§ MR. EUGENE WASON (Clackmannan and Kinross)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will explain why he does not act upon the recommendation of the Report of the Departmental Committee of his predecessor in office and appoint an additional magistrate for the North London and South Western Police Courts; and whether he is aware that, as a consequence of there being only one magistrate appointed to these police courts instead of two, as in all other Metropolitan police courts, justice is frequently delayed by reason of the frequent demands that are made, consequent on the necessity of the same case having to be heard by a magistrate who can only attend the court occasionally.
§ *MR. RITCHIEThis is a question which has been repeatedly under the consideration of my predecessors and of the Treasury. It has not hitherto been considered that the total number of days on which Metropolitan magistrates sit during the year are sufficient to justify the imposing on Imperial funds the cost of two additional magistrates. I am aware that considerable inconvenience arises of the nature referred to in the question. Provision has been made to lessen this as much as possible by an arrangement that the magistrates attached to other courts, who sit in turn at the two courts in question, shall, as far as possible, do so in consecutive weeks, and on the same day in these weeks.