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indeed, for a number o f years before we
ever
thought of commemorating our Centenary, many
members of the Council, and others who
are
not
on the Council, have suggested that there ought
to be held an Annual Dinner of the Society. For
myself, and I know I am expressing the views of
many members o f the present Council, I am all
in favour o f the idea o f such a convivial gathering,
and I think the profession, as a whole, would be
much the better if we did give ourselves an oppor
tunity of meeting across the dining table, at least
once in each year, and thereby renewing old friend
ships and making new ones. It seems to me that
the obvious time for such a Dinner 'would be on
the night of our Annual General Meeting, at the
end of each year, which is always held as near as
possible to the 26th November. This year, the
Meeting will take place on the 26th November.
“ I do not wish to detain you now by going into
details, but here is an outline of what I have in
mind. The Dinner would be held in the Aberdeen
Hall of the Gresham Hotel, because, one would
hope that that would be the only place- that could
accommodate the number of members who would
wish to be present. It would be at a fixed price
not exceeding, say, twenty-five shillings, and would
include a certain measure of Wine, very much on
the same lines as our Centenary Banquet was served.
“ Another idea of mine is that we should be
‘ ourselves alone ’ ; in other words, we should not
have any Guests. O f course, I do not suggest
for one moment that this Dinner should supersede
the Council Dinner. That is a very old function
and is the occasion when the President and Council,
on behalf o f the Society, have the pleasure of
entertaining Ministers of State, members o f the
Judiciary, heads o f learned bodies and other dis
tinguished citizens, and here I must insert a com
paratively sordid note. I should 1 ke it to be known,
because I think there are certain members who are
not fully aware o f the fact that the entire expenses
of the Council Dinner are paid for by the members
of the Council themselves, whether they attend or
not. So much for the social side o f our activities,
past and future.
Education o f Solicitors’ Apprentices
“ I now turn to a matter which is o f the greatest
importance to the profession, and which the Council
have under constant consideration. I refer to the
education of our apprentices. The Council realise
that the present position is not entirely satisfactory,
due partly to circumstances outside their control,
and here I must reiterate the views o f my dis
tinguished predecessor, when he deplored, in his
address a year ago, the lack of modern textbooks
suitable for students on many of the major subjects
on the curriculum. For example, for the study
of the Law of Property and the Law o f Contract
and Tort, apprentices have to rely on pre-1922
editions of the standard English works, and, as
can be readily imagined, they are becoming more
and more difficult' to acquire, as most o f those
editions are long since out of print. There are many
other subjects o f vital concern to intending practi
tioners and, indeed, qualified solicitors, too, on
which there are no authoritative textbooks applic
able to this country. One refers, in particular, to
the Income Tax Code and the Laws o f Death
Duties. During the past six months, there have
been discussions with the Departments o f Justice
and Finance, with a view to the Society’s obtaining
a refund o f the stamp duties paid on indentures
of apprenticeship and certificates of admission, in
addition to the annual duty payable on practising
certificates. I f the Society could obtain a refund
o f these duties, it would then be in a position to
make a substantial contribution towards the cost
o f publication of such textbooks, that to-day leave
a conspicuous gap in the library of every apprentice
and practising solicitor.
The Universities
•
“ Since our last meeting there have been informal
discussions with the Universities, because, as many
former students, who are now members o f the
Society, must know, the working o f the law schools
in the Universities has not been entirely satisfactory.
It seems to me that the proper place to acquire a
knowledge of the history and the theory o f the law
is in a University, and the Council feel that if the
Universities could enlarge the curriculum of the
law schools, and engage whole-time professors and
lecturers, that is, men who would not only deliver
discourses on a wide variety o f legal subjects, but
who could find time to advise and assist the students
individually, the lawyers o f the future would be
much better qualified for admission to the learned
professions than they are to-day. I f the Council
felt that at the Universities the students could
acquire a thorough knowledge o f the history and
theory o f the important legal subjects, then the
lectures sponsored by this Society could, I think,
be devoted exclusively to matters that are o f peculiar
importance to the solicitors’ branch o f the legal
profession. I refer to subjects such as Company
Law, the laws of Death Duties and Estate Duty
Practice, the Income Tax Code, the general practice
o f a solicitor’s office, including the rights, duties
and responsibilities of a solicitor. I do not think
one can stress too strongly the immense advantages
o f a University education. It is not merely the