THE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEASURES
FOR SCOTLAND

SPEECH

BY

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
J. P. B. EOBEETSON, Q.C., M.P.

LORD ADVOCATE

ON INTRODUCING THE BILLS INTO
PARLIAMENT

Reprinted from the ' Scotsman ' of Tuesday,
April 9, 1889

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
MDCCCLXXXIX

"A satisfactory measure of Local
Government for Scotland must he
distinctively Scottish."

THE SCOTTISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILLS.

THE LOED ADVOCATE'S STATEMENT.

THE LOED ADVOCATE rose at half-past four o'clock to intro
duce the following Bills : —
(1) A Bill to Amend the Laws relating to Local Government in
Scotland ;
(2) A Bill to make Supplementary Provisions for Amending the
Laws relating to Local Government in Scotland ;
(3) A Bill to Amend the Laws relating to the Election of Parochial
Boards in Scotland ; and
(4) A Bill to Amend the Procedure in regard to Private Bills relat
ing to Scotland.
The Right Hon. gentleman said — -
Sir, — The four Bills which stand in my name embody the proposals
of her Majesty's Government regarding local government for Scotland,
in the wider sense of that term. Before closing, I shall explain to the
House what is the relation of the several Bills, and what are the region
and scope of each. But my main purpose is to explain the measure
of which each is a part ; and, accordingly, I shall venture to invite the
attention of the House to the whole of the Bills, as
FORMING A SCHEME FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN SCOTLAND.
The matter in hand is large and detailed, and I shall have, I fear,
to make a large claim upon the indulgence and patience of the House.
For that reason, if for no other, I will abstain from all but the fewest
general observations upon the importance of this subject. But I think
the statement of a few principles may better remind the House of the
difficulties of the question, and also of the spirit in which the Govern
ment undertakes to deal with it.
In the first place, I hope that all in the House will agree that
A SATISFACTORY MEASURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR SCOTLAND MUST
BE DISTINCTIVELY SCOTTISH
in its acceptance of characteristic methods of administration, in its
development of them, and, if necessary, also in its terminology.

Secondly, while the primary object of all such measures is good admin-
istration, yet it is right, .as largely as possible, to apply to local govern
ment that popular interest in public affairs which is characteristic of
the times. Related to that last proposition, I may say that regard,
on the other hand, must be had to the serious problems presented by
the existing system of rating in Scottish counties, in view of the general
principle that the
ADMINISTRATION OF RATES SHOULD BE IN THE HANDS OF ' THOSE
WHO PROVIDE THEM.
In the next place, the scheme must be one applicable to the whole of
Scotland ; and it must, therefore, be fitted to stand the strain of the
various social and economic conditions to be found in a country which
extends from the English border to the farthest Hebrides. And, lastly,
I think all will agree that, however ambition might prompt in the
opposite direction, the scheme, while comprehensive, must be of such
reasonable dimensions that it can pass through Parliament.
The question is sometimes raised whether, in the general view of
local government, one should begin with the larger or smaller unit or
area of administration. I confess, keeping specially in view the pro
posals with which I am charged, that comes to be much more a ques
tion of rhetorical or argumentative arrangement. But my grounds for
saying so will better appear when the scheme is further developed. I
propose to speak first of the government of counties, and in order to
define that word, I must deal, in the first place, with burghs.
I speak of burghs rather for the purpose of clearing the ground of
a subject with which, fortunately, we do not require to deal. The
Royal and Parliamentary Burghs in Scotland are very numerous.
Some are large and some are small ; but each one of them is a com
pletely equipped and self-contained municipality. The county au
thorities do not exercise any jurisdiction within the Royal and Parlia-
liamentary Burghs, and, on the other hand, these burghs do not
contribute to the county rates. Now, I profess to a predilection for
the Royal and Parliamentary Burghs of Scotland, which I believe is
common in that country ; and I have a superstitious dread of raising
a hand against the
ORGANISATION OF THESE HOMES AND CENTRES OF
CIVIC LIFE IN SCOTLAND.
But viewing the matter in a more utilitarian and rationalistic spirit,
I cannot help thinking that in a Bill the object of which is to extend
municipal institutions in Scotland, it would be a singular beginning
to pull them down where they already exist. And, accordingly, we
propose to leave the Royal and Parliamentary Burghs as they stand,
subject only to two modifications. At present the burghs of Scotland
are equipped with a separate and independent police force where they
have over 5000 of a population. It has sometimes been matter of
observation that that is rather too small an area to maintain a force,
and that the general efficiency would be greater, if the forces were
attached to larger areas. That is a point to which attention was
recently directed. It will be in the recollection of hon. gentlemen
who sat on the Select Committee on the Burghs Police and Health Bill,

-that the conclusion come to was that it would be better to raise the
figure from 5000 to 7000, and to fix 7000 as the limit at which the
separate burgh police forces should be merged in the county police.
We propose to carry that into effect. The second instance of deviation
from the principle I have stated is in regard to the administration
of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act. There, again, every royal
and parliamentary burgh is a separate authority, and there, again,
we propose that, when under 7000, they should be merged in the
county. A word as regards what are called police burghs. They are, again,
subject to these two modifications, and subject to the limit of 7000
population which I have mentioned. Otherwise we leave them just as
they are.
THEY WILL RETAIN THEIR COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE AND AUTONOMY.
Accordingly, I part from this branch of the subject by saying that I
believe we shall fulfil the loudly expressed desire of the burghs of Scot
land, and I think I may say also consult the general convenience if we
leave them in the full enjoyment of their pristine independence and
autonomy. That leads me to consider the administration to be provided for the
counties apart from the towns ; and I think it is convenient that I
should remind the House of what is the existing administration, and
what are the bodies which a't present wield power in the counties.
Speaking roughly, we may say that there are four bodies which require
to be mentioned — the Commissioners of Supply, the Road Trustees, the
Local Authorities under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, and
the Justices of the Peace, exercising those miscellaneous administrative
powers which are vested in them by statute. I have spoken of ad
ministrative powers, and I desire at the outset to assure the House
that it is only administrative functions that we propose to meddle with
in the government of the counties. The House knows that for the
peace of the county the Sheriff is responsible. With him rests- the
duty of maintaining order, and in his hands is the use of the
police force which is provided by the county body ; and, accord
ingly, it is with a complete reservation of these judicial powers,
which would be entirely beyond the province of any such measure,
that I would seek to discuss the changes we propose to make. The
Commissioners of Supply are a body in which are vested considerable
and various powers.
THEY .ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT BODY IN THE COUNTY,
and, so far as administration is concerned, the Justices of the Peace do
not figure nearly so largely as they do in England. The Commissioners
of Supply consist of the owners of property only — the owners of land
of £100 annual value, and the owners of houses of the annual value of
,£200. Accordingly, it is a body consisting entirely of landowners. If
it be said that that is an anomaly, it must be borne in mind at the
same time that there is a correlative anomaly of rating, because the
whole county rates, which are levied by the Commissioners of Supply,
are levied upon owners only. And, accordingly, representation and
rating have gone together in the most definite and complete way, with

