§ SIR DAVID WEDDERBURNasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether his attention has been directed to the necessity, under the Land Register (Scotland) Act (1868), of revising the Fees of the Sasine Register, in view of the provision made by that Act that such Fees shall not be greater than may reasonally be sufficient to meet the expenses; what steps have been or are being taken to carry out that provision, and to exercise the statutory power of graduating the Fees according to value, so as to afford some relief to small properties; and, whether, pending such revisal by the Treasury, the appropriation to the general revenue of the growing surplus derived from these Fees will be discontinued?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, the hon. Baronet was no doubt aware that this question of fees could not arise until after the end of last year, and therefore no time had been lost about it hitherto. The Lord Clerk Registrar was in communication with the Treasury on the subject, and was prepared to submit to the Treasury a revisal of the fees. The matter being in that state, the hon. Baronet would excuse him for not going any further into details. The surplus of the fees must be paid into the Exchequer, and when so paid formed part of the balances, and therefore he had no power to prevent the money from being appropriated 1761 to the general Revenue. He did not expect, however, that the present state of affairs would be of long continuance, nor that it would cause any great hardship.