§ MR. THORBURN (Peebles and Selkirk)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether, at the Union between England and Scotland, the sum of £2,000 was set apart for the encouragement of woollen manufacturing in the shires of Scotland; whether he will consent to furnish a Report from those who administer the fund as to what has been done with it during the century; what is the present position of the fund, and by what authority has a part, if not the whole, of the fund been diverted from its original purpose; whether he will consent to a representative body, in touch with manufacturers, being appointed, who would administer the fund more successfully than a permanent Board in Edinburgh; and whether he will promise that, until the matter has been fully investigated, no step will be taken to dispense the fund in a different direction from what was originally intended?
§ *MR.J. P. B. ROBERTSONI have not yet received the requisite information on the subject to enable me to answer the question. I must ask my hon. Friend to postpone it.
§ MR. THORBURNI will put the question again on Monday next.