this one exception-the Commissioners of Supply levy their rates upon
all owners of property, even those under £100 per annum, and that is
the only defect or anomaly in the system known as representing the
combination of representation and rating. I will mention one or two
of the leading duties of the Commissioners of Supply. They are
charged with the duty of maintaining the police force in the county.
But it would be an error to say that the Commissioners of Supply
have all the functions relating to police which at first sight might
be implied from that term. They rate for the police. They main
tain the police. But, so far as the management of the pohce, the
appointment of the chief constable, suggesting an alteration in the
numbers of the police, and the like are concerned, the functions rest,
not with the Commissioners of Supply, but with a Police Committee,
consisting of the Lord Lieutenant, the Sheriff, and a certain number of
the Commissioners, from three to fifteen ; and that is a fact which, in
the discussion of this subject, it is necessary to carry along with us.
Another important duty of the Commissioners of Supply is in regard to
valuation, and I hope my hon. friends behind me will not object to my
saying that I think the Scottish system of the valuation roll is one
which has
POINTS UPON WHICH COMMENDATION IS NOT THROWN AWAY.
They have to maintain the system of valuation. They have also,
through a statutory committee, the duty of disposing of appeals against
valuations. Besides that, they have duties under the Registration
Act. They have duties under the Lunacy Acts. They have a general
charge and custody of public buildings in the county. Such, then, is
the first and most important existing county authority in Scotland —
the Commissioners of Supply.
And I now turn to the Road Trustees. There is no distinction in
Scotland as to main roads, and the whole of the roads in the county are
vested in the body of County Road Trustees, and are subject to their
management. Now, how is the body of Boad Trustees composed 1 In
the first place, they consist of the Commissioners of Supply ; and be
sides that, there are certain elected members who are chosen by the
ratepayers in every parish — the only persons not voting at those elec
tions naturally being the Commissioners of Supply, who have already a
seat on the Board. The County Road Trustees have an executive body
called the Road Board. They divide the counties into districts, and
the affairs of these districts are managed by district road committees.
I want to point out that here, again, the executive body is composed
one-half of Commissioners of Supply and the other half of elected mem
bers. How does the rating stand? There you have one-half of the
rates levied from the owners of property, and the other half levied from
the occupiers ; and accordingly here you find there is a consistent ad
herence to the principle of representation and rating coinciding. But
there is one exception to that rule of rating which is of considerable
importance and significance. The roads in Scotland are many of them
charged with debt. The debt on new works is met by rates levied, not
one-half on owner and one-half on1 occupier, but solely upon owner, and
accordingly there you have the element of capital expenditure falling '
upon owners only, and there you have the element of those works

being controlled and ordered by those who pay for them. The next of
the four bodies that I mentioned, is the Local Authority under the Con
tagious Diseases (Animals) Act. That, again, is composed of Commis
sioners of Supply and of representatives of occupiers ; and there, again,
you have a rate half upon owners and half upon occupiers. The fourth
body is the Justices of the Peace, hut I cannot prosecute the illustra
tion of the question of rating into that region, because they have no
authority to levy rates. The general result, therefore, is that in all
cases representation and rating at present go together. There is
another feature which completely distinguishes the case of Scotland
from that of England.
NONE OF THE COUNTY RATING FALLS UPON OCCUPIERS ONLY.
In burghs, on the other hand, the rule is the other way, and there,
accordingly, you have the ratepayers' franchise, you have household
suffrage ; and you again find that the general principle which I have
referred to as of paramount importance is systematically adhered to.
That is the state of matters with which we have to deal.
The question is, what is best to be done in a change of the adminis
tration of affairs which are so situated.
THE PROBLEM IS HOW TO POPULARISE COUNTY GOVERNMENT,
and at the same time not lose sight of the wholesome principle that
those who administer and control ought to pay. I do not suppose that
it would be possible to frame a scheme with doctrinaire preciseness
harmonious with these principles ; but the best you can do is so to settle
your institutions, that there shall be adequate and effective recognition
of both principles. I- shall now proceed to show what we propose to
do in order to replace the existing county administration by a new and
harmonious one. In the first place, the House will not be surprised to
hear that WE BEGIN BY SETTING UP A COUNTY COUNCIL.
But I should like to say that although the name, from recent English
experiences, sounds familiar, yet I hope we shall not be met with the
suggestion that it is a mere adoption of an English term. I look at it
in this way. We are extending municipal institutions to counties.
We have them already in towns. In towns the Council is the Town
Council, and by parity of reasoning the Council in the county is to he
the County Council. What shall be said of the office of chairman of
that body ? I rather think, if I do not misrecollect, that in the pro
gress of my right hon. friend's (Mr Ritchie's) Bill, a question was raised
between the names of chairman and president ; but we in Scotland are
guided by a tradition which I hope will prove to be popular and highly
esteemed. We propose that the chairman of the new County Council
shall bear THE TIME-HONOURED NAME OF CONVENER OF THE COUNTY.
Now I come to the question of the constitution, or the composition,
of the County Council. As I have said, the Road Trustees are a body
constituted by comparatively recent legislation — in 1878 — and in their
case, after full consideration, the administrative body was constituted
one-half of Commissioners of Supply, and the other half of elected

