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The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
[DECEMBER, 1912
incidentally, that the writer was also one
of the best Sheriffs in Ireland. He wrote to
say that he understood the members of the
Law Society had thrown over the Sheriffs.
Now that was a wholly erroneous impression
for the Sheriffs of Ireland to take up.
It
would be madness on the part of that Society
to throw over the Sheriffs. Many of the
Sheriffs were Solicitors, and they especially
should get their support and protection. As
far as he understood the Bill it dealt very
largely with the Sheriffs, and the amend
ments to be made would enable Sheriffs to
make good debts out of bad ones in a great
number of cases.
MR. R. A. MACNAMARA said that when
the Sheriffs' Bill was brought in, the Council
had an interview with them, and considered
the matter in a sympathetic manner. The
Council gave
the Sheriffs every possible
assistance, and it was not their fault that no
legislation in relief of the Sheriffs had been
passed.
MR. STANUELL said there had been
cordial co-operation on the part of the County
Court Judges, the Law Society, and the public
in regard to the County Court procedure.
This was, he thought, the first time that had
taken place, and it was a great credit to the
President to have brought about that happy
state of affairs.
It looked as if they were
going to have an unopposed measure for the
reform of the County Courts.
It was to be
hoped that the principle of unity of action
would be more generally adopted not only in
Dublin but throughout the country (hear,
hear). He had always held the theory that the
interests of the profession and the interests
of the public were really the same.
If the
law be satisfactory and good, they got plenty
of it to do, and the public resorted to it,
because
they knew
the result would be
satisfactory. But if the law be bad it was
very expensive for them to work and very
expensive for the public to pay for and get
no benefit from it.
MR. W. GROVE WHITE asked that
penalties recovered by the Society should be
handed over to the Solicitors' Benevolent
Association.
THE PRESIDENT said there was no
doubt a representation was made to them as
to trying to make Sheriffs permanent in this
Bill. The Council considered the matter, and
they came to the conclusion that this County
Courts Bill dealt only with procedure in those
Courts, while the Sheriffs were officers of the
High Court as well as the County Court.
The Sheriffs themselves, some seven years ago,
sent in for consideration a separate Bill
dealing with
their offices altogether and
making them applicable to both Courts.
The Council went through that Bill and
approved of it as amended. The Bill had not
been passed, and it lay upon the Sheriffs to
bring
it
forward again, when
it would
have the support of the Society. As to Mr.
White's suggestion, whenever there was a
surplus over the actual expense of prosecu
tions, it would go to the Solicitors' Benevolent
Association.
The report was adopted.
MR. CRAIG moved, in accordance with
notice,
" That the Bye-laws, and other regula
tions of the Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland, be amended in such a manner as
will insure that the annual report and
audited accounts of the Society for the
previous twelve months shall be in the
hands of all members of the Society at
least fourteen days before the last day for
nominating members for election on the
new Council for the ensuing year, so that
the general members of the Society will
have an opportunity, before being called
upon to elect the new Council, of knowing
what the outgoing Council have done for
the profession during their year of office
and that such of the members of the out
going Council as do not intend to seek re-
election, shall state so in their report.
He wished to say at once that they had no
spirit of antagonism towards the Council in
dealing with this matter. They wanted to
make the Incorporated Law Society—as the
President said—the Society for every member
of the profession. But the members would
see that the report did not reach country
members in anything like reasonable time to
allow them to digest what was in it and enable
them to decide whether they should attend
the meeting or not. As far as he could see
there could be no difficulty whatever in the
report being in the hands of the members in
the time they asked in the motion. The