§ 6. Any loan under the provisions of this Act shall be secured by a bond which shall be a charge on the holding in favour of the Commissioners, and shall either be repaid by half-yearly instalments of principal with such interest and within such term (not exceeding a period fixed on by the Treasury) from the date of the loan, as may be agreed on, or shall be repaid with such interest and within such term by a terminable annuity payable by half-yearly instalments. The amount for the time being unpaid may at any time be discharged, and any such terminable annuity may at any time be redeemed in accordance with tables fixed by the Commissioners. A certificate by the Secretary of the Commissioners that the whole of the loan has been repaid, or that such terminable annuity has been redeemed, shall, without any other instrument, operate as a discharge of the said loan and extinction of the said terminable annuity, as the case may be, and the registration of such certificate in the register of Sasines shall be equivalent to the registration of a discharge of the said bond.
§ THE LORD ADVOCATEsaid he had an Amendment to move, which was not on the Paper. It was really meant to meet the Amendment which was down on the Paper in the name of the hon. Member for Ross-shire. The point of that Amendment was that, as the Bill stood, it would make a cast-iron regulation that the Commissioners should be obliged to exact repayment the loan by half-yearly payments within the date of the loan. He could not take that Amendment as it stood, because it would make a cast-iron rule the other way. He thought the matter ought to be left to the discretion of the Board. Therefore he proposed to move, in line 1, page 4, to insert after "loan" the words, "or at such dates thereafter, not exceeding 18 months." He took 18 months, because it corresponded to what they were all familiar with in Scotland, namely, a backhanded rent.
§ *MR. WEIRurged that 18 months was hardly sufficient. He thought two years would be better, and he would be very glad if the right hon. Gentleman could see his way to make that concession.
MR. McLEODalso thought that 18 months was too short a time. He the night they might safely leave it to the discretion of the Commissioners. All those who had been with the crofters in Canada said that two years should be the very shortest time within which the first payment should be made.
§ Amendment and clause agreed to.
§ Clause ordered to stand part of the Bill.
§ Clause 8,—