§ Mr. T. Hendersonasked the Lord Advocate whether his attention has been called to the case of a person residing in Inverness who, having been fined 2s. 6d. by the court in Oban and having forwarded a postal order for 5s. in payment of the fine, was ordered to appear and pay the fine in person and had, in fact, to walk 120 miles each way in order to do so; and whether he will amend the law to make it unnecessary to appear in person in similar cases?
§ The Solicitor-General for ScotlandThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, but my right hon. Friend has been unable to verify whether the accused in fact walked 120 miles in the 48 hours which elapsed between the service of the citation and the sitting of the court. The proceedings were taken in the Justice of the Peace Court at Oban. It would have been possible under the existing law to have obviated the necessity for the accused's personal attendance at the adjourned sitting of the court. Proposals for amendment of the law on kindred topics are already embodied in the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Bill at present before this House.