§ 3. Specific National Institutions. The Spheres of Local Authorities Control
1. What are the distinctive institutions that Scotland kept after 1707?
After 1707 Scotland kept three distinctive institutions: its own legal system, its own church, or 'Kirk", the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and its own education system.
All three are important symbols of Scottish identity and difference from England. In part they reflect Scotland's closer relationship to continental Europe.
2. Why is the Kirk closely identified with Scottish national feeling?
The most important of Scotland's distinctive institutions is the Church of Scotland, the Kirk. This is because of its role in national life. The Kirk in the sixteenth century insisted that all adults in Scotland should be literate, so as to read the Bible themselves. In practice this laid the foundations for a strong education system and also, inevitably, a strongly democratic tradition. When the king unsuccessfully tried to enforce English church practices on Scotland in the mid seventeenth century, the Kirk became a symbol of Scottish nationalism. Unlike the Church of England, it never allowed the Crown a position in the Kirk. Even in a secular age, the Kirk remains an important focus for national feeling. Twenty-five per cent of Scots are ‘communicating’, or practising members of the Church of Scotland.
The Church of Scotland performs the function of a national Church. Its services are relatively well attended, and the annual meetings of its General Assembly are attended by the Queen or the Lord High Commissioner as her representative. Its Moderator (председатель церковного суда пресвитерианской церкви), elected annually by the Assembly, has precedence in Scotland over the Prime Minister. He is not a bishop; there are no bishops, no hierarchy. The Queen attends Church of Scotland services when in Scotland, but has no formal position in relation to it. Its sole head is Jesus Christ.
Scottish Presbyterianism has a puritan tradition, expressed in the past by doctrinal rigidity and by condemnation of Sabbath-breaking, the theatre, dancing and pleasure-seeking, but these severities have largely disappeared. Sundays in Scotland, once notorious for their austerity, are now about the same as in England. There is a large proportion of Roman Catholics, particularly in Glasgow, and hostility between Catholics and Protestants occasionally produces fights, usually associated with football matches.
The Presbyterian Church of Scotland is completely separate from the Anglican Church, has its own organisation and appoints its own ministers. Presbyterianism is a severe form of Protestantism, founded in the sixteenth century and following the teaching of the great French reformer, Calvin. John Knox, a Roman Catholic priest who was converted to Protestantism, established Presbyterianism in Scotland.
3. In what way is the Scottish system of education different from the English one?
Because of the Puritan influence education was for a long time more easily accessible to the people and more democratic than in England. Three hundred years ago nearly every Scottish community had a good school, and for a very long time after that, while most students at Oxford and Cambridge were the sons of rich men amusing themselves, the four universities of Scotland were full of poor students who had no means or inclination to do anything but study. Some became school teachers or ministers of the Church of Scotland, but many others took the road to England to seek their fortunes and to use their abilities which education had developed in them. This process is sometimes called the conquest of England by the Scots, and it has not stopped yet.
The Scottish Education Department is responsible for education in Scotland. Scottish public schools (here ‘public’ is used in its proper meaning, ‘for the use of everyone’) have been comprehensive for much longer than the schools across the border. Scottish children move from primary to secondary schools at the age of twelve, not eleven as in England. The Scottish universities were closer to the European model, and some still have a four- rather than three-year undergraduate cycle.
4. What are the specific features of Scottish law?
The Scottish system of law is similar to the English one, but is more influenced by Roman law, as in Europe. The main civil courts are the Sheriffs' courts and the Court of Session (Сессионный суд). The Court of Session is divided into an Outer House (Внешняя палата) - a court of first instance and the Inner House (Внутренняя палата) - a court of appeal. Less serious criminal cases are tried in the Sheriffs' courts, but more serious ones go to the High Court of Justiciary (Высший уголовный суд). Juries in Scotland are made up of fifteen citizens. Minor offences are dealt with in district courts. The senior law officer in the High Court of Justiciary and in all Scotland is the Lord Justice General (Лорд верховный судья), and the Lord Justice Clerk is second in rank.
Unlike in England, where the Crown Prosecution Service is a recent innovation, Scotland's Lord Advocate (генеральный прокурор по делам Шотландии) is responsible for all prosecutions. The work is carried out on his behalf by his deputy, the Solicitor General for Scotland (генеральный стряпчий Шотландии), and by local officials, known as ‘procurators fiscal’. The Secretary of State for Scotland, always a Scottish MP, is responsible for the appointment of most judges.
5. What spheres are the responsibility of departments of the Scottish Office?
During the twentieth century there has been growing resentment in Scotland because of the concentration of political power in London. The government in Whitehall made some effort to take account of Scotland's distinctive position in the United Kingdom.
A Scottish Office was established in 1885, and since 1945 education, health, agriculture, roads, transport, planning, housing and public order have all been handled by departments within the Scottish Office. They are also under the political control of the Secretary of State for Scotland, who must always be a Scottish MP. Legislation concerning these matters has for a long time been separately passed for Scotland. The Scottish health service is based, for example, on the National Health Service (Scotland) Act, and the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1973 reformed Scottish local government in a way, different from the English, with ‘regions’ instead of ‘counties’. In 1975 a Scottish Development Board was established to concentrate on reviving Scotland's economy.
Questions:
1. What are the most important symbols of Scottish identity? What do they reflect?
2. What role does the Church of Scotland, the Kirk, play in a national life?
3. What do you know about the Kirk's organization and its traditions?
4. Why is the Scottish system of education considered to be more democratic than that of England?
5. What is the structure of the Scottish system of law?
6. When was the Scottish Office established and what are the spheres of its control?
Additional Reading The Invisible Scot
Here are some brief extracts from an article written by a Scotswoman, Janet Swinney, which expresses anger at how the dominance of England over Scotland is reflected in the way things are described.
First, there is ‘domination by omission’. A map appeared in the Observer newspaper in May 1989 under the heading ‘Britain's Dirty Rivers’. It showed only England and Wales. Janet Swinney says: ‘What is the meaning of this illustration? Does Scotland have no rivers or no dirty rivers, or has someone simply used the word Britain to mean England and Wales?’
Second, she points out the common use of England English to mean Britain British: ‘When I went to Turkey a few years ago with an assorted group of Britons, most of the English were happy to record their nationality on their embarkation cards as English, and saw nothing offensive about it. It’s not unusual, either, for Scots to receive mail from elsewhere in the US addressed Scotland, England...’
A third aspect of domination can be seen in the names given to publications and organizations: ‘The practice is to label anything that pertains to England and (usually) Wales as though it were the norm, and anything Scottish as though it were a deviation from it. Why else do we have The Times Educational Supplement and The Times Educational Supplement (Scotland), the ‘National Trust’ and the ‘National Trust for Scotland’, the ‘Trades Union Congress’ and the ‘Scottish Trades Union Congress’? In a society of equals, all these names would carry their geographical markers: The Times Educational Supplement (England and Wales) etc’.