The Gazette 1914-15

The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland,

QUNE, 1914

16

Judges and, as the President informed you at our annual meeting, this conference was held last October. As a result, the recommenda tion for the codification of the law was withdrawn, and no difficulty was experienced in coming to an agreement with the Co. Court Judges as to the changes to be made in the Bill to meet their views. The first work taken up by the newly elected Ccun il for the present year was the drafting of the amend- i ments and new clauses necessary to give effect to what had been agreed on at this conference. We communicated these new clauses and amendments to the Co. Court Judges, strongly recommending that some of them should not be insisted on as jeopardising the chance of passing the Bill, and the Judges met us on every point, and the Bill, as now drafted, meets with their entire approval. The past history of our efforts to get the Bill through Parliament convinced us that it would be futile to have it again brought in as a private member's Bill, and we, therefore, determined to approach the Government with a view to getting the Bill introduced as a Government measure. A deputation from the Council, consisting of Mr. Patrick J. Brady (who is one of our Vice-Presidents), Mr. Gerald Byrne and myself, waited by appointment on Mr. Birrell on the 17th of January last. We explained to him the position of the Bill, and that complete agree ment had now been come to with the County Court Judges ; and, further, that the Bill had been approved of by the Bar Council, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and other public bodies in Ireland ; in fact, by every public body which appeared to us to have any real interest in the matter. We told Mr. Birrell quite frankly that the Council could not undertake definitely that the Bill would be unopposed, but that so far as we could ascertain it was not threatened with any serious opposition. In reply, the Chief Secretary stated that he was aware of the necessity of the Bill, and that the Govern ment would be glad to have the credit of passirg it, but that, unless unopposed, the Bill, in the present state cf business in Parliament, would have no chance of passing even if introduced as a Government measure. We thereupon asked the Chief Secretary to take up the Bill On the basis that it vvas a practically unopposed measure, and he agreed

seconded by Mr. W. H. Fry, it was resolved that the ballot for election of Council be held upon Monday, the 23rd November, 1914, instead of Saturday, the 21st November, 1914. The President nominated the following five members of the Society to act as Scrutineers of ballot for Council on 23rd November, 1914 : Messrs. J. J. Cartan, E. N. Edwards, W. H. Geoghegan, J. G. Perry and P. K. White. THE PRESIDENT addressing the meet ing said :—Before' proceeding to give you some short account of the Council's work during the half year I should like to make reference to the loss which we have sustained by the recent death of Mr. Richard Reeves, one of the most honoured members of our profession. Mr. Reeves was on the Roll of Solicitors for over sixty years, during the whole of which time he was in large practice, and for no fewer than thirty-seven of those years he was elected by his brother Solicitors a member of this Council and twice President cf the Society. He was an original member of the Solicitors' Benevolent Society, and always one of its largest subscribers and most generous benefactors, and I think it can be truly said of him that no man in his lifetime was more closely or honourably identified with all that is best in our profession. Those of us who served with him on the Council, and knew him in his professional life, realise deeply that his death leaves a gap in our ranks which it will be hard to fill. The first subject I shall refer to is what may be called our hardy annual, indeed our hardy half-annual, namely, the County Courts (Ireland) Bill, promoted by this Society. You will recollect that about this time last year it was announced in the House of Commons on behalf of the Chief Secretary that, inasmuch as the Irish County Court Judges recom mended the codification of the entire law relating to County Courts in Ireland and also certain alterations in the law likely to give rise to controversy, the Chief Secretary regretted in the circumstances there was no opportunity for introducing legislation on the subject. On learning of this statement the Council requested the Lord Chancellor to arrange for a conference with the Co. Court