§ MR. ESSLEMONT (Aberdeen, S.)I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland if he can state in detail the salaries paid in connection with the Churches (Scotland) Commission, the total expenses of the Commission up to 1st December, 1908, and whether these expenses are to be met out of the funds allocated to the two churches; and, if so, in what proportion.
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. SINCLAIR,) ForfarshireThe expenses of the Church Commission are not a charge on public funds. The chairman, however, has authorised the following particulars to be communicated to me. The largest item is the cost of the local inquiries under the terms of the Act. These, including the fees of Assistant Commissioners, have amounted to over £4,000. The total salaries paid in connection with the office of the Commission, for a secretary, two clerks, and a messenger, up to April, 1907, were at a rate of £1,178 per annum. At that date a third clerk was added and the total salaries are now at a rate of £1,328 per annum. The expenses under all heads, including printing and shorthand writing, up to 1st December, 1908, amounted to £10,194 17s. 9d. Treasury precedents and the rules prescribed for temporary Commissioners have been closely followed throughout. The entire expenses of the Commission are defrayed out of the property in question as defined by the Act.