DR. CAMERONasked the Lord Advocate, Whether it is a fact that the office held by the late Sheriff Clerk of Forfarshire was a sinecure, the duties of which were performed by deputies in Forfar and Dundee; whether such an arrangement was not contrary to the enactment of 6 Geo. 4, cap. 23, sec. 6, that Sheriff Clerks shall discharge the duties of the office in person; what salary was attached to the post; and, whether he sees his way to effect a saving without sacrificing efficiency in any new appointment?
THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. B. BALFOUR),in reply, said, that the office of Sheriff Clerk in question did not appear to him to be on a satisfactory footing, and when the vacancy occurred he communicated with the Public Departments with a view to having the office placed on a better footing. In the new appointment care would be taken to ensure personal performance of the duties, and he expected that a substantial saving would be effected without any sacrifice of efficiency.