SECOND READING. (Hansard, 9 July 1888)

§ LORD ESHER (MASTER of the ROLLS)

, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, said, among other things, the Bill provided for the transfer to the Incorporated Law Society of the custody of the Roll of Solicitors, which heretofore had been in the custody of the Clerk of the Petty Bag. This would lead to a considerable saving of salaries. The Bill also provided for the admission of solicitors by the Master of the Rolls upon production of a certificate from the Incorporated Law Society of having passed the final examination. On production of the admission, signed by the Master of the Rolls, and on payment of a fee of £5, it would be the duty of the Registrar of the Incorporated Law Society to cause the name of such person to be entered on the Roll of Solicitors. With regard to an application to strike a solicitor off the Roll, or an application for the hearing of allegations against a solicitor, the Bill proposed that the Law Society should appoint a discipline committee of not less three or more than seven members, who should make inquiries into the matters alleged. If the committee were of opinion that there was no primâ facie case of misconduct the Society need proceed no further. But if the committee believed that there was a case, it would be the duty of the Society to bring the report of the committee before the Court, which would make such order as it might think fit. If the committee of the Law Society came to the conclusion that there was no foundation for the case, the party who insisted that the solicitor had misconducted himself would not be prevented from going into a Court of Law, though the Law Society would not be bound to follow up the case.