20 / 116
16
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
[JUNE, 1907
appointments that had been already'made; but
they felt that the claims of solicitors should be
recognized.
The President next alluded to THE GAZETTE
they had just issued, following on the practice
adopted for some years by the English Incor
porated Law Society, in the hope of letting the
members know from month to month what
the Society was doing on their behalf, also to
bring to the notice of members decisions which
affected them, whether in relation to fees or
other matters.
With these few preliminary observations he
came to a notice of motion that had been sent
in by Mr. Rooney, that one-third of the mem
bers of the Council should retire annually in
rotation. He did not know whether Mr. Rooney
was aware when he sent in that notice that not
only did one-third of the members retire each
year, but every member of the Council retired,
and was open to offer himself for re-election, so
that in that respect he was afraid Mr. Rooney's
motion was out of order. At the same time,
as they had a great number of members present,
there was no reason why the matter should not
be discussed; and Mr. Rooney could explain
exactly what he wished to convey, and at any
future time bring forward his motion in proper
form.
If Mr. Rooney wanted to debar ten of
the thirty-one members of the Council each
year from seeking re-election, these might
include those longest in office and the most
experienced members, and that would be fatal
to the best interests of the Society, as well as
to those of the profession.
Mr. P. J. Rooney asked would he be in order
if he amended the motion by adding that the
one-third outgoing members should not be
eligible for re-election.
The President did not think a material altera
tion like that could be made without notice to
all the members. However, they would all be
anxious to hear the matter discussed now, as
they would not have another opportunity for
six months.
Mr. Rooney, proceeding, said his feelings
were not in any way hostile towards the present
Council or any member of it. The question
had come before the last half-yearly meeting,
not in the form of a resolution, but a sug
gestion thrown out by the then President, Mr.
Lynch. His (Mr. Rooney's) proposal was
nothing in the nature of a revolution, nor should
it excite unnatural alarm amongst the members
present. He did not propose to take away
any power at present possessed, and he did
not propose to give any power the Council
had not now got. The reform he suggested
was necessary in the interests of the Society and
of the general body of members. The Council
at present lacked force, and this was particularly
well shown at the last meeting, when Mr. Lynch
called attention to a contest he had had with a
very eminent public body, the result of which
was most unsatisfactory to the solicitors' pro
fession in Ireland.
In the second plaqe, the
Council consisted almost exclusively of Dublin
solicitors, which was a great drawback, and
they were solicitors of a particular class—those
with either thirty years' practice or who had
inherited a business of over thirty years' stand
ing. What could any young solicitor expect
from a Council formed like that ?
Such a
Council would not cater for the young and
struggling solicitor. The days
for
" close
borough" methods had passed, and the Society
must live with the times.
If a third or a fifth
of the old members retired each year, it would
give a fair leaven of new members each year.
Mr. James Brady said they were all indebted
to Mr. Rooney for bringing this matter before
them. He was largely in agreement with him,
but he felt there were great difficulties in the
way. The Council, as at present constituted,
contained members of considerable repute in
their profession who had not attained the
thirty years', standing to which Mr. Rooney
referred. Why was not the Council of the
representative character Mr. Rooney desired ?
The fault was entirely due to the members of
the profession, who had the remedy in their
own hands. They indulged in a growl every
year against the Council, but would not pay
the
£i
that would enable them to vote as they
desired. The real evil lay in the fact that so
few of the large body of solicitors in Ireland
thought it worth while to join the Society.
The general body of members of the profession
conceived, whether rightly or wrongly, that
the Council was not of that go-ahead character
which the times compelled people to be. With
the utmost respect, he said, they gave way too
much to the views of the Benchers and gentle
men of that calibre, as well as the judges. He
believed the profession would be benefited, and
the public interest better looked after, if there
was only one branch of the legal profession.
In conclusion, he thought Mr. Rooney should
rather apply himself to getting more members
to join the Society.
Mr. D. A. Quaid, in dealing with the appoint
ment of Examiners of Title to
the Land
Commission, said he held that solicitors, by
the practical experience of routine invest!-