§ MR. MACFIEasked the Lord Advocate, Whether, under the Act 34 and 35 Vic. c. 63, or, if not, whether independently of that Act any existing College in Scotland not now having a charter, would be entitled to expect that a charter would be granted to it as freely as to any new college; and, whether charters to be granted under the above Act are intended to permit the granting of degrees in divinity, law, and medicine, 961 and when and how the conditions and requirements to which institutions desiring to be chartered must conform may be ascertained?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE,in reply, said, his hon. Friend the Member for Leith had kindly communicated to him a copy of the Question in the course of the forenoon. He had done his best to understand it; but he must confess he had failed. The Act referred to did not affect the granting of charters to colleges, beyond imposing this restriction—that no new charter should be granted until the application for it and a copy of the charter asked for had been laid before Parliament for a certain number of days. In no other respect did it affect the granting of charters at all. By "any existing colleges in Scotland not having a charter," he supposed his hon. Friend meant private institutions which had taken the name of colleges. [Mr. MACFIE said, he meant the colleges connected with the Free Church.] They were not public, but private institutions, which had very properly assumed the name of colleges, and such colleges were entitled to expect that charters would be granted or refused to them as freely as to any other new colleges. In answer to the latter part of the Question, he had already stated that no charters could be granted under this Act otherwise than in the way they were previously granted.