New-York tribune., 1906-12-16

many respects assimilated. the criminal law of
the two countries being almost identical. al
though the methods of procedure in many
respects different The Court of Session. the
Supreme Court in civil cases is called in Scot
land. dates from 1882. and was formed the
model of the Parlement at Paris. and is held at
Edinburgh. It consists Of thirteen judges. act
ing an Inner and an Outer House. The Inner
House has two divisions with four judges each,
the first being presided over by the Lord Presi-
dent OF the Whole Court and the second by the
Lord Justice Clerk In the Outer House five
judges called Lords Ordinary. sit in separate
courts. Appeals may he made from the Lords
Ordinary TO either Of the divisions of the Inner
House, and, If the occasion demands, the opin-
ion of all the judges of the Court Of Session may
be called Appeals may also be made from the
Court of Session to the House of Lords at West
minister. Tho Lord Justice General Oord Pr4si-
dent), the Lord Justice Clerk and five other
judges form the High Court of Justiciary, insti-
tuted in 1872 for criminal cases. which sits at
Edinburgh for the trial Of cases referred to it
from the Circuit courts The members Of the
bar who practise in these courts are described
as Advocates. The principal law officer of the
Crown is the Lord Advocate, and the LAWYERS
who in England are styled solicitors are known
in Scotland as Writers to the Signet Scotland
IS represented in the Cabinet by a Secretary for
Scotland, who in the present administration is
Captain Sinclair. son-in-law of Lord Aberdeen.
the Niceroy of Ireland.
From this It will be seen that two hundred
years Of union have not served to destroy the
time honored institutions of Scotland While
they may have been assimilatcd 10 those of Eng
land. they still remain intact. and at every stem
in Scotland one is reminded that she has a ma
tiOnal existence of her own. Among other
things. the jury system. that most cherished in
stitution of the English speaking ace is differ
ent- For whereas in England. in America,
the jury is limited to membership of twelve
and its verdict has to be unanimous, one of
either guilty or mot guilty" Scotch juries in
criminal cases are composed of sixteen members
and II is the vote OF the majority that deter
mines the verdict. which. besides those of
guilty" and mot guilty" may be one of mot
proven" This is returned IN criminal cases
where the jury more or less convinced OF
the guilt OF the defendant. but do not consider
the evidence sufficiently conclusive to convict
him of the crime. II viii be remembered that
verdict OF this nature was returned against AL
fred Monson for the killing of Cecil Hambrough
thanks TO which Monson IS going through life
branded with the suspicion of a cowardly mur-
DER.
AS to the advantages to Scotland Of the union
they may be appreciated by a brief review of
the fact that. although the northern kingdom is
far from rich IN mineral or agricultural wealth
her industries and her trade have increased
altogether out of proportion to her size and
population AS 1 have shown above, Glasgow
is superior IN Importance and in population to
either Liverpool or Manchester. and, while there
are relatively few English firms in Scotland
there is scarcely single concern of any i'm
I'm
which Scotland is not represented by one Of
the principal partners. directors or managers
Throughout the world under the English flag
they have achieved a celebrity for their busi-
ness acumen, while their administrative abiI-
ity is best shown by the extraordinary manner
In which they virtually mOnopolize all the gov
ernment offices Of the higher grade The for.
iher FTlme Minister, Arthur Balfour. is a Scotch
man. while in the present Cabinet not only the
Prime Minister, but likewise a considerable
number Of his colleagues hail from the Land
O Cakes. They abound in the government Of
fees in London, in the diplomatic service among
the administrators OF the various colonial de-
pendencies of the empire. and in the commits
stoned ranks of the army and navy while AL
most every vessel Of the royal and mercantile
navy seems TO be run by a Scotch engineer
| While they are exceedingly shrewd and soma
what hard In driving a bargain yet they have
won name In all parts of the world for rugged
honesty. conscientiousness and commercial in
tegrlty' and their patriotic attachment TO the
iahd or their birih' 10 its poetry. its traditions
| lts INSTITUTIONS. causes them no matter in what
| quarter Of the globe they may find tbemceI,,es
10 hold together and TO unite for the conroon
veal. in a manner which adds 10 their v,ajpb+
| and Importance in the community among which
their lot is cast.
| is inst
| is doomed to extincton-namelv the scotch
| peerage- For by the terms Of the union of 17O7
| the crown is debarred from creating anv ney
| Scotch peerages Since then mora tha, bo,, -
the total number Of Scotch peers have received
| peerages OF the United Kingdom. emitting tbam
| 70 seats in the House Of Lords Each British
grant Of "A peerage OF the United Kingdom IN q
Scotch peer advances the process of the ahsorn
ton of the Scotch peerage into that of the
| United Kingdom; and this together with The
absence or any new creation will eventually
reduce the Independent Scotch peeraRe n tba
sixteen peers who by the terms of the ACT NJ
Union represent their order in the IJousa ~
Lords. These sixteen peers instead NJ con
tnuine system Of self-election will then nroh-
hbIy De created peers OF the United Kingdom
anu theh inc scotch peerage as a distinct body
VIII have become amalgamated into that of the
United Kingdom. the parliamentary fncorpora-
tion or The two countries Will be consummated.
ana the Act OF Union passed two centuries ago
VIII have been completed. Scotch peers. NAV
add. are debarred from the priviIeea sn,o,,ss ~,
Irish peers OF sitting in the House op Corn,,ors
at Westminster for English constituencies whsn
| they do not happen TO have been elected repr.-
sentauVes or Their order in the upper chamber;
ana as ule vast majority Of the Scottish peers
are conservatives and -Unionists, and invariably