I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of the Bill which I think really had its origin in the desire of the former Taoiseach that these Acts should be repealed, is to repeal the Mortmain Acts. The nature and objects of the Mortmain Acts are set out in the explanatory memorandum, and the effect of these Acts are set out very fully and —I think—very clearly, and it is not necessary for me to weary the House by going through them. If Deputies will look at the list of Mortmain Acts as set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the memorandum the mere perusal of the Acts as detailed will in itself form a justification for their repeal. The Mortmain Acts were brought into operation in this country by the rather wellknown and infamous Poyning's Law. They go back to 1279, 1285, 1344 and 1391. With one possible exception these Acts no longer have any effect in practice in this country. The principle of mortmain, as it is called, really had its origin in the feudal laws and tenure of real property. If land were transferred to the corporation, the barons and people who were entitled to certain feudal aids were done out of their little perquisites.
The net result was, in effect, that the Acts were passed originally, I think, to prevent religious corporations from owning land and then any corporation of any kind from holding land without a licence from the Crown. Those Acts, in so far as they were law, were carried over here into our legal code. They have no effect whatever at the present time except in one particular instance: a foreign corporation that is not incorporated under the Companies Acts in England and that cannot come within particular sections of those Acts cannot hold land in this country without a licence from the Government. In effect those licences were granted freely and as a matter of course because it was a pure formality. A foreign corporation that cannot find any statutory basis for holding land could in effect get over the provisions of these Mortmain Acts by getting even a foreigner and certainly our own citizens to hold land on their behalf. They could also incorporate themselves here in this country as a company. The net result of the whole thing is that these Acts are cluttering up unnecessarily our Statute Book and wasting time of any Government that has to give a licence.
Accordingly, we propose that the House should take them out of our legislative way. It will in effect mean that foreign companies can now hold land in this country if they wish to do so. I personally think that that is something which is rather in line with modern tendencies of international law. Certainly, some years ago, I was engaged on a body that is charged with the consideration of the codification of international law and my recollection is that the general tendency was that a company incorporated in one State should be entitled to hold land in the territory of the other and vice versa. At all events, these statutes serve no useful purpose whatever and we should get rid of them.
As I have said, these Acts are now, for all practical purposes, obsolete and the only instance where they arise now is in regard to the granting of a licence to a foreign corporation to hold land. These licences, as I have already stated, are granted from time to time as a matter of course. Any alien may acquire land in his private capacity. So that, if a foreign corporation desires to acquire land it can in fact do so by taking the land in the individual names of the members of the corporation or by forming a joint stock company here. Even where a foreign corporation acquires land in the name of the corporation the Irish Mortmain Act of 1792 simply enacts that the land shall be forfeited to the State. Having said that the land shall be forfeited to the State it fails to supply any machinery whereby the land could be effectively forfeited to the State, and I think it is putting it at its highest to say that it is very doubtful if the State could ever forfeit the land. The Irish Mortmain Act of 1792 is of no practical effect whatever.
Accordingly the Bill does something useful in getting rid of the Acts. The Acts were originally measures against religious corporations and we have no longer any such corporations in this country. Under the Constitution every religious denomination has the right to own, acquire and administer property. Ordinary business corporations are dealt with under the Companies Acts and if it is desired that any restriction should be placed on foreign companies owning land here, on which I express no opinion beyond the view I have already indicated, that can be dealt with under the Companies Acts. I recommend the Bill to the House.
