163 / 216
June, 1943]
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
Hurley, Desmond Moran, J. Blood-Smyth,
Denzil O'Donnell, P. K. M. Carey, C. Mc-
Gonagle, A. Marshall, L. J. Egan, E. H.
Byrne, J. P. L. Murphy, K. Burke, George
Crowley, R. J. Muldowney, Michael Noyk,
J. E. Wallace.
The Secretary read the notice convening
the meeting and the minutes of the half-
yearly General Meeting held on the 26th
November, 1942, the latter of which were
signed by the President.
The President nominated the following
members to be scrutineers of ballot for the
election of the Council to be held on Monday,
the 22nd November next :—Messrs. John
R. McC. Blakeney, Desmond J. Collins,
Thomas Jackson, Hugh G. Sweetman, and
Roderick J. Tierney.
THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH.
The President, addressing the meeting,
said :—
It is with very great regret that I must, in
the first place, refer with feelings of very deep
sympathy to the loss that our Council and
our Society sustained by the death early this
year of Mr. Edward H. Burne.
As you
know, the late Mr. Burne had been a member
of our Council and of our Society since 1916
and was President in the year 1928/29. There
was no member of the Council whose advice
was more sought by his fellow members than
our late colleague. He was an outstanding
and fearless advocate.
In spite of a very
busy professional life he had time to prepare
and publish the standard work on the Rules
and Practice of
the District Court.
In
addition, he was bur representative on the
Rule-Making Committee of
the District
Court. The late Mr. Burne was, as you are
aware, keenly interested in the work of many
public and private charities, especially in the
work of the Solicitors' Benevolent Associa
tion, of which he was Deputy Chairman. His
loss is keenly felt by his colleagues on the
Council to which he gave many years of
faithful service.
In addition to the loss of Mr. Burne our
.profession has suffered heavily by the death
of man}' of our members in the past six
months.
A great Solicitor, a great District Justice
and a famous Irishman was lost to us by the
death of Mr. Louis J. Walsh. He practised
in Ballycastle until 1923, when he was ap
pointed one of the first • District Justices.
He was a distinguished author and play
wright.
In connection with national activi
ties he was interned in Ballykinlar by the
British Authorities in 1920/21.
The late Mr. Frederick Sharpe was a Pro
fessor of Common Law to our Society from
1909 to 1914, and was one of the best known
Solicitors in the City of Dublin.
We also sincerely regret the deaths of
Mr. Thomas C. Wylie, Deny; Mr. James
C. McGifford, Lisburn ; Mr. James P. Ring-
wood, Dublin ; Mr. Francis C. Pilkington,
Dublin, and Mr. Hugh C. Cochrane, who
formerly practised in'Strabane.
I should also refer to the death of a very
old servant of the Society, the late James
Wood, who was well known to several genera
tions of Solicitors as
the Society's Hall
Porter and Caretaker. For almost fifty years
he was in the service of the Society until his
retirement on pension in December, 1939.
May they rest in peace.
You will recollect that at a special meeting
held last October, final approval was given
by the Society to the proposed new Solicitors'
Bill, subject to certain amendments which
were to be considered
by
the Committee
appointed.
The Committee considered all
these amendments and the Bill in its final
form was submitted, as directed by that
meeting, to the Department of Justice.
However, recently a Bill was introduced
and enacted by the Oireachtas entitled the
Solicitors' Act, 1943. This Act deals solely
with members of the profession employed
full time in the Government Service and
exempting these members from the obliga
tion of paying any annual Licence duty.
This Act affects the Society to the extent
that we will lose a sum of about £20 or £25
per annum, but it does not in any other way
affect the Society.
I understand that our Bill as presented by
the Society is receiving the consideration of
the Department of Justice and also the other
Departments which might be affected by the
Bill.
In the discussion on the Act, to which
I have referred, certain points were raised
.
which make it perfectly clear that our Bill
is desired, not alone by our profession but
by the members of the legislature. As you
are aware we are seeking increased powers
which
the Society can exercise over
its
members and generally to improve the disci
pline of our members.
The Act of 1898
which governs our Society is, with the passing