§ Mr. LARDNERasked if he will state how many persons have been noted to date by the Estates Commissioners as suitable persons to be reinstated in their old holdings or provided with new holdings in lieu thereof; how many have been so provided, and how many are as yet in the list awaiting disposal; whether the names of any persons who were so noted as suitable persons were removed from the list, and, if so, how many; what are the reasons for removing the names; and whether such reasons were communicated to the parties interested?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe hon. Member will find that the information he asks for in the first part of the question is given in Table XXVII., appendix to the last Annual Report of the Estates Commissioners, which gives by counties and provinces particulars of all applications received to 1216 31st March last from persons seeking reinstatement as evicted tenants. As regards the concluding portion of the question it sometimes happens that the Commissioners on further consideration decide not to take any further action in regard to an applicaton provisionally noted for consideration, but they cannot say without a case to case examination whether any, and, if so, how many, cases were so refused. The provision of holdings is a matter which is dealt with by the Estates Commissioners in the exercise of the powers vested in them, and it is not their practice to state the reasons which actuate them in the exercise of their discretion in individual cases, but the hon. Member will find in paragraph 20 of the Commissioners' special report on evicted tenants, presented to Parliament in June, 1907, a detailed statement of the grounds on which after inquiry and report they reject applications.