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16
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland,
QUNE, 1914
seconded by Mr. W. H. Fry, it was resolved
that the ballot for election of Council be held
upon Monday, the 23rd November, 1914,
instead of Saturday, the 21st November,
1914.
The President nominated the following five
members of the Society to act as Scrutineers
of ballot for Council on 23rd November, 1914 :
Messrs. J. J. Cartan, E. N. Edwards, W. H.
Geoghegan, J. G. Perry and P. K. White.
THE PRESIDENT addressing the meet
ing said :—Before' proceeding to give you
some short account of the Council's work
during the half year I should like to make
reference to the loss which we have sustained
by the recent death of Mr. Richard Reeves,
one of the most honoured members of our
profession. Mr. Reeves was on the Roll of
Solicitors for over sixty years, during the
whole of which time he was in large practice,
and for no fewer than thirty-seven of those
years he was elected by his brother Solicitors
a member of this Council and twice President
cf the Society. He was an original member
of the Solicitors' Benevolent Society, and
always one of its largest subscribers and most
generous benefactors, and I think it can be
truly said of him that no man in his lifetime
was more closely or honourably identified
with all that is best in our profession. Those
of us who served with him on the Council,
and knew him in his professional life, realise
deeply that his death leaves a gap in our
ranks which it will be hard to fill.
The first subject I shall refer to is what
may be called our hardy annual, indeed our
hardy half-annual, namely, the
County Courts (Ireland) Bill,
promoted by this Society. You will recollect
that about
this
time
last year
it was
announced in the House of Commons on
behalf of the Chief Secretary that, inasmuch
as the Irish County Court Judges recom
mended the codification of the entire law
relating to County Courts in Ireland and also
certain alterations in the law likely to give
rise
to controversy,
the Chief Secretary
regretted in the circumstances there was no
opportunity for introducing legislation on the
subject. On learning of this statement the
Council requested the Lord Chancellor to
arrange for a conference with the Co. Court
Judges and, as the President informed you at
our annual meeting, this conference was held
last October. As a result, the recommenda
tion for the codification of the law was
withdrawn, and no difficulty was experienced
in coming to an agreement with the Co. Court
Judges as to the changes to be made in the
Bill to meet their views. The first work taken
up by the newly elected Ccun il for the
present year was the drafting of the amend-
i
ments and new clauses necessary to give
effect to what had been agreed on at this
conference. We communicated these new
clauses and amendments to the Co. Court
Judges, strongly recommending that some of
them should not be insisted on as jeopardising
the chance of passing the Bill, and the Judges
met us on every point, and the Bill, as now
drafted, meets with their entire approval.
The past history of our efforts to get the Bill
through Parliament convinced us that it
would be futile to have it again brought in as
a private member's Bill, and we, therefore,
determined to approach
the Government
with a view to getting the Bill introduced as
a Government measure. A deputation from
the Council, consisting of Mr. Patrick J.
Brady (who is one of our Vice-Presidents),
Mr. Gerald Byrne and myself, waited by
appointment on Mr. Birrell on the 17th of
January last. We explained to him the
position of the Bill, and that complete agree
ment had now been come to with the County
Court Judges ; and, further, that the Bill had
been approved of by the Bar Council, the
Associated Chambers of Commerce and other
public bodies in Ireland ;
in fact, by every
public body which appeared to us to have
any real interest in the matter. We told Mr.
Birrell quite frankly that the Council could
not undertake definitely that the Bill would
be unopposed, but that so far as we could
ascertain it was not threatened with any
serious opposition.
In
reply,
the Chief
Secretary stated that he was aware of the
necessity of the Bill, and that the Govern
ment would be glad to have the credit of
passirg it, but that, unless unopposed, the
Bill,
in
the present state cf business in
Parliament, would have no chance of passing
even if introduced as a Government measure.
We thereupon asked the Chief Secretary to
take up the Bill On the basis that it vvas a
practically unopposed measure, and he agreed