§ Mr. VINCENT KENNEDYasked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state whether the occupying tenant in John Reilly's farm, Crenagh, Killeshandra, has agreed to let Reilly back on being provided with a farm elsewhere; when did the tenant communicate his willingness to take another farm to the Estates Commissioners; and will he have this case specially looked into?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners were in negotiation with the present occupier of Reilly's former holding, but could not agree with his terms. Reilly refused to take a holding elsewhere, and the Commissioners decided to take no further action in the matter of his application.
§ Mr. DANIEL BOYLEasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland the cause of the delay in acquiring the estate known as the Pratt estate, near Crossmolina, which has been on offer to the Congested Districts Board for a very considerable time, and when the Board hope to complete the purchase?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Congested Districts Board have decided to make an offer at an early date for the purchase of this estate.
§ Mr. DANIEL BOYLEasked if the maps and other documents relating to the sale of the estate of Mr. Shaen Carter, Belmullet, county Mayo, have yet been 1708W deposited with the Congested Districts Board; and, if so, what progress, if any, has been made by the Board with a view to making an offer for the purchase of the estate?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe answer is in the negative.
§ Mr. DANIEL BOYLEasked when the purchase of the Coyne estate, in the townland of Aughleam, Belmullet, county Mayo, now on offer to the Board, and recently valued by their officers, is likely to be completed; and if it is the intention of the Board to reinstate into possession of the holdings on this estate, from which they were evicted on the expiration of their leases in 1887, the former tenants, Michael Heffron, Philip Heffron, Martin Heffron, and John M'Andrew, which holdings have since been, and are now, let on the eleven months' system for grazing purposes?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe valuation of this estate is in progress, but the Congested Districts Board have not yet made any offer for it, and they cannot say when it is likely that the purchase of the property will be completed. The Board are not at present in a position to state what action they would take regarding the persons mentioned in the question in the event of their purchasing the property.
§ Mr. JOHN O'CONNORasked the Chief Secretary whether negotiations are going on for the sale to the tenants of the lands comprising the Wheeler estate, at Roberts-town, county Kildare; is he aware of any intention to exclude from the transaction the representatives of the late Michael Connell, one of the said tenants, and, if so, for what reason. Was the estate inspected at a recent date, and, if so, was it by the directions of the Estates Commissioners, and was it for the purpose of sale to the tenants; is he aware that the result of the inspection was to fix the valuation of the Connell farm at £190, and would that amount mean a reduction on sale to tenant of 3s. 6d., whilst the other lands on the same estate were valued at amounts which meant a reduction of 5s. with a half-year's rent forgiven to each tenant; and will the Estates Commissioners order another inspection of this estate in order to make an equitable all-round valuation?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have had inspected the holding in the occupation of the representatives of 1709W Michael Connell, and have informed the owner that they are prepared to advance the sum of £190 if an agreement for purchase at this price signed by Connell's representatives is lodged. The Commissioners are not prepared to alter their decision in the matter, and if a purchase agreement is not lodged in respect of the holding it will not be included in the sale.
§ Mr. HAZLETONasked the Chief Secretary whether the Congested Districts Board will buy the Cave Farm, on the Sir Andrew Armstrong Estate, near Caherlistrane, county Galway, which was sold direct in October, 1907, in view of the fact that the present holder of the Cave Farm has declared his willingness to sell it to the Board for sub-division; and whether the Board could take any steps to have the Bunnasillagh Farm, on the same property, re-striped in view of the dissatisfaction that the existing disposition has caused?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Cave Farm has not been offered for sale to the Congested Districts Board since the Irish Land Act of 1909 came into operation, but inquiries will now be made as to whether the owner is willing to negotiate for a sale. As regards the last part of the question, the lands of Bunnasillagh were sold by the owner in connection with the sale of his estate as "parcels" under Section 2 of the Irish Land Act, 1903, direct to the purchasers in whom they have been vested and who are now the owners, and the matter cannot be reopened.
§ Captain CLIVEasked the Chief Secretary the amount of the annual instalments now being paid by purchasers under the Wyndham Act and the amount of the annual rents that they were paying immediately before purchase, together with the average number of years' purchase at which these lands were sold?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe annuities collectible by the Land Commission in respect of advances made for the purchase of both tenanted and untenanted land under the Irish Land Act, 1903, up to the 31st March last amount to £1,465,000. The rents payable in respect of the tenanted land were returned by the vendors in the purchase proceedings as amounting to £1,920,000, and the annuities now payable in respect of these lands amount to £1,385,000. The number of years' purchase of the rents in the various classes of sales and rents is1710W given in the detailed tables appended to the last Annual Report of the Estates Commissioners.