§ MR. WALDEGRAVE-LESLIEasked the Lord Advocate, Whether the Government intend to bring forward any Measure in February, or soon after, so as to obviate the dissatisfaction said to exist owing to the "great expense, delay, and uncertainty" attending the administration of justice in the Supreme Civil Courts of Scotland?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATEsaid, he could not admit that the administration of justice by the Supreme Civil Courts in Scotland was correctly described by the terms used in the Question. It would be improper in answering a Question to comment on the statement from which the terms of the Question were quoted, and he would therefore proceed to answer it. In virtue of the powers they possessed, the Courts had within the last eighteen months made very considerable improvements, calculated to prevent delay and expense, and which had been successful; and he had given some consideration to the question whether still further improvement might not be effected by a Legislative measure affecting the forms of process. If the state of Scotch business would admit of it, it was probable that some such measure would be brought forward in the course of the Session. He must be allowed also to observe that, under the Debts Recovery Act of last Session, an action for the recovery of an account, the last item of which was dated the 27th of September, had been decided by the Sheriff as local judge, and had been decided on appeal by the Court of Session; so he thought it could not be said the Government were negligent of their duties in this respect.