The Gazette 1924-27

JULY, 1926]

The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

15

Court Officers' Bill, 1926. The above Bill as passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas can be obtained from Messrs. Eason and Son, 40 and 41 Lower O'Connell Street, Dublin. Price sixpence. Circuit Court Pleadings. The following resolution has been passed by the Council, and copies of it have been sent to the two members of the Circuit Courts' Rules Committee, who represent the Solicitors' profession on that Committee : Resolved : " Having regard to the great extension of jurisdiction conferred upon the Circuit Courts by the Courts of Justice Act, 1924, as compared with the former County Courts' jurisdiction, the Council is of opinion that certain pleadings are essential. The Council is of opinion that the following would be a suitable form of procedure : 1. Document containing particulars of plaintiff's claim. 2. Document combining appearance and defence and (if any) counterclaim. " The Council is of opinion that no further document in the nature of a pleading is requisite, and that the plaintiff's Splicitor should serve seven days' notice of trial, and in default that defendant's Solicitor should be at liberty to do so. " The Council consider that in many cases serious miscarriage of justice might result if the defendant was not bound within reasonable time before hearing to serve a document disclosing the nature of bis defence." Public Records. The following is a copy of a letter which has been received from the Assistant Deputy Keeper of Public Records, and the Council invite the attention of members of the Society to the requests contained therein : Public Record Office of Ireland, Dublin, 14th May, 1926. Dear Sir, Might I ask you to bring before the Council of the Incorporated Law Society the urgency

of in building up again the Public Record Office by presenting it with original probates qr letters of administration or certified copies of Records obtained from the Record Office or other Legal Departments, e.g., Wills, Grants, Hearth Money and Census Returns, Patents, Chancery and Exchequer Bills and Pleadings, etc. Plain copies and extracts from Wills, Marriage Licence Bonds and other similar documents, if preserved, would often be of great genealogical interest. The legal profession and its clients have already suffered irreparable loss through the destruction of the original records which were preserved here, and, under the circum– stances, it is of the greatest importance that any substitutes for them which exist should be preserved. In April, 1924, Government issued an appeal to Solicitors to deposit such documents here, and several have done so. On the whole, however, the response to the appeal was very small. As the indexes in the Record Office have for the most part been salved, notation can be made in them of documents presented, which will thus be rendered much more accessible to Solicitors as well as to the general public than if they remain in private custody. Anyone presenting a Record will be per– mitted at any time to inspect it, and, if a certified copy of the Record is required, it will be supplied to the donor free of charge. In the case of Solicitors who do not wish to permanently surrender Records in their possession, I shall be greatly obliged if they will deposit them here for a short time to enable Record copies to be made, and the originals will be returned to them. This plan has already been adopted by some Solicitors. Yours faithfully, (Signed), JAMES F. MORRISSEY, Assistant Deputy Keeper of Records. The Secretary, Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, 45 Kildare Street, Dublin. requesting Solicitors to co-operate