§ Mr. MUNRO FERGUSONasked the Lord Advocate whether he can state the 620W amount which it is proposed to give the Edinburgh distress committee from the grant for the relief of the unemployed; can he explain the inequality between the sum given to Glasgow and that which is proposed for Edinburgh; whether he is aware that the expenditure on relief in Edinburgh has been much greater this winter than last winter, and that the Government grant bears no proportion to this increase of expenditure; and whether, seeing that Edinburgh has subscribed for the purpose of the Act more liberally than any other town, the Prime Minister's assurance will be fulfilled that local contributions are taken into account in distributing grants from the central fund.
§ Mr. UREI understand that the amount given to Edinburgh is £4,623, in addition to £2,750 already given in respect of the current local financial year, or £7,373 in all. The Government cannot admit any inequality of distribution as between different towns. The whole circumstances, including the apparent requirements of each locality, have been carefully considered, and the total amount available has been allocated accordingly. I gladly recognise, on behalf of the Government, the liberality with which local contributions have been made.