§ Order of the Day for the Second Reading read.
§ EARL CADOGANThis is a Bill to amend the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1888,under the following circumstances:—By Section 1 of that Act lessees and their assignees were admitted to the privileges of the Land Act of 1881, but the assignee of a lease could only avail himself of these privileges providing the assignment of the lease to him was one which was valid in law, and, where the lease could only be assigned with the landlord's consent, the assignment without that consent would not be valid, and the assignee under such an assignment could not have a judicial rent given. To remedy this state of things the Land Law (Ireland) Act of 1888 was passed, providing that assignees under leases containing an agreement which restrained or prohibited the assignment should not be excluded from the above-mentioned benefits. It was, however, at the time overlooked that an old Act, the 7th of George IV., cap. 29, made an assignment of a lease without the landlord's consent given in a particular manner invalid where the leases, if made after the 1st June, 1826, did not expressly authorise the assignment, and that, although this Act was repealed as to future leases by the 2nd William IV., cap. 4, it remained in force as to leases made between the 1st June, 1826, and the 1st May, 1832. The result was to exclude certain persons holding under leases made during that period of six years from having the benefit of the 230 Act of 1881, which has been extended to other leaseholders under leases prohibiting alienation without the landlord's consent by the Act of 1888. To remedy this, this Bill was introduced into the other House of Parliament, where it met with support from Members on both sides of the House. I now ask your Lordships to give it a Second Reading.
§ Bill read 2a (according to order), and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next.