The Gazette 1907-8

DEC., 1907]

The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

" That for the purpose of carrying out the

said alteration and additions in Rules 29 and

30, all consequential alterations, additions, or

amendments in the subsequent Rules may be

made."

THE PRESIDENT said that while they

were very pleased to have a discussion as to

the composition of the Council, and the way

it should be elected, the motion could not,

on the present occasion, proceed to accept

ance or rejection. He had been advised that

the motion was inconsistent with, and repug

nant to, the Charter, and, therefore,

ultra vires.

He would allow Mr. Rooney to give his views

and discuss the matter in a friendly way.

MR. ROONEY said it was not his intention

to press his motion to a division that day; but

he wished to explain his proposal. As he took

it, the Chairman's point was that, under the

Charter, there was an inherent right in every

member of the Society to select any thirty-one

candidates he might choose from among the

members, and that no by-law has any right to

restrict such selection.

If the Chairman were

right, he must admit, as a logical sequence,

that by-law 30, upon which his amendments

were founded, is absolutely

ultra vires,

for it

declared that every candidate must be (i)

solicitor in actual practice,

(2) holding a certifi

cate for the current year, (3) admitted at least

seven years previous to day of election. Every

single point was on the Chairman's ruling a

violation of the charter. Again, the Chairman's

argument is founded on the word "manner"

in the charter, which he holds must refer

to nomination, ballot, and such-like matters.

But

the words are "manner of electing,"

not " manner of voting," and I think that this

is where the real confusion has arisen. Every

man had a right to vote for thirty-one mem

bers ; but it was absurd to say that every man

had a right to elect thirty-one members, for

the election did not depend on any one mem

ber, but on a majority of the votes of all 'the

members.

Proceeding, Mr. Rooney said that,

roughly speaking, his suggestion was to re

organize the Council by the introduction of a

limited supply of new blood. This suggestion

was made by others at the General Meeting in

1905, at the General Meeting in 1906, and at

the May Meeting, 1907. Might he suggest a

few reasons why reform is necessary ?

Con

sider the position in Ireland which the Incor

porated Law Society occupies. It is eminently

respectable ;

it bears on its jace the stamp of

antiquity; and it supervises with police-like

efficiency the morals of the solicitors in Ire

land. But, judging from its reports, its habits

are subterraneous—it works, no doubt, assi

duously, the whole year round, but under

ground and in the dark, and only twice yearly

does it appear on the surface. On

these

occasions it naturally finds the light distressing,

but after mature deliberation it resolves to use

as its only illuminant the reflected brilliancy

of its members' appointments. The fact that

it has had no voice in the making rather adds

to the charm of the using, because of the satis

faction that always follows the union of virtue

and economy. The membership of the Incor

porated Law Society, as appeared by the

Calendar for the year 1907, was 696. Of that

696, 34.7 were admitted as solicitors within the

past 17 years, and these form Class

in his

scheme; 172 between the previous 10 years,

i.e.

between

1880 and 1889 :

these

form

Class 2 in his scheme ; and 176 prior to 1880,

and these form Class 3 in his scheme. Making

a similar division into classes, the constitution

of the present Council is as follows :—3 ad

mitted within the past 17 years, 13 admitted

between 1880 and 1889, and 15 admitted prior

to 1880. That means that the 347 members of

the Society admitted within the past 17 years

have 3 representatives on the Council, one of

whom resides in the West of Ireland, and

another of whom is the second member of the

same firm having representation on the Council.

The 172 members admitted between 1880 and

1889 have 13 representatives on the Council;

and the 176 members admitted prior to 1880

have 15 representatives on the Council. Two

elements are fundamental to every election :—

(i) the franchise of the electors;

(2) the

qualifications of the persons to be elected.

From a consideration of the charter of the

Society he was convinced that the franchise

cannot be altered. As to the qualifications of

the persons to be elected, did the Charter per

mit of any alteration in the method of election

He thought it was abundantly clear that every

power was given to the Society to change in

any way the method of election, or to alter any

by-law in existence.

He did not propose to

take away, alter,

or destroy any of

the

essentials of the Charter, viz.:—(i) that there

shall be thirty-one members; (2)

that

the

members should be chosen by a majority of

votes. He simply proposed to add to the by

laws, that in the choice of those thirty-one can

didates they shall be divided into three classes,

so that each member of the Society—especially

those in Class i—could recognize at a glance

at least one of the qualifications of each can-