INCORPORATED SOCIETY OF LAW AGENTS IN SCOTLAND. a committee for the following purposes: (1) To consider the proposals of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service with regard to sheriffThe monthly meeting of the council of this clerks, procurators-fiscal, the commissary clerk, society was held in the North British Station and their respective staffs, and to make recomHotel, Edinburgh, on 18th March, Mr Patrick mendations as to the manner in which, and Cooper, advocate, Aberdeen (president), pre-extent to which, these proposals, with or withsiding. out modifications, should be carried into effect; and (2) to advise what increase can be made in Sheriff Court fees to meet the increased cost of It was agreed to submit evidence to Lord Salisbury's committee on questions connected with the Restrictions of Rents and Mortgage Interest, and the council approved of the evidence proposed to be given on their behalf by Mr J. A. McKillop, writer, Glasgow. The secretary explained that the taking of oral evidence had been completed on 15th March, but that written evidence would be considered by the committee if submitted during that week, and he was instructed to forward Mr M'Killop's evidence forthwith. The attention of the council was directed to the Act of Sederunt dated 3rd March 1920 regarding apprenticeship and exemption from certain examinations of men who had been on war service. Reports by the Bills Committee on the Unemployment Insurance Bill, Poor Scotch Litigants Bill, Moneylenders Bill, Veterinary Surgeons Bill and other Bills were considered, and it was agreed to make representations on several matters therein. An interim report by the same committee on the subject of codification was before the council but consideration thereof was postponed. Representatives were appointed to attend a conference of legal societies which had been called by the Deputy Keeper of the Signet to consider questions in regard to legal education. The council appointed a special committee to consider the recommendations of the recent Commission on Income Tax. The council had under consideration two cases of discipline to which their attention had been drawn. The following solicitors were admitted members of the society: Messrs F. N. West, J. W. M'Coll, J. G. Coats, Glasgow; T. C. Halliburton, Jedburgh; A. D. M'Caskie, A. G. Cockburn, J. Young, J. H. Glennie, Elgin; G. Kerr, Samuel Sharp, Port Glasgow; J. S. Fraser, J. Mackintosh, Inverness; G. Rattray, W. Burnet, Haddington; D. Grant, W. Grant, A. W. Herbert, and T. Maclagan, Rothesay. SHERIFF CLERKS AND THEIR STAFFS. The Secretary for Scotland has appointed Lord Blackburn (chairman); Mr James A. Fleming, K.C. (Sheriff of Fife and Kinross); Sir K. J. Mackenzie, Bart. (King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer); Mr Robert MacLaren, M.P.; Mr Ewan F. Macpherson, C.B.; and John Prosser, W.S. (Crown Agent), to be the service. Mr E. E. Parker, H.M. Exchequer, 1 Parliament Square, Edinburgh, has been appointed secretary to the committee. DUPLICAND QUESTION. We understand that Mr J. G. Jameson will introduce a Bill dealing with duplicands of feu duties in Scotland. The measure, which has been drafted by Mr C. D. Murray, has special reference to the difficulty which has arisen in connection with feus on the Warrender Park estate, and its aim is to make the law what it was generally believed to be until a recent decision of the House of Lords declared the contrary-that a duplicand consists of one payment, and not of two, in addition to the annual payment. The Bill has the support of members of all parties in the House, as is shewn by the names on the back of it-Mr F. C. Thomson, Mr F. Macquisten, Colonel J. W. Greig, Sir Donald Maclean, Mr J. M. Hogge, Mr William Adamson, and Mr William Graham-and it is hoped that it will be possible to obtain a second reading by consent, in order that it may then be considered by the Scottish Grand Committee. RENT RESTRICTION ACTS.-We understand that the Committee on the Rent Restriction Acts have recommended to the Government that, subject to considerable amendment, the operation of the present Acts should be continued for a further substantial period and that the Government, having accepted this recommendation, are introducing the necessary Bill. The main recommendations are: (1) The continuance of the veto on evictions for at least two years after June 30, 1920; (2) a substantial addition to the 10 per cent. increase in rents already authorised; and (3) an addition to the per cent. increase in mortgage interest conceded a year ago. The Committee has still to determine whether houses of higher rentals than £70 in London, £60 in Scotland, and £52 elsewhere should be brought within the scope of the Acts, and whether some check should be imposed upon the "profiteering sales" of