63 / 132
DEC., 1908]
The Gazette of the Incorporated
Law Society
of Ireland.
cases they are briefed in were called on.
In
many instances recently which had come under
his notice, cases had been struck out, with costs,
to be borne by the solicitor or his client in
consequence of the absence of counsel.
MR. DAVID A. QUAID said they only had
the good fortune to meet there twice a year ;
but he was quite certain the President and
Council were only too pleased to hear expres
sions of opinion from general members of the
Society. He thought it was a great disadvantage
that in the zealous, earnest work of the Council
in the interests of the profession, they had not
the advantage of consultation from time to time
with the members of the Society instead of
only seeing them there twice a year, when they,
so to speak, showed themselves as a mirror to
the public. He thought the time had come
when it would be a very desirable thing for
the Society as a whole to consider whether at
these two annual meetings there should not
be one part of the meeting reserved for free
and uninterrupted discussion with regard to
the affairs of the profession altogether outside
the observation of the public.
It was not by
how they acted there that the public would
be impressed. The public would be impressed
by the individual actions of the members
of the profession acting professionally ; and
he respectfully submitted that at their half-
yearly gathering's they ought at any rate to
have an opportunity of speaking freely, and
without having the public to concern them
selves with what they said.
There were at
least 700 members of the solicitors' profession
in Ireland who were not members of the
Society. That was attributable, to his (Mr.
Quaid's) mind, to the fact that the Council was
not in
touch with the general body of the
members. There were many things which the
members would not care to discuss in public;
and he would suggest, for the consideration of
the Council, that at least the concluding por
tion of their meetings should be
reserved
exclusively for members to discuss matters that
were of great importance to them collectively
and personally.
If they did that, they would
find there would be a free exchange of opinion,
and that the Council would be convinced there
was
something
radically wrong when 700
members
remained outside.
He did not
suggest the Council were not doing their very
utmost for them ; but he submitted the Council
were not close enough in touch with them, as
to the wants of the general body of the pro
fession. He regarded the intrusion of clerks
of the Rural District Councils throughout the
country into their domain in the way of con
veyancing as a most serious thing, and it had
been connived at and encouraged by the Local
Government Board and their Auditors (hear,
hear). Until the Council forced their con
clusions upon the Governmental bodies, they
would find there would not be that concession
to their legitimate claims which there should
be. He observed, too, from the report, that
the thanks of the members were to be given to
the Executive Government for at last de
ferring to the absolute right of the profession
to be represented amongst the resident magis
trates.
Practically
there were only
three
solicitors amongst the resident magistrates,
the others being ex-military officers, Dis
trict Inspectors, and others of whose legal
knowledge the Lord Lieutenant was satisfied !
He did not think they ought to thank the
Executive Government for having made the
two appointments—they ought to urge upon
them the absolute necessity of making further
appointments (hear, hear). Then again, where
proper cases
of personal grievances were
brought before them, the Council should ener
getically direct their attention to defending
every individual member of the profession
whose personal rights or privileges were pre
judiced in any way (hear, hear). That was
going on all over the country in courts of
petty sessions and elsewhere.
SIR GEORGE ROCHE. in supporting the
adoption of the Report, said he thought some
further information should be given about the
proceedings taken against the Local Govern
ment Board.. He contended all through with
the Rural District Council and the Local
Government Board that the whole proceeding
was illegal, but he could get no satisfaction.
In the end,
ex gratia,
they gave him particulars
of the deductions, which were measured in a way
that certainly was not according to any exist
ing- scale. He accordingly obtained a condi
tional order for
cerliorari,
and the case was
very thoroughly argued, and judgment was
given the other day. He did not intend to
trouble them with the judgment of the different
Judges. The Judges unanimously held that
there was no taxation, and they quashed the
certificate with costs. One of the Judges, in
giving judgment, said :
" I decline to put upon
the section a construction which it does not
necessarily bear when the result would be the
abrogation of clearly defined statutory rights by
legislation so obscure that the eminent counsel
for the Board are unable to agree as to its mean
ing." The other point which was mooted, but