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his term of office it will give you some indication
of what is done, especially when you remember
also that the work is not confined to Council or
Committee meetings alone. The volume o f work
now reaching the Council has grown to such
proportions that your Council has deemed it
necessary to re-organise its work by delegating a
greater number o f decisions to sub-Committees
than has been the practice heretofore. This new
system will operate as from to-day and it is hoped
will lead to a more efficient discharge o f the Society’s
work and the Council’s duties. Finally, let me
emphasise that the Council is your Council. It is
elected by the members each year and the members
of the Society expect, quite properly, to receive
adequate service and support on the many problems
confronting solicitors. The converse, however, is
also true and the Council should feel itself entitled
to rely at all times on the complete co-operation
and support of the members o f the profession
in the carrying out of the Council’s duties. Neither
o f us could progress without the other. Accordingly,
in asking for this support, I would also ask tbe
profession to send to us from time to time their
views and suggestions for the improvement of
the affairs o f the profession.
As you will have seen from the Annual Report
during the course o f the year I received two
invitations to visit the United States.
One, in
May, to speak at the Annual Dinner o f the Eire
Society of Boston and to address a number of
Bar Associations, the other, in September, where
your President was invited to represent the Society
at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Associa
tion in New York. Speaking as President of the
Society I should like to tell you that the visits
could not have been more successful in any way.
No greater honour or courtesy could have been
paid to this Society than was, in fact, paid during
the course of the visits and I would like to take
this opportunity of publicly acknowledging on
behalf of the Incorporated Law Society o f Ireland,
the great honours and courtesies bestowed by
the American Bar Association on the Society at
its General Meeting last September. A detailed
description o f my visit will appear in the
Gazette.
L
ibrary
:
This is probably the first occasion on which
some of you have the opportunity of seeing our
new library.
Cramped conditions in the office
and the old library compelled the Council to decide
on a change the result o f which you see to-day.
The Council has made, and is making, every effort
to bring the library completely up-to-date and
members will find many new and useful books
on the shelves. Sometimes the Library Committee
finds itself in a difficulty. The price of law books
is extremely high, running up to
£ j
a volume,
and whilst the Committee is anxious to maintain
an adequate library, cost is an important factor
and it would be o f considerable help to the Library
Committee in considering the purchase o f new
books if members could send to us from time
to time their views or suggestions for the
improvement o f the library.
S
olicitors
B
ill
:
This is the usual hardy annual which has been
referred to at every half-yearly meeting of the
Society for the last seven years. The Council has
kept constant pressure on the Minister for Justice
over the past twelve months, and the Secretary,
and I saw him no later than Monday last. I cannot
pretend to you that the meeting was entirely satis
factory. The Bill has been with the Government
since 1944 and during the last seven years there
has been a constant procession of Presidents and
deputations to various Ministers urging on the
Government the desirability of introducing our
Bill. I am afraid that our interview on Monday
last was just a repetition o f many which has taken
place over the years. This time, however, we can
hold out a tiny gleam of light to the profession.
The Minister informed me that it was his sincere
hope and wish to introduce the Bill during the
Session starting after Christmas and with normal
progress it should become law twelve months
hence. You may well ask me to explain to you
the cause of the seven years delay. I am unable
to do so as the Minister himself could only account
for it by saying the Bill was under examination.
D
elays
in
G
overnment
D
epartments
:
During this interview with the Minister for
Justice we drew his attention to the increasing
delays in the Probate Office. The delay in issuing
Grants o f Probates and Letters of Administration
is now some seven weeks. Up to a few years ago
Grants issued in seven days and although the volume
has increased slightly within the last few years,
such increase cannot be held to justify the delays
to which the profession and the public are now
subjected.
Unfortunately the profession suffers • directly
from such delays as clients are wont to blame
solicitors for delay which can directly be traced
to Government offices.
It frequently happens
that these delays are the causes of serious financial
loss to the public as in the present unsettled state
o f the Stock Exchange, the buying or selling of
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