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mittees. As stated at page 13 of the report which
was circulated with the Agenda for this meeting,
increases have been granted by all the committees
except the Circuit Court Rules Committee and the
District Court Rules Committee. It is no fault of the
Council's
representatives on
the Circuit Court
Rules Committee that the Council's application for
an increase in the costs of proceedings in the Circuit
Court has not yet been fully dealt with., The matter-
has been the subject of prolonged discussions by
the Committee, and I can only hope that a decision
in the matter will be arrived at without undue delay
As country practitioners are aware, the remuneration,
which solicitors receive for Circuit Court cases is
altogether inadequate and insufficient to remunerate
solicitors for the services which they render in these
cases. They frequently have to travel long distances
to attend Court, perhaps for a single case which
involves absence from the office for a whole day.
The services of clerks and typists are necessary to
prepare the case adequately, and the present remun
eration is not sufficient to cover overhead expenses
and to allow the solicitor a reasonable margin of
profit.
The answer to the solicitors' claim for
reasonable remuneration often given is
that the
Circuit Court was intended to be a cheap Court.
Admitting that this is so, I think there are other ways
in which litigation could be made cheaper than by
asking
solicitors
to
render
their
services
for
inadequate remuneration.
I wonder whether any
Committee has ever investigated the possibility of
reducing the costs of litigation coming under the
heading of "witnesses' expenses and Valuers' fees."
In my opinion, a good deal of unnecessary expense
is incurred in preparing and proving maps in Circuit
Court proceedings, and it seems to me that there is a
good deal to be said for the appointment of an
independent Court mapper and valuer, who would
be detailed to prepare and prove all maps for use
in the Circuit Court. At the present time, in a
comparatively small case, you will find independent
maps prepared by separate engineers, each of whom
has to be paid separately for travelling to the
locus in quo,
preparing the map and attending in
Court to give evidence about matters in respect of
which there is very often no conflict, and in respect
of which there should certainly be no conflict of
testimony. Again if a number of bills of costs were
examined, it would be found that a"bout one half
of the expenses consist of car fare and expenses paid
to witnesses attending Court. This is due to the
fact that witnesses are compelled to travel long
distances to attend Court. If justice were made more
accessible a great part of this expense could be
avoided.
Solicitors'
Benevolent
Association
IN the year 1829 a circular was issued to vac memoers
of the profession inviting subscriptions
to
the
Attorney's Association for the benefit of widows and
families of professional men. How this appeal was
answered and how long the Association continued,
history does not record, but in the year 1863 the
present Solicitors' Benevolent Association was
founded. The objects of the Society are to relieve
members of the solicitors' profession in Ireland who
may have become poor or necessitous, to relieve the
poor and necessitous families of deceased solicitors,
and in special cases to give relief to the poor and
necessitous parents or collateral relations of deceased
solicitors.
I wish to emphasise that the activities
of the Association arc not confined to the area of
jurisdiction of this Society but extend to the whole
of Ireland. There are approximately i,800 solicitors
in the thirty-two counties of Ireland, of whom less
than 700 are members of the Solicitors' Benevolent
Association. The subscription is the modest sum of
£i is. od. per annum, and as my last appeal during
my year of office as President, 1 wish to ask each
non-member to join the Association. No one knows
the day or the hour in which he may be struck down
either by bodily infirmity or death, and by con
tributing this modest sum each year a solicitor can
help the Association to provide some measure of
relief for those cases of hardship which happen in
every walk of life. The annual report also contains
a form of bequest in favour of the Association,
which I would commend to the attention of solicitors.
I earnestly hope that my appeal will not go unheard.
Finally, I should like to thank the members of the
Council for the invaluable help and support which
they gave to me during my year of office now drawing
to a close, especially to the Vice-Presidents, who
willingly undertook part of my duties during the
months when I was incapacitated by illness from
performing them myself.
To these gentlemen, I
am very much indebted as are also, I am sure, the
members of the Society. I should like to thank the
members of the Society for their support of the
Council during the past year and for loyally accepting
and carrying out the various recommendations of
the Council which were given in the interests of the
public and of the profession.
I now move the adoption of the Annual Report.
The motion for the adoption of the report was
unanimously carried.
Mr. Henry Shannon moved the following resolu
tion, standing in his name :—" That the Council
is hereby directed to appoint a Committee to make
recommendations to a Special General Meeting of
the Law Society to be held in private relating to
the following matters :
Any changes needed in the
curriculum and organisation of the legal education
for solicitors ; and that the above Committee shall
have power to nominate thereon such representatives
37