§ MR. J. G. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)called attention to the absence of any provision for the payment of the travelling expenses of County Councillors in Scotland, when they were travelling between their residences and the meetings of the councils. He said that this question was a matter of great concern in Scotland, where the County Council areas were much greater than in England, and where the facilities for travelling were very much less. He would confine himself to the Highland counties, leaving other Members to speak of the lowland counties. The difficulties of getting about in the Highlands—and especially in winter—were not realised by the English tourist who never left the beaten tracks. He was sorry not to see the Members for Argyllshire and Inverness-shire in their places, or they would be able to explain how remote were the places where the meetings of the County Councils were held from some parts of those counties. Again, Ross-shire extended 67 miles from east to west, and 58 miles from north to 893 south; and it contained on the mainland 3,129 square miles or nearly 2½ million acres. Over and above the mainland, besides, there was the Island of Lewis, which was 45 miles long and from 15 to 30 miles broad. If English Members who could travel comfortably to and from their constituencies in a few hours went to the Highlands they would see the importance of promoting legislation such as he asked for, that would improve the condition of the people. He knew many places in the Highland counties from which a meeting of the County Council could only be attended at the sacrifice of a week. It would take three days to get to the place of meeting and three days to return. That was a sacrifice in time and money which the poor crofters could not make. Many of them were willing to give their time to attend meetings of the County Council if their expenses were paid. They would be excellent councillors, understanding, as they did, the wants of the people, but had not the means to pay expenses. They had not £5,000 a year, like some of the right hon. Gentlemen on the Treasury Bench. It was difficult enough for them to keep body and soul together. What was the result? The result was that the County Councils of the Highlands were packed with landlords and factors; and those were the men who were consulted when any information was asked for about the people of the Highlands. The people were not consulted at all. He did not ask for the payment of first-class fare; it would be sufficient to pay third-class railway fare and cabin fare on steamers. If the people elected a man who could not afford to pay his fare, it was only right it should be paid for him. The charge would be insignificant, while the better attention to business would save the Highlands from the sad neglect from which they had suffered in the past. He did not ask for this specially for Ross and Cromarty, but for the whole of the 894 Highlands. He pleaded on behalf of the whole of the Highland counties, and he hoped the right hon. Gentleman would give attention to the matter and introduce a measure which would operate before long and not stave matters off from Session to Session. Scotland had been too long neglected. Scotland meant to have more attention. Now he wished to call attention to the life of farm servants. The County, District, or Parish Councils should have power to arrange for half holidays for farm servants. Compulsory half holidays were advocated for shop assistants. Why should not Scotch farm servants be considered, who work from 5 o'clock in the morning until 6 or 7 at night and often later all the year round. They should have a little time regularly for recreation, and no bodies could better take action to provide it than the local authorities. Then, again, in the Highlands of Scotland compulsory powers are needed to obtain land, not by the landlord's philanthropy or by costly arbitration, but on fair and reasonable terms. Powers are also required to secure land for the residences of Sheriffs, Procurator Fiscals, and other Officers of the Crown, so that they may not be liable to eviction at the caprice of the landlord.
§ MR. MUNRO FERGUSON (Leith Burghs)said, that as a member of the Ross-shire County Council, he hoped that the proposal of the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty (Mr. Weir) would be assented to, because, from an experience of some years, he was perfectly convinced of the desirability that the payment of certain expenses of county councillors should be allowed in the interests of the working of the County Council. The time of the county councillors which was taken up in travelling long distances to discharge their duties was very great, and they were also put to considerable travelling expenses. He thought that the Lord Advocate would recognise the claims which the county councillors had to consideration 895 in this respect. In such districts as the Islands of Lewis the county councillors had much difficulty in doing the duty which their office imposed upon them. He thought, on the whole, that it would be of advantage if some allowance were made.
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Sir CHARLES PEARSON,) Edinburgh and St. Andrew's Universitiessaid, that he was sure that the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty (Mr. Weir) would not expect him to follow him through all the topics, relevant or the reverse, to which he had referred in the course of his address to the House in support of his Resolution. He, however, fully recognised the force of the appeal that had been made to him by the hon. Member for the Leith Burghs (Mr. Ronald C. Munro Ferguson), and he had no doubt that in the Highlands and Islands and in some of the larger counties, the county councillors had to undergo some hardships. To his mind, however, not only had no case been made out that night in favour of the Resolution, but no case, in fact, existed that would justify a principle that in itself was false and vicious being imported into the municipal life of the country. Hitherto it had been their pride that services of this character had been given freely and even at some expense and inconvenience, and he had very little sympathy with the demand that county councillors all over the country should be paid for their services. No doubt it might be said that the speech of the hon. Member for Ross and Cromarty was limited to the case of the Highlands and Islands, but that was perhaps because upon the floor of that House his vision had no wider range, but certainly his Resolution was capable of a far more extended interpretation, and it was quite obvious that the terms of the Resolution were not confined to the Highlands and the Islands. The true principle that, in his opinion ought to govern that House in dealing with these matters, both in connection with county councillors and parish councillors was that where men were willing to undertake to discharge certain duties within certain areas, they should undertake to discharge those duties within those areas at their own cost and charge. He saw no reason for acceding 896 to the far-reaching and most improvident change proposed by the hon. Member.
§ MR. J. CALDWELL (Lanarkshire, Mid)said that the House must congratulate itself on the manner in which the Opposition side of the House had attended in the interests of public business. The Lord Advocate might have given a more sympathetic answer to the appeal which had been made to him, and have consented to make some exception on behalf of the Highland counties. Parliament had already sanctioned special legislation for those counties on account of their poverty and want of facilities for communication. The crofters wished to elect men of their own class to represent them on the County Councils, and they could not afford to pay their expenses. In order to evade an answer on this question the Government had repeatedly tried to count out the House, and the people of the Highlands ought to know how their interests were treated. He also wished to call attention to the defects in the Law of Registration. A working-man who took a house at Whitsuntide would not be entitled to register before the following July twelve-months, and he would not be entitled to vote till the following November, when the new Register came into force. The shortest qualifying period of residence was 18 months, and the longest was two years and three months.
§ And, it being Midnight, the Debate stood adjourned.