§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that one of the terms mutually agreed to six years ago by the vendors and tenant purchasers of the Reid and M'Endoo estate in Westmeath was that the untenanted grass farm called Nolah would be sold for distribution and enlargement of the uneconomic holdings; whether he has seen letters from Messrs. Crookshank, Leech, and Davies, the vendors' solicitors, persistently attempting to defeat that term of sale on the express ground that the Land Act of 1909 renders its performance impossible; whether there is any foundation for that assertion; and, if not, whether the Estates Commissioners will enforce that term of the agreement, distribute the land to which it relates, and remove that cause of turmoil in the district?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHMy right hon. Friend has seen the correspondence referred to. The condition as regards the sale of the untenanted lands of Nowlagh was that, with the exception of a small portion which the owners desired to retain as an adjunct to the demesne, the lands were to be sold to the tenants direct in such lots and at such prices as might be agreed on. No purchase agreements were entered into between the parties for the sale of these lands prior to the Act of 1909, and under that Act no advances can now be made under Section 2 of the Act of 1903 for the sale of parcels of untenanted land by landlords direct to the tenants.
§ Mr. GINNELLWhat do the Irish Government intend to do with reference to this land? Will they allow the Act of 1909 to lock it up or will they free it?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHThe restriction refers to parcels of land and not to holdings.
§ Mr. GINNELLBut will the Irish Government allow the Act of 1909 to lock up the land?
§ Mr. ILLINGWORTHI should like notice of that question.