The Society Funds.-Dr. Barty (Secretary) submitted the accounts of the Society, which showed that the free assets at the end of the year amounted to £334 14s. The accounts were unanimously approved of. Alteration of Bye-laws.-On the motion of Mr. Ballingall, seconded by Mr. J. Norrie Anderson, Stornoway, it was unanimously resolved to alter bye-laws 45 and 47, dealing with the form of proxies. Sheriff Courts Act, 1907.-The President said that they had every reason to congratulate themselves on the passing of this Act. Mr. Whitelaw emphasised the fact that the Bill was really the child of the Society, but it must not be forgotten that great thanks were due to Sheriff Fyfe, of Glasgow, the Lord Advocate, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, and Mr. Younger, the member for the Ayr Burghs. The report of the Council referring to the passing of the Act was in the following terms: "The Council have to congratulate the Society on the passing into law of this Bill. They have to remind the Society that an extension of the jurisdiction of Sheriff Courts, improvements in the forms of process and procedure, and a consolidation of the many statutes affecting Sheriff Courts have been objects for which the Council have earnestly striven for many years. Mr. Spens, of Glasgow, during his tenure of office as councillor, vice-president, and president, devoted much time and ability to advocating these reforms, and ultimately Lord Balfour of Burleigh appointed a Departmental Commission to enquire and report as to the following matters :-(1) The forms of writs and pleadings, and the rules of procedure in the civil Courts of the Sheriff; (2) The forms of writs and the rules of procedure in the criminal Courts of the Sheriff; (3) The procedure for review of and appeals from decrees, interlocutors, and orders in the civil Courts of the Sheriff, and sentences in the criminal Courts of the Sheriff; (4) The constitution of and rules of procedure in arbitrations either at common law or under the Lands Clauses Act and other statutes. The first chairman of the Commission was Lord Dunedin, and he was succeeded by Mr. Scott Dickson, K.C., the then Lord Advocate. The Commission was entirely non-political, Mr. Ure, M.P., and other gentlemen of Liberal politics being members. The Commission reported in October, 1904, and although their recommendations did not include all the reforms which this Society advocated, the report was received with much acceptance. In consequence of the change of Government, delay took place in getting a Bill following on the report prepared and approved of. Three years ago Sheriff Fyfe, of Glasgow, whose experience of Sheriff Court procedure is unsurpassed, took the initiative in having a committee representative of the legal profession in Scotland appointed to frame a Bill. This Society was fully represented in this committee, and the draft Bill which was framed was generally approved of by the annual meeting of the Society held at Dumfries in the autumn of 1905. Thereafter the Bill was submitted to the present Lord Advocate, Mr. Shaw, in the hope that it might form the basis of a Government Bill. His Lordship was good enough to take a personal interest in the subject, and the Bill, which is now an Act, was introduced into the House of Commons at the beginning of Session 1906, and was printed and circulated. Sheriff Fyfe's committee received from the Law Societies and many individual agents suggestions for the amendment of the Bill, which were fully considered by the committee, and many of these the Lord Advocate approved of and accepted. The Council are not prepared to affirm that the Bill is perfect and incapable of improvement. On the contrary, it is probable or that many suggestions with regard to its provisions may still be made. This is only what must be anticipated in so long and complicated a Bill. But the Council are satisfied, notwithstanding any errors omissions which may be pointed out, that the new Act will be received by the members of the Society with the utmost satisfaction. The members of this Society are deeply indebted to the Lord Advocate, and also to Lord Balfour of Burleigh, whose support of the Bill in the House of Lords was invaluable. The Council trust that it is satisfactory to his Lordship that the Commission which he himself nominated while Secretary for Scotland has now resulted in a very important Act being passed into law which gives effect to the main recommendations of the Commission. It is almost unnecessary to add that the whole profession in Scotland are under a very deep debt of gratitude to Sheriff Fyfe for his able and prolonged labours in furthering the promotion of the Bill." Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff-Officers.--Mr. Stewart, Elgin, spoke of the great grievance that existed in Scotland in consequence of the paucity of sheriff-officers, and he suggested that the Society should try to get an Act passed to give powers to solicitors to serve charges of payment, to give powers to licensed auctioneers to carry out poindings, and so far as imprisonment was concerned, constables might be authorised to do that. It was unanimously agreed to remit the matter back to the Council. Registration of Titles.