§ MR. YOUNGER (Ayr Burghs)To ask the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that the engrossing clerks in the Sasine Office, Edinburgh, engaged in the work of registering titles and other deeds relating to heritable property in Scotland, have during the process of registration valuable documents in their possession, and that their tenure of service is regarded as temporary; whether the claim of those clerks, embodied in a Memorial of July, 1905, to the then Secretary for Scotland, to be recognised as civil servants has been considered; and whether, in view of the character of their duties, it is intended to make any change in their status.
(Answered by Mr. Sinclair.) I am aware of the conditions under which the engrossing clerks in the Sasines Office perform their duties. The claims of the engrossers for admission to the established Civil Service have been considered, and I am unable to recommend that their status as fixed by existing Minutes should be altered.