Numbers and Amalgamation
Until about the middle of the 19th century there were 30 sheriffs principal (or sheriffs, as they were then known). Of those sheriffs principal two (Glasgow and Edinburgh) were effectively full-time appointments while the remainder were part-time appointments filled by senior advocates in practice at the Scottish Bar. Over the years there was a gradual amalgamation of sheriffdoms, with a consequential diminution in the number of sheriffs principal. The final amalgamation occurred in 1975 when Scotland was divided into six sheriffdoms, with each one presided over by a full-time sheriff principal. That remains the position at the present time.
Read more about this topic: Sheriff Principal
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“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)