house property. Both these questions are, however, engaging attention. of the contending parties in the political arena that people had forgotten his earlier triumphs at the Bar and had come to regard him first and foremost as a politician. Now that, to the regret of the profession, he has found it necessary to relinquish his place as head of the Scottish Bench, we may consider his forensic and judicial career in perfect detachment from the political controversies in which he occupied so prominent a place before his elevation to the Bench. Among his many distinguished predecessors in the office of Lord President, some were great jurists, and most were dignified and worthy feature of his attitude to debates. Indeed, it has been a matter of comment among the pleaders in his Court that, in marked contrast to many Scottish judges of recent times, his interruptions have been so few that the pleader in his Court has lacked the assistance which an advocate derives from indications of the point of view from which the Bench is looking at the subject. A judge lives in the opinion of posterity by the reported opinions which he has delivered, and it is for posterity, and not for us, to assess the influence upon the development of the law m which has been exerted by Lord Strathclyde. As head of the Court Lord Strathclyde has from the day of his installation stood for prompt and businesslike dispatch of public business. The marvellous vitality and strenuous activity which marked his earlier career have led him to stimulate the rather easy-going officialdom of our law courts into the greatest activity of which they were capable; and the comparatively brief period of his tenure of exalted judicial rank will be remembered as a time when the Court reflected something of the energy of its chief and was influenced by the unfailing courtesy and dignity of Lord President Strathclyde. SCOTTISH LEGAL APPOINTMENTS. The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mr T. B. Morison, K.C., to be Lord Advocate for Scotland, in succession to Mr Clyde; and of Mr C. D. Murray, K.C., to be Solicitor-General for Scotland, in succession to Mr Morison. We hope to publish portrait biographies in early issues of the "Scots Law Times." At the PAYMENT OF DUPLICANDS. DRAFT TEXT OF THE BILL. The following is the draft of the Bill to amend the law relating to the payment of duplicands of feu-duties in Scotland, introduced by Mr J. G. Jameson, M.P.: (1) This Act may be cited as the Duplicands of Feu-Duties (Scotland) Act 1919. (2) This Act shall be deemed to have had effect as from the fourth day of April 1919, which date is hereinafter referred to as the commencement of this Act. (3) This Act shall be read and construed as if it formed part of the Feudal Casualties (Scotland) Act 1914. (4) From and after the commencement of this Act where under any feu it is provided that on the entry of an heir or singular successor or on any periodical occasion payment shall be made of a duplicand or double duplication of the feuduty, or that the feu-duty shall be doubled, such payment, whether or not it is provided to be made at the same term or terms as the feuduty shall be deemed to be inclusive of the feuduty for the year unless it is expressed to be over and above such feu-duty or is otherwise unequivocally declared not to include the feuduty of the year. (5) Where under any feu provision is made as aforesaid for payment of a duplicand, double, or duplication of the feu-duty, and where the superior, whether prior to or after the commencement of this Act, shall have in claiming or in settlement of payment of any such duplicand, double, or duplication, claimed or received payment of one year's feu-duty only over and above the feu-duty for the year, the amount of the casualty payable to the superior shall for the purposes of the Feudal Casualties (Scotland) Act 1914 be deemed to be the amount of one year's feu-duty only, and that whether such duplicand, double, or duplication is or is not expressed to be over and above the feu-duty or otherwise unequivocally declared not to include the feu-duty for the year. (6) The person paying such duplicand, double, or duplication or other periodical payment as aforesaid shall, in making payment thereof to the superior, be entitled and bound to deduct income tax as in the case of feu-duty and shall be accountable for the sum as deducted. THE SERVING OF A SUMMONS.