Captain CRAIGasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he was aware that the regulations made by the Lord Lieutenant under the provisions of the Irish Land Act of 1909, dated 15th February, 1910, had abrogated the arrangements (Cd. 2604 of 4th July, 1905, and Cd. 2834 of 13th February. 1906) under which all sales were carried through in the chronological order in which the agreements, or other preliminary documents, on which each scale was founded were lodged; whether the whole of the sales under the Act of 1903 were entered into on the faith of these regulations; and whether, in the interests of the tenant-farmer purchasers, he would revert to the old strict chronological order of priority?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe regulations of 1905 were cancelled by the regulations of 1906, and the latter regulations have in turn been cancelled by the recent regulations. These new regulations were necessary in order to give effect to Sub-section 2 of Section 3 of the Irish Land Act, 1909. The chronological order of priority is maintained, with the difference that advances may now be accelerated by the acceptance in whole or in part of stock. It cannot be admitted that sales under the Act of 1903 were entered into on the faith of existing regulations, because during the first two years no regulations dealing with priorities were in existence, and moreover the regulations of 1906 were based on a different principle to those of 1905. The adoption of the suggestion contained in the last paragraph of the question would defeat the express object of the Section to which I have referred— namely, to induce vendors to accept stock in lieu of cash.
Captain CRAIGArising out of that answer, may I ask what is the object in inducing vendors to take stock in lieu of cash when the stock sells at such a low price, and whether the right hon. Gentleman could not carry out the old principle whereby those who are first in have first preference of taking cash for their sales?
§ Mr. BIRRELLIt is a long question to answer across the floor of the House. The 1441 great object of everybody in Ireland was to get rid of the great block, and in order to do that, this method of inducing vendors, if they chose to gain acceleration of their purchases, to accept either stock wholly, or partly stock and partly cash, was adopted, and I am glad to say it is working with remarkable success.
§ Mr. LONSDALEMay I ask in what degree the arrangement of 1906 differed from that of 1905?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe hon. Member will hardly expect me to answer that question without notice.
§ Mr. LONSDALEIt depends upon this point of priority?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe whole thing had to do with priority. The matter is perfectly simple. The sales are arranged in different categories, according to whether they take all cash, all stock, or partly stock and partly cash, and the only variation is that those three lists are worked upon from the top all down. By that means priority is secured. That is the new thing.