§ MR. MILLERsaid, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether Ms attention has been drawn to the state of the Church of the quoad sacra parish of Waternish, Isle of Skye, in respect that the attendance in that Church consists of only two old men, the one nominally clerk to the Kirk Session and the other the beadle, while the remainder of the population, in number of about 1,200, are adherents of a Church of another denomination; and, now that the Church has become vacant by the death of the late incumbent, whether it is the intention of Government to fill up the vacancy, and thereby continue as a burden on the Country the annual payment of £120, the amount of stipend hitherto paid from a Parliamentary Grant?
MR. BRUCEsaid, in reply, that he believed the statement of facts referred to by his hon. Friend was accurate. The parish was one of those which were formed under the Act of George IV., and he thought that if the Secretary of State were not to exercise his power of appointing for six months, the appointment would lapse. The subject was under the consideration of the Government, but the decision involved a great deal more than the mere appointment of a minister to one particular parish.