§ 5.50 p.m.
§ The Lord AdvocateI beg to move,
''That leave be given to bring in a Bill to amend the provisions of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act, 1907, with regard to leave of absence to salaried sheriffs-substitute.Under the existing law the only case in which it is possible to replace a sheriff-substitute by an interim sheriff-substitute is when the sheriff-substitute is incapacitated by ill-health. During the last War the powers of the law were expanded so as to enable an interim appointment to be made if the sheriff-substitute was engaged on military service or some other form of national service for which the sheriff-substitute might be specially qualified. The powers in the 1914 Act were allowed to expire. I think the House will agree that in the circumstances in which we are now unfortunately situated the old necessity arises again with special emphasis.
§ Question put, and agreed to.
§ Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Colville, the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor-General for Scotland, and Mr. Wedderburn.
§ SHERIFF COURTS (SCOTLAND) BILL,
§ "to amend the provisions of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act, 1907, with regard to leave of absence to salaried sheriffs- 497 substitute ", presented accordingly; read the First time, and ordered to be printed. — [Bill 260.]
§ Bill read a Second time.
§ Bill committed to a Committee of the Whole House for To-morrow.—[Captain Dugdale.]