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easily be adapted to suit changing circum
stances.
2. The present system of apprenticeship is un
satisfactory.
3. The Council are not satisfied with the quality
of instructions given in the University Law
Schools.
4. The professional bodies should have repre
sentation on the governing bodies of the
University, having regard to the fact that
solicitor's apprentices and law students at
tend the University schools for part of their
academic legal education.
The Society's memorandum went on to sug
gest that the whole system of legal education
should be prescribed, not by statute, but by statu
tory regulations to 'be made by the professional
bodies with the concurrence of the President of the
High Court, and it went on to indicate the kind of
system which might be adopted by regulation if
the necessary enabling legislation is passed.
As far as solicitors' apprentices are concerned
the present apprenticeship system which has been
handed down, almost unchanged from the eigh
teenth century, should be brought into line with
modern requirements. Every person seeking admis
sion as a solicitor's apprentice should be required
to have already graduated in Law or Arts at a
recognised University. A student graduating in
Law would be permitted to present himself for the
Society's lectures and examinations in most of the
subjects, except possibly practice and procedure,
before entering into indentures of apprenticeship.
Having attended lectures and passed the Society's
examinations his apprenticeship period would be
whole time devoted to practical work, free from
the worries and distractions of lectures and exa
minations. The Council proposed that the appren
tice should be required to work as an ordinary
member of the staff and that he should be in a
position to earn a salary. Having regard to the
fact that the apprentice would have already gra
duated at the University and have passed most of
the Society's examinations he might be admitted
to practice after a shortened apprenticeship of
about two years. The Society further proposes that
a common system of education for the Bar and
the solicitor's profession should be adopted. This
proposal has been forwarded to the Honourable
Society of Kings Inns. I should add that the
Society's proposals are dealt with fairly fully in
the full report of
the Commission on Higher
Education recently published. This report endor
ses most of the Society's recommendations and
will be the basis for further discussions both with
the Department and with the Kings Inns.
My remarks are merely a summary of the pro
posals in the Society's memorandum and in the
report of the Commission. I mention the matter
with a view to removing any misapprehension
which would lead members to think, either that
the Society has not been continuously interested in
this subject, or has not made any practical sug
gestions with a view to the improvement of the
system. I wish merely to add one remark, and that
is, that as our system is regulated by statute, chan
ges cannot be made without amending legislation.
When the Solicitors' Bill 1954 was under con
sideration, the Society proposed to the Depart
ment of Justice that every solicitor should obtain
a University degree in Law and Arts before ad
mission. At that time the Government refused to
accede to the proposal. We hope that in view of
the report of the Commission on Higher Educa
tion more enlightened views may prevail.
Public Relations
I trust thhat you will forgive me in prefacing
my remarks on this subject by the observation that
although I am, as most of you know, actively en
gaged in politics, my attitude towards public con
troversies or discussion in which the Society may
become involved are motivated solely by the con
sideration of the interests of our profession and its
clients, and not by any party political viewpoint.
The Society has never engaged in politics. Its
membership includes solicitors of every political
party, and of none and it would be improper and
impermissible for the Society, its President or
officers to take part in political controversies when
speaking in their official capacity. Several matters
of this kind engaged the attention of the Council
during the year and I now refer to them only
briefly in passing. On the subject of the now
famous Marts Billl, the Society issued a statment
drawing attention to provisions in the Bill which
vested in the Minister for Agriculture the right to
issue or refuse to issue a licence to carry on a
livestock mart. The Council took the view that
this jurisdiction should be vested in the District
Court and not in the Minister. The principle of
licensing is a sound one, but they regard the Bill,
which has since become law, as the Livestock
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