HC Deb 04 June 1891 vol 353 cc1596-7
MR. SHIRESS WILL (Montrose, &c)

I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether in view of the provisions of the Summary Jurisdiction (Juvenile Offenders) Bill, now pending in this House, he will lay upon the Table of the House a Copy of any rules or regulations now in force in Scotland for the whipping of juvenile offenders, whether sanctioned by the Lord Advocate as required by "The Prisons (Scotland) Act, 1860," or otherwise; and whether, under the Act of 1862, relating to the whipping of juvenile offenders (25 and 26 Vict. cap. 18), there is any authority for the whipping of such offenders in Scotland between the ages of 14 and 16?

THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. P. B. ROBERTSON,) Bute

I shall be glad to lay on the Table of the House a Copy of the regulations referred to in the first part of this question. The hon. and learned Member will observe that these regulations were issued by the right hon. Member for South Edinburgh (Mr. Childers), and by my predecessor, the right hon. and learned Member for Clackmannanshire (Mr. J. B. Balfour), and I see no reason to differ from the view they took—that whipping may be inflicted on offenders in Scotland between the ages of 14 and 16, although not necessarily for all or every offence.

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