§ DR. FARQUHARSON (Aberdeenshire, W.)I beg to ask the Scottish Lord of the Treasury whether he is aware that the Rev. Thomas Bruce, of the Free Church, Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, was refused permission, on the 24th of May, to inspect and make extracts at the Register House, Edinburgh, from the records of the parish of Calluce, on the ground that he was not the minister of that parish; and whether this restriction has been framed by the authorities, or has been sanctioned by them?
§ SIR H. MAXWELLPermission to inspect and make extracts from the register is never refused to anyone who applies and pays the statutory fees. There is no record or recollection in the office of Mr. Bruce having been there on the date mentioned in the question; but, 338 from the search book, it appears that a Thomas Bruce, presumably the reverend gentleman referred to, made a search on the 27th May in the birth register of the parish of Calluce, and paid the fee of one shilling. The inspection of, and making extracts from, these registers is regulated by statute, and the regulations apply-equally to all persons and denominations, except in the case of a Kirk Session of a parish, or, anyone acting under its authority, desiring to have access to certain sessional records of such parish referred to in the statute.