The Gazette 1955-58

claim against such documents." The documents included an original land certificate which had been deposited with the bank as security for the client's liabilities and the object of their delivery to the solicitor was that a portion of the lands comprised in the folio might be sold. Nothing was said as to the disposal of the proceeds of the sale. The dealing was duly registered on the folio and the land certificate for the balance of the holding was returned by the solicitor to the bank. The bank enquired about the disposal of the proceeds of sale and were informed by the solicitor that the amount had been paid direct to the client. The Council were asked to state whether on the facts submitted it was the duty of the solicitor to pay the proceeds of sale to the bank. The Council, on a report from a committee stated that in their opinion it was the duty of the solicitor, having regard to the terms of the undertaking, to pay the proceeds of sale to the bank, unless he had obtained the con sent of the bank to disposing of them otherwise. Mr. C. G. Vanston THE Council passed a vote of sympathy with the family of the late Mr. Cecil G. Vanston. Mr. Vanston was one of the Society's representatives on the District Court Rules Committee. ' LAND REGISTRY SALE OF POSTAGE STAMPS IN FOUR COURTS AT the Society's request the Revenue Commissioners have agreed to maintain a supply of is. postage stamps at the Stamp Office in the Four Courts to facilitate practitioners in stamping copies of Land Registry folios. ORGANIZATION FOR EUROPEAN ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION VACANCY for a principal administrator (Grade II), as Assistant Legal Adviser in Paris. Members interested in above may obtain particu lars from the Secretary.of the Society. Closing date, i4th March. . SOLICITORS' BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION THE 94th Annual General Meeting of the Associa tion was held on Friday, 3oth January, 1958, at the Solicitors' Buildings, Four Courts, Dublin. The Chairman was Mr. R. A. O'Brien. • The Chairman, in the course of his address moving the adoption of the annual report, congratulated Mr. John Carrigan on his appointment as President of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland. He mentioned that while membership still fell far short of what it should be, there had been a gratifying, increase since last year of over 100 members. 7,8.

Gaining and Lotteries Act, 1956 MEMBERS asked the opinion of the Council as to the propriety of accepting instructions for the recovery of gaming debts since the passing of the Act. Section 36 (2) of the Act states that " no action shall lie for the recovering of any money or thing which is alleged to be won or to have been paid upon a wager which has been deposited to abide the event on which a wager is made ". In a recent English case R. v. Weisz (1951, 2 A.E.R. 408), Lord Goddard criticised counsel and solicitor who acted in a case for the recovery of a gaming debt in which the cause of action was described as an account stated and settled. It is understood that since the report of this case members of the Bar have been unwilling to sign pleadings. The matter was referred to a committee for a report. Having con sidered the committee's report the Council decided to advise members as follows : A solicitor is acting unprofessionally if he knowingly institutes pro ceedings for a client on a non-existent (as distinct from a valid although un-enforceable) contract or cause of action. It is therefore unprofessional to threaten or institute proceedings on behalf of a client for a gaming debt which falls within the pro hibition of the statute, even although no attempt is made to disguise the nature of the action. ••" T J n FEBRUARY 6xH : The President in the Chair. Also present: Messrs. Desmond J. Mayne, James J. O'Connor", John Maher, Joseph P. Tyrrell, Christopher E. Callan, Eunan McCarron, Peter E. O'Connell, Robert McD. Taylor, Patrick R. Boyd, George G. Overend, John J. Sheil, George A. Nolan, Niall S. Gaffney, John R. Halpin, Arthur Cox, Patrick Noonin, Francis J. Lanigan, Cornelius J. Dily, Charles J. Downing, Desmond J. Collins, John J. Nash, James R. Quirke, Terence de Vere White. The following was among the business transacted : Undertaking for Return of Title Deeds A SOLICITOR obt lined title deeds from a bank on tehalf of a client in exchange for the following receipt and undertaking sign3d by the solicitor : " Received on loan from the X Bank the documents hereunder specified which I hereby undertake to return on demand and in any event within 30 days. I hereby further undertake to hold the said docu ments on trust for the said Bank and not to do any act which would enable the property dealt with by them to be mortgaged or assigned without the said Bank's consent or their lien thereon to be in any way postponed or prejudiced. In default I hereby undertake to pay to the bank the full amount of their