§ Mr. GINNELLasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether the sinking funds under the various Acts allowing the advance of public money for the purchase of Irish land, from 1869 to 1903 inclusive, or any of them, have been amalgamated; if he will state the condition of each of those sinking funds as regards the gross receipts and the balance remaining due to the end of June, 1909; and, in the case of any of them applied otherwise than towards extinction of the debt, will he state the amount so applied and the purpose?
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§ Mr. GINNELLalso asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state, in respect of each of the Acts from 1869 to 1903, inclusive, allowing the advance of public money for the purchase of Irish land, the normal rate of repayment of principal and of interest by tenant purchasers; the length of the term when decadal reductions were not availed of and when they were, respectively: the average number of years' purchase of the rent paid under each of the Acts, the amount of principal, interest, and total paid under each Act, and in the short and lengthened term, respectively, by a tenant purchaser of a £25 yearly rent at the average price under that Act; the amount advanced to a vendor of an estate consisting of 40 such tenancies at the average price under each of the Acts, respectively; whether the vendor had to prove his title and to pay law costs of sale and Stamp Duty from his own resources; whether advances were made in respect of arrears in addition to price; whether a bonus on the price plus arrears was given; whether the vendor was relieved in the matter of proof of title, stamps, and costs of sale; and any other financial advantages enjoyed by the ordinary vendor down to November last under the Act of 1903 as compared with the ordinary vendor under previous Purchase Acts?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEThe answer to the first part of the first question is in the negative. It would be impossible to answer the rest of this question and the next question, much of which is hypothetical, without an enormous amount of research and labour on the part of the Irish Land Commission and the National Debt Office, and I regret that I should not feel justified in requiring them to undertake the task, in view of the labour at present imposed upon the Land Commission in particular by the congested state of lard purchase business.