§ MR. M'LARENasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to the fact that the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has unanimously agreed to support the Ecclesiastical Assessments (Scotland) Bill of the Government; that thirty-six Petitions have been presented in its favour and only ten against it; and, whether he can state on what day the Second Reading of the Bill will be taken? I wish further to explain that I brought in a Bill on the same subject which was lost on the second reading, and that this Bill of the Government having served its object by having defeated my Bill, has stood on the Paper from the 14th of March to the present moment without any steps being taken to bring it forward.
MR. ASSHETON CROSSAll I can say about the matter is that I was glad to hear that the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland had unanimously agreed to support the Bill, and I am further glad to find that the hon. 1049 Member is also in agreement with the General Assembly. The Bill now stands on the Paper for the 17th instant, and its future progress will rest with the Scotch Members. If the Scotch Members are as unanimous as the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland there will be no difficulty in passing the Bill this Session.
§ MR. M'LARENsaid, that no party was ever unanimous on any question, and it could not be expected that the Scotch Members would be unanimous on this.