-The President stated that the Royal Commission which had been appointed to deal with the matter had not as yet made any arrangement for holding meetings for the hearing of evidence, but the witnesses nominated by the Society had prepared their evidence and were ready to give it at any time. Sectional Meetings.-Professor Richard Brown stated that the committee which had been appointed to deal with sectional meetings were in hopes of being able shortly to furnish to the Society a workable scheme, by which the views of different sections of the members of the Society throughout the country might be ascertained in the different localities, and thus prevent the necessity for every member of the Society in that section attending personally at the general meetings. It was a very difficult matter to induce gentlemen to come from all parts of Scotland to the annual meetings, and experience showed that the proper manner in which to carry out the views of the individual members was by delegation of some description, and by sectional meetings, by which the views of the members in a locality might be ascertained and given effect to. Solicitors (Scotland) Bill.--Mr. Cooper, Aberdeen, proposed that instead of endeavouring to obtain the Act which all the members of the Society had in view, they should endeavour to do it by the instalment system. Mr. Ballingall suggested that before putting such a resolution to the Society they should keep in view the present state of matters. He said that papers were then before the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor-General, and he thought that before giving any instructions to the Council it should be seen what view these gentlemen took on the matter. Dr. Barty seconded Mr. Ballingall's motion, and said that it must not be forgotten that the Bill had been before the Society for many years. It would be a great calamity indeed if they withdrew from the position which they had taken up for so many years. There was no doubt that the Society would die if there were substituted for it a mere committee representative of the different legal societies. He appealed to the meeting to give to the Council power to endeavour to carry through the Bill to a successful issue. Mr. Cooper, in view of what had been said, withdrew his motion. Mr. Glen, Greenock, moved that the Society approve of the steps already taken by the Council in regard to the whole question of the unification of the profession and the cognate subjects referred to in the Report, and that it be remitted to the Council to take such steps in the matter as they think proper to further the objects in view and to report. Mr. Glen's motion, seconded by Mr. Brown, was unanimously adopted. Increase of Membership.-Mr. J. N. Anderson, seconded by Mr. Cochran, Glasgow, moved that a committee be appointed for the purpose of taking steps to secure an increase in the membership of the Society. In the course of the discussion Dr. Barty suggested that a remit be made to the Council with further powers, and that younger members of the Society be consulted so as to bring fresh blood into the matter. Mr. Anderson adopted Dr. Barty's suggestion, which was unanimously agreed to. Criminal Procedure Bill.-Dr. Barty read a paper by Mr. R. W. Renton, Procurator-Fiscal of Mid-Lothianshire, dealing with this Bill. It was unanimously agreed to approve generally of the Bill, and to remit it to the Council for further consideration. A number of other subjects arising out of the Report were brought before the meeting, and a paper was read by Mr. J. W. Whitelaw on farm valuations under the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1906. The place and date of next year's meeting were remitted to the Council to fix. Hearty votes of thanks were given to the President for his conduct in the chair, and also to the Dean and Faculty of Solicitors of Inverness-shire for their most hospitable welcome and excellent luncheon. Appointments, Business Changes, &c. LANARKSHIRE.-A commission as Sheriff-clerk depute, with charge of the Commissary department, has been granted by the Sheriff-clerk of Lanarkshire to Mr. John Jarvie, chief clerk to the late Commissary Clerk, Mr. Wright. Mr. Jarvie has been identified with the work of the department for forty-two years, and, along with his late chief, was employed in the Commissary Clerk's office before it was incorporated in that of the Sheriff-clerk. GLASGOW.