The Gazette 1955-58

land compulsorily they do not pay for same in cash, but in depreciated Land Bonds. You will see also in the Appendix to the Council's Report, which has been circulated, a Memorandum on the subject of the Land Commission procedure. This Memorandum was prepared by Mr. Shaw for the Council in an effort to expedite and make easy for both the Land Commission and the members of the profession the investigation and completion of sales through the Land Commission, and so that these matters could be attended to be cor respondence, without the necessity of personal attendance at the Land Commission Offices. Both my predecessor and I have already referred in half-yearly Reports to the increases in Court fees, these became effective by the Orders of the Minister for Justice in October, 1956 ; a memo randum was subsequently submitted by the Council to the Minister showing the effect of certain of these increases in particular cases. As a result of that memorandum the Minister has agreed to receive a deputation on the subject, but no date, time, or place has yet been fixed, and we on the Council and I personally hope that there will be no further delay by the Minister or the Department in receiving this deputation, as the matter is con sidered by the Council as of major importance not alone to the profession but to the public. As you have seen from the Gazette, the Minister for Local Government in accordance with Section 31 of the Labourers Act, 1906, asked for my views as President of the Society on a proposed new Order abolishing the special costs scale under the Labourers' Acts, and suggesting that bills of costs of solicitors acting for vendors and purchasers should be taxed by the general Taxing Office under the provisions of S.R.G.O., 1884 to 1951. After obtaining the views of interested solicitors and the profession generally, I informed the Minister that I had no objection to the proposed Order which was duly made on the 5th July, 1957, and came into operation on the ist of October of this year. The Order was printed in the July issue of issue of the Gazette, with an explanatory note on its effect, particularly in regard to the election of the item charges, which should be studied by all members. As you are aware, a Commission was set up some time ago to deal with the matter of Workmen's Compensation. At the request of the Commis sion the Council submitted a statement of their views in the matter within its terms of reference; in the view of the Council the present code of Workmen's Compensation Law required only minor changes and amendments.

members of this Society. The report will be published in the Society's Gazette in due course. Every President in recent years has expressed the importance of Solicitors becoming members of their Local Bar Associations. Last year, my pre decessor, Mr. Shaw, interested himself in the revival of two dormant Associations in Longford and Sligo, as a result I am glad to be able to report that the Bar Association in County Sligo has been reformed, and if there is anything that I can do, or the Council can do, towards a similar state of affairs coming into being in Longford it will have our fullest support. Earlier this year the Government set up a Com mission on Income Taxation, and your Council were asked to submit a Memorandum of evidence to this Commission. In this connection the Council would like the views of the members on the matters referred to in the Annual Report, and I would earnestly suggest that any member who is interested in this matter would let us have his view at the earliest opportunity, so that if the Council so think fit they may be included in a Memorandum of Evidence to be submitted by the Society to the Commission. In last year's report of the Council it was men tioned that a Memorandum had been submitted to the Statutory Committee under the Land Act, 1933, asking that the level of item charges for conveyancing business in the Land Commission should be brought into line with the scale of charges for other conveyancing business, and a copy of this memorandum was printed as an Appendix to the last Report. I regret to have to state that no final decision has been made by the Land Commis sion. This matter has been the subject of negotia tions which have been going on for some time with the Land Commission, and your Council are pressing that the matter should be brought to a conclusion. There is no doubt that the present charges allowed for such business are unremunera- tive, and that the work involves a disproportionate expenditure of time and effort for insufficient reward. Arising out of this matter, I should mention the subject of the payment of purchase money and costs in depreciated Land Bonds ; the position has not been rectified by the issue of new Bonds at a higher rate of interest, as it is now quite clear that there is little or no market for the Bonds on the Stock Exchange, and owners and their Solicitors who receive payment in these Bonds have some difficulty in realising them. It seems to me a most unsatisfactory state of affairs that where a Depart ment of Stale is given statutory powers to acquire