§ DR. CAMERON (Glasgow, College)asked the Lord Advocate, Whether his attention has been called to the increasing work, administrative and judicial, falling upon the Sheriff Principal of Lanarkshire, and the consequent accumulations of appeals to the Sheriff Principal in the Sheriff Court in that county, and the delay which occurs in disposing of them; and, whether Government will consider the propriety of seeking from Parliament powers, such as they possess in the case of the illness of Sheriffs Principal, to make extra temporary appointments to the office of Sheriff Principal when necessary to enable arrears of judicial work to be overtaken?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. H. A. MACDONALD) (Edinburgh and St. Andrew's Universities)I have made inquiries, and find that had there been no arrears of work when the present Sheriff took office there would have been practically no arrears now. In consequence of the weak health of the late Mr. Clark, and the great and exceptional pressure resulting from two general and keenly-contested elections taking place within one year in a county returning 13 members, considerable arrears had accumulated when the present Sheriff took up the work. The Sheriff expresses his confident expectation that he will be able to work off these arrears, and I therefore do not think it advisable to make any proposal to disturb existing arrangements. I propose, however, to call for a Report from the Sheriff at the end of the present year, and will then consider the position of matters. I think I ought further to say that there seems strong reason to doubt whether the expedient recommended in the latter paragraph of the Question would be a wise one, as it might tend to the accumulation of arrears if Sheriffs understood that Deputy Sheriffs would be appointed at the public expense to aid in clearing them off.
§ DR. CAMERONAre there any other cases where these arrears exist?