I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will request the Estates Commissioners to induce Lord Ardilaun to sell the portion of the Herbert Estate in his possession to the occupying tenants, so that they may derive the benefits already secured by the other tenants of the larger portion of the estate which has already been sold to the tenants.

The Estates Commissioners inform me that this is not a case in which their intervention is possible. Under the regulations of 13th February, 1906, their action as conciliators is confined to cases in which differences exist between landlord and tenant in connection with the terms of sale and purchase. It does not appear that any negotiations for purchase are pending in this case. In reply to a further question by Mr. MURPHY—

said that compulsion to sell was out of the question.