63 / 116
DEC., 1907]
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland,
61
fully prosecuted unqualified persons for drawing
conveyances, and we
rely on our country
brethren to bring to the notice of our Secretary
any cases of the kind ; and we resisted an ap
plication to grant powers to a bank for their
managers
to
act as
trustees. While
not
altogether successful in our opposition, we
obtained, as you will see
from the report,
undertakings -to safeguard the interests of our
profession.
Once more we have made an appeal to be
relieved from the payment of annual licence
duty. You will see from .our memorial to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer that this duty was
first imposed in England, in 1785, as a war tax.
It was not extended to Ireland until 1816.
It
was increased from
£S
to
£12
in 1842, and
was changed again in 1853 to the present rate
°f
£9
f°r Dublin, and
£b
for country, solicitors.
Some of us must console ourselves with the
thought that it is a benefit we derive from the
Union ; others possibly that the day is not far
distant when this consolation will no longer
exist. But in no event will the matter be lost
sight of.
Barristers, physicians,
and
the
members of other learned professions can fix
their own fees, and are not subject to any
similar licence duty, while we are taxed and
are restricted in regard to our fees.
During the year I have been consulted by the
Judges in regard to various rules, and my sug
gestions have been most courteously received
by them.
It is only in comparatively recent
years your Society has had any voice in making
rules; but now
that we are consulted we
approach
their consideration not from
the
restricted view that we are only to look to what
may or may not affect solicitors ; we take the
broader view that it is our duty to assist in the
framing of the rules generally.
In the case of
theTownTenantsAct the schedule of solicitors'
'remuneration was materially altered b}- the Lord
Chancellor and County Court Judges, and a
sliding scale, according
to
the amount in
volved, adopted—a system of payment which, I
think,is acceptable notonlytotheprofession but
to the public. Needless to say, before offering
any opinion, I was fortified by the views of the
members of our County Court Committee.
I
will only touch lightly on the Evicted Tenants
Act and Rules. If you fail to understand them,
don't blame me.
This brings me to the Estates Commis
sioners' new rules, and at the outset I wish to
publicly acknowledge the patient consideration
given by Mr. Justice Wylie
to my several
suggestions—I think I may say protestations—
in regard to several of the rules, and afterwards
for the way he met your Council in regard to
written representations made by me before the
publication of the draft rules, and by the
Council afterwards.
All I can say is. very
material concessions were made, all with the
view of facilitating sales and the solicitors'
work. You will probably wonder how we
allowed a rule to pass which provides that
documents already filed—some of them more
than two years ago—are to be subjected to the
scrutiny of Counsel at the vendor's expense
when the Act provides for investigation
ofpnma
facie
title at the cost of the Land Commission.
I tried to persuade the Commissioners, and
the Council subsequently protested, all to no
avail, although I must say we were fairly met
on other matters.
That the subject of the Estates Commis
sioners' Rules was one of vital importance
is best illustrated from the following figures
which I have extracted from the Report of the
Estates Commissioners for the year ended 3151
March last. Up to that date, from November,
1903, 111,972 agreements for purchase had
been lodged, the aggregate purchase prices
being over 41 millions; but, towards satisfying
this 4ii millions of mdney, advances had only
been made to the extent of 12-i millions. Mr.
Birrell in one of his recent speeches attributes
a certain amount of delay to the lawyers, in a
speech yesterday to want of sufficient staff;
but the real cause of delay is want of money.
There may be isolated cases of difficulty and
consequent delay; but I unhesitatingly assert
that both solicitors and officials have worked
and are working loyally to carry through sales
with the greatest possible expedition ;
and we
were anxious to see that no Rules would be
passed which would cause difficulty and resulting
delay.
There have been various meetings of the
Committee having charge of the rules under the
Labourers Acts. We wished to make sugges
tions to the Local Government Board, with the
view of simplifying procedure and reducing the
responsibility of solicitors, and therefore asked
the Board to receive a deputation ;
but we
would not be received, which is, I feel, a matter
of regret.
Complaints have been received from our
country brethren as to the inadequate remu
neration under the Act; but it seems to me
that they have a graver cause of complaint
against members of our own profession who
tender for work sometimes at a rate even
below the miserable scale fixed by the Local