DR. CAMERONasked the Lord Advocate, Whether it is true that the work of the office of the Junior Lord Ordinary, which should be cleared from day to day, has fallen into arrear in consequence of certain Deputy Clerks of Session refusing to work during vacation; whether it is the case that, in consequence, the Junior Lord Ordinary, sitting in chambers, has been obliged to dispose of many cases without any clerical assistance; and, whether the Deputy Clerks of Session are, or are not, bound to discharge their ordinary official duties during vacation as well as during Session?
THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. B. BALFOUR)I have not completed my inquiry into this matter; but so far as my information goes, it does not confirm the statements either that the work of the office of the Junior Lord Ordinary has fallen into arrear in consequence of certain Deputy Clerks of Session refusing to work during Vacation, or that the Lord Ordinary has been put to any inconvenience. The Deputy Clerks of Session have certain duties to perform during the vacation. They are necessarily not the same, nor are they so heavy, as their duties during Session; but I believe they are well defined by long established custom.