§ MR. M'LARENasked the Lord Advocate, What course he intends to pursue with respect to the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Bill?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE,in reply, said, the Bill consisted of two parts—the one extending the jurisdiction of the Sheriffs; the other amending the procedure in the Sheriff Courts. So far as he could gather, the opposition to the Bill was limited to its jurisdiction clauses, and there was no opposition to the procedure clauses, the importance of which was admitted by all the professional bodies in Scotland, as well as by the public. Although he regretted the necessity, he proposed for the present to withdraw the jurisdiction clauses of the Bill, and to ask the House to pass the procedure clauses. If opposition was continued after this explanation, he must allow to rest upon those who occasioned it the responsibility for delaying important improvements in judicial procedure in the Sheriff Courts of Scotland.