-Mr. John Aiton Todd, B.L., of the firm of Downie, Aitons, & Todd, writers, Glasgow, has received the appointment of Lecturer under the Egyptian Government in the Khedival School of Law, Cairo, Egypt. The remaining partners of Mr. Todd's firm intimate that they have assumed as partners Mr. Donald Mackay, B.L., solicitor, and Mr. David Alfred Flett, solicitor, and that the business will in future be carried on under the firm-name of Downie, Aiton, & Co. WISHAW. The retirement is announced of Mr. John Burgess (of Burgess & Smith, writers), burgh procurator-fiscal, Wishaw, and agent of the Commercial Bank there. The latter position he held for upwards of thirty-three years. Mr. Colin C. Matheson, who recently has been acting as joint-agent of the Commercial Bank in Wishaw, has been appointed sole agent. THE SCOTTISH LAW REVIEW. VOL. XXIII. NOVEMBER, 1907. No. 275. THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND SUMMARY THIS Bill was introduced by the Lord Advocate just at the close of last Parliamentary session, in order that the profession and others interested might have an opportunity of considering it before Parliament again meets, and thus permit of its being dealt with as early as possible next session. The need for the consolidation and amendment of the provisions at present regulating summary procedure has long been felt. These provisions have to be searched for through several Acts of Parliament and in numerous and frequently conflicting decisions of the High Court of Justiciary. There is also an absolute want of uniformity in the procedure of the different summary criminal Courts. In the Sheriff and Justice of Peace Courts the procedure is under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, while in the Police Courts the procedure is partly regulated by these Acts and partly by the Burgh Police Act, 1892, and in the case of large cities by their special Acts. This all tends to confusion in procedure, in which, in the interests both of the public and of accused persons, simplicity is eminently desirable. One of the main objects of the Bill is to introduce a uniform simple procedure applicable to all summary criminal Courts. The precedent afforded by the Criminal Procedure Act of 1887 has been followed, and a number of forms of charges given in a schedule to the Act. This should be of service not only to prosecutors, but also to accused persons, who must not infrequently find difficulty in understanding the involved complaints necessitated by the present methods of libelling. The sentences pronounced by the Court have also been much simplified, a short minute of A paper submitted by Mr. R. W. Renton, procurator-fiscal of Midlothian, to the annual meeting of the Incorporated Law Society, at Inverness, on 27th September, 1907. * the sentence taking the place of the present complicated findings and warrants. The interests of accused persons have not been overlooked, and are, indeed, more fully safeguarded than under the existing procedure. It is not infrequently a hardship to persons accused of offences involving a pecuniary penalty only in the first instance that there is at present no provision for a prosecutor accepting admissions short of a plea of guilty, and he must lead evidence of facts which are not in dispute, even although the expense of this has to be borne by the accused. It is also sometimes a hardship to an accused person that at present he must lead evidence of all the facts on which he founds his defence, even although certain of these facts may not be disputed by the prosecutor. Section 37 of the Bill deals with these matters, and provides that it shall be unnecessary for either party to lead proof of any fact which is admitted by the opposite party, and makes provision for the manner in which such admissions are to be recorded. The provisions contained in section 33 of the Bill, rendering it competent to obtain the evidence of witnesses either for the prosecution or defence, who, owing to illness or other causes, are unable to attend the ordinary sitting of the Court, are conceived as much in the interests of the accused as of the prosecution. Two modifications have been made in the interests of accused persons on the present scale of fines and relative periods of imprisonment applicable to the nonpayment thereof (1) The period of imprisonment for nonpayment of a fine of 5s. has been limited to three days instead. of seven; and (2) the period of imprisonment for non-payment of a fine exceeding £1, but not exceeding £3, has been limited to twenty-one days instead of thirty. There is not infrequently considerable dubiety at present as to whether an appeal against a decision in an inferior summary Court falls to be taken by stated case or by suspension, and the appellant is thus apt to fall between two stools, and may possibly lose altogether his right of appeal should he unfortunately adopt an erroneous course. The Bill, while not interfering with other competent methods of review, makes an appeal by stated case applicable to every case where review on any ground is competent. It also extends the period within which an appeal is competent, provides for an appeal not being barred by any technical omission in the steps taken to bring a decision under review, and confers on the inferior Court power to grant interim liberation on an appeal being taken, a power which at present can only be exercised by the High Court. The most ample powers of reviewing the decisions of the inferior Courts are |