§ SIR JOHN LENG (Dundee)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate, whether the Scotch Department has received representations from parish councils against the excessive charges made by the auditors appointed under the Local Government Act in Scotland; and, whether the Local Government Board is considering the expediency of establishing an Audit Department corresponding to that under which the accounts of other local authorities in Scotland are audited?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. GRAHAM MURRAY,) ButeshireRepresentations of the kind referred to have been received and are engaging the attention both of the Secretary for Scotland and the Local Government Board. The hon. Member is aware that the system of which complaint is now made was established under the Act of 1894, and that there is no audit department in the sense which seems to be implied in the question. The Secretary for Scotland cannot as yet announce what course it will become his duty to take in regard to the matter.