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form is used for both public houses and hotel licences
and that the latter are subject to certain restrictions.
The reprint will be brought into operation in 1973.
The Council have considered that this is not a satis-
factory solution and that a different form of licence
should be used in each case. In a letter dated October
31st the Revenue Commissioners stated that in their
view the responsibility for ensuring that the licence
granted is not a hotel licence does not rest with them.
Further the records of the Revenue Commissioners are
not always such as to allow the Commissioners to state
with certainty which type of licence is involved. In the
circumstances apart from the warning note which the
Commissioners have indicated will be placed on the
licence forms for hotels and public houses alike nothing
further can be done. It was decided that the attention
of members should be drawn to the danger arising
from this position and that they should be warned to
make the necessary enquiries.
"Improper" assents in the Land Registry
Members wrote as to whether any direction had been
given on the question of improper assents whereby a
personal representative may assent to a bequest or to a
share in intestacy to a person other than the person
legally entitled. The Land Registry authorities will not
look at the will but will merely rely upon the grant of
probate or administration and have regard to the per-
sonal representative as the person entitled to give the
assent irrespective of the title of the beneficiary. The
Council stated that it would be improper for a solicitor
to be a party to a transaction which would result in a
person other than the party legally entitled being regis-
tered as beneficial owner under an assent.
Society's Standard Conditions of Sale
Members wrote pointing out that they have always
altered the Society's standard conditions by inserting
the words "if from any cause other than the wilful
default of the purchaser the sale shall not be completed
etc." as they felt it unfair that the purchaser should have
to pay interest where the delay in closing was not his
fault. They suggest that their wording should be
adopted as being fairer. The first matter has to some
extent been dealt with by the amendment of the stan-
dard conditions of sale which will appear in the next
edition whereby the word "wilful" has been deleted.
Undertakings
Members referred to the note at page 233 of the
Gazette
for September/October 1972 under the heading
"Should a solicitor give an undertaking without an
irrevocable retainer by the client?" and containing a
suggested form of letter of retainer which would require
an unconditional affirmative reply in writing from the
client which would constitute the necessary authority.
They suggested that the letter of authority should be
amplified by the addition after the solicitor's signature
of the words "I agree" with a space for the signature
by the client. Clients are frequently slow to reply to
letters but if all they have to do is sign their names
and return the original letter it would be easier for
them. The suggestion was noted and it was decided to
bring it to the attention of members.
Lessor's title
On the granting of sub-leases for office development
negotiated by a letting agent the solicitors for the pro-
posed lessees raised requisitions asking the lessor to
establish title in the earlier lease and raising other
requisitions on matters subsequent to the grant of the
lease the requisitions being returned with a statement
that it is not the practice to answer such requistions
and that in the experience of the solicitors acting for
the developers they are never raised. The solicitors
asked for the views of the Council. The Council took
the view that a solicitor failing to raise requisitions and
to provide for them in the contract could be guilty of
negligence.
Affidavits of foreign law
The Superior Courts Rules Committee are consid-
ering the Society's suggestion that rules of Court be
amended to allow affidavits by solicitors to be used as
to English, Scottish and Northern Ireland law. The
Rules Committee felt that it would be preferable if the
Society's representatives on the committee were to write
to the President of the High Court asking that in
general it would be acceptable to him that the affidavit
should be made by a solicitor and that if he were
agreeable the matter could be dealt with by way of a
practice direction. This is being done.
County Solicitor acting for Urban District Council
Application was received from the solicitor for a
County Council for permission to act for an Urban
District Council in the territory of the County Council
on a fixed retainer of £400 per annum. The local Bar
Association were consulted and recommended that a
position of this nature should not be taken by a solicitor
other than on a taxed costs basis. It was decided that
the waiver should be refused.
Gaming debt default of bookmaker
On a report from a committee the Council decided
that where a bookmaker had defaulted in payment of a
bet on the result of a football final there would be no
professional objection to a solicitor acting for the claim-
ant objecting to the renewal of the bookmaker's licence
and representing the objector on any supplemental
hearing.
Dealings with clients' money where a client cannot be
traced
A member took over a case from the office of a
solicitor now deceased. It involved a collection of rents
from four tenants on behalf of an estate. The present
solicitor has no information as to the title of the prop-
erty, how the tenants hold, who is entitled to the first
mortgage interest or the name and address of the person
entitled to one of the beneficial interests or how the
interest arises. They have approximately £356 in hands.
Some of the tenants are paying small rents, other ten-
ants have defaulted in payment. It was decided that
the only course open to members would be to pay the
monies into Court under the Trustee Acts.
Abortive mortgage transaction—costs
Members acted for the purchaser of a dwelling house
to obtain a loan from a building society. The trans-
action proceeded to the stage where a cheque was issued
to the building society's solicitor but at that stage the
purchaser declined to proceed. The solicitor for the
building society had retained the borrower's documents
and stated that they would be returned on receipt of
the cheque for their costs amounting to 40 gns. The
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