The Estate of Henry Leader, Owner; Margaret Coleman, Petitioner

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 30 June 1904
• Date: 30 June 1904
• Court: Court of Appeal (Ireland)

In the Matter of the Estate of Henry Leader

Owner

and

Margaret Coleman

Petitioner (1).

Appeal.

CASES

DETERMINED BY

THE CHANCERY DIVISION

OF

THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN IRELAND

AND BY

THE IRISH LAND COMMISSION,

AND ON APPEAL THEREFROM IN

THE COURT OF APPEAL.

1904.

Land Purchase Acts — Superior interest — Head rent — Redemption price — Principles on which to be assessed.

When lands subject to a superior interest, consisting of a fee-farm rent, have been sold to the occupying tenants through the Court, the redemption price of the rent is to be fixed at the price or sum which appears, upon due consideration of all the circumstances of the case—of the selling prices of similar interests, of the value of money, and of the fact that the redemption is compulsory—to be the fair value thereof; but the amount of the price ought not to be affected by the consideration of indemnifying the owner of the rent against loss of income by reason of the difference between the annual income of any investment or class of investments in which the redemption money might be invested.

Appeal from an order of the Right Hon. Mr. Justice Ross, fixing the redemption price of a head rent issuing out of the lands sold in the matter to the occupying tenants.

The order appealed from recited the affidavit of Florence F. M'Carthy, and the rental in the matter, the attendance of counsel for the parties, and then proceeded—“it is ordered by the Court

that the said rent described on said rental as apportioned, pursuant to the orders of the Irish Land Commission, dated respectively 17th May, 1893, and 6th March, 1900, to the sum of £94 9s., be redeeemed, and it is ordered by the Court that the redemption price of the said apportioned rent be fixed at the price or sum equivalent to twenty-seven and a half years purchase of said apportioned rent.”

The affidavit of Florence F. M'Carthy, who was a member of a firm of solicitors acting for the petitioners having carriage of the proceedings, was filed in support of an application to redeem the head rent in question, and to have the redemption price thereof fixed by the Land Judge.

This affidavit stated that the lands of Clonmoyle east, containing 443 acres and 4 perches, statute measure, situate in the barony of East Muskerry and county of Cork, had been sold through the Court to the occupying tenants. At the date of the sale H. C. Atwool was in receipt of a superior head rent of £94 14s. 10¹/₂d. which had been adjusted under the Local Government Acts to £94 9s. per annum), created by a fee-farm grant, dated 10th March, 1862, and made between Roland Davies and Thomas Perrier Davies of the one part, and Henry Leader (the owner in this matter) of the other part, in lieu of a lease for lives renewable for ever, of 5th May, 1787, in pursuance of the Renewable Leasehold Conversion Act. The rent reserved by this fee-farm grant had originally been £103 1s., but had been reduced on two distinct occasions when portions of the lands subject thereto had been sold through the Irish Land Commission, and the rent apportioned between the lands sold and the remaining lands, and the parts of the rent apportioned on the lands sold redeemed. On the first of these occasions (17th May, 1893), the fee-farm rent was reduced to £98 17s. 11d. On the second occasion (6th March, 1900), the fee-farm rent was further reduced to £94 14s. 10¹/₂d., and had been adjusted at £94 9s. The affidavit also stated that the gross rental of the estate had been before the sale to the tenants £243 3s. 9d.; that the Poor Law Valuation was £203; that there were twelve tenants on the estate, ten of whom were judicial tenants for first statutory terms, and two of whom had held under...