8
representatives of the ratepayers. There is much to be said for the
adoption of that in the present case, more especially looking to the
facts regarding rating, which I hope I have adequately explained to
the House. But at the same time, we have come to the conclusion
that the balance of consideration is in favour of all the members of the
County Council sitting without distinction of class from which they
come and which they represent. We do not, therefore, propose to
have separate representatives of owners, or separate representatives ot
occupiers. All will be elected by the same constituency. When I
say that, I do not refer to electoral divisions, but to the quality or
composition of the constituency. Next, sir, we do not propose that
there should be aldermen.
I BASE THAT PROPOSAL UPON PATRIOTIC GROUNDS.
Aldermen we know not. I think I gather that there is a general
acquiescence in the negative conclusion. I am going to mention a
temporary provision, which constitutes an apparent deviation from the
principle that the County Councils shall consist solely of elected mem
bers, and it is one which I think will meet the general sense of expe
diency and convenience. We suggest that in the first County Council
the present convener of a county, the present chairman of the Road
Trustees, the present chairman of the Local Authority, and the Lord
Lieutenant shall sit. I may say at once, and I am sure hon. gentlemen
will frankly accept it, that we do not suggest that by any means as a
check or balance upon the power of the Council. It is merely that
these gentlemen are the depositories of an amount of experience in the
management of county affairs, -which seems to make it highly convenient
that they should be present in the initiation of the new system. I
rather think when hon. gentlemen consider the various circum
stances under which the County Councils are started, that they will
regard this as a very convenient proceeding. It is only presented as a
suggestion for the efficient starting of the system, for we have no desire
that these gentlemen should form a check or watch upon the operations
of the new Councils.
Now I turn to the constituency. What shall be the constituency
which shall elect a body with such powers as may be contemplated
for these new Councils ? I will state it as briefly as possible by saying
that we propose that the constituency shall be substantially, although
not formally, the same as in the burghs. That is to say,
IT WILL BE THE QUALIFIED RATEPAYERS, INCLUDING WOMEN,
and also peers, who are disqualified from voting for members of the
House of Commons, but who, by universal consent, ought to be qualified
for voting at such elections. There is one element in the problem
which certainly requires some delicate handling. I refer to the case
of the service franchise holders. The importance of that body I
gather to be greater in Scotland than in England, and the question is,
what shall be done in the way of
ENLISTING THEIR INTEREST AND ACTIVITY
in local public affairs when they are not at present ratepayers. That is
a very serious difficulty. I think the general sense of the House will

9
be that it would be hardly a justifiable proposition to suggest that we
should throw to the winds all recognition of the principle that repre
sentation and rating should go together, and so bring in this class
without first attaching them by the interest of ratepaying to the mat
ter in hand. On the other hand, I should deprecate most strongly
any attempt to make a bargain with any class of the community by
saying, " We pounce upon the opportunity of conferring the franchise
upon you to saddle you with a local burden." We meet the difficulty
in another way. We propose that
ANY QUALIFIED SERVICE FRANCHISE HOLDER
may claim to be put upon the county roll, his claiming being a claim to
pay the county rates. The House will, I think, see that this is a very
reasonable and fair proposal. The effect of it will be that the service
franchise holder will merely undertake the very inconsiderable burden
which is represented by his share of the county rates, and that indebt
edness will be evidence of the sincerity of his desire to participate in
the administration of what is to a large extent a matter of rating. The
constituency that I have described is
A COMPLETELY POPULAR CONSTITUENCY.
And now I turn to the transfer of powers to the County Council
which is thus established. Generally speaking, we 'propose to transfer
to the County Councils the powers, with the exception which I am
going to mention, of the Commissioners of Supply, of the Road Trus
tees, of the Local Authority under the Contagious Diseases (Animals)
Act, and certain specified statutory powers of the Justices of the Peace.
In order to remove from the discussion one point which I daresay in
terests some hon. gentlemen opposite, I may say that among these sta
tutory powers we do not include licensing. Generally speaking, we
effect a complete divestiture of the administration of the duties now
performed by the body of Commissioners of Supply as a whole ; and in
making that announcement, I am sure that hon. gentlemen who know
Scotland, sitting in whatever part of the House they may, will join in
awarding the Commissioners of Supply their meed of praise for their
conduct of public affairs. They are a body whose continued existence,
as the main depository of county power, could not be predicted ; but at
the same time they have been business-like and economical ; they have
not been obtrusive or garrulous, and
THESE ARE HIGH CIVIC VIRTUES.
Accordingly, the transfer we propose is not intended by any means
as a reflection or censure upon their administration of affairs in the
counties. The Commissioners of Supply will cease to exist except for
one purpose. But their organisation will be maintained for that pur
pose, which I shall presently mention. Sir, when I have said that the
powers of the Commissioners of Supply as a body will pass into the
hands of the County Council, there is implied in that that the rating
powers will also pass. But I cannot help thinking that the House, if
it has followed my exposition of the existing state of the administra
tion and the rating, will be startled at the anomaly which is thus
created. If there were an uncontrolled administration of rating by a

10
body elected on household suffrage when the rates levied hy their
predecessors, the Commissioners of Supply, were raised wholly by
owners, that would be a predicament which
WOULD HARDLY ADMIT OF JUSTIFICATION
from any sound political point of view. What, then, is to bedone in
order to meet the anomalous situation thus created t I say it is im
possible to meet it symmetrically or with mathematical precision ; but,
at the same time, we have provided a system which I am sure is liberal,
and which I hope will be recognised as satisfactory. We propose two
things in order to rectify the anomaly which is created by the desire to
infuse popular government into county administration ; but I pray the
House first to observe that there was another solution which was avail
able. We might have said that, in changing the administration to a
popular basis, we should also have changed the incidence of rating.
We might have proposed that the county rates should now be divided,
or fall upon occupiers, and that would have been absolutely exposed to
no objection on the grounds of principle or justice. But at the same
time we considered that there were means which substantially avoided
the dangers which might otherwise be apprehended, and we propose, in
regard to rates, two things. In the first place, we propose that there
should be a judicial ascertainment of the amount of rates payable by
owners only, AND THAT THIS AMOUNT SHALL BE STEREOTYPED
as the amount beyond which burdens shall not be laid upon owners
solely. The provision is that after the passing of the Act, the
Sheriff of the county shall ascertain and determine what has been,
during the previous five years, the average amount in the pound of
each rate which is payable by owners only ; that when that rate has
been ascertained that rate shall, as heretofore, be payable in following
years by owners only, and shall be included in the owners' consoli
dated rate ; but where the rate to be fixed in future years exceeds in
amount such average rate, the portion of the rate exceeding the
average shall fall into the general rule, and shall be paid by owners
and occupiers equally. Accordingly, the House will perceive that it
is proposed to stereotype the existing burden upon owners only. But
if the future administration of the new body should necessitate an
increase of the rates, then the increment shall fall upon owners and
occupiers equally. That proposal has been well considered, and I
think that it will be found to furnish, at all events, a mitigation of
the anomaly which I have stated, and
TO PRESENT A FAIR GUARANTEE FOR THE RECOGNITION
of the equitable doctrine which is indispensable to be carried through
the consideration of such questions. I said that was the first of the
provisions which regulate the imposition of the rates. But there is
another. The House may perhaps recollect that I pointed out inciden
tally that in the existing law of rating there is a recognised distinction
between capital expenditure, and that capital has been treated as a
burden falling upon owners ; and, accordingly, that in that matter the
voice of owners alone is heard. That is in the case of new roads, and

