§ DR. CAMERON (Glasgow, College)asked the Lord Advocate, Whether the Secretary for Scotland has yet considered the 12 statutory declarations submitted to him between the middle of March and beginning of April, and containing evidence which, if true, proved that Hugh Matheson, a crofter at present undergoing 12 months' imprisonment for mobbing and rioting, was innocent of the offence for which he was sentenced; and, when it is expected that a decision will be come to in his case?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. H. A. MACDONALD) (Edinburgh and St. Andrew's Universities)The decision of the Secretary for Scotland in this case has been delayed partly by the serious illness of the presiding Judge, and partly by the earnest desire of the Secretary for Scotland to go more fully into the cases. He regrets that, after giving it his most anxious consideration, and making the fullest possible inquiry, he sees no sufficient ground for interfering with the verdict of the jury.