§ Order of the Day for the Third Reading, read.
§ Moved, "That the Bill be now read 3a."—(The Earl of Airlie.)
§ LORD COLONSAYsaid, the Bill recited that it was expedient that the senior police magistrates of towns and 239 populous places in Scotland which were placed under the Police of Towns Act should be placed in the same position with regard to the county as the Provosts of Royal and Parliamentary burghs; and the Bill proceeded to provide that the chief magistrates of such places should be ex-officio Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Supply for the county in which those places were situated; and as any number of contiguous villages might be combined together for the purpose of the Bill, if any portion of those places extended into two or more counties the magistrates would become Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Supply for those two or more counties. That seemed to be a novel mode of creating magistrates; it was quite unprecedented, as far as he knew, and deserved the attention of Her Majesty's Government.
THE EARL OF AIRLIEsaid, the proposal had been approved not only by the present, but by the late Lord Advocate; it had been submitted to persons on both sides, and no objection had been taken to it.
§ Motion agreed to; Bill read 3a; an Amendment made; Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.