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annual contribution by the profession to the Com
pensation Fund was raised to about £25,000 and
in
the past 12 months was raised to £48,000.
The statutory contribution from solicitors to the
fund between 6th January 1965 and 30th Sept
ember 1966 amounted to £199,578. It will be
seen that the financial obligations undertaken by
the profession now far exceed the reliefs given by
the abolition of the stamp duty.
2. The new obligation to furnish annual ac
countants' certificates will impose further expense
on many solicitors and will also require the ex
penditure of additional monies by the Society in
administering and enforcing these provisions. In
the last resort these expenses must all fall upon
the members of the profession.
The Council
therefore submit that it
is
in
equitable
that
the Society should continue
to
contribute the sum of £500, or any sum, to the
Incorporated Council of Law Reporting. If nec
essary the Incorporated Council should raise the
price of their publications to a level which will
be sufficient to meet their expenses.
3rd November 1966
Solicitors' Buildings.
Four Courts,
Dublin 7.
BOOK REVIEW
O'Higgins (Paul)—A Bibliography of Periodical
Literature Relating to Irish Law. 8vo., pp.
xvi, 401. Belfast, Northern
Ireland Legal
Quarterly, 1966. £5.
As a law librarian, this reviewer has frequently
been faced with intricate legal problems and more
particularly with the question whether he could
lay his hands on a suitable article in answer to
his query; up to now, he often had to admit
defeat, as there was no handy reference book
available to supply a suitable answer. Dr. Paul
O'Higgins has produced a monumental work of
Irish legal periodical reference which will make
the task of finding 5000 articles culled from 130
legal periodicals exceptionally easy. The industry
and patience and skill which Dr. O'Higgins has
displayed in digging out this vast material is truly
remarkable and beyond praise, and librarians in
particular will
appreciate
the
tedious
labour
which this task involved.
Dr. O'Higgins has first listed all the periodicals
—Irish, English, Scottish and American—from
which he has abstracted the titles of the legal
articles, and given an appropriate abbreviation
in
respect of each periodical—e.g., A.B.A.J.—
American Bar Association Journal. The Bibliog
raphy itslef covers the bulk of the work—368
pages—and is subdivided alphabetically into sub
jects extending from "Administration on Assets"
to "Workmens' Compensation."
In every
title,
there
is a suitable cross reference to titles of
similar content—e.g., "Administration of Estates
—see Executors, Probate, Succession—and Wills."
Every article in every title is numbered for the
purpose of facilitating cross-references to articles.
If there is no definite author, the fact that it is
an anonymous leading article is indicated. Then
follows the title of the article, the volume number
of the series from whence it has been extracted,
the year of publication, and the number of pages
in the particular volume devoted to the article.
.
Example :
(II)
I
(leading article), "Executors
according to
the tenor"—(Vol.) 22
(of)
I(rish)
L(aw)
T(imes)
and
S(olicitors)
J(ournal),
(1888), Pages) 191-192.
The
inexhaustible
industry
required
to
list
nearly 5,000 articles can hardly be appreciated.
Dr. O'Higgins has carried out this arduous task
with enthusiasm and skill. The Northern Ireland
Legal Quarterly in Belfast are to be congratulated
upon the print and format of the work, as well
as upon undertaking so successfully the risks of
publishing this
magnum opus
which has deservedly
sold so well throughout the world. The pusillan
imous attitude of legal publishers in the Republic
deserves castigation and censure.
c. G. D.
JURISDICTION OF THE DISTIRCT AND
CIRCUIT COURTS
The Fifth Interim Report of the Committee
on Court Practice and Procedure (Pr. 8936)
is
now available from the Government Publications
Sale Office, G.P.O. Arcade, Dublin 1, price 2/6.
The report deals with the increase of jurisdiction
of the District and Circuit Court and should be
of considerable interest to members. Two nom
inees of the Society were amongst the members of
the Committee. Amongst the matters dealt with
were recommedations as
to alterations in civil
jurisdiction
limits of
the District Court and
jurisdiction
of
the Circuit Court
in
civil
cases. The possibility of consent jurisdiction in
civil cases was reviewed and a proposal as
to
unlimited consent jurisdiction was recommended
by the majority of the Committee. A very inter
esting note of dissent by the Hon. Mr. Justice
John Kenny is attached to the report. A minority
report was submitted by Dr. C. S. Andrews and
Justice Cathal O Floinn who recommended, as a
minority, in regard to the civil jurisdiction of the