asked the Minister for Justice whether he is aware that sheriffs' costs are based at too high a rate and that in many cases the costs are nearly equal to the amount of the decrees; and if he will take the necessary steps to have the scale of such costs revised with a view to reducing them.

I am not aware that the scale of fees chargeable by undersheriffs is too high. The scale is fixed by the Under-Sheriffs' Fees Order, 1926, as amended by the Under-Sheriffs' Fees Order, 1931. The cases the Deputy probably has in mind are those in which the amount involved is small and in which it becomes necessary to make a seizure. In such cases it is obvious, especially if the party against whom the execution order is directed resides at any great distance from the under-sheriff's headquarters, that the expenses incurred must be out of proportion to the amount of the decree.