11
in the case of the rating required for debts. Well, sir, that is an
example of the necessary conditions of expenditure which ought not to
be lost sight of, and what we propose to do as regards capital expendi
ture is this. We propose that works involving capital expenditure, and
also the borrowing of money, which, of course, is an obligation of the
nature of capital — that these shall require the consent of a standing
joint-committee, which shall be composed of seven County Councillors
and seven Commissioners of Supply, the Sheriff of the county presiding
as Chairman of that composite committee. I have already indicated
that there are PRECEDENTS FOR LARGE AND IMPORTANT INTERESTS
in the counties of Scotland being regulated by a composite committee,
and that, even in the days of the undisputed authority of the Commis
sioners of Supply, we have had something of the nature of a composite
committee. Here, again, we propose that this same joint standing-
committee, whose consent is necessary to expenditure on capital works,
or for borrowing money — that that committee should be the Police
Committee under the new administration. I pause here to remind the
House of what must not be lost sight of in our consideration of these
proposals, and that is the great importance of the
STEADY AND CONTINUOUS ADMINISTRATION
of matters relating to the police which the Legislature has hitherto
shown — I do not say out of distrust of the Commissioners of Supply
any more than we are now showing distrust of County Councillors ;
but they have shown that it is necessary to concentrate the administra
tion and management of this delicate matter in a body that is repre
sentative of more interests than one. And, accordingly, I trust that
the House will approve of this solution of one of the problems of
peculiar delicacy, at the same time that we find the means of enabling
and justifying the constitution of a popular County Council, without
derogating from any interests which are subjected to it.
I pass now from the transfer from the Commissioners of Supply to
the County Council, and I turn now to the Road Trustees. The House
is probably aware — at all events hon. gentlemen representing Scottish
constituences are familiar with the fact — that there is a general Road
Act for Scotland, passed in 1878. There are, however, eleven counties
which have not yet been brought under that general statute. It was
not contemplated when that general statute was passed that those
counties should remain outside the general system for more than
a period of probation, and they had powers of electing to come in under
the general Road Act if they pleased. Some of them, however, have
stood out for this considerable time, and we think — now, especially,
when county administration is being reorganised — that they should be
GENTLY CONSTRAINED TO COME INTO
the existing system. We shall then have the full complement of
functions and duties for the County Councils in all the Scottish
counties, and the administration of the roads is one of the most
important. Now, sir, I have already mentioned that, while the _ roads
in a county, and the power of rating in a county, are vested in the

12
general body of County Road Trustees, the management is, to a large
Stent, vested in the hands of subordinate bodies District committees
are constituted in each of the counties of Scotland to supervise and
administer the roads in their district. I think my hon. friends repre
senting Scottish counties will agree that
THAT SYSTEM HAS WORKED EXTREMELY WELL,
that the county is too large, and certainly the parish too small, to enable
satisfactory management, unless you adopt an intermediate area ; and,
accordingly, we propose not merely that that method-as well as, I may
savin passing, the whole scheme of the Road Act-shall not merely
pals into the hands of the new body, but shall continue practically as
before. But we do more. We have in the district road committee a
very important example and lesson, and we think that this is an occa
sion on which it may be well to reconstitute the district committee,
and to add to its duties. It has sometimes been proposed that, in our
Scottish system, we should have district councils, and no doubt there is
much to be said for that. But one of the cross currents of _ public
opinion in Scotland about local administration, which has set m very
strongly, is A GREAT AVERSION TO MULTIPLIED ELECTIONS.
And, accordingly, I think that the Scottish people generally will wel
come a plan which enables matters which are better administered by
districts than either by counties on the one hand, or parishes on the
other, to be put into the charge of a body which you have got ready to
hand. Well, sir, we propose to constitute it in this way. It will be
the duty of the County Council to divide its county into districts, and
I should think probably it will not find much difficulty in determining
districts, because they, again, are ready to hand in the road districts.
But it is in their power, and they must consider the general con
venience of administration, to divide the county into districts, and in
the matters relegated to district management the district committee
will be constituted thus. It will contain all the members of the County
Council who sit for the electoral divisions comprised within the dis
tricts ; and, in the second place, two members to be elected by each
Parochial Board within the district. The reason why we propose this
change will, I think, prove satisfactory to the House. I have hitherto
spoken of transfers of power from existing county bodies to the County
Council and its committees. But I will now mention to the House a
transfer we make from another quarter. At present the law relating
to public health is administered by the Parochial Board in the county
as the local authority, and judging from the opinions of those concerned
in the administration in all its regions, I gather that that administra
tion has not been completely successful. I believe that in many parts
of Scotland the Public Health Act is
LITTLE BETTER THAN A DEAD LETTER,
and it is most desirable that something should be done to add strength
and vigour to the administration of it. Accordingly, we propose to
divest the Parochial Board of its powers as local authority under the
Public Health Act, and to transfer those powers to the County Council,

13
to be exercised through the district committees. We fix and settle the
functions of the district committees in this way, that we make them
the statutory local authority for their districts ; and, accordingly, while
the transfer under the Public Health Act is from the Parochial Board
to the County Council, it goes direct, and is handed down for adminis
tration, to the district committees. That, I think, is not an unimpor
tant feature in this scheme. And we take advantage of that change in
the authority of dealing with public health to give additional powers.
We propose, as my right hon. friend did in the English bill, that
A MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
shall be appointed by the County Council. Each district committee
will necessarily, in its administration of the existing Public Health
Act, have the right to appoint its sanitary inspectors, and we are
making provisions of a flexible kind, so that County Councils and
district committees may combine and make arrangements so as to
utilise and economise the strength of the sanitary staff at the joint
disposal of both. In the same relation, I may point out that we have
given power to the County Councils to combine by joint committees
where there are matters of common concern. Therefore, it will be
observed that we piece together and link together the working of the
various authorities I have mentioned, so that
THERE WILL BE AN ECONOMY OF STRENGTH,
and that common objects may be attained without each going about it
separately. Now, I will mention, in a word, certain other powers which are
conferred upon the County Councils. They will have power to resolve
to oppose private bills, and they will have power to make certain bye-
laws for the police regulation of the county. I do not dwell upon
these, because I am sorry to say I have other matters in hand which,
perhaps, require more serious attention.
I shall briefly state some of the machinery by which this administra
tion is to be set agoing. And, first of all, with regard to registration.
Erom the additions to the constituency which I have mentioned, it will
be obvious to hon. gentlemen that we cannot act simply on the
Parliamentary register —
THAT THERE MUST BE A NEW REGISTER
for those persons who are brought in, and are not now on the register.
Of course, that involves the preparation of another register, but I
think when the details are examined, it will be found that that is not
a formidable matter, and we are endeavouring to make provisions
which will render the additional cost very small. I have mentioned
the ways by which persons whom we are going to entitle to vote for
County Councillors, and who are unable to vote for members of Par
liament, are to be brought on to the register, and I therefore need not
dwell on the machinery for effecting the rights we propose to confer.
Then, as regards the elections, we propose that the Council shall be
elected triennially, and that all shall go out together. We propose
that the county shall be divided into electoral divisions, and that one
councillor shall sit for each division — single-member divisions. One

