The Gazette 1907-8

65

The Gazette of the Incorporated JJavj Society of Ireland.

DEC., 1907]

community would do their level best to make that. Act of Parliament work smoothly; and they had been loyal to that, and had never brqken faith, and they might be proud of nosy few cases appeared in the list to account for delays. It was not their fault that only 2000 of the 6000 originating applications on the file had been disposed of, and he attributed ^haf to pnly one cause—want of money. There were now a couple of vacancies in the examiners' posts in the Land Commission, and the Council were pressing the claims of the solicitors' pro fession to fill thern. Their men were rnpre suite.d for the post than others, after the course of examinatiqns they went fhrqugh, and the training they got at the Jjands of their lecturers and exarniners. Tljey were capable of fillipg these positions; ancj he claimed as a right tfiat their profession should not be. passed over on the present qccasipn, and that' their profession should be recognized in connexion with the two vacant posts of examiners" (Jj.ear, hear). There were other matters of deep jnlerest jn the report, to whic^i the members might well turn their attention. If those genflernen fronj the country who complained would only take the trouble of studying that report, they would say it was a record of good work. If they were all united, neither the Local Government Board nor any other Board could refuse to receive a deputation ; but now the Board could afford to shrug their shoulders and say, " Oh, they are only solicitors." They asked for support, and he trusted as one result of their meeting that day, that far more members of the profession would join the Society (applause). MR. R. A. MACNAMARA said that, as a member of a Committee that did work sent them by the Council, he could say that no application from the country had failed to be dealt with. One of the reasons why as many cases as they would like had not .been dealt with was the want of funds, which these gentlemen in the country did not supply, not being members. If the gentleman from Kerry would send in such a question as Mr. M. J. Byrne had referred to, it would be considered by the Council; and if they came to the conclusion it was one that ought to be attended to, it would be done. They had to pay Counsel, and had other outlay ; and they could not do the work if solicitors through the country would not contribute to the Society. The solicitors of Irelaad had the matter of the election of the Council in their own hands, and if they did not pay, and become members, and vote for the Council, why should they grumble at the Council as it stood ? (hear, hear).

they were not sure they were going to get the purchase-money, or half of it, under the agree ments that had been lodged. The Treasury seemed to be the common butt; but he under stood that at no time had the Land Commission been held up for want of money. There might be, of course, some difficulty in raising funds ; but it was not the cause of the delay. The cause of the delay was the minute inspection arid bad arrangement of the present staff. MR. WILLIAM FRY said he would like to congratulate the profession on the meeting they had that day, because he thought it would be within the recollection of some of them, that for years past they had not had so representative a meeting. He thought they had a right to explain to their country friends that there was not a single letter that came from the .country from any member of the profession that svas not carefully attended to; and he thought Mr. Wakely would bear him out in saying that in the particular case Mr. M. J. Byrne had referred to he did not think it ever reached him. An isolated case such as Mr. Byrne had told them of was hardly a fair sample of the way the work of the country was attended to. The Council was not alone composed of men frqm the city, but there were on it men from every province in Ireland. They were in touch with the Northern and Southern Law Societies; and, speaking after twenty years' experience, he might say that never had a request of the kind been neglected. Of course requests were not always complied .with—the Council must use its own discretion as to whether a certain case ought to be taken up or ought not—in the way a member might ask; but every letter was well considered. Dealing with the question of land-purchase delays, he observed from the paper that Mr. Birrell took the blame for the delays more or less on his own department; but he said that the present system could not last for ever. 'And it occurred to him that as Mr. Birrell enumerated the enormous staff of officials at present engaged in carrying the Act into effect, that if the Treasury saved the expense of all the inspectors and others who were now prome'nading all round Ireland, and applied it to the purchase-money of some of the estates locked up in the department for so long, it would be better in the public interest. But as long as the present system lasted, they must expect that cases would not go on as fast as they, professional men, would work it. When the Bill became law, their profession gave an undertaking, that they as members of the