§ Mr. SHEEHANasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether, in cases of estates on which the vast majority of the tenants signed agreements before 1st November, 1908, which were filed with the Estates Commissioners, but one or a few tenants did not sign for some exceptional reasons, these will, if they now enter into agreements, be regarded for the purposes of the bonus as being included in the original sale; have any such cases been brought under the notice of the Estates Commissioners, and, if so, will he state what course has been followed in regard to them; that within the past few weeks agreements have been signed on the Colthurst estate, county Cork, on which it has been agreed that the full bonus of £12 per cent. shall be paid; and seeing that on several estates tenants are being kept outside the sale owing to this difficulty, will he consider the advisability of having some clear understanding come to as to the 190W position of tenants in the circumstances mentioned?
§ Mr. BIRRELLWhere some of the tenants on an estate purchased their holdings prior to the 24th November, 1908, and others have either not purchased or have purchased after that date, it is the practice of the Estates Commissioners in a proper case to declare the lands comprised in the holdings purchased prior to the 24th November, 1908, a separate estate in respect of which a bonus of 12 per cent. is payable, but in respect of the holdings purchased after that date a bonus of only 3 per cent. is payable.