14
question arises as to how the electoral divisions shall be determined.
It is, of course, a matter involving a great deal of examination of the
district and the community in all its various bearings, and I think the
more satisfactory way for the ultimate division is by a Boundary
Commission. A BOUNDARY COMMISSION
will command the absolute confidence of all concerned ; and moreover
there is work for such a Commission in certain other matters, such as
what in Scotland is called redding the boundaries for various jurisdic
tions. But then if this bill passes into law, there must be temporary.
provision for the division of the counties, and' it is proposed that the
Secretary for Scotland shall determine the number of members for each
County Council, and then the electoral division will be drawn by the
sheriff. I think that probably is the method which will commend
itself best to the judgment of those who are acquainted with, I do not
say the difficulties, but more or less the local particulars. Then, as to
the qualifications of Councillors. We propose that
THE ONLY QUALIFICATION SHALL BE
that the Councillor elected for a division shall be on the register of the
county. I think the House generally will approve of that measure of
limitation on the choice of the constituencies. Then, as regards the
time of elections. We propose the election of Councils should be on
the first Tuesday of December ; that it shall be generally in the same
manner as the election in burghs divided into wards, and that where
there are burghs forming part of a county (which is the case of the
smaller burghs), in those cases the election shall take place as part of
the municipal election and at the same time as the municipal election.
This will save the worry of a separate election, and will also save a
certain amount of expense. Then I have here to make a disclaimer,
and I probably shall have to make one or two more. We do not pro
pose to deal with the corrupt practices at such elections, and for this
reason, that the whole subject of corrupt practices at elections other
than Parliamentary elections is a large one of itself, and I think it
would be inopportune and inconvenient if, in dealing with each elective
body, we were to treat separately the question of corrupt practices,
which should form a chapter in legislation of itself. I need hardly say
that I very much sympathise with the anxiety which some of the con
stituents of the hon. member for Dundee feel that this subject should,
as soon as possible, be developed to a satisfactory conclusion, but I
may say that this is only an instance of the very numerous suggestions
which have been made, involving our taking up incidentally large sub
jects of legislation. We have had other plausible and excellent prac
tical suggestions made about the simplification of the collection of rates.
We have also had other suggestions of a very much larger character,
but I am sure PRACTICAL MEN MUST RECOGNISE
that it is absolutely hopeless, merely because some branch of an admin
istration comes into contact with the County Councils, that therefore
we are to follow up the clue and redress the whole law relating to that
subject. It is for practical reasons quite impossible. Accordingly, I

15
express the hope that in the discussions on the bill there will be some
recollection of the practical limits within which the bill must be con
fined if it is to attain the chief end of a bill, — that is, passing into an
Act of Parliament.
Now I come to
THE FINANCE OF THE COUNTY COUNCILS,
and here I may say generally that we transfer all properties and liabili
ties of the existing administering bodies. Therefore, with the modifi
cation which I have already stated as to rates, there is a wholesale
transfer, just as it is, of the system of rating, and also of the whole
property of the bodies which are divested. I need not repeat what I
have already stated as to the incidence of rating. It remains as before.
But we think we can do something in the way of improving the method
of laying on and collecting the rates, and without dwelling on the sub
ject in detail, I may say that we consolidate the rates, but the demand
note will set forth the various particulars which make up the total.
But it will be a consolidated rate which is levied on owners and a con
solidated rate which is levied on occupiers. In the region of finance,
but merely as a matter of machinery, I may say that it is proposed that
THERE SHALL BE AN ANNUAL BUDGET
setting out the financial condition of the county, and that the budget
shall have its due measure of publication and discussion.
And then I come to another matter which is of somewhat general
importance. There is at present no
EFFECTIVE AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS
in. any local body in Scotland, and I believe there is a general feeling
that this state of matters ought not to continue. One of the questions
is how to provide an audit which shall meet the susceptibilities of
persons concerned, and at the same time be effective. I think there
will be no objection to the county auditors being appointed by the
Secretary for Scotland, and their duties will run on from their appoint
ment in such a way that there shall be a publication and a regular
audit of accounts and a power of surcharge. It will be the duty of the
auditor to state any cases of surcharge, and there are provisions made
for putting the responsibility on the proper shoulders. I need not
deprecate the idea that that is an invidious provision. It is a provision
WHICH OUGHT TO BELONG
to every business establishment, and I hope an opportunity may be
found for extending some such system to the other bodies in Scotland.
As to the officers of the County Council, I do not think much diffi
culty will be found. There is at present existing in each Scottish
county a clerk of supply, and it is only fair to the gentlemen who fill
that office to say that they are admirable public servants, in all cases,
I believe, men of high standing and character, versed in public affairs,
and very well qualified to help in their administration. We propose
that the clerk of supply shall become the county clerk, but he neces
sarily will hold office at the pleasure of the County Council. It will
be an immense advantage to the County Council to have these able

