§ MR. SEYMOUR KEAYI beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland, whether the electors of a ward-parish have any redress either by appeal to the Local Government Board for Scotland, or otherwise, in a case where a County Council has allocated the number of County Councillors to each ward in a manner which appears to them to be contrary to the letter and spirit of the Local Government (Scotland) Act; and, whether the Local Government Board for Scotland have power to ask a County Council to state its reasons for having made such an allocation.
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (SIR GEORGE O. TREVELYAN,) Glasgow, BridgetonI presume my hon. Friend refers to Parish Councillors, not to County Councillors, who are elected in single-member wards. In the case of Parish Councillors, I have already stated that the Local Government Board has no power to interfere. The Local Government Board has certainly power to ask for the reasons of the County Council, but it has no power to demand an answer; and it is very doubtful, whether it is wise for a public department to interfere in matters, which Parliament has deliberately placed outside their control.