The Gazette 1914-15

The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.

[DECEMBER, 1914

L. C. P. Smith, 209; R. B. White, 208;

W. Houghton Fry, 207 ;

James Moore, 204 ;

J. H. Walsh, 203 ;

P. Rooney, 203 ;

T. G.

Quirke, 203 ;

M. L. Hearn, 198 ;

and the

following to form a supplemental list to fill

vacancies :—J.

F. Dunwoody

191 ;

Lloyd-Blood, 191 ; John J. MacDonald, 175.

THE PRESIDENT, in moving the adoption

of the Annual Report of the Council, said :—

Since I had the privilege at our May Half-

yearly Meeting of giving you some account

of the work done by the outgoing Council

during the first six months of their tenure of

office, I am afraid our domestic concerns have

been almost completely overshadowed by the

great war, which is the first subject referred

to in the Annual Report. The Society has

reason to be proud of the attitude of the

Profession in reference to the war, and of the

appreciation shown by its members, in more

ways than one, of the gravity of the issues

involved for all of us in that great struggle.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, and after

consultation with the Lord Mayor of Dublin

and with such members of the Council as I

was able to get into touch with during the

Vacation,

invited subscriptions

the

National Relief Fund from Irish Solicitors,

and I am glad to be able to have this

opportunity of

thanking

those who

liberally responded to the invitation.

number of Solicitors had already subscribed

to the headquarters of the Fund, and a great

number wrote

from Belfast, Cork

and

Limerick, and the country parts of Ireland,

that they felt bound (and very naturally so)

to support their local centres of collection.

Nevertheless, I was able to forward to the

Lord Mayor in all the sum of £1,077 13s. 6d.,

contributed by some 180 subscribers. The

amount thus contributed is very creditable,

and I have reason to know that the generosity

of our Profession has been very much appre

ciated by those in charge of the-collection

of the Fund.

In this connection I should like also to

mention that the members of the outgoing

Council decided not to hold their customary

Official Dinner this year, and, instead of

expending their money in entertaining, they

very generously sent to Sir Lambert Ormsby

the sum of £127 2s. Od.

to assist in the

provision of Irish Motor Ambulances for our

wounded soldiers,

Better far, however, than these contribu

tions to patriotic funds is the fact that since

the outbreak .of war no fewer than 40 young

Irish Solicitors and 33 Solicitors' Apprentices

have joined His Majesty's Forces—a total of

73, the majority of whom have obtained

commissions in Lord Kitchener's new Armies.

You will find in the November number of our

Gazette

a list of the names of some of these

gentlemen—a list which was complete so far

as we knew at the time of publication. Mr.

Wakely has ascertained several additional

names since the publication of this first list,

and he tells me he is not sure that he has as

yet succeeded in getting all the names. The

Council intend to keep a permanent record

of the names of these brother Professionals

of whom we are all justly proud. We shall

follow their military careers with the greatest

interest, and it should be the duty of all of

us to see that their interests do not suffer by

reason of their absence on their patriotic

service.

On the passing through Parliament of the

Special War Legislation,

the Council circulated amongst the members

of the Society print copies in pamphlet form

of the Postponement of Payments Act and The

Courts (Emergency Powers) Act and the

Proclamations and Rules made under these

Acts, a course which we trust has proved a

convenience to members. These Acts were

rushed through Parliament necessarily with

haste to meet the great emergency which had

arisen, and this may account for the fact, now

obvious to all of us, that the Acts do not

appear to have been drafted with a view to

the special circumstances existing in this

country. As to the working out in practice

of the provisions of these Acts, the Council

are aware that considerable dissatisfaction

exists at the manner in which Plaintiff's costs

of necessary applications to the Courts have

either been arbitrarily disallowed altogether

or fixed by the Court at a totally inadequate

lump sum.

Indeed, I may say that the whole

subject of the arbitrary measuring of costs,

not only under these special Acts, which are

transient, but generally under the Judicature

Act, which is permanent, is having the close

attention of

the Council at the present

moment; and I only abstain from reporting