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DECEMBER, 1938] The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
30
Parliamentary election, and the fees that,
hitherto, were obtained by the Officer as
part of his emoluments, now fall into the
Treasury. He is now carrying out the duties
of the Sheriff;
that used to be a one-man
job, now
the County Registrar has
to
discharge it, and any fees payable in respect
of the duties of that office go back to the
Treasury.
Having some experience of the work of
the old Clerks of the Crown and Peace, and
since
the abolition of that office,
I am
wondering, first, how one man can do all
the work, and, secondly, in attempting it,
for I am convinced he is not able to do it,
which part is he likely to leave behind ?
I am afraid it is that side of his office which
he obtained and was appointed to because
he was a Solicitor, and which was the portion
and the purpose of his office as a dignified
officer of a dignified Court.
A few years ago
the payers of Land
Annuities who
failed
in
their payments
promptly as they fell due, were sued in the
County Court, and subsequently
in
the
District Court or Circuit Court according to
the amount due. A
few years ago that
practice was abandoned and
the Land
Commission was authorised to issue warrants,
just as the Landlords in the olden times
were enabled to levy their rents by distress.
By some people this was regarded as an
unhappy change. The authors of that idea
probably hoped for efficiency and suggested
that it would mean less expense to the
unfortunate
defaulters.
One
thing
in
practice has resulted and that is, that very
promptly after the default, the facilities to
issue levy warrants have become so great
that they appear in their thousands every
half-year. My enquiries have led me to the
conclusion that these warrants amount to
between two and three thousand each year
in
each
county. When
these warrants
reach the County Registrar, notices are issued
by him to the defaulters informing the
defaulters that payment must be made at
the end of some fifteen or sixteen days,
together with a fee to cover the deposits on
the warrant with the County Registrar, and
a further fee of one shilling for the County
Registrar's letter. The deposit fees are set
out in a Schedule of Costs, but may be
taken in fact to work out on an average of
three shillings each.
If payment be not
made within a period of fifteen or sixteen
days, then the gentleman, differently named,
but really the " Bailiff,"
is sent out to
collect the warrants. He is usually given
five or six warrants, and he goes out to
collect. As a consequence of this, a charge
of fifteen shillings is to be added on to each
warrant, plus travelling expenses calculated
on a mile rate.
If this officer gets paid he
must be paid the amount of the warrant,
plus the lodgment fee, plus one shilling for
the County Registrar's
letter, plus
the
fifteen shillings mentioned above, plus five
per cent, poundage. For doing all
this
work the County Registrar is responsible
for all monies received, and he must pay
over to the Land Commission or the Treasury,
or to the appropriate office the monies, but
the County Registrar gets nothing.
If any question is raised about a seizure, and
there is litigation in respect of an alleged
wrongful seizure, proceedings for that may
be taken and are most likely to be taken in
the Circuit Court, and the plaintiff will
have the luxury of having his case tried with
the County Registrar as defendant sitting
in full state in Court under the Judge that
tries
the
case,
and probably mentally
regarding the County Registrar as part of
that Court.
Should the County Registrar
succeed, he again as " Sheriff," will have the
luxury of looking for his costs by sale of
distress, and the plaintiff have the mental
disturbance that he has had no justice.
Should the litigation arise out of the levy
on the criminal side of the Court, the criminal
will be looking on the Court as a part of the
County Registrar, who, probably, has been
assaulted or disturbed in the making of his
distress, and he will know that the same
person made the Jury book, settled the
jury panel, drew from the box the names of
the jurors that tried the case, and, if he be
convicted, he will carry away with him the
additional conviction that he has gone to
law with a certain gentleman and tried his
law in that gentleman's Court.
I hesitate
to put the name that he would put upon that
gentleman.
I protested against the appoint
ment of the County Registrar as Sheriff.
I protest against it now; I think it is souring