§ *MR. COCHRANE (Ayrshire, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland what is the total expenditure from 1886–7 to 1906–7 on the Crofters Commission, including salaries, travelling expenses, incidental expenses, and remuneration to sheriff clerks; what is the number of fair rents, of inspections, of applications for enlargement of holdings, of appeals, and miscellaneous applications disposed of in the same period by the Crofters Commission; and what is the average cost of fixing the fair rents.
§ THE SECRETARY FOR SCOTLAND (Mr. SINCLAIR,) ForfarshireThe total cost of the Commission since its establishment in 1886 to 31st March, 1907, has been £123,976 3s. The number of fair rent applications, including applications for revaluation of holdings, disposed of down to 31st December, 1907, has been 20,892, but to arrive at the average cost in each case it is necessary to add other applications under the Act, during the same period, most of which occupied more time in disposing of them than 1368 double the number of ordinary fair rent cases would have occupied. These were 3,561 applications for enlargement of holdings; 428 miscellaneous applications (including applications by landlords for resumption of parts of crofters holdings, and under which upwards of 1,000 crofters were called as respondents); 105 applications to sist proceedings for removal; 707 applications to prohibit the sale of crofters effects upon their holdings; 250 applications under the Crofters Common Grazings Regulation Act, 1891; and 1,191 appeals under the Delegation of Powers Act, 1888; or a total of 27,134 applications disposed of. These figures show an average cost of £4 11s. 4½d. for each case.
§ *MR. COCHRANEHas the attention of the right hon. Gentleman been called to a statement by the Prime Minister on the authority of the Lord Advocate to the effect that the cost of fixing fair rents worked out at an average of 1s. 6d., while the right hon. Gentleman himself has just stated that the average cost of fixing fair rents by the Crofters Commission is £4 11s. 4½ for each case? Can he explain the discrepancy?
§ MR. SINCLAIRThe comparison was not made on the same basis.
§ *MR. COCHRANEPerhaps the right hon. Gentleman will see that the Lord Advocate is supplied with correct figures in the future.
§ MR. COCHRANEI beg to ask the Secretary for Scotland if he will state for each year, 1902–3, 1903–4, 1904–5, 1905–6, 1906–7, the number of fair rents fixed by the Crofters Commission, the cost of the salaries, travelling, and all other expenses incurred by the Crofters Commission, the amount of the rents dealt with and the sum by which they were reduced, and the amount of arrears which were cancelled, respectively.
§ MR. SINCLAIRThe information desired by the hon. Member is as follows—
| TABLE referred to. Crofters Commission—Applications disposed of 1903–7, &c. | |||||||||||||||
| — | 1903. | 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | 1907. | ||||||||||
| Fair Rent Applications disposed of | 28 | 81 | 130 | 423 | 160 | ||||||||||
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | |
| Amount of Old Rents | 72 | 15 | 6 | 390 | 4 | 0 | 450 | 18 | 9 | 2,168 | 11 | 6* | 566 | 17 | 2 |
| Amount of Fair Rents | 66 | 18 | 6 | 356 | 6 | 0 | 418 | 6 | 8 | 2,064 | 5 | 5† | 529 | 13 | 6 |
| Amount of Reduction | 5 | 17 | 0 | 33 | 18 | 0 | 32 | 12 | 1 | 104 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 3 | 8 |
| Total Arrears | 262 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 114 | 10 | 0 | 514 | 9 | 8 |
| Arrears Cancelled | 169 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 313 | 9 | 8 |
| Arrears ordered to be paid | 93 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 107 | 10 | 0 | 201 | 0 | 0 |
| Enlargement Applications | 76 | 61 | 46 | 102 | 133 | ||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Applications | 11 | 12 | 18 | 5 | 13 | ||||||||||
| Applications by Landlords for resumption of parts of Holdings | 7 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Number of Crofter Respondents in same | 74 | 34 | — | 254 | — | ||||||||||
| Sists to prohibit removal and sale of Effects | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 539 | ||||||||||
| Applications under Grazings Act | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Appeals under the Delegation of Powers Act | — | — | 2 | — | 3 | ||||||||||
| Cost of Crofters Commission for each year ending 31st March | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. |
| 4,333 | 7 | 8 | 4,328 | 9 | 11 | 4,371 | 17 | 4 | 4,262 | 19 | 5 | 4,569 | 15 | 7 | |
| * Exclusive of annual value of 2,976 acres on Kilmuir Estate assigned to crofters in enlargement of Holdings. | |||||||||||||||
| † Inclusive of annual value of 2,976 acres on Kilmuir Estate assigned to crofters in enlargement of Holdings. |