COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 2 July 1857)

§ LORD PANMURE
said, that this Bill was similar in principle to the Police Bill for England passed last Session. Some of the Scotch counties had a police force, but others had neglected to avail themselves of the opportunity, and the Bill enabled boroughs and districts to combine for the purpose of maintaining an efficient constabulary force. The Secretary of State would lay down rules as in England for the pay and clothing of the force, and the same proportion of one-fourth of the expenditure would be defrayed out of the public exchequer. A police committee was to be appointed in every county, and that committee would have the same powers in reference to the police as the justices of the peace in England. There was a clause in this Bill which was not in the English Bill, empowering police to be raised for the protection of great public works in course of construction. The Bill had been referred to a Select Committee of their Lordships, who had given valuable assistance in putting it into proper shape.

THE DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH
considered that the Bill was of great importance to Scotland, where great inconvenience had been felt from the different systems which prevailed.

LORD CAMPBELL
said, no doubt this was an excellent Bill, and that Scotland was very much indebted to his noble Friend for bringing it in. It was very creditable to the Scotch Peers and Members of Parliament that they met and laid their heads together and came to a sensible decision upon Scotch Bills before they came under discussion in Parliament. As they were in Committee, he might say he hoped that occasion would be taken either 769 to abolish "rogue money" or to give it a more creditable name. He remembered, for example, that when a monument was erected to a most meritorious public servant, the balance that remained to be defrayed was paid out of "rogue money." Upon another occasion the dinner bill of some Commissioners was defrayed out of the same questionable source.