§ MR. DUNLOPsaid, he wished to call the attention of the House to the position of the teachers in the burgh schools of Scotland, under the law as recently declared by the decision of the Court of Session, in the case of the "Presbytery of Elgin v. the Magistrates of Elgin;" and to ask the Lord Advocate, Whether he intends to introduce any measure for re- 805 lieving such teachers from the jurisdiction of the Church Courts, to which they had been thereby declared subject, and generally to free the burgh and parochial schoolmasters from the necessity of signing the Test of Conformity to the Established Church?
THE LORD ADVOCATEsaid, that he was ready to admit that the subject was deserving of attention. It had, however, been brought more than once under the attention of the House in consequence of the strong feeling on the subject. In the parochial schools of Scotland no one who did not belong to the Established Church of that country could be a master, but until recently that law had only been applied to the country schools, and the burgh schoolmasters were not generally made liable to the test, which it was supposed had fallen into desuetude as regarded them. How ever, by a recent judgment this was found not to be the case, and that judgment was tantamount to re enacting the test with respect to burgh schools. In reply to the question, he had to observe that for three separate Sessions measures were introduced by the Government for the purpose of throwing open the schools in Scotland, and on two occasions they were successful in that House, but were wrecked in "another place." Without giving any direct pledge, he would simply say that it was his intention to propose to Her Majesty's Government a scheme in relation to education in Scotland. Whether the Bill could be introduced into Parliament would depend, certainly, on the prospect of greater success than had hitherto attended former attempts.