§ 61. Sir A. WILLIAMSONasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if it is proposed to remove the office of the surveyor and assessor of taxes from Elgin and to station a surveyor at Buckie for the county of Banffshire and another at Inverness for the counties of Moray, Ross, and Cromarty; if the carrying out of such a proposal will cause dissatisfaction locally in view of the fact that Elgin is most conveniently and centrally situated for serving 220 a wide area between Aberdeen and Inverness; and if the matter will receive further consideration before it is definitely decided to make such a change?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The new arrangements are designed to meet the convenience of the largest number of taxpayers, and it is feared that it will not be practicable to retain a permanent office at Elgin. It is, however, intended to provide for the reasonable requirements of that burgh by arranging for the inspector to give periodical attendances there.
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that Elgin is the centre of six railways? The convenience of the inhabitants there is surety worth consideration.
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThere is a general re-arrangement going on which affects two or three collecting districts, as a result of which the present Elgin district, which comprises the counties of Banff, Elgin, and Nairn, will disappear. Buckie has been selected as the seat of the new district owing to the fact that it is the headquarters of the local fishing industry, and it is the most convenient centre from the point of view of communication for a considerable majority of the taxpayers in the counties. Buckie itself has a population of 9,000, and is much more convenient to the ports of Cullen, Portsoy, and Banff, with a population of nearly 8,000, than is Elgin.