-Robert Shillinglaw, joiner, 12 Albert Place, Galashiels, was in Galashiels Police Court last week charged with having at the door of the washinghouse leading to the kitchen of his house in Albert Place resisted and obstructed Constable Wm. Malcolm, of Roxburghshire County Police, while engaged in the execution of his duty in serving a summons on Richard Shillinglaw, his son, in connection with a charge of riding a bicycle without having a lighted lamp attached. Shillinglaw and his wife stated that no objection was taken to the service of the summons in the washing-house. What they objected to was Constable Malcolm wanting to enter the kitchen. The Fiscal did not ask for a conviction, as he was satisfied that the constable had exceeded his duty in entering the house. What he should have done was to have served the summons on the first person he met at the house. Bailie Ferguson said he had no alternative but to find Shillinglaw not guilty. on their invitation, accepted the position of treasurer of the Bank of Scotland in succession to Mr John Rae, who will shortly relinquish this office. Mr Scott, who has been appointed to succeed Mr Rae in the treasurership of the Bank of Scotland, is a native of Edinburgh, where he was educated at George Heriot's Hospital, and where he had a distinguished career at the university. Mr Scott's apprenticeship to banking was served at the Lothian Road Branch, Edinburgh, of the Union Bank of Scotland. Following his promotion to the Edinburgh head office, he was appointed to the charge of the secretary's department, and subsequently became agent of the Leith Branch. After several years at Leith Mr Scott became assistant secretary of the bank in Glasgow, his next appointment being that of agent at St Vincent Street Branch, Glasgow, where he remained until 1910, when he succeeded Mr A. C. D. Gairdner as London manager. On Mr Gairdner's resignation, about a year ago, from the general managership of the Union Bank of Scotland, in order to become chairman of the British Overseas Bank, Mr Scott was appointed his successor. The best wishes of the entire banking community will be extended to Mr Scott in his new office, and the Bank of Scotland is to be congratulated in securing a banker of great ability and wide experience to fill the important position which has become vacant through the present treasurer's retirement. Mr Scott has held the general managership of the Union Bank of Scotland for a very brief period, but he has had a very long association with the institution, and it need hardly be said that the directors will greatly regret the loss of his valuable services and sound advice. LEGAL AID FOR EDINBURGH POOR.-The record of work done in the past year by the Edinburgh Legal Dispensary evoked laudatory comment at the annual meeting in connection with the institution, which was held in the Goold Hall, 5 St Andrew Square, recently. The twentieth annual report, which was submitted by Mr Joseph Chalmers, S.S.C., the secretary and treasurer, shewed that for the year there had been 1778 consultations. The largest number of cases in a single night was 54. Sir George M. Paul, LL.D., D.K.S., who presided, moved the adoption of the report, and observed that it was sometimes said of the dispensary that it merely encouraged litigation. The whole raison d'être of the dispensary was to effect settlements in an amicable way. Mr William Mitchell, K.C., in seconding, commended the work, and said it was creditable to Scotland that the interests of the poorest class of the community were attended to by competent legal men whether they could pay or not. (Applause.) The report was adopted. Mr Chalmers added that they would now have to extend their premises or open branches, as COMMERCIAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. the limit of accommodation had been reached. Francis R. Gibson, inspector of branches, ComSir David Paulin moved a resolution commercial Bank of Scotland, has been appointed mending the dispensary to public sympathy, agent at Haymarket branch in succession to Mr and in seconding Bailie Wallace Dunlop paid a George Crichton, who has received an appointtribute to Mr Dugald Maclean for his work as ment in the head office. defensor in the City Police Court. The resolution was adopted. MR DAVID MORE, writer, Kilmarnock, has been appointed an additional Procurator-Fiscal Depute. Mr More has been duly sworn in, and will relieve to a certain extent Messrs Jas. D. Wyllie, Neil D. M'Michael, and J. D. Mackintosh, the other Fiscal Deputes. HON. SHERIFF-SUBSTITUTE OF SELKIRK.The Sheriff of Roxburgh, Berwick, and Selkirk has appointed Mr Charles J. Munro, C.A., Edinburgh, to be an Honorary Sheriff Substitute of the county of Selkirk. BANK OF SCOTLAND.-The directors announce that Mr George J. Scott (general manager of the Union Bank of Scotland Ltd., Glasgow) has, Mr UNION BANK STAFF CHANGES.-Mr Robert Cairns, joint agent of the Stirling branch of the Union Bank of Scotland, has retired after 55 years' service, and Mr Robert K. Anderson, at present accountant at Perth branch, will now be associated with Mr Thomas Lupton as joint agent. Mr David G. Dickie, teller, Perth branch, has been appointed to succeed Mr. Anderson as accountant. