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mittees. As stated at page 13 of the report which

was circulated with the Agenda for this meeting,

increases have been granted by all the committees

except the Circuit Court Rules Committee and the

District Court Rules Committee. It is no fault of the

Council's

representatives on

the Circuit Court

Rules Committee that the Council's application for

an increase in the costs of proceedings in the Circuit

Court has not yet been fully dealt with., The matter-

has been the subject of prolonged discussions by

the Committee, and I can only hope that a decision

in the matter will be arrived at without undue delay

As country practitioners are aware, the remuneration,

which solicitors receive for Circuit Court cases is

altogether inadequate and insufficient to remunerate

solicitors for the services which they render in these

cases. They frequently have to travel long distances

to attend Court, perhaps for a single case which

involves absence from the office for a whole day.

The services of clerks and typists are necessary to

prepare the case adequately, and the present remun

eration is not sufficient to cover overhead expenses

and to allow the solicitor a reasonable margin of

profit.

The answer to the solicitors' claim for

reasonable remuneration often given is

that the

Circuit Court was intended to be a cheap Court.

Admitting that this is so, I think there are other ways

in which litigation could be made cheaper than by

asking

solicitors

to

render

their

services

for

inadequate remuneration.

I wonder whether any

Committee has ever investigated the possibility of

reducing the costs of litigation coming under the

heading of "witnesses' expenses and Valuers' fees."

In my opinion, a good deal of unnecessary expense

is incurred in preparing and proving maps in Circuit

Court proceedings, and it seems to me that there is a

good deal to be said for the appointment of an

independent Court mapper and valuer, who would

be detailed to prepare and prove all maps for use

in the Circuit Court. At the present time, in a

comparatively small case, you will find independent

maps prepared by separate engineers, each of whom

has to be paid separately for travelling to the

locus in quo,

preparing the map and attending in

Court to give evidence about matters in respect of

which there is very often no conflict, and in respect

of which there should certainly be no conflict of

testimony. Again if a number of bills of costs were

examined, it would be found that a"bout one half

of the expenses consist of car fare and expenses paid

to witnesses attending Court. This is due to the

fact that witnesses are compelled to travel long

distances to attend Court. If justice were made more

accessible a great part of this expense could be

avoided.

Solicitors'

Benevolent

Association

IN the year 1829 a circular was issued to vac memoers

of the profession inviting subscriptions

to

the

Attorney's Association for the benefit of widows and

families of professional men. How this appeal was

answered and how long the Association continued,

history does not record, but in the year 1863 the

present Solicitors' Benevolent Association was

founded. The objects of the Society are to relieve

members of the solicitors' profession in Ireland who

may have become poor or necessitous, to relieve the

poor and necessitous families of deceased solicitors,

and in special cases to give relief to the poor and

necessitous parents or collateral relations of deceased

solicitors.

I wish to emphasise that the activities

of the Association arc not confined to the area of

jurisdiction of this Society but extend to the whole

of Ireland. There are approximately i,800 solicitors

in the thirty-two counties of Ireland, of whom less

than 700 are members of the Solicitors' Benevolent

Association. The subscription is the modest sum of

£i is. od. per annum, and as my last appeal during

my year of office as President, 1 wish to ask each

non-member to join the Association. No one knows

the day or the hour in which he may be struck down

either by bodily infirmity or death, and by con

tributing this modest sum each year a solicitor can

help the Association to provide some measure of

relief for those cases of hardship which happen in

every walk of life. The annual report also contains

a form of bequest in favour of the Association,

which I would commend to the attention of solicitors.

I earnestly hope that my appeal will not go unheard.

Finally, I should like to thank the members of the

Council for the invaluable help and support which

they gave to me during my year of office now drawing

to a close, especially to the Vice-Presidents, who

willingly undertook part of my duties during the

months when I was incapacitated by illness from

performing them myself.

To these gentlemen, I

am very much indebted as are also, I am sure, the

members of the Society. I should like to thank the

members of the Society for their support of the

Council during the past year and for loyally accepting

and carrying out the various recommendations of

the Council which were given in the interests of the

public and of the profession.

I now move the adoption of the Annual Report.

The motion for the adoption of the report was

unanimously carried.

Mr. Henry Shannon moved the following resolu

tion, standing in his name :—" That the Council

is hereby directed to appoint a Committee to make

recommendations to a Special General Meeting of

the Law Society to be held in private relating to

the following matters :

Any changes needed in the

curriculum and organisation of the legal education

for solicitors ; and that the above Committee shall

have power to nominate thereon such representatives

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