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kindly placed their specialised knowledge at the
service of some of our Committees, I shall do my
best to be worthy of that honour. To my two Vice-
presidents, Mr. Walker and Mr. O'Connell, and to
our immediate past President, -Mr. Halpin, may I
publicly say—" Thank you, for so generously ex
tending to me your help and advice at all times ".
The absorbing interest in our profession of our
worthy Secretary, Mr. Plunkett, is so well known to
you all, that I need scarcely refer to it. Suffice it is
to say that no President could hope to discharge the
burdens and responsibilities of office without Mr.
Plunkett's kindly guidance which
is always
so
generously given.
In accordance with Bye-Law 28
the President
appointed
the
following members
to be
the
scrutineers of the ballot for the election of the
Council for the year 1960-61 :
Messrs. James R.
McC Blakeney, Thomas
Jackson, Brendan P.
McCormack, Alexander J. McDonald and Roderick
J. Tierney.
Messrs. T. D. McLoughlin, Denzil O'Donnell,
Victor Crawford, Eunan McCarron and J. W.
O'Donovan addressed
the meeting on matters
arising on
the President's statement.
Messrs.
McCarron and O'Donovan particularly stressed the
necessity of obtaining new subscriptions for the
Solicitors' Benevolent Association.
Mr. Victor Crawford proposed a vote of thanks
to the President for his services to the Society since
his election. Mr. Arthur Cox seconded the motion
which was carried with acclamation. The proceedings
then terminated.
CONVEYANCING PRACTICE
RESTRICTIVE TERMS
The Council have on a number of occasions
published statements in the Society's Gazette dis
approving of stipulations in contracts for sale which
are unduly restrictive as to title.
They wish to
draw the attention of members to the following
practices which they think are objectionable as
making it unduly difficult for a purchaser's solicitor
to discharge his duty to his client, (i) The practice
of some solicitors acting for vendors of furnishing
an engrossment in duplicate of the contract for sale
and refusing to permit any alteration by a solicitor
for the purchaser.
There is no objection to the
vendor's solicitor furnishing the engrossment instead
of a draft, but in this event the solicitor for the pur
chaser should, if he thinks it necessary in the interests
of his client, be entitled to treat the engrossment as
a draft and to amend the draft as may appear neces
sary.
(2) A provision in an agreement for a lease
where there is substantial fine that the lessee will
not object or make requisitions to or in respect of
the lessor's title and that no copies of title deeds will
be supplied except on payment of scrivenery fees.
In the opinion of the Council the commission scale
fee on the fine included in a lease should include
the work of the vendor's solicitor in deducing
title and the imposition of costs on the purchaser-
lessee is unduly onerous and contrary to the best
interests of the profession.
(3) Provisions in agree
ments for sale that the purchaser will admit the
vendor's
title.
This, as
a general practice,
is
obviously objectionable.
The Council regard the practices mentioned above
as lowering the standard of the profession and in
creasing unnecessarily the difficulties of solicitors
acting for purchasers and lessees. Furthermore such
practices provide an argument for those who attack
the commission scale fees in conveyancing matters.
The Council have on numerous occasions dis
approved of the practice of including stipulations in
agreements for sale of property that the purchaser
will pay the vendor's costs.
PAYMENT OF DEPOSIT TO VENDOR'S
SOLICITOR. QUESTION OF
NEGLIGENCE
A committee of the Council recently made a report
referring to the practice whereby the purchaser's
solicitor returns the executed contract to the vendor's
solicitor with a cheque for the deposit made payable
to the vendor's solicitor. The vendor's solicitor's
authority to give a receipt for the deposit does not
arise until the vendor has signed the contract and
if the vendor failed to sign the contract and his
solicitor subsequently failed
to account for the
deposit the purchaser might be the loser and his solic
itor might have to answer a claim for negligence. The
Council decided to bring this matter to the notice of
members and to recommend that contracts for the
sale of property should be engrossed in duplicate
and that a copy executed by the vendor should be
exchanged for a copy duly executed by the purchaser,
the latter being accompanied by a cheque for the
deposit in favour of the vendor's solicitor where
appropriate according to the terms of the contract.
DISHONOURED CHEQUE.
DUTY OF
COLLECTING BANK
A cheque is properly presented for payment within
the meaning of Section 45 of the Bills of Exchange
Act 1882 when it is handed over in the Central
Clearing Office in the Bank of Ireland by a repre
sentative of the collecting bank to a representative
of the paying bank.