THE EARL OF LIMERICK, in moving for a
Copy of a letter, dated 29th October 1880, and written by the Earl of Limerick to the Secretary to the Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Acts Inquiry Commission,said, he should not have troubled their Lordships with the Motion only that he had been represented as expressing views upon the Land Question which were entirely inconsistent with those which he held and which he had avowed, or intended to avow, before the Land Commissioners. He had the honour of being examined before the Land Commission on the 28th of October last; but the evidence which he gave was rather of a conversational character. Owing to that circumstance, he thought afterwards that he might possibly have failed adequately to express his views, and, therefore, on the very next day he wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Commission, giving a summary of the opinions he entertained, and which he had intended to express in his evidence of the previous day. He regretted very much that that letter was not attached to his evidence, because he did not receive any proof of his evidence; and the first he saw of it was when he saw it in print in the Blue Book which was laid on the Table of their Lordships' House. Last week he saw in that evidence that he was made, on a very important point, to express views which he did not entertain. In the Blue Book he was made to say, in answer to the question, "Then practically you have fixity of tenure?"—"Yes; but whether it works satisfactorily or not is another thing." He did not wish to raise the question; but this was a very important matter, and precisely the opposite views to those which he intended to express and to those which were contained in the letter he moved for were printed in that answer. He therefore begged to move for the letter in question; and could only regret that it had not been printed with the evidence, especially as it must have been observed that there were discrepancies between the words which appeared to have been taken down and what he stated in the letter.
§ Motion agreed to.
§ Ordered to be laid before the House.