63 / 114
DECEMBER, 1910]
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
163
the near future a realisation of the receipt of
the purchase money for which they have been
so long in a state of expectancy.
I do not wish to be regarded as a pessimist,
but I have grave doubts as to the prudence
of waiting for many years on the all cash
register in the hope of payment.
I
have not dealt
so
far with
the
position
of
landlords who ' have
not
as yet sold. They must, as a matter of
course, come in under the 1909 Act; but to
them I would say :
You, too, should consider
the position of public affairs, the difficulties
of Treasury finance, the situation of those
who have sold, and last, but not least, the
possibility of
less advantageous terms to
those who hold out for better times ;
and if
I were asked to advise I would say :
You had
better sell now and take payment in 3 per
cent. Stock with
the guarantee of
the
Imperial Government.
I trust that any observations which may
be made to-day on this subject will really
go to assist us as practitioners as to the
advice we should give our
clients, who
naturally are looking to us for some light on
the subject.
MR. C. A. STANUELL :—It was not my
intention to intervene in this debate to-day,
but inasmuch as Mr. Fry has introduced the
subject of the Land Act, there is a point to
which I should like to refer. We know the
procedure by which Land Stock depends upon
the value of Consols, and I really do not
think
the public quite understand how
unpopular the formalities are in connection
with dealings in that Stock. All the com
panies deal by post with transfers, and they
receive certificates. But the Bank of Ireland
gives no certificate, the Bank of England
gives no certificate, and
the
formalities
connected with
the necessary power of
attorney for personal attendance are more
than those required in connection with the
execution of a deed or will.
Further, as the
holder of Consols has no evidence of his title,
it may be lost altogether.
I think that these formalities cause a great
depreciation in the value of Consols, and
Consols are at present lower than they have
been for a hundred years.
I believe they
are now touching 80—they were 79 on Friday.
I think there should be some representation
made
to the Government that these for
malities had all been thrown aside by public
companies, and that they should introduce a
system of giving certificates to the holders
of stock and should accept the ordinary
transfer form. We as a profession know how
very numerous the mistakes are in executing
these perfectly unnecessary powers of attor
ney.
I only wish to call attention to the
matter in the hope that the Government may
see fit to devise a system better than the
present, which is a hundred years too old
(hear, hear).
MR. GERALD BYRNE said :—I think it
right on the present occasion, as I take a
personal interest in the County Court pro
cedure in Ireland, and being a member of the
County Court Committee of the Incorporated
Law Society and President of the Dublin
Sessions Bar, that I should say a few words
explaining the present position of affairs in
regard to that procedure.
A Bill was brought into Parliament early
this year, called
" The Civil Bill Courts
Dublin Bill," by which it is proposed to give
power to the rule-making authority for Dublin
to make such alterations as they might think
fit in the Civil Bill procedure, and when made,
by simply publishing these in the
Dublin
Gazette,
they would become law without any
discussion or
consideration whatever by
persons interested.
The proposal to hand over to any rule-
making authority the making of laws was
viewed with disfavour by the Incorporated
Law Society, and their wisdom in disappro
ving of it was marked by the introduction
of a Bill which they brought in applicable to
the entire of Ireland (Dublin included), clearly
showing to the public, the Professions and the
Judges the remedies proposed to be applied
to the existing state of affairs.
Owing to the valuable suggestions received
by your Society from many persons,
the
printer
had
to make
no
less
than 14
reprints of the Bill before
it arrived at
that stage in which it was presented
to
Parliament.
Suggestions
and
recommen
dations came from all quarters
to your
Council suggesting amendments and additions
and further powers to be conferred on County
Courts, it was no easy matter for the Com
mittee who had charge of this Bill to deal
with all these suggestions. However, they
were at last enabled, by yielding a little to