§ 10. Mr. DELANYasked whether the Estates Commissioners are now in possession of the lands of the Boardwell Owen estate, Ballacolla, Queen's County, and to what purpose they propose to devote the lands; whether any scheme has been prepared to parcel it out; and, if so, into how many parcels the lands are to be divided, and the names of the persons to whom it is proposed to allot them?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe reply to the first paragraph of the question is in the negative. The owner is willing to sell, at the Estates Commissioners' estimated price, eighty-one acres of the lands of Bordwell Big, and the estate will be dealt with in order of priority when formal proceedings for sale have been instituted and title shown.
§ 12. Mr. DUFFYasked the Chief Secretary whether he is aware that agreements to purchase their holdings were signed by the tenants on the estate of Colonel Blake, situate at Ballycahalan, Gort, seven years ago, and seeing that many estates in the district where agreements were signed at a subsequent period have been dealt with, will he explain what is the cause of the delay and when may the tenants expect some relief in their position as interest-paying tenants?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Irish 1463 Land Act, 1903, purchase agreements signed by the tenants having been lodged with the Estates Commissioners in 1906. The estate is being dealt with in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales (all cash), and the Commissioners hope to be in a position to vest the holdings in the purchasing tenants before the close of the current financial year. If other estates in which purchase agreements were lodged at a later date have been dealt with already, it is because the vendors of these estates elected to take payment partly or wholly in stock.
17. Captain CRAIGasked the Chief Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to a judgment delivered in Dublin on the 20th instant by Mr. Justice Ross, in the case of the estate of Mr. H. W. Spaight, situated in the county Clare; whether he has read the statement made by the Land Judge that in this case the property has been deliberately reduced in value by the action of a boycotting conspiracy, as the result of which the owner has been unable to make any profit out of his estate since the year 1907, and consequently has been unable to pay the head-rent; whether the Congested Districts Board has purchased this estate, and, as the result of the working of the boycotting conspiracy, the late owner is now deprived of any portion of the bonus, and thus derives no profit from the sale; whether his attention has been called to the remarks of the Land Judge that Mr. Spaight had been grossly wronged, and that this action of the Congested Districts Board in purchasing a boycotted estate amounted to the use of public money for a purpose which was grossly improper; whether he will take steps to restrain the Congested Districts Board from purchasing other properties under similar conditions elsewhere; and whether any recompense can be made to Mr. Spaight for the loss he has sustained?
§ Mr. BIRRELLMy attention has been called to the observations of Mr. Justice Ross in this case. The sale of this estate was not a sale by the Land Judge but by the owner, and Mr. Justice Ross, on this occasion, was acting in the capacity of Additional Judicial Commissioner. He had no function in the matter but to allocate the purchase money and bonus which, in accordance with practice, had been paid into the Land Commission Court for distribution among the parties interested, 1464 and the facts connected with the sale do not appear to have been fully before the learned judge, or must have been inaccurately stated. The estate in question was offered in 1907 by the owner to the Estates Commissioners, who had the land inspected, and in February, 1908, notified the owner of the estimate of their price, which was accepted by the owner. Owing, however, to the number of estates taking priority to it, the sale was not completed before the passing of the Act of 1909, and, under Section 58 of that Act, the estate being in a congested district, the proceedings were transferred by the Estates Commissioners to the Congested Districts Board. In October, 1909, a formal agreement for the sale of the estate was completed between the owner and the Congested Districts Board at the price fixed by the Estates Commissioners in 1907, representing as nearly as possible twenty-one and a half years' purchase or, with the bonus, twenty-three and three-quarters of the fair rents of the lands as estimated by the owner's valuer. The price of the estate was, therefore, fixed, not by the Congested Districts Board, but by the Estates Commissioners. The owner accepted this price without making any objection, either when it was first offered by the Estates Commissioners in 1907, or when the offer was repeated by the Congested Districts Board in 1909; and the sale was a voluntary sale by the owner, who himself mitiated the proceedings. There is no foundation for the suggestion that the price paid by the Congested Districts Board had been reduced below the real value of the estate as the result of a boycotting conspiracy since 1907, and the only effect of the transfer from the Estates Commissioners to the Congested Districts Board has been that the price has been paid in cash at a much earlier date than it would have been paid by the Commissioners. It is much to be regretted that injurious reflections, based upon inaccurate information, should be cast upon a public body engaged in the difficult and responsible work of land purchase.
