208 REPORT— 1876. 



laws, any interference with which would produce confusion worse confounded, and 

 on the operation of wliich we might reasonably rely for relief from the present 

 emergency if we would only let them alone. 



On Overcrowding in Liverpool. By E. W. Pitcher. 



On the Educational Vcdue of their Native Language to the Qaelic-sjiealdng 

 Population of Scotland. By Rev. W. Ross. 



The author stated that his experience, which was fortified by that of the govern- 

 ment inspectors, of Sheriff Cleghorn, Sheriff Nicholson, Bishop Eden, and others, 

 was that the effect of banishing the use of Gaelic from the classes in English or 

 Highland schools was that children were taught to read EngUsh fluently enough 

 without understanding the meaning of what they read. During the past ten years 

 he had examined ten thousand Highland children, and he was con^ inced that satis- 

 factory educational results were to b? obtained only by pursuing a different method 

 from that of excluding Gaelic translation which had hitherto been followed. To 

 ignore or exclude the native language from the school was to prolong the use of the 

 Gaelic language (a prolongation against which he did not personally object), and to 

 do so at the expense of intelligence, education, and cidture. The only way to obtain 

 an intelligent acquaintance with English in a large section of the country was to 

 make use of tlie native tongue in explaining the meaning of English terms ; and the 

 admitted failures in the past were in his opinion to be traced to the irrational method 

 so long and extensively practised. 



Sheriff Courts and Relative Judicial Statistics. 

 By P. EdssELL, Sheriff- Substitute of lloxhurgh. 



The author gave an historical sketch of the Sheriff Courts, which took their pre- 

 sent form after the rebellion of 1745. At present tlie Sheriffs appointed their own 

 substitutes, and the aggi-egate salaries of these judges were nearly £40,000 per 

 annum. The jurisdiction of the courts extended to all criminal offences except the 

 four jjleas of the Cro\vn ; and during the last three years the number of people 

 tried in the Court of Justiciary annually was 507, and in Sheriff Courts 2012, be- 

 sides what were known as summary trials. After the establishment of the Court 

 of Session in 15-32, the jurisdiction of the Sheriffs in ci^U matters was limited, 

 though still extensive. The average amiual number of final judgments during the 

 five years from 1870 to 1874 in the Court of Session was 1280 ; and in the Sheriff 

 Courts during the same period were — ordinary court 547<^ debts recovery ctnirt 

 2559, and small debt court 38,458. The appeals to Sheriffs during the last three 

 years had averaged 527, of which 341 were sustained, 180 received, and 106 mixed. 



The Civilization of South- Eastern Africa. By J.vmes Stephekson. 



On the Theory and Practice of Accident Insurance by Sea and Land. 



By P. M. Tait. 



Commencing by about thirty definitions of the word "accident"' according to 

 various authorities (very usefid information for insurance companies), the paper 

 treats separately in great detail of ocean accidents, railway accidents, and general 

 accidents. 



As to ocean accidents one curious fact was brought out, that these vary 

 with the age of the captains commanding the vessels, there being apparently a 

 certain epoch in the life of a master mariner when danger of disaster is reduced 

 to a minimum. Other things being equal, passengers are safer to sail under a cap- 