16
and trustworthy officers at the initiation of the administration. All
existing officers will be transferred to the County Council. There will
be provision for compensation in the event of abolition of office or loss
of emoluments, and the County Council will be masters of all appoint
ments which may subsequently be made.
I have said it will be necessary to appoint a Boundary Commission.
Their duties will be the
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT OF ELECTORAL DIVISIONS,
but I daresay hon. members are aware that in many cases the existing
boundaries between county and burgh are very irregular, and these
irregularities lead to considerable inconvenience. We propose that
there shall be a rectification where that is convenient, and accordingly
there will arise as a necessary consequence such a rectification of groups
of questions probably admitting of an amicable solution, but which, if
allowed to drag out, may end in litigation. We propose that the
Boundary Commission should have the duty of adjusting questions
arising in this way. I thought on the first view of it that this would
not be so complicated a matter as it subsequently appears to be, but
I am satisfied that the most expedient way of rectifying and expressing
these matters is by this machinery. We have provisions in the bill for
certain counties which stand in special circumstances, and the county
which my hon. friend (Mr Hozier) represents is one of them. I do not
think that I should go into these matters, which are, after all, more or
less of local interest. As regards Lanarkshire, and also as regards other
counties, the proposals of the Government are put in the bill as repre
senting what they understand to be
THE GENERAL CONVENIENCE OF THOSE CONCERNED,
but on that my hon. friend will believe me we are most willing to
hear all that may be said by way of modification, and to consider any
suggestions which may be made.
Now, I pass to a question of more general importance — the financial
relations of the County Councils to the Exchequer. It has been deter
mined that certain grants in aid of local burdens shall ultimately cease,
and these are the grants relating to roads, police, medical relief, and
pauper lunatics. Taking their amount, as I suppose it is fair to do,
for the year 1886-87, which was the year when the question was opened
for England and Scotland, THE FIGURES ARE THESE : 
Road, £35,000; police, £147,000; medical relief, £20,000; pauper
lunatics, £87,000— total, £289,000. The Exchequer- surrenders local
taxes and licences, £323,000, which, if they stood alone, would repre
sent a gain of £34,000. Hon. gentlemen will observe that this bears
a fair relation to the gain which ensued in England when the like trans
fer took place. Further, relief is obtained from the probate duty,
eleven-tenths of half of the probate duty giving £234,000. I have
said my figures were given as regards 1886-87. But since then, as the
House knows, certain additional grants have been made by the Chan
cellor of the Exchequer, and the old grants have in the interval of
time grown. Therefore, in the current year

17

THE GRANTS DISTRIBUTED ARE : 
Roads, £70,000; police, £155,000; medical relief, £20,000; pauper
lunatics,_ £90,000, giving a total of £335,000. Besides that, there is
an additional grant for pauper lunatics of £15,000; boarding-out chil
dren and deaf mutes, £6000, which gives an aggregate of £356,000.
The probate grant is £234,000, and licences £323,000, giving a total of
£557,000. We propose that, in the first place, the grants distributed
this year, and THIS IS THE PERMANENT ARRANGEMENT,
shall be continued through the County Councils and Town Councils.
That amounts to £356,000, leaving over £201,000. But there comes
in £30,000, which I think there is general agreement should go to the
Highlands. Taking that from the £201,000, you leave a sum at our
disposal, after the probate duty has been met, of £171,000.
Now, the question is, What shall be done with that 1 I think I
should state a proposition which hardly admits of cavil, if I said it
ought to go to burdens falling on the inhabitants of the several dis
tricts to be benefited. If the principle is sound, several methods may
be conceived for carrying it out. The simplest of all is to apply it to
the rates, but that cannot be regarded as the only method of effecting
the object. It is merely, perhaps, the most obvious, and it was the one
which was adopted in England. But when one examines a little more
closely into the history of the application in England, I think this is
clear, that it was done, not because that is the only or necessary mode,
but because in England popular feeling pointed out the rates as the part
of the burden of the inhabitants of districts which pressed most heavily
upon them. Unquestionably in England feeling was strongly decided
that when the first opportunity came, of applying such grants as these
for the benefit of localities, the first claim should be relief of rates.
Now, when I turn to Scotland, I find it impossible to say that the same
strong feeling exists there about rates. In the discussions about Local
government, the lamentations about the amount and grievance of rates
have not been so acute in Scotland as in England. Another subject has
been advanced as one upon which Scottish interest and Scottish sym
pathy is much more largely concentrated, and that is
THE PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES.
I have said that in England the burden which was regarded as entitled
to priority of preference when relief was to be obtained was the rates,
and by parity of reasoning the burden that ought to be relieved in
Scotland is the burden imposed by school fees. I do not suggest that
the proposal so to deal with this matter is to be regarded as acquit
ting or wiping out any claim for relief for local taxation. What we
have to deal with is a desire in Scotland that another burden than the
rates should be first dealt with. When one turns from the state of
feeling to the popular demand, and the reason of the thing, it is impos
sible to dispute the legitimacy of such a proposal. The_ local obligation
of the ratepayer to pay rates results from the imposition upon him of
a specific statutory duty. Another Act of Parliament

COMPELS HIM TO SEND HIS CHILD TO SCHOOL,
and, unless he is to go upon the rates himself, that virtually imposes
the relative duty of paying school fees. Therefore, even if we are in
search of a burden, brought about by the Legislature, I cannot in
reason deny that school fees are a burden upon those who are com
pelled to send their children to school. If that view were carried out,
the application of the money would be to those whose children are at
school by virtue of compulsion, and who have also to pay fees. But
it is impossible to employ any test by which you can apply the benefit
to the compulsory element. We must take some other methods.
Before passing to the mode which
SEEMS TO BE THE FAIREST AND MOST ADEQUATE,
I should like to point out two additional considerations which sustain
the legitimacy of this mode of applying this money. The payment of
these fees confers, not merely upon the parents, but upon the inhabitants
of a locality, pecuniary benefit. .It goes directly in relief of a portion
of the rates — I will not say to a large, but a considerable extent, and
in this way. To a considerable proportion of the children who pay
fees, the Parochial Boards, so far as the burden is concerned, stands
in loco parentis; and, accordingly, for the fees of this large class the
relief will come to the people who are ratepayers. Another case
where the same
DIRECT BENEFIT IS CONFERRED UPON THE RATEPAYERS,
I do not represent as amounting to a large item, but as a very striking
illustration. It is known that in some parts of Scotland school fees
have fallen into abeyance. In the Western Highlands, there is a mere
bagatelle of school fees paid in some parishes; in others absolutely
none at all. That is due, to a large extent, to the poverty of the dis
trict. I do not laud or commend the conduct of the School Boards in
suffering that state of things to exist under the existing law ; but there
your grant will go directly to the rates, in order to meet the school fees
which are at present not exacted. Accordingly, the Government can
not refuse assent to the proposal, which is not contrary to principle,
WHICH IS SUSTAINED BY THE POPULAR VOICE
of that part of the country to be benefited, and which will undoubtedly
confer very considerable practical advantages. Then, as to how this is
best to be effected. I hope there will be universal agreement that no
proposal to relieve parents only who send their children to Board
bchools is admissible. You must relieve all whose children are sent
to school, whether voluntary schools or School Board schools. There-
tore I think we are absolutely precluded from entertaining the idea of
handing over this money for administration by School Boards. In the
farst place it is not right that the parents of children attending the
Board Schools alone should receive benefit. In the second place, it
would be a most inappropriate and most invidious hand by which to
pass along the benefit to the other schools.

