TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN GILMOUR, BARONET, D.S.O., M.P., His Majesty's Secretary of State for Scotland. SIR, DEPARTMENT OF JUDICIAL STATISTICS, 11 RUTLAND SQUARE, EDINBURGH, 7th November 1927. We have the honour to submit the Statistics of Civil Judicial Proceedings in Scotland for the year 1925. These statistics were hitherto embodied in the volume known as the Report on the Judicial Statistics of Scotland, of which they formed the second part, the first part consisting of Criminal Statistics. In 1925 we decided that the statistics would be more conveniently issued as a Parliamentary Publication than as a Stationery Office Publication, and, as the contemplated change involved a reduction in the size of the volume from foolscap to royal octavo, opportunity was taken of consulting the Permanent Consultative Committee on Official Statistics, and the whole form of the statistics was considered at five meetings and revised in order to make the publication of greater utility and interest. As a result of the recommendation of that Committee, the Civil Judicial Statistics will in future be issued as a separate publication. Much of the matter formerly published in full has been condensed, and local analyses have in many cases been omitted. The Table shewing Dean of Guild Court Business has been dropped as being more appropriate to another department. The Tables have been re-arranged to suit a volume of royal octavo size, and figures for the previous year have been added, where practicable, for comparison with those of the current year. Scottish Appeals to the House of Lords in 1925 numbered 27, of which 13 were disposed of by judgment. The number of actions before the Court of Session was B almost identical with the previous year's figure, viz. Outer House, 2,514 as against 2,501, and Inner House, 990 as against 991. Causes before the Bill Chamber increased from 93 to 104. A further decrease from 12,626 to 12,237 in the number of actions brought before the Sheriffs' Ordinary Courts is recorded, whilst applications in the Miscellaneous and Administrative Courts rose from 79,766 to 80,689. There were no appeals to Sheriffs in 1925 under the Representation of the People Act, 1918. Small Debt Actions decreased considerably in 1925. In the Sheriff Courts the figure was 75,489 as against 78,251, and in the Justice of Peace Courts there were 9,658 actions compared with 11,104 in 1924. Applications to Licensing Courts for certificates for the sale of exciseable liquors continue to diminish in number, there being only 8,880 such applications in 1925 as against 8,957 in the previous year. There were 272 Sequestrations in Bankruptcy awarded in 1924 as against 315 in 1923. This is the first decrease recorded since 1918, when only 70 were awarded. We have the honour to be, SIR, Your most obedient Servants, POLWARTH, Chairman. JAS. DEVON. CONDIE SANDEMAN. JOHN PROSSER. |