The Gazette 1958-61

applied to it, or it is necessarily implied in the terms of the statute that they were intended to apply to or bind the State (Cork County Council and another v. the Commissioners of Public Works and others, 1945. I.R. 561). Section 29 of Lord St. Leonard's Act provided in effect that if an executor gives the sort of notice to creditors that would have been given under the old form of decree in Chancery, then he is entitled to distribute the estate and is protected from any further claims by creditors of whose claims he has not received notice. Counsel said that the Court of Chancery was originally the court of the Lord Chancellor, The Court of the King's conscience and that it might well be arguable that since the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery came directly from the King that to suggest that the Crown, or in Ireland the State, is not bound by something which pertains of the nature of an order by the King himself would be untenable. On the the other hand the modern trend of authority seems to suggest that if the application of an act of Parlia ment to the Crown would divest it of any Crown property or interest or right, the court would not in the absence of express words in the statute make the necessary implication. Here the application of Lord St. Leonard's Act would deprive the Crown of its claim against the executor but not against the beneficiary. Counsel was of the opinion that the chances as to which side the decision would fall are about equal. DUBLIN SOLICITORS' BAR ASSOCIATION A MEETING of the Council was held on Wednesday 3rd December, 1958. The method of appointment of Circuit Court Civil Bill Officers and District Court Process Servers and the performance of their duties by these officials were further considered. The Meeting also considered the suspension of publication of Messrs. Thorn's Directory. As that Directory is a valuable source of information which ought to be kept up to date and frequently consulted, members are recommended to write to Messrs. Thorn, and obtain, complete, and return to them their questionary. This will help the publishers in deciding on future publication. The next Meeting of the Council was fixed for Wednesday, 7th January, 1959. A MEETING of the Council was held on Wednesday 7th January, 1959. A letter from the Law Society referring to certain builders' advertisements, and to articles in the press, and their tendency towards the exclusion of a solicitor a,cting for purchasers, was considered. One 7J

to the Society which could be used as the basis of a further submission, at the same time giving per mission to the Society to cite the actual cases. STATUTORY NOTICE TO CREDITORS DEBTS DUE TO THE STATE WE are indebted to members of the Society who have forwarded correspondence with the Revenue Commissioners and a copy of counsel's opinion on the question whether a personal representative who publishes a statutory notice to creditors in accordance with Lord St. Leonard's act is protected against personal liability for income tax or any other debt due to the State of which he has not received notice. Letters of administration with will annexed were granted to the personal representative on ijth July, 1957. The statutory notice to creditors was published on October 9th and i6th, 1957, and the estate was finally distributed on 8th March, 1958, among beneficiaries all of whom resided abroad. On 26th March, 1958, the solicitors for the personal re presentative received a notice from the inspector of taxes claiming a sum due by the deceased in respect of income tax for the year 1956-57. No previous intimation had been received by the personal representative or his solicitors. The inspector of taxes on being asked to supply authority for the demand wrote as follows, " I am directed by the Revenue Commissioners to state that the authority for the proposition that the State is not bound by a notice given under the 29th section of the statute 22 and 23 Vie. cap. 35, is section 35 of the Finance Act 1924. Sub-section (i) thereof provides (inter alia) that every sum due in respect of tax on duty under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners shall be deemed to be a debt to the Minister for Finance for the benefit of the Central Fund. Sub-section 2 thereof provides that monies due or payable to or for the benefit of the Central Fund shall have, and be deemed always to have had attached to them, all such rights, priority and privileges as theretofore attached to debts due to the Crown. One of the Crown rights of privileges in respect of (inter alia) debts due to it was that it was not bound by any statute unless in the relevant statutory provision it is expressly or by necessary implication referred to. An exhaustive list of the authorities for this long established proposition will be found in the loth edition of Maxwell on the Interpretation of Statutes at pages 135 et seq." Members took the opinion of counsel on the question who advised that the State is entitled to the benefit of the perogative of the Crown. Accord ingly the State is not bound by statutes passed by its Parliament unless such statutes are expressly