THE EARL OF LIMERICK (on behalf of the Earl of MILLTOWN)asked Her Majesty's Government, Why they have decided to refuse justices of the peace in Ireland the assistance of the advice of the law officers which has hitherto been always accorded them in cases of doubt or difficulty; whether they propose any substitute for the custom which has hitherto subsisted; or whether the magistrates, very few of whom have had a legal education, and none of whom have the assistance of a legal clerk, are to be left entirely to their own devices?
§ LORD CARLINGFORD (LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL)The question really was whether the officer known by the name of the Law Adviser, with the special function of advising magistrates all over Ireland, should be maintained or not. That question had been decided in the negative, after it had had the most careful consideration of the Lord Lieutenant, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and the Law Officers; they came to the conclusion that the system need not longer be continued. The principle was objectionable, and it was no more desirable, if it could be avoided, that there should be a connection between the magistrates and a Legal Adviser in Dublin Castle than it was desirable in England. Among other considerations which had weighed with the Lord Lieutenant was the fact that the number of cases in which advice had been sought of late years had largely decreased; and, on the other hand, the Petty Sessions' clerks had, upon the whole, considerably improved. Though this change would put an end to the office which had existed, yet the Chief Secretary for Ireland had stated that if any serious inconvenience should follow for a time by the change, the Government would be prepared to meet it, and to give such assistance as they might think absolutely necessary to the magistrates; and this could be done, of course, without continuing the office of Law Adviser.
THE EARL OF LONGFORDsaid, he doubted the wisdom of the abolition of the office of Law Adviser. He did not think the noble Lord knew what the clerks of Petty Sessions in many cases were. The cases submitted to the magistrates were frequently very difficult to 379 decide; and the Acts of Parliament in force were so numerous that the magistrates often required the assistance of a Legal Adviser in their construction.
§ LORD CARLINGFORD (LORD PRESIDENT of the COUNCIL)said, he hoped the result of the change would be that a higher class of men would be appointed to the office of Petty Session clerks.
§ LORD FITZGERALDsaid, that, as far as he was aware, the system which he now learned had been abolished had worked well, and he thought that this was not the time to make the changes proposed. There was no analogy between the two countries in reference to this matter, because in this country the magistrates had the advice and assistance of experienced solicitors as clerks, whereas in Ireland the clerks of Petty Sessions were not solicitors. The office of Law Adviser had originally been established by Mr. Drummond, when Under Secretary, in order to promote a uniform and homogeneous administration of the law at Petty Sessions. It was then proposed to be filled by a junior barrister at a very moderate salary. The office had grown to much larger dimensions, and he thought it ought to be brought back to its original position. It was an excrescence and an anomaly, and could not be defended as a permanent institution; but he had no doubt that, in the present period of crisis and difficulty, it was unwise to make the change. If it was a Treasury movement for economy, and if the Law Officers were to be substituted for the Advisers, he had no doubt that in place of a diminution there would be an increase of expenditure.
THE EARL OF BELMOREsaid, that the number of references to the Castle had decreased, probably owing to the increased number of Resident Magistrates. Gentlemen, however, were now being appointed as ordinary magistrates in all parts of Ireland, of a lower social status, and of less education, than that of the class to which formerly the magistracy was generally confined; and these would be, perhaps, even more in a difficulty sometimes than were the country gentleman Justices. He hoped that the magistrates in Ireland would be able to send to Dublin Castle for advice in cases in which they thought it necessary, notwithstanding the proposed changes.