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to in the letter from the Department were
eminently suitable for reference to such a Com
mittee. The Council adopted the report of the
Committee and the Secretary was directed to
notify the Department accordingly, but to add
that if it is intended to proceed with legislation
on the matters mentioned without setting up a
Law Reform Advisory Committee the Council
will be willing to consider the subject further
with a view to giving any assistance in their
power.
Solicitors' Claim for Petrol Allowance.
THE Secretary read a letter from the Department
of Supplies referring to recent discussions on the
question of petrol supplies and stating that the
Minister regretted that he was unable to accede
to the request of the Council. The Minister was
however, willing to grant on application all re
quests from solicitors, wherever resident, to be
allowed to operate their private cars which are
fitted with gas producer plants.
Department of Defence.
THE President reported that, accompanied by the
Secretary, he had interviewed officials of the
Department of Defence in connection with the
departmental practice of negotiating settlements
direct with clients of solicitors of claims for
compensation for the occupation of lands by the
military under Emergency Powers Orders, and
that the following agreement had been made :—
(1) A direction shall be given to the appropriate
officials of the Department that in any case in
which a solicitor has notified the Department
that he is acting for a claimant correspondence
or negotiations for a settlement of the claim shall
not be conducted by the department otherwise
than through the claimant's solicitor. (2) Officials
of the Department shall be at liberty to enter
upon lands by arrangement with the claimants
for the purpose of estimating the amount of the
damage or compensation without notifying the
claimant's solicitor, provided that no negotiations
or discussions as to the claim take place on such
occasions. The report was adopted.
FEBRUARY 23rd. The President in the chair.
Present: Mr. W. S. Huggard, Vice-President;
Messrs. J. J. Smyth, W. L. Duggan, C. G. Staple-
ton, W. S. Haves, D. O'Connell, W. J. Norman,
J. R. Quirkc, P. R. Boycl. J. P. Carrigan, H. St.
J. Blake, P. O'Connor, M. G. R. Lardner, H. P.
Mayne, A. Cox. Scan 6 hUadhaigh, L. E. O'Dea,
E. M. FitzGerald, J. B. Hamill.
The following were among the matters dealt
with :
Election of President and Vice-Presidents.
THE Council adopted the report of a Committee
submitting the draft of a new rule for the election
of President and Vice-Presidents, whereby the
names on the ballot paper for each election shall
be placed in order of seniority, reckoned by the
period or periods of service of each member as an
ordinary member of the Council, but in the event
of a Provincial Delegate being subsequently
elected as an ordinary member of the Council
his service as Provincial Delegate shall be reck
oned together with his service as an ordinary
member for
the purpose of ascertaining his
seniority.
Land Registration Rules, 1944.
THE Council considered a report from a Committee
dealing with rule 20 of the above rules which
contains a provision that on an application for the
discharge of equities, where the ownership has
been registered for 30 years, the application shall
be accompanied by a certificate from a practising
solicitor that he has investigated the title to the
property on behalf of the applicant and that all
the averments in the applicant's affidavit are
true. No costs are allowed to the solicitor for the
additional work of investigating the title and
giving the certificate required by the rule. It was
reported that the attention of the Registrar cf
Titles had been drawn to the matter and that he
had expressed the view that rule 20 should be
amended by deleting the provision requiring a
certificate from the applicant's solicitor, as to the
title. Pending the amendment of the rule the
Registrar, in the exercise of his powers, has
directed that its operation shall be suspended in
so far as it requires the above-mentioned certi
ficate.
Unqualified Person.
THE Secretary reported that a letter had been
written to an unqualified person, who appeared
to have written letters to her tenants regarding
arrears of rent, in terms which would lead them
to believe that the letters had been written by a
solicitor, warning her against continuing
the
practice. A letter had been received from the
writer of the letters admitting the offence and
undertaking not to repeat it. It was ordered that
no further action shoidd be taken by the Society.
66