66 / 114
166
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
[DECEMBER, 1910
Our thanks are due
to Mr. Patrick J.
Brady, M.P., who, I am glad to say, has been
elected a member of
this Council, and
the other Members of Parliament, members
of our Profession and the Bar, who have so
kindly introduced our Bill.
MR. JAMES BRADY :—I desire to make
one or two remarks about the County Court
Bill.
Personally, I think it does not go far
enough.
I
think
there should be some
provision to institute actions for breach of
promise, actions for libel and slander, in the
County Court. We are bound at present, at
great expense, to institute such actions in
the Superior Courts. They are generally
remitted, and when the case comes before the
County Court, the County Court Judges or
Recorders proceed to abuse the parties for
instituting the action in the Superior Courts.
I am sure Mr. P. J. Brady will give my
remarks the best attention, and try and have
this grievance redressed by the present Bill.
There is another matter, as far as Dublin is
concerned.
I don't think that Dublin is as
well served as regards procedure as the County
Court. A great deal of new business is cast
upon the Judges, and I think, therefore, they
ought to be relieved of what I call minor
business.
I think if the Court of Conscience
business was extended to £5 it would be a
great benefit to the mercantile community of
the city and would be a great relief to the
cqngestion that at present exists
in the
Recorder's Court in Dublin.
I know the
feeling of the mercantile community is to
have the jurisdiction of the Court extended
to £5, and have a legal gentleman put there
to carry out its duties.
MR. P. J. BRADY, M.P. :—There are
some occasions on which it is difficult to make
a speech, and this, at any rate, for me is one
of
them. But lest my complete silence
might be misunderstood, with the permission
of the President and Council, I would like
to say one or two words.
The first is that I can assure you I feel
inordinately proud of the distinction you
have conferred upon me to-day by making
me a member of the Council of the Incorpo
rated Law Society.
It is a distinction of
which any Solicitor might be proud, and I
take this opportunity of
thanking all the
members of my profession who have brought
about that result.
All I can say as to the
future is that I shall use every opportunity
given me, either in Dublin or elsewhere, of
promoting the interests of the profession of
which I am a member (applause).
I know full well that this is no place to
introduce politics.
It would be highly im
proper, and I have no intention of doing so.
But I do not think I would be introducing
politics if I suggest to you that my experience
of Parliament has brought me to the very
firm conclusion that a Solicitor was eminently
fitted to discharge parliamentary duties.
And no thanks to him for that, for I believe
the training which I received was one which
enables me to discharge my duties as
a
Member of Parliament perhaps a little better
than the ordinary layman who approached
parliamentary work.
It has been my -privilege to serve for five
consecutive weeks on a Private Bill Com
mittee. During that time one of the Bills
that came before us was the Great Northern
Railway Bill. That was a Bill in which our
profession and the public of Ireland were
vitally interested (hear, hear).
It may be
that the accident that I was serving on the
Committee led to the elimination from the
Bill of a highly objectionable clause, and one
prejudicial to the public interest—a clause
whereby no appeal would lie from a decision
of the Arbitrator.
I do not think I am
violating any secrets when I say that I told
my colleagues that the clause would riot be
got with my consent. The promoters of the
Bill did not get the clause.
Reference has been made to the County
Court Bill, which it was my privilege to
introduce into the late Parliament.
I hope
that Bill will be introduced into the next
Parliament, and certainly, as far as I am
concerned—apart altogether from the fact
that it was a Bill promoted by the Incorpo
rated Law Society—I was very proud and
glad of having been given the opportunity
of being its sponsor, along with other Members
of Parliament.
If the Bill finds its way to
the Statute Book, a great benefit will be
conferred on the mercantile community and
on all classes of litigants who practise in the
Recorder's Court and in the County Courts
throughout Ireland. Whoever is a member
for Dublin—while not subordinating his
political principles—ought
to
take
tvery
opportunity and make opportunities for him-