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The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
[DECEMBER, 1919
At the Half-yearly Meeting he referred to
the death of Mr. Trevor Overend and to his
generous bequest to the Society. He now
mentioned that the scheme had been drafted
for the regulation of the Scholarship which
he endowed, particulars of which would be
published in due course, but there would not
be any Scholarships awarded until
the
examinations for the year 1920 had been
concluded, when the proficiency displayed
during the year at the Preliminary and
Final Examinations would be considered.
They had had an uneventful year. The
finances of the Society were in a more
satisfactory state, and snowed a considerable
improvement since last year. The number
of members was slightly less. The Society
during the past year had done, and it would
continue to do, good work in the interest of
the profession, notwithstanding the fact that
a considerable number of Solicitors had not
thought it worth their while to become
members. There was now before them a
complete record of the numbers of Solicitors
and Apprentices who did their duty to their
country during the war, and the list of
honours showed that the members of the
profession did their part nobly and well.
That brought him to the subject of the War
Memorial, and he confessed that it was with
a feeling of shame that he referred to it.
When he addressed them at the Half-yearly
Meeting in May last a sum of about £275 had
been subscribed, and he then asked that
subscriptions should be sent in at once, so
that they might proceed with the work
without delay. The amount since received
was about £50, the total number of con
tributors being 317, of whom only about 300
were practising Solicitors. There were 1,550
practising Solicitors on the Roll in Ireland,
and 800 members of the Society, so that,
roughly speaking, only one-fifth of the mem
bers of the profession, or one-third of the
members of the Society, had considered the
memory of their gallant brethren worthy of a
token of respect and regard. This was not
creditable to the profession ; but he was not
going to appeal for funds ;
this was a matter
on which a man's heart and conscience must
tell him what to do. That Memorial would
be erected.
The amount of subscription
asked for in the circular issued last March
was limited to the small sum of one guinea.
He was thankful to say there were some
members of the profession who would see to
it that the memory of the glorious dead
would be perpetuated in a manner worthy
of their great sacrifice.
When he last addressed them the Barristers
and Solicitors (Qualification of Women) Bill
was before Parliament, and had passed the
House of Lords, and he then indicated the
attitude of
the Council on the subject.
Since
that
time the Sex Disqualification
(Removal) Bill had been introduced and
passed through both Houses of Parliament,
and the only question now open was the
question of women taking their places as
Peeresses in the House of Lords. Under
Section 1 of this Act, women would become
entitled to practice as Solicitors or as Bar
risters
as well
as
in any other
civil
profession,
so
that
the hope
that he
expressed on the last occasion had now
almost become an accomplished fact, and he
had no doubt that the members of the pro
fession would extend to women a hearty
welcome. As
regards the Acquisition of
Land (Assessment) Bill, and Local Govern
ment (Ireland) Bill, the amendments the
Council succeeded in having inserted in these
Bills were of vital importance to the pro
fession, particularly to country members,
whose interests the Council were always on
the alert ,to protect, securing in the case of
the first mentioned Bill a right of audience
at inquiries in respect of the acquisition of
land for public purposes, such as the many
housing schemes now under consideration all
over the country; and in the Local Govern
ment Act, making the office of standing
Solicitor to a local authority a pensionable
office. These amendments were not secured
without a great deal of hard work and close
attention to the proceedings in Parliament,
and they were certainly very much indebted
to Captain Craig, M.P., and Mr. Harbison,
M.P., both members of the profession, and to
other members of Parliament named in the
report, for their services in the matter. The
present scale of fees was to remain in force
for six months after the termination of war.
The date of termination of war was to be
fixed by an Order in Council, which had not
been issued. There could be no doubt that
since the present scale was fixed there had
been a large increase in the cost of living and