19
IT MUST GO THROUGH THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.
I think the House will find that that is the only way, the only channel,
by which this benefit can be equitably and conveniently conveyed to
its recipients. There is another restriction upon the operation. We
have only about £170,000, and I think hon. gentlemen will agree that
that would be taken as only adequate to meet a certain amount of
school fees. _ At the same time, it will meet a large amount. I abstain
from going into details, because I have other topics to dwell upon, and
this necessarily is a matter which requires close scrutiny and examina
tion. That money, administered through the Education Department,
will make a very appreciable relief in those school fees which belong to
the class of elementary, and that is where
THE COMPULSORY CLAUSE IS IN HARSH OPERATION.
Accordingly, I have stated the conclusion which has been come to by
the Government, and which I believe will give satisfaction to Scotland
and the House.
I am happy to relieve the House from the consideration of the
subject covered by the first two bills as to the division of the matter.
The main provisions are in the first bill, and the second bill contains
what is necessarily a large amount of supplementary provision or
machinery. If any one tries his hand at the preparation of a bill of
this kind, and gives it four legs to stand upon, you require a large
number of auxiliary clauses ; and it is thought convenient to separate
the portions of the bill which belong to the first from the parts which
belong to the second class.
Now, I turn from the county to the parish.
WE PROPOSE TO REFORM THE PAROCHIAL BOARDS.
I hope that hon. gentlemen will ngt be disappointed when I say that
we cannot undertake to deal in this bill with the School Boards. There
you have a strong instance of what I already referred to. If you enter
upon that, you open a fresh chapter of legislation upon a vast and far-
reaching subject. You have the subject also complicated by the exist
ing machinery and the cumulative vote ; and altogether that opens up
a chapter of controversy and rearrangement which would form a very
serious practical impediment to legislation on the other and more
urgent matters.
If the parochial boards of Scotland be scrutinised from a doctrinaire
point of view — or the point of view of theory — I am afraid they are
not very defensible. There are burghal and non-burghal parishes. In
burghal parishes there are seated at the board four representatives of
the kirk-session, four representatives of the magistrates, and a certain
number of elected members — by statute an undeterminate number,
but determined by the Board of Supervision. In non-burghal parishes,
which are the vast majority, the position is this. The kirk-session is
represented by a number somewhere about three, and the Royal burgh
within the parishes is entitled to be represented ; and then you have
all the owners of land of over £20 a year value ; and, besides, you have
members elected by tho ratepayers other than the owners. That, how
ever, does not complete the complexity of the machinery, because in

20
the election of the elected members, the ratepayers have a plural vote.
That is determined by the annual value of the property upon which the
ratepayer is qualified to vote as occupier. A man may be so fortunate
as to have six votes, while others have but one. One startling result
of this system occurs in the parish of Old Machar, in the immediate
neighbourhood of Aberdeen. The number of owners of £20 value who
sit on that Parochial Board is 2164. Now, seeing that the business m
hand is the administration of parochial relief, I think it will be agreed
that to INVOKE AND EMPLOY 2164 ABERDONIANS
is a great throwing away of intellectual power. It is easy to comment
on the anomalies of that system ; but, at the same time, I think that
any one who considers the invidious, delicate, and most important
duties of the Parochial Board, will not set lightly to work in the
construction of a Parochial Board. It is all-important that the ad
ministration of parochial relief should, in the interests of the people,
be in firm and steady hands ; and one of the considerations which must
be looked to in all proposals for electing Parochial Boards is the neces
sity of saving the people and saving the Parochial Boards from their
being, in the discharge of those invidious and delicate duties, under
pressure of most creditable sentiment. That, I think, the House
generally will agree is an
OBJECT WHICH MUST BE HELD STEADILY IN VIEW.
At the same time, there does not appear to be reason for undue caution
in the construction of a board of this kind ; and what we propose is
this, that the number of the Parochial Board in each case shall be
determined (as it must be determined when hon. gentlemen think of it)
with regard to the peculiar population and circumstances of each
parish, by the Board of Supervision. I think the House will agree that
you cannot lay down in a statute the appropriate number for all the
multitudinous parishes in Scotland, some 800 in number. It must be
left to some central board ; and the Board of Supervision, from its
being in touch with all the Parochial Boards in Scotland, is the body
upon which naturally that duty will fall. Then, how are the members
to be elected 1 Without any straining after ingenuity, one tolerably
obvious course arises in this situation We propose that half of the
Parochial Board shall be elected by owners, and the other half by
occupiers. This is a case where you have a rate which is levied half
on the owner and half on the occupier ; and, accordingly, it does not
require very great ingenuity to arrive at the conclusion that that
IS A TOLERABLY FAIR COURSE TO ADOPT.
I think it will also be found that that will bring together various
elements in the parish which are interested in the subject. There is
one practical difficulty in the way of working out that system which
occurs when you consider the number of owners in some of the
parishes. In some the number is very small. Some parishes are
owned by one proprietor, and in some others there are the most
exiguous numbers. That, however, does not occur in so many that it
need present any fatal obstacle in the way of carrying out the pro-

