§ Mr. DELANYasked the Chief Secretary whether application has been made by the sub-tenants on the Landes estate, Kilcavan and Garrymore, Queen's County, to purchase their holdings; that the request has been conceded except in two instances, namely, that of Mrs. Margaret Mara and Richard Meagles, and that a sum of £9 and £5, respectively, has been demanded from them by the immediate lessors under whom these sub-tenants hold; and will the Commissioners see, 1645W before sanctioning the sale, that those two sub-tenants are not deprived of the right to purchase their holdings?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants, and has not yet been reached in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales. The cases of the sub-tenants on the estate, including those referred to by the hon. Member, will be considered by the Commissioners when dealing with the estate.
§ Mr. HAVILAND-BURKEasked the Chief Secretary when the sale of the Digby estate, Geashill, King's County, will be completed; is he aware that application has been made by a number of small holders in the neighbourhood for a distribution of the untenanted lands of Ballydownan and Cappyroe, which were on the landlord's hands at the time the agreements were signed; and whether he can say what course the Estates Commissioners are prepared to adopt in this matter?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThis estate is the subject of proceedings for sale direct by the owner to the tenants, and will be dealt with in order of priority on the principal register of direct sales, but, having regard to the claims of other estates, the Estates Commissioners cannot at present say when it will be reached. The reply to the second paragraph of the question is in the affirmative, but the Commissioners cannot say what action, if any, they may take in the matter until they are dealing with the estate.
§ Mr. HAVILAND-BURKEasked the Chief Secretary whether application has been made to the Estates Commissioners by Frederick Abraham and Stephen Cavanagh for an advance to purchase their holdings at Ballydownan, on the estate of Lord Rigby, Geashill, King's County; whether a similar application has been Made by James Bagnal for a farm at Cappyroe on the same estate; can he say what the amount of the advance asked for in each case is; whether those lands were untenanted and on the landlord's hands at the date upon which the agreements were signed by the majority of the tenants on the estate, and application was made to have those farms divided up amongst the small holders on the estate; and can he say whether the Commissioners are prepared to sanction those advances?
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§ Mr. BIRRELLThe reply to the first and second paragraphs of the question is in the negative. The Estates Commissioners have received applications for allotments of the lands referred to, but these lands are not apparently included in the estate proposed to be sold, and until the estate is reached in order of priority, the Commissioners will not be in a position to make any statement as to what action, if any, they may take in the matter.
§ Mr. HUGH LAWasked the Chief Secretary what progress had been made with land purchase in County Donegal up to the latest date at which precise information is available, distinguishing by name those estates or portions of estates in regard to which transactions have been completed from those in which negotiations are still pending, and also showing which estates have been the subject of direct sale to the tenants and which have been, or are about to be, acquired by the Congested Districts Board?
§ Mr. BIRRELLIt would not be possible without a considerable expenditure of time to give the information asked for by the hon. Member. A Return in continuation of No. 6130 of 1912 is being prepared and will shortly be presented to Parliament showing the amount of land sold or pending for sale in each county in Ireland, and also the amount not yet sold. I would ask the hon. Member to await the publication of this Return.
§ Mr. T. M. HEALYasked the Chief Secretary, with reference to the sale of the Graigue, Shanballymore estate, county Cork, whether the Estates Commissioners can give the date upon which Charles O'Neill signed a purchase agreement; when he first became a tenant; whether, on the date at which a Mr. Reynolds, in the office of the agent of the estate, attended at Graigue with the agreements for signature, the tenant's solicitor was shown an agreement respecting this evicted holding which contained the name of a person named Fiddler as occupier; whether a tenancy was subsequently made in the name of Charles O'Neill; and, if so, whether by deed or lease, and have the Estates Commissioners had the same before them?
§ Mr. BIRRELLCharles Neill's agreement to purchase his holding on the Purcell estate, county Cork, is dated 29th September, 1910. The holding is stated 1647W to have been held by him or his predecessor in title since 1901 under a tenancy from year to year by agreement dated 12th April, 1902. The Estates Commissioners have no information regarding what took place between Mr. Reynolds and the tenant's solicitor or of the date on which Neill acquired the tenant's interest. Holdings purchased under the Land Purchase Acts are vested subject to rights and equities affecting the tenant's interests at the date of vesting, and it is not the practice of the Commissioners to investigate the titles of the purchasing tenants.
§ Mr. MEAGHERasked the Chief Secretary if it is the intention of the Estates Commissioners to distribute amongst uneconomic land holders the untenanted portion of the Persse estate, Killashulan, county Kilkenny, recently redeemed by them from the Encumbered Estates Court; is he aware that a numerously signed memorial was presented by the class of tenants above referred to residing in the neighbourhood of the estate, praying for the distribution of the untenanted portion of the estate when being made available; and will he use his influence with the Estates Commissioners with a view of having the estate divided as above indicated?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe Estates Commissioners have not acquired any untenanted land on this estate. The property was not sold to them, but was sold by the owner direct to the tenants under the Land Purchase Acts, and the holdings have been vested in the purchasing tenants in accordance with the purchase agreements signed by them. The Commissioners received several applications on behalf of the small tenants in the locality for the division of certain lands on the property amongst
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I.—Medical and educational expenditure in Unions. Names of Unions. Year ended 31st March. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. 1913. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Callan, part of … … Nil. Nil. 27 13 10 24 11 7 27 4 6 Carrick-on-Suir, part of … Nil. Nil. 22 4 8 11 12 8 12 17 5 Castlecomer … … Nil. Nil. 60 4 1 30 12 5 32 0 4 Kilkenny … … Nil. Nil. 134 10 8 69 16 0 75 17 8 New Ross, part of … … Nil. Nil. 17 7 10 9 3 5 10 0 7 Thomastown … … Nil. Nil. 59 19 8 31 4 3 35 15 11 Urlingford, part of … … Nil. Nil. 37 12 10 18 18 2 18 16 8 Waterford, part of … … Nil. Nil. 54 14 8 28 13 2 31 7 2 them, but the lands referred to were tenanted lands and the Commissioners had no power to acquire them for the purposes of distribution.