be informed; whether it is intended to submit either the Convention or the Declaration to the consideration of Parliament before proceeding to its ratification; and whether it is proposed to ratify the Convention in question before or after the ratification of the Declaration of London?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Sir E. Grey)His "Majesty's Government will propose to Parliament in due course legislation for the purpose of giving effect to the stipulations of the Prize Court Convention of 1907, which will now not be ratified till June, 1910. The House will, as I have already stated, have the opportunity of discussing the provisions of the Declaration of London of 26th February, 1909, Till there has been an opportunity for such discussion, His Majesty's Government do not intend to advise the King to ratify either the Convention or the Declaration.
§ Mr. LARDNERasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if the Estates Commissioners have refused to take any steps towards effecting the reinstatement of Denis floody and Patrick Joyce in the holdings in the townland of Anny, county Monaghan, on the Wood, wright Lucas estate, from which their parents were evicted, notwithstanding the fact that it was a condition of the sale by the landlord to the tenants of the estate, agreed to in writing by both parties, that these two tenants should be reinstated; if he is aware that the persons in occupation of these holdings have expressed their willingness to give up possession if the improvements which they have made on the farms are considered and paid for; if he will state how many visits were made by inspectors of the Estates Commissioners in reference to these cases; whether they reported the fact that the occupiers were willing to give up possession of the holdings; and will he now direct the Commissioners to give effect to the agreement made between the landlord and all the tenants on the estate that these two men should be reinstated in their parents' holdings if the estate was sold under the Land Act?
§ The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND (Mr. Cherry, for the Chief Secretary)The Estates Commissioners have not received any application for reinstatement from Patrick Joyce. They have inquired into the applications of Denis Floody and Patrick Coyle, whose parents were formerly tenants on the estate, and have received communications on their behalf making the statements contained in the question. Both cases were reported on by inspectors, but the Commissioners are not in a position to say how many visits were necessary for the purpose. The Commissioners, in the exercise of their discretion, have decided not to take any action in either case, and the Irish Government have no power to interfere with that discretion.