Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 07.pdf/427

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392
The Green Bag.

as Lord Chancellor, and that in his opinion the number of breaches by trustees which never come to light is enormous. On the other hand it is claimed that, as there are more than fifteen thousand solicitors on the rolls, the proportion of those who are dishonest to the entire number is infinitesimally small. Where the matter would have ended cannot be safely predicted, but it will be hung off for a while, as the recent change in government will suspend legislation on the subject for some time to come. The matter which has interested the other branch of the pro fession, the bar, concerns its domestic or internal manage ment. A large majority of the barristers, particularly the younger members, are desirous of forming an organization for the purpose of directing, controlling and governing their own affairs; and to this end a General Council of the Bar was formed. But it cannot get on without funds, and the barristers who before being called are obliged to pay large sums to the already wealthy bodies which are known as the Inns of Court, naturally object to put their hands in their pockets to provide these funds. There are four inns of

court — The Middle Temple, The Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn. Conjointly they have a revenue approximating £500,000 a year. Their affairs are ad ministered by a board of governors or managers or trustees called " benchers." They make no report of their income or their expenditures. Of course they are men of integrity and high character, and no one questions the honesty of the administration of the funds they handle. There is simply the feeling that they might do more to advance the interests and the professional success of the men for whom they administer the big trust. They have offered to sub scribe something towards the Bar Council, but the amount is small, and the conditions which accompany the offer render it almost impossible of acceptance. However there is a general desire for peace and compromise, and the difficulty may be solved. If so I will have great pleasure in telling you later on in what manner a revolution or strike of the largest professional trades union the world has ever seen, has been accomplished, and what results have been attained. Stuff Gown.