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The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
[JUNE, 1908
was the natural conseqiu-nce of the conspicuous
ability shown by Mr. Lloyd-George in the
office he has just left. You know the trying
and difficult times he passed through, the
dangers he averted, and
the conspicuous
success that crowned his efforts.
It is, I
hope, unnecessary for me to say that the
resolution which I confidently submit for your
cordial approval
is
neither influenced nor
suggested by political considerations.
It is
suggested solely as marking an event which,
I
think, is a subject of congratulation from
every member of our profession in the Three
Kingdoms.
I believe those congratulations
would be
forthcoming, although
the vast
majority of the members of our profession in
the Three Kingdoms hold different political
opinions
from
the Right Hon. gentleman
(cries of "no, no"). Well, gentlemen are
entitled to their own opinions, and I have
mine.
With
these
few words,
I ask
the
President if he will be good enough to second
the resolution, and I hope it will be passed
unanimously.
I need not say that everything
depends
in a resolution of this kind on
absolute unanimity.
THE PRESIDENT: I call upon the senior
Vice-President to second the resolution.
MR. COLLINS, V.-P. :
I think our first duty
is to thank Mr. Davoren for having brought
forward, this motion. I have very great pleasure
in seconding it, and I am sure everybody in the
room will extend any congratulations they can
offer to Mr. Lloyd-George, as a professional
man, on his elevation to the important office.
Of course, Mr. Davoren does not expect the
Society to concern itself with the political
opinions of any Cabinet Minister (hear, hear).
We are dealing with the question purely on
professional grounds, and I am sure that alone
influenced Mr. Davoren in bringing it forward.
Mr. Lloyd-George's career has been a very
brilliant one indeed. He is quite a young
man. He was admitted a member of our pro–
fession in 1884, and very soon attained to a
high position in it. He was elected to Parlia–
ment, and on his appointment as President of
the Board of Trade in 1905, he became a Privy
Councillor; and now we congratulate him on
occupying the second highest place
in the
Government of the country (applause).
.
THE PRESIDENT: You have heard this
resolution proposed and seconded, and I have
great pleasure in putting it to the meeting,
more especially as I do not belong, I may say,
to the political party to which Mr. Lloyd-
George belongs.
On that account I feel I
have a freer hand.
I have great pleasure in
putting it before you, and I hope you will pass
it unanimously.
The resolution was passed unanimously.
Amendments to Bye-Laws.
THE PRESIDENT, pursuant to notice,
moved amendments to the bye-laws of which
he had given notice, and in doing so, said :
I
think I should explain
to you
shortly
that the object of the motion is to amend
bye-laws 4 and 30 : No. 4 as to disqualification
of members who have not paid their annual
subscription by a certain fixed time; No. 30
as to the qualification of candidates for the
Council.
The motion is
the result of an
undertaking
given by
the President
last
November, that the Council would consider
the existing bye-laws as to the qualifications of
candidates for the Council. The matter has
since been carefully considered by the Council,
and they now submit for your consideration
the amendments to the two bye-laws which
are stated in the notice of motion.
It appears
to us, from a liberal construction of the Charter
of 1852, that every member of the Society
should be eligible for election to the Council.
I do not think I need read that portion of the
Charter which refers to that; but that provision
constitutes all the members of the Society the
body from which the Council is to be chosen,
and makes every member eligible for election
to one of the thirty-one places, as the case may
be, on the Council; and there is nothing in the
Charter that we can discover to modify that
provision, and we therefore think that bye-
law 30, which limits the body from which one
or more members of the Council can be chosen,
is
inconsistent with
the provisions of the
Charter. Bye-law 30 excludes altogether from
the body from which
the Council is to be
chosen all members of the Society who are
not in actual practice, all who do not hold a
certificate for the current year, and the large
class of members who are not of seven years'
standing at the date of the election. We
propose, therefore, that the bye-law shall be
amended, so that the only qualification for a
candidate for election on the Council shall be
that he be a member of the Society, and must
be nominated by two members of the Society,
who shall sign the nomination paper. As
to 4: We consider it necessary to alter bye-
law 4, in order to bring it into line, if I may
use
the expression, with
the amendments
proposed in bye-law 30 ; and we propose that
a member, in order to be entitled to vote, or
be eligible as a candidate, or to propose and