§ MR. WATT (Glasgow, College)I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that an annual exaction of £6 6s is imposed by the Government on solicitors in Scotland, while advocates at the Scottish bar have the privilege of compounding by a single payment; and whether he will allow the advantage of a single payment to solicitors, or have the annual fee abrogated or substantially reduced.
§ MR. ASQUITHThere is no analogy between the two duties referred to. The Solicitor's Certificate Duty is imposed upon the certificate which a solicitor is required by law to take out for each year that he continues to practice. The duty paid by advocates is not a composition for an annual payment but is a tax upon the admission of a person as an advocate at the Bar. The duty charged on a Solicitor's Certificate is the same in Scotland as in the other parts of the United Kingdom, viz., £9 for a person practising in the capital, and £6 in other cases. These charges do not appear to me to be excessive.