The Gazette 1958-61

law and more about ethics and I say that it is the bounden duty of every master taking an apprentice to instil into his apprentice a proper code of ethics and conduct. Nobody else can do it. It is the master's duty and I cannot emphasise too solemnly the weight of this duty. If every master taking an apprentice took care to see that that apprentice was taught prop erly and received a correct ethical outlook and stan dard of conduct towards his colleagues and the public, the profession and its members would have a good deal less to worry about than it has to-day. And it is here that the local Bar Associations do so much good to maintain the high standards and the code of honour which are an absolute necessity to our profession. I will not weary you with his because by now you should know what my views are on this subject. I will only repeat that there ought to be a Bar Association in each district and every solicitor in that district should be a member of it. There can be no valid excuse whatever for failure in either of these respects. International Bar Association The Society was represented at the Seventh Bien nial Congress of the International Bar Association which was held for a week last July at Cologne. Mr. Halpin, Vice-President and I attended as delegates and seven other members attended as conferees. The Society now has a representative on the General Council of the International Bar Association to which I had the honour of being elected. Legal associations from all over the free world were represented—from Australia to Norway. In such company it was essen tial that we should pull our weight to the full and I want to place it on record here that Mr. Halpin and my colleagues representing the Society at the Con gress worked consistently and steadily for the good name not only of the Society but also of Ireland. A country is judged solely by the members of its delega tion which may be unfair but is perhaps natural. My colleagues returned from Cologne having given the Society and the Country an enhanced reputation among lawyers and no praise of mine can be too great for their solid hard work and the thanks of the Society is due to all of them in full measure. Nor can I end this note without referring to the kindness and help we received from His Excellency The Honour able William Warnock, our Ambassador at Bonn. Our sincere thanks are due to him and to his staff for their assistance and the manner in which they made themselves responsible for our welfare. Finally may I express the view that the Council and I would be anxious that country solicitors should attend the half yearly General Meetings of this Society. The country representations at these Meet ings has for years past been extremely small. I appre ciate that it may be difficult for country members to

here to go into figures and percentages but it is an established fact that a great deal of solicitors' work in the Land Commission is carried out at a loss to the solicitor. It was pointed out by the Council that this situation if it continues must be detrimental to the efficient conduct of business as solicitors will be un able to employ staff to carry it on or to engage in it themselves. Discussions have been held at official level with the Land Commission for over two years past and it has been officially conceded that the- Society have a good case but nevertheless we have been unable to make any satisfactory progress towards solution. The position is complicated and worsened by the fact that part of the costs in Land Commission matters is paid in Land Bonds, which stand at less than par, sometimes as low as 75% to 80% of the par value and as a result the client must pay the difference. This claim was submitted to the Land Commission in May of 1956 and yet after some two and a half years investigation and negotiation no progress has been made except to obtain an admission that the Society have a, good case. The Council are still deal ing with this matter and intend to press it as hard as they can. Law Reporting One matter which has exercised the attention of the Council during the year is the delay in reporting de cided cases. The Society has undertaken to pay to the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting a fixed an nual sum of £500 and is the largest single contributor to those funds. The delay in reporting decided cases and in bringing out the law reports seems to me to be inexplicable. It is necessary at times to wait for as much as two years for a report of a decided case and I do not understand why these cases which are of such vital importance to both branches of the pro fession cannot be reported speedily. The Society's representatives on the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting have been asked to bring these matters before it and it is hoped that there will be some improvement in the future. Education You will see, beginning at page 16 of the Annual Report the position with regard to education in the Society, the list of the lectures and examinations which must be taken by apprentices. It is all set out there very fully and I do not intend to comment upon it but I want to say this. I am satisfied in these days that masters do not give sufficient attention to the proper education of their apprentices in ethics andstandards ofconduct.lt seems to me that in many cases apprentices are allowed to become solicitors qualified to practise law but with very little idea of how to behave towards the public or their colleagues. In my view it would be far better if they knew less