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND APPOINTMENTS.Mr Andrew W. Kerr, agent of the bank's branch in Hope Street, Edinburgh, who retires on 10th prox. under the bank's superannuation scheme, will be succeeded by Mr Thomas Allan, agent at Leven Street, and Mr James Harper, the accountant at Hope Street, as joint agents. From the date mentioned the Markets branch, 52 hitherto sub-branch to Leven Street, will be under the charge of the agents at Hope Street. Mr Charles Young, accountant at Leven Street, has been appointed agent in room of Mr Allan. Mr W. H. Brodie, agent at Portobello, also retires on 10th prox. under the pension scheme, and will be succeeded by Mr James Elliot, accountant at Leith. WE understand that at a recent meeting of the Central Profiteering Committee, held in London, there was appointed a Sub-Committee, consisting of the Scottish members of the Central Committee, whose duty it will be to take action in all cases where the complainant and the respondent are resident in Scotland. They will have powers similar to those vested in the Central Profiteering Committee, and will also hear complaints which may be referred to them by the preliminary investigation Sub-Committee. The members of the Scottish Committee are Mr F. A. Macquisten, M.P.; Mr John Robertson, WE regret to announce that Mr William Macduff Jeffray, ex-Provost of Auchterarder, died on 20th March after a lingering illness. He was a native of St Ninians, and came to Auchterarder in 1892, starting business as a solicitor there, and in Dunblane 1894. was appointed to both positions immediately LAW LIBRARY. BOOK NOTICE. March 1920. Edinburgh: W. Green & M.P.; Messrs P. G. Agnew, Coatbridge; Robert The Juridical Review. Vol. XXXII., No. 1. Allan, Glasgow; W. Gallacher, Larkhall; Bailie P. Gillespie, Dundee; A. Johnston, William Shaw, Glasgow; J. J. Spencer, D. Strathie, and This number of the "Juridical Review" marks G. Wilson. Mr William Robertson, Hamilton, has been appointed secretary of the Committee. the beginning of a new editorship; and it opens Representatives of local Profiteering Committees appropriately with an appreciative notice of the in Scotland are to be given the opportunity of late Mr C. E. Green, the founder, and for some sending one of their members or their clerk to years the editor, of the "Review." This is Perhaps the attend the meetings of the Scottish Committee contributed by Lord Guthrie. when cases formerly remitted to the Board of most notable contribution is an article on the Trade are to be investigated by the Committee." Parochial Law of Tithes" from the pen of the Reverend Thomas Miller. Recent litigation has brought the subject of teinds into prominence. The main thesis of Mr Miller's article is that the payment of the "tenth" of the produce of the land for the maintenance of the church did not arise, as many modern writers have contended, from a pious custom hardening into law by uniformity and universality, but that it was imposed by the legislation of King David I. about the middle of the twelfth century. The author's citation of contemporary documents seems not only to establish this thesis but also to render highly probable his further contention that this legislation of King David, when brought to the notice of the Pope, gave rise to the doctrine which subsequently became established in England and on the Continent that the tithe was by right the property of the church of the parish in which the lands lay and was not communicable at the will of the landowner to other ecclesiastical establishments. Mr Roughead gives a lively account in "The Last Tulzie" of a trial of certain Edinburgh students for "mobbing and rioting" which arose out of a snowball fight in 1838. The useful commentary on recent case law in England and in Scotland is continued; and a number of other articles make up a number which promises well for this "Review" under its new editorship. He entered the Town Council at the head of the poll in 1902, and succeeded the late Mr Robert Gray as Provost of Auchterarder. ExProvost Jeffray was a Justice of the Peace for Perthshire, and collector of rates under the Parish Council for nearly thirty years. He was also clerk of Ardoch Parish Council, and clerk and treasurer of Ardoch School Board till the Education Act came into force. For a time he was burgh prosecutor at Dunblane. The ex-Provost was about 58 years of age, and unmarried, and was widely known throughout Perthshire. DEATH OF KILMARNOCK FISCAL.-The death occurred on Monday of Mr J. Pollock Stevenson, Procurator-Fiscal, Kilmarnock, at the age of 75 years. He was appointed Procurator-Fiscal in 1881. Mr Stevenson held office as Clerk to Kilmarnock Burgh School Board and the Landward School Board during the whole period that the School Board system was in operation. He |