PRIVATE-BILL LEGISLATION.
[To in Burros, or rex ••SPECTATOR.'•] Sm,—You remark, in the course of the review of Mr. Clifford's "History of Private-Bill Legislation," that the delegation of Private-Bill business to Judges" would at least avoid heavy costs in unopposed Bills, but it would not lessen the costs in opposed cases."
The writer can only have had England in his mind ; if Scottish Private Bills were referred to a committee of Scottish Judges meeting in Edinburgh, the costs of opposed cases would be more than halved. The enormous trouble, and the expense of keeping skilled witnesses in London for an indefinite period, make the reform of Private-Bill legislation an even more important subject to Scotland than to England. particularly as many of the Committees of the Houses are very ignorant of Scottish law or institutions. The authors of the silly cry of " Home-rule for Scotland!" have at least one good argument for their "cause" in the unnecessary expense and great loss of time necessitated by the present system of dealing with Private Bills from Scotland.
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