§ MR. ESSLEMONT (Aberdeen, E.)wished to ask the Solicitor General for Scotland a Question of which he had given private Notice. Perhaps the House would allow him to explain that that arose out of a misunderstanding in an answer given to a Question by the Lord Advocate, on account of insufficient information. It was, whether in Pitsligo parish there was not a church to be erected by an old Statute, which was beyond all the requirements of the circumstances, at least double the size required practically for the whole parish; and, whether an assessment of 101–10d. in the pound was levied on the whole parish to erect this unnecessary building?
§ THE SOLICITOR GENERAL FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. J. P. B. ROBERTSON) (Bute)The question of re-building this church has, I understand, been brought before the Court of Session on an appeal by the heritors against the decision of the Presbytery, and the Court affirmed that decision, the law being that a new church must be of sufficient size to accommodate two-thirds of the examinable population of the parish. It is not, therefore, possible for the Government to interfere to prevent this expenditure, which does not, however, fall on the public, but on the heritors.
§ MR. ESSLEMONTasked, as arising out of the same Question, whether the Government would take any steps in regard to powers such as those which seemed to be quite unnecessary, and not desired by anyone in the parish to remedy the law on the subject?
§ MR. J. P. B. ROBERTSONPerhaps the hon. Gentleman will give Notice of that, which is a somewhat large question.