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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 173, 25 August 1909, Page 2

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ENABLING TENANTS TO PCUOHASH i'UEm HOLDINGS. NEW LAND PURCHASE BILL. UEFOJtE THE HOUSE OF COMAIONS. liy Cable.—Press Association.--C»|».» rijfiil Received 24, 0.45 p.m. London, Auyuul 241. In the House of Commons, coimitieialion of ilie Irish Land Purchase Lnl w»» resumed in a thin House, l'ajrt of tin Hill, dealing with Uiiunee, was passed in committee in July. Yesterday was the fourth day allotted for the Bill, the intention being to pass l it by to-night under the gui.lotine. i

Part 2, containing 2U clauses relating to land purchase itself, and consideration of imrt 3, relating to the new, Congested- Districts Board, begins tomorrow, anil the committee stngeo con-. elude ou Friday. The (lovernment was strongly criticised for 'uniting the discussion to eight davs compared with the 33 allotted W Mr. Gladstone's Act of 1881. Mr. Birrcll was accused of avoiding an effective debate, carefully select'.ljf I'ridays for the first three, and choosing the fourth week in August lor the -c----maining Ave. Clause 14, whereon the debate opened yesterday, empowered the Commissioners to dispense with the tones of price* system in connection with voluntary sales, by enabling them, if deemed necessary, to enquire regarding the security for the advance, and the equity of price. L\lr. Dillon regretted that the MM system was not abolished altogether. The Hon. G. Wyndham argued that the clause was a breach of the agreement at the Ijind Conference, whereon the Act of 11103 was founded. The Nationalists did not deny they were parlies to the agreement, nut declared that experience had caused then lo modify their views. Another clause, which was sharply debated, enabled the Commissioners, after satisfying prior claims, to sell land to any person to whom they think purchase money should be advanced. Clauses 14, 15, anil 10, after app'.icalion of the closure, were carried at halfpast seven, and clauses 17 to 33 three hours later.. Introducing Hie measure on November 23rd last, Mr. Birrcll called attention to the bargain that was made in 1(103 between landlord and tenant, and to its embodiment in the Act then passed. The complete trasactions between landlords and tenants represented a sum of .C 20,000,000, and the ponding agreements involved £{S,oo4floot While it was thought in 1903 that C100.n00.000 would be sufficient to onable the tenants to purchase their hodin<rs, it now appeared that the sum would nmnunt to X. 180,000,000. Fiftytwo millions would therefore have to be rawed to meet pending agreements and .11100,000,0110 more would be required in the future. The Bill was ac- . ceptcd by Mr. Redmond on behalf of the Nationalists, 11s a bold and far-reaching measure of reform, framed in accordance with popular sentiment in Ireland. The first reading was carried without A j division.