§ MR. LAWRENCE (Liverpool, Abercromby)To ask the Lord Advocate whether in sheriff Courts the fee of one guinea per diem to a medical witness is a fixed sum or liable to be reduced if the case is unimportant or takes less than four hours attendance.
(Answered by Mr. Scott Dickson.) The regulation in regard to medical fees in the sheriff Courts is as follows: Medical men when cited to give professional evidence from a distance of more than one mile from the towns in which they reside, if detained above four hours, are allowed, not exceeding, per day, £2 2s. besides fares, but nothing additional for maintenance; if in town they are allowed not exceeding, per day, £1 1s. The fee of a guinea, therefore, is not a fixed sum. The procurator fiscal may exercise his discretion and give less than that sum, according to the circumstances.