21
posal, and we leave it to the Board of Supervision to determine where
the number is insufficient to procure an effective election, and in that
case the Board of Supervision are to make up the owners' half of the
Board. They are to do so by choosing owners or occupiers of over
£50 in value, or other fit persons. The House will perceive that here
is a BODY IN WHICH YOU HAVE NO POLITICAL OBJECTS TO SERVE,
in which administration of the driest kind — and of a kind which re
quires firm and decided action — is all that has to be considered. We
think it easy for the Board of Supervision to equip the Parochial
Board in those comparatively few instances where the owning con
stituency is not large enough to equip it themselves. Then, I should
add that we propose that these elections should take place at the same
time as the elections for the County Council, and that for the obvious
reason of saving multiplicity of elections, and also expense. Then, I
would remind the House that this subject is one which is closely
linked to our scheme for the counties, because these Parochial Boards,
constituted and elected in the way I have described, are the boards
which have to contribute each two members to the District Com
mittees, which form the intermediate organ between the parish and
the county. I have now completed what I have got to say in regard
to the Parochial Boards Bill, and I think I have sufficiently explained
its objects. Now, I pass to another subject of very high importance. I have
spoken hitherto of affairs appertaining to counties, to burghs, and
to parishes. I now pass to a wider region, because here
WE ENTER THE PROVINCE OF PARLIAMENT.
But it is to be observed that the matters dealt with here, as in the
other branches of this subject, are distinctly local ; for every private
bill, such as we are concerned with here, affects, directly and primarily,
some Scottish locality — it may be a county, it may be a burgh, it may
even be a parish. And accordingly, I am not trespassing out of the
region we assign to ourselves by dealing with this particular subject.
Nobody disputes — certainly I am not here to suggest a doubt of the
soundness of the constitutional rule which places such private bills
within the province and arbitrament of Parliament. The question is
merely as to the mode of conducting, the method by which Parliament
shall best ascertain the facts which enable it to dispose of them. And
accordingly, in our proposals
THE POWER OF PARLIAMENT REMAINS INTACT.
Private bills for Scotland will come into Parliament; will be read a second
time, if Parliament so judge, in the Houses of Parliament as before ;
but when the second reading stage is passed, then, ipso facto, by force
of our Act, these bills will stand transferred for ascertainment of facts
to a Scottish Commission. They will be reported upon by the Commis
sion to the House from which the reference comes, and with their report
the function of the Commission in the matter terminates. The matter
then falls back into the hands of Parliament. I feel that, in speaking
upon this subject, I am trenching upon a province to which one hon.

22
member has established a peculiar claim. The subject of private bill
legislation has largely advanced in recent years, and it has reached,
owing to the report of the joint-committee of the two Houses last
session, a stage in the history of public questions which gives it a
commanding interest. I am bound to say that the result was largely
due to the INTELLIGENT AND PERSISTENT ADVOCACY
of my hon. friend the member for the Partick Division of Lanarkshire
(Mr Craig Sellar). I am sure that when he hears the proposals
which I am now going to make, his generosity and public spirit will
make him rejoice at this further step which his favourite subject has
taken. But I desire to the full to acknowledge how largely the posi
tion is due to himself. The joint-committee reported upon the question
of private bill legislation as a general question affecting the three king
doms. The bill which I propose relates to Scotland only ; and there is
a certain appropriateness in the case of Scotland coming first, because
while on the reason of the thing the joint-committee were satisfied, of
the expediency of referring such bills to a Commission, yet if you
turn to NATIONAL SENTIMENT AND NATIONAL OPINION
it must be allowed that the case of Scotland is much stronger than
that of the other parts of the country. In Scotland there has come to
be of recent years a general concurrence of opinion upon this subject
among those who are directly affected by it. Our municipalities, our
public bodies, our commercial bodies, our business men
ARE ALL MOST STRONGLY IN FAVOUR OF THIS CHANGE.
It has also taken hold — I will not say the imagination, but rather the
reason — of the people in the several districts of Scotland in a way
which entitles it to our fullest consideration ; and the mode in which
we propose to deal with it, I think, will show that hazard is run by no
interest involved, and that great good may be done in the way of sim
plicity and economy.
We propose that a Commission shall be appointed to deal with such
bills. It will be so constituted that each inquiry will be conducted by
one Scottish Judge, and two appointed Commissioners. We desire to
say that the view of the Government is that it is specially necessary
that there should be a blending of lay and public views on these ques
tions upon the Commission. It is not a proposal to make it a legal
question. It is rather a proposal to strengthen the body which inves
tigates the fact, by placing at its head a man
TRAINED IN THE ASCERTAINMENT OF FACTS,
and one who is likely to concentrate the attention of the Commission
upon what is really relevant matter. The two appointed Commissioners
will be selected in such way as to bring the views of public men, men
of affairs, men of business, into contact with the views of the Judge.
Then, as regards the proceedings of the Commission, we propose that
they shall hold their sittings for each investigation in such one of the
several principal towns in Scotland as is

23

MOST CONVENIENT FOR THE LOCALITY INVOLVED.
It is not, therefore, to sit solely in Edinburgh or Glasgow, but it is
to go to whatever centre of the country — using the word centre in
a very wide sense — as is most accessible for those who are concerned.
There is another provision which we think will be useful in introducing
a formulated statement of local opinion to the notice of the tribunal
which is investigating the facts. We propose that the County Council
or Town Council, within whose jurisdiction are the matters involved in
a private bill, shall have the right or the duty
TO REPORT UPON THE MEASURE;
and, accordingly, the Commission will be furnished with the matured
views of the local representatives of the district of the county. Here,
again, I think there is an opportunity for linking the various parts of
the scheme which have been submitted to the House, so as to show that
it is practicable and expedient to bring together the various subjects
which pass under the phrase Local government, and at once and in one
view to PASS PRACTICAL LEGISLATION UPON IT.
And now I have to thank hon. gentlemen opposite, as well as my
hon. friends, for the extreme patience with which they have listened to
what I am afraid has been a somewhat dry and detailed statement. I
hope I have presented the bills to the House so that they are under
stood. I invite hon. gentlemen to await the presentation of the bills in
type before coming to any definite conclusion upon their merits. I
claim for these bills this — I think
THEY ARE COHERENT AND LOGICAL.
I have already said that I deprecate the treatment of this subject
piecemeal. I think it is necessary, in order to a right treatment of it,
that it should be thought out from beginning to end. You may have
plausible suggestions, and liberal suggestions, and popular suggestions ;
but if you adopt them in one part without thinking of the others, they
will land you in irremediable confusion. It is in that spirit, and en
couraged by the kindness of the House, that I venture to make a
further appeal for patient consideration of the bills I have presented.
I think they will be found to be coherent. I go further. I think
they will be found to be such a solution of those questions as would
be arrived at BY MEN DIVESTED OF PARTY SPIRIT;
and, looking at this subject from the point of view of social welfare, I
think it will be found, when those subjects are probed, that there is no
part of them which should pass into the region of party politics. On
the contrary, there are
VAST INTERESTS TO BE ADVANCED AND CONSERVED
in which we have all a common interest. I am afraid that much that
I have had to treat of is prosaic and detailed, and although they cannot
be said to be trivial matters, some of them are small; yet, at the

24
same time, the aggregate of these matters bulks largely in the civic life
of a country. I believe if measures of this kind are passed there will
be a qufe!re»4Kfitef'es't irf'
PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN THE VARIOUS LOCALITIES
in Scotland, and I believe also that they will further induce Scotsmen
to pride themselves upon what is the highest franchise they possess —
that they are the masters, along with Englishmen and Irishmen, of the
British Empire, and derive from the British Parliament their laws.

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