121 / 144
DECEMBER, 1932]
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
27
THE
PRESIDENT,
addressing
the
meeting, said :
Gentlemen, I rise to move the adoption of
the Report which is in your hands.
When I had the honour of addressing you
at the Half-yearly General Meeting of the
Society last May I gave you a summary of
the work of the Council for the first six
months' of its office, and now it is my duty
to lay before you a resume of its work
during its second six months which expired
on the 26th inst.
During
that period
there were
seven
meetings of the Council, and the various
Committees appointed by the Council met
frequently
to discuss a
large variety of
matters which the Council had referred to
these Committees for report.
It does not
appear to be general!}'known that the Council
will always consider and decide on any
principle concerning costs and about which
there is a difference between members of the
Profession. The Solicitors have merely to
furnish an agreed-on statement of the facts
with a submission to be bound by the decision
of the Council. Numerous decisions by the
Council
following
this procedure will be
found in the Society's " Calendar."
WAR LOAN CONVERSION.
The most notable transaction during the
period under review was
the Conversion
of British Five Per" Cent. Loan, and at
the request of the Chief Justice I attended
a conference of the High Court Judges,
at which was debated
the best means
of dealing with funds in
the High Court
represented by the War Loan, the con–
version of which was contemplated.
It
was decided to issue a public notice that
all persons interested in such funds and who
desired to have a holding converted, and to
obtain the benefit of the bonus, and what
became to be known as the " July Terms,"
might apply to
the Court for an order
authorising acceptance of
the
terms of
conversion, and that where no such applica–
tion was received before the 25th July the
Accountant was to accept redemption in
cash, except in any case in which on applica–
tion ^before^the 15th September a direction
to the^_contrary was given by the Court.
Questions arose as to who was to benefit by
the Five Shillings Commission,
to which
Solicitors as well as Bankers and Stock–
brokers were
for
the
first time declared
entitled.
It reached me
that the Court
Stockbrokers were
bringing
considerable
pressure
to
secure
this Commission on
Conversion of Court Funds.
I accordingly
wrote to the Chief Justice in reference to the
costs of application for conversions and
urged that Solicitors should get the costs
of the applications, and also be declared
entitled to the commission credit for the
commission to be given against the costs.
His Lordship was good enough to accede to
my request, and the costs of these applica–
tions were dealt with on the basis I suggested
and that course, I believe, met with universal
satisfaction.
LAND BONDS ACT.
A
proposition was put forward by the
Judicial Commissioner as to the payment to
Solicitors of interest on Land Bonds issued
under Section 4 of the Land Bonds Act,
1925, was fully considered by the Council,
and I subsequently had an interview with
the Judicial Commissioner, and the proposals
set out in the Report were agreed to, the
terms of which, I think, are acceptable to
the Profession.
CIRCUIT COURT RULES.
On the whole, the Circuit Court Rules
which came into force on the 1st January
last have worked smoothly.
The attention of the Council has been
drawn from time to time to some of these
rules, and the Council has carefully noted
all matters which will eventually have to be
amended or clarified. There are a number
of minor points to which I do not think it
necessary to refer, but there are two matters
of
substance which
I
think
should be
mentioned. You will remember last May
when
I addressed you
the Council had
submitted a case to senior counsel as to the
validity of the procedure by which judg–
ment in default of appearance can be entered
in the office of the County Registrar in cases
of liquidated demands. Counsel had advised
that there was grave doubt as to the validity
of the default procedure in question. The
matter has recently come up before the
Circuit Court Judge at Wicklow, who stated