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The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
DUNE, 1912
not the report of the County Court Judges
be made in a week or ten days ?
Was it
reasonable or business-like
that matters
should be left in this position ? He proposed
to amend his motion so as to make it read :
That in the opinion of this meeting,
having regard
to
the unanimous and
urgent demand both from the mercantile
public and the legal profession, the action
of the Government in refusing to appoint
a Commission to consider the admitted
defects in County Court procedure is un–
reasonable and unbusinesslike ;
that the
further delay caused by reference to the
County Court Judges is not in the best
interests of the commercial community,
who are the parties directly and pre–
judicially affected by
the delays and
defects under the existing procedure ; that
the Chambers of Commerce of Dublin,
Belfast and Cork be requested to call a
public meeting to demand the immediate
appointment of a Viceregal Commission, at
which the opinion not only of the County
Court Judges, but also that of the general
public, the wholesale and retail traders,
and both branches of the legal profession
could be obtained in a public and definite
form, and any suggested amendments be
subject
to
public
consideration
and
discussed openly.
They had been at this matter now for sixteen
years, and unless they made a little progress
at the end of another sixteen years they
would be exactly in the same position (hear,
hear).
MR.
JAMES BRADY
seconded
the
motion, and said he was surprised that
notwithstanding the unanimous request of
the representatives of the Solicitors' pro–
fession, backed up by the unanimous request
of the mercantile community,
the Chief
Secretary should have considered it the way
to meet a business proposition of that kind
to communicate with a Member of Parliament
for one of the divisions of Dublin what his
views were, instead of asking some of those
in his department to send a reply to the
Secretary.
THE PRESIDENT. Mr. Brady was
asked
to communicate with
the Chief
Secretary on behalf of the Incorporated Law
Society, and he did so.
MR. JAMES BRADY, continuing, said
an attempt was being made to shelve, cast
aside and flout the resolution of the Society.
He thought they had stood that kind of
thing too long, and that it was time the thing
was either ended or mended.
In these
democratic days it seemed strange indeed
that those representing the Government of
the country were to vest in the Judges the
making of the laws and the administration
of them as well. While saying this he should
add that no one had more respect for the
Judges than he had. He was sure the public
would be rather surprised when they read
the correspondence that had passed on the
subject. When they made the request for
the appointment of a Commission at which
everybody concerned would be heard, those
who governed the country answered, " We
will leave the matter in the hands of the
Judges to make and administer the law, and
we will take months to answer an ordinary
business letter on the subject." The public
complained about the laws' delays, and they
who existed by the public should assist them
in having the present County Court pro–
cedure brought up to date. He did not think
the Solicitors' profession ought to be satisfied
with the communications which they had
received on this subject. Mr. Craig and
others who, like himself, had a great deal of
experience of County Court procedure knew
that the complaints made by the public were
true in substance and in fact, and he desired
to let the public and the entire mercantile
community know that the members of the
Solicitors' profession were anxious to assist
them out of the difficulty. He asked those
who had voted in favour of having a Com–
mission appointed not to go back on the
position they had taken up or allow them–
selves to be tossed about by every wind that
blew. He asked them to pass the resolution
that had been proposed by Mr. Craig and
seconded by himself.
MR. MACNAMARA said that the Council
could not see eye-to-eye with Mr. Brady in
the matter. The Council were in favour of
the amendment of the existing County Court
procedure. The matter had been before them
during the twelve months of his presidency,
with the result that Mr. Brady, M.P., had
brought in a Bill dealing with it, and had
done so not merely as a Member of Parliament,