§ Mr. MOOREIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that injurious reflections passed upon a judge destroy confidence in his Court?
§ Mr. MacNEILLWill the right hon. Gentleman see that a copy of his answer is sent to Mr. Justice Ross?
§ 18. Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will state the normal dates upon which the November gale of purchase money and of interest in lieu of rent is demanded, and is given to solicitors to collect if remaining unpaid; and the ultimate dates adopted for those two purposes on the present occasion in view of the difficulties caused by the cattle disease and the consequent restrictions?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo precise dates are fixed for the institution of legal proceedings for arrears, but it is the normal practice to take such proceedings with the least possible delay, regard being had to the dates of the various Sessions, and that practice will be followed on the present occasion. The payment of instalments and interest due on 1st instant has so far been fairly up to the average of former years.
§ Mr. GINNELLWill the right hon. Gentleman state what are the ultimate dates adopted for those two purposes on the present occasion?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI do not know.
§ 19. Mr. GINNELLasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he can account for the omission of a number of estates in Ireland, which are administered by the Land Judge and Receivers, from the Return of estates in the Land Judge's Court recently presented to Parliament; whether a complete Return can be obtained; and, if so, what description must be used for that purpose?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Registrar of the Land Judge's Court informs me that the Return referred to only purports to give the estates over which Receivers have been appointed where orders for sale of such estates have been made in the Land Judge's Court. There are no doubt a considerable number of estates administered by the Land Judge and Receivers in respect of which no proceedings for sale have ever been instituted. It would not serve any useful purpose and would tend to confusion to include the latter class of estates in the Return.
§ Mr. GINNELLCan the right hon. Gentleman say how tenants on estates situated in that way can purchase their holdings?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI do not know that I can answer.
§ Mr. MOOREMay I ask if the right hon. Gentleman gets his information in 1466 all cases about the Land Judge from the Registrar?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo, Sir.
§ 21. Mr. JOHN ROCHEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state if the lands at Attyregan, Ballymacward, county Galway, belonging to an absentee landlord named Patrick Rafferty, have been offered for sale?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe lands referred to have not been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board.
§ 22. Mr. PATRICK WHITEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether there is any untenanted land on the estate of Dominick More O'Farroll, situate at Oristown, county Meath; and, if so, whether it was offered for sale to the Estates Commissioners, and with what result?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners inform me that there does not appear to be any untenanted land on this estate which is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants under the Land Purchase Acts.
§ 23. Mr. BOLANDasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the M'Gillicuddy estate, Glencar, was in spected on 28th June, 1912; can he state what action has since been taken with regard to those tenants who have not yet purchased; and can he state whether the case of Florence Sullivan, an evicted tenant on this estate, has been considered, and, if so, what decision has been arrived at?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis estate has been inspected and will be dealt with in order of priority, when the cases of any tenants who have not signed agreements to purchase their holdings will be duly considered by the Estates Commissioners. The Commissioners are in communication with the solicitors having carriage of the sale as regards Sullivan's case.
§ 25. Mr. VINCENT KENNEDYasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland if he will say whether the Estates Commissioners have yet decided on the claims of John Reilly, Creenagh, Thomas O'Donnell, Drumconlestor, and Patrick Kane, Killeshrandra, ail in county Cavan, to be reinstated under the Evicted Tenants Act; and will he state the effect of their decision in each case?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners do not propose to take any action in these cases.
§ Mr. GINNELLWill the right lion. Gentleman state why they refuse to take any action?
§ Mr. BIRRELLIt has not been considered desirable to give information of this kind.
§ Mr. GINNELLIs it to shield some official in the office?
§ Mr. BIRRELLNo, Sir.
§ 29. Mr. PATRICK WHITEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will state the total amount of deductions made from Government Grants in aid of local taxation in county Meath, for the five years ending 1911, in connection with land purchase liability, and under what headings; and whether any of the amount, and, if so, how much, has been restored to the local taxation account of that county?
§ Mr. BIRRELLWith the hon. Member's permission, I will publish with the Votes a statement in reply to this question.