§ Order for Third Reading read.
§ MR. ALEXANDER HASTIEproposed an Amendment on Clause 23. By the clause it was provided that the judgment of the sheriff in causes not exceeding 25l. should be final. This, he believed, would be a denial of justice, and he proposed, therefore, that in the event of the sheriffs disagreeing in judgment, there should be an appeal to a higher court.
§ The LORD ADVOCATEsaid, he must oppose the proposition, and it was negatived without a division.
§ MR. CRAUFURDwished to say, that in the course of the discussions on this Bill, imputations had been cast on the working of the County Courts in England. Now, he could state from personal experience that this idea was an erroneous one, and that those Courts worked in the most admirable manner. He would also take the liberty of saying that his right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Advocate had been more successful in resisting law reform in Scotland, than the Attorney General had been with regard to the measures for England.
§ Bill read 3°, andpassed.