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Dear Sir,
With reference to the July issue of the
Gazette,
I was very
interested to read the letter published under the heading
" Correspondence."
I am dealing with a case where the owner of a rent has to
pay rates but fortunately the amount of the rates is not very
large, and I believe that my client when he bought the rent
would probably have taken the rates into consideration,
although he could not have taken into account the tremendous
increase which has occurred in the last few years.
I can, however, imagine a worse case than that of your
correspondent. That is where someone, who perhaps needed
the income very badly, bought a rent and the premises were
subsequently sold to some charitable body which applied
for and obtained exemption from rates.
In such a case when the liability for rates passed to the
Landlord it would be equivalent to confiscating the landlord's
income to the extent of the rates.
From my inquiries into the matter there seems to be no
way to overcome the injustice except by legislation. Decided
cases are not helpful and too much depends on the wording
of individual leases. There have been cases where the Land
lord has recovered the rates back from the tenant, but in
most cases they cannot be recovered.
Yours faithfully,
DENZIL O'DONNELL,
25 Westmorland Street,
Dublin.
zyd August,
1957.
Dear Sir,
We refer to the letter in the July issue of the
Gazette
con
cerning rates on premises occupied by the State. We act
for a client who is paid a rent of £105 out of State owned
property in the Midlands.
She receives, in fact, less than
£5 when our commission is deducted. We pointed out the
unfair position to the Department concerned
and
they
offered us the grandiose amount of £50 to redeem the rent.
We suggested that the treatment accorded to owners of these
rents is in strong contrast to the opening phrases of the
introduction to the Constitution.
We suggested that an
average of fifteen years' rent should be taken in order to
redeem it. They turned down this suggestion, but are con
sidering increasing their offer.
We are strongly of the opinion that this situation being
fairly general should be taken up by the Law Society rather
than individuals.
Yours faithfully,
O'CONNOR & DUDLEY,
i College Street,
Dublin.
4(6 September,
1957.
RE :
MESSRS. HAROLD J. WILEY & Co., LTD.
Dear Sir,
Our attention has been drawn to a paragraph in a recent
issue of your
Gazelle
regarding the Professional Negligence
Policies issued through the Agency of Messrs. Harold J.
Wiley & Co., Ltd. We are writing to advise you that we have
purchased the goodwill of this business and will look after
policy holders' interests in the future. We have already
written to all existing policy holders advising them of the
change. However, we are writing to you to confirm that all
Lloyd's policies remain in full force up to their existing expiry
dates and are completely unaffected by Messrs. Wiley's
liquidation.
If you could see your way to publishing a note to this
effect in a future issue of your
Gazette
it would no doubt
alleviate any anxiety which your members may have on
this matter.
Yours faithfully,
ROBERT J. JOLLEY & Co., LTD.
Friends' Provident Building,
12/14, College Green,
Dublin.
zdth August,
1957.
THE MEDICO-LEGAL SOCIETY
OF IRELAND
AT the Annual General Meeting of the Medico-Legal
Society held in April, 1957, Dr. J. P. Brennan,
Coronor for Co. Dublin, was elected President for
the year 1957-58.
In addition to the Hon. Vice-Presidents who were
unanimously re-elected, the following Hon. Vice-
Presidents were elected: Messrs. Scan Hooper,
S.C.,; Liam Trant McCarthy, solicitor; and Dr.
John Falvey. Mr. M. B. Daly, B.L., was elected
Hon. Auditor.
In his report the Hon. Secretary said that although
the Society was founded only last Autumn it had
grown in numbers very considerably. He thanked
all those who had assisted the Society during the
year, including the President and Secretary of the
Incorporated Law Society of Ireland for their great
help.
The President of the Society referred to some
current trials in Ireland and England which he said
had given a great interest to the medico-legal matters
in this country.
The Council of the Society has arranged the
following ordinary meetings during the 1957-58
session :—3ist October and z8th November, 1957 ;
3Oth January and zyth March, 1958.
A joint meeting with members of the American
Bar Association on problems of medical juris
prudence was held in the Gresham Hotel on Saturday,
3rd August, 1957, at u a.m. This was followed by
a luncheon in the Aberdeen Hall, at which the
following spoke :—The Chief Justice, the Hon. Earl
Warren (Chief Justice, U.S.A. Supreme Court),
Hon. David Berger of Philadelphia, Mr. Campbell
Brown of New York,
the Hon. Mr.
Justice
Murnaghan and Mr. J. A. Costello, S.C.
Dr. Letitia Fairfield, C.B.E., M.D., President of
the British Medico-Legal Society, will read a paper
on "Confessions" on 3ist October, 1957, at the
Royal Hibernian Hotel, Dublin, at 7.45 p.m. The
annual dinner of the Society will be held on Thursday
17th October,
in
the Royal Hibernian Hotel,
at 7.45 p.m.
Tickets,
zis.
each.
Dr. Frank
McLaughlin, M.D., will speak on Thursday, 28th