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DECEMBER, 1910]
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
173
whether the terms of the resolution of the
Bar Council will in futare be acted upon in
party and. party taxations, and the fe°s
mentioned therein allowed to the party who
has paid same and who has been awarded
his costs of the Appeal.
I am, Dear Sir,
Yours obediently,
.
(Signed), W. G. WAKELY,
Secretary.
H. P. St. John, Esq ,
Taxing Officer,
House of Lords,
London.
House of Lords,
Judicial Office, July, 1910.
SIR.—Your letter of June 30, on the subject
of brief fees to Irish Counsel, has been referred
to
the Clerk
of
the
Parliaments
for
consideration.
The practice
in
taxing Bills of Costs
relating to Appeals in this House has been
to fix the amounts to be allowed for brief
fees by comparing the Appeal with other
Appeals of somewhat similar importance and
difficulty, but no minimum fee has ever been
fixed, nor has any difference been made
between cases argued by Irish Counsel and
those Irish Appeals in which both Counsel
are Englishmen.
The Clerk of the Parliaments quite under
stands that an Irish Counsel may not think
it worth his while to come to London to
conduct an Appeal to the House of Lords
unless he can be sure of getting a remunera
tive fee, and that to some extent his position,
as
regards
these Appeals, compares un
favourably with that of the English Counsel
who is on the spot and can undertake an
Appeal to this House without any very great
interference with his ordinary work ;
but in
his opinion it is not desirable to lay down any
hard and fast rule as to the amount of fees
to be allowed on taxation. He prefers to
adhere to the established rule of considering
each case upon its merits, and except that in
view of the resolution of the Council of the
Irish Bar he may feel justified in being
influenced to a greater extent in favour of
the Counsel who are handicapped by their
distance from London, he is disposed to
treat all Appeals impartially, irrespective of
the nationality of the Counsel who argue
them.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
(Signed), H. P. ST. JOHN.
W. G. Wakely, Esq.,
Secretary, Incorporated Law Society
of Ireland.
Incorporated Law Society of Ireland,
Solicitors' Buildings,
Dublin, 28th July, 1910.
MY DEAR SIR.—I am directed by the
Council of this Society to send you enclosed
copies of letter from me to Mr. St. John,
Taxing Officer of the House of Lords, and of
his reply thereto, and to request that you
will bring same before the next meeting of
the General Council of the Bar of Ireland,
with a view to seeing if the Bar Council would
modify its resolution of the 9th June, 1910.
I remain,
Faithfully yours,
(Signed), W. G. WAKELY,
Secretary.
Henry Hanna, Esq.,
Hon. Secretary,
General Council of the Bar of
Ireland,
54 Lansdowne Road, Dublin.
Law Library,
Four Courts,
Dublin, 7th Nov., 1910.
DEAR MR. WAKELY.—Referring to your
letter to me of the 28th July, 1910, the
Gene'ral Council of the Bar of Ireland have
again considered carefully the matter of fees
on the House of Lords Appeals, and they can
see no reason for altering their views as
already expressed to you.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed), HENRY HANNA,
Hon. Sec., Council of the Bar of
Ireland.
W. G. Wakely, Esq.,
Solicitors' Bull dings,
Four Courts