The Sun.
London, England, 1819-03-10 00:00:00

RIEFROPOLITAN LAW SOCIETY.

, (.From The Times.]
A Meeting► 'yesterday took place at Searle's
Coffee-house, in Carey-street, of many very re,
,spectable Members of o.le Profession, A ttornies
and Solicitors, with a view to the establishment
of a. Society, which should have for its. object the
preservation ot•the just privileges and the support
of the credit of A►tunnies and Solicitors, and par-
ticularly the .prevention and correction of the
growing abuse of improper and unqualified per-
sons becoming Members of the Profession.
%V. LEAKE, EN. AL P. took the Chair at about
half-past two, and a series of Resolutions were
moved and approved of, containing the opinions
of the Meeting, 'that the existing laws, so far
from protectin"g regular Practitioners, subjected
them to much injury aml discredit, by allowing
unqualified persons to enter into the Profession.
It was further agreed, that for the better protec-
tion of the Profession, its rights, and its charac-

ter, a permanent Society should be formed, can•
skiing of Attornies and Solicitors practicing in
,London or Westminster, or within the limits of

the two-penny post. This Society was to be
called " The Metropolitan Law Society." Some
discussion arose among the Gentlemen present,
and many cases of gross abuse were stated. As
the law now-s;ood, it signified very little to any
Solicitor, as far as• regarded pecuniary matters,
whether he was struck off the rolls, as at the ex-

pence of between 201. 301. be might be en-
abled to put himself- in the same situation as be-
fore his disgrace. This was an evil which hail

been gradually increasing for many years ; and,
tailless a stop were put to its rapid progress, the
injury to the respectable class of the Profession
would he incalculable. Solicitors, it was ob-
served by one of the Gentlemen present, had paid
too,much attention, and had been too anxious
about the cases of their clients, to regard their
own. It appeared by the statement of one of the
Meeting, that the 'limber of persons articled,
front the year 1794 to 1804, was 2700, by each
of whom a duty was paid of,lool. making a total
of 270,0001. paid between those two periods.
From 1804 to 1815, the number of persons ar-
ticled was 6500, by each of whom 1101. was paid,
making a total of 715,0001. From 1815 to De-
cember, 1818, no fewer than 1900 indkidnals
were articled, and the duty paid was 1201. each,
making in the whole 225,0001. By this it appeared,
that very large sums were given for admission to
the Profession, which was by a defect in the law
almost totally avoided by those who introduce 4
themselves by sinister means, It flu they appear-
ed. that tly 'umber of

e 11

Attornies admitted *from

This Society, which we stated, last week, to he,
in contemplation, and gave, at the same time, a
sketch of its object, was instituted yesterday.
The Meeting took place as before, at Searle't
Coffee-house, and a number of the most respect-
able Members of the Pr ofessiou were prescot.
At half-past two o'clock, W. LEAKE,
Member of Parliament for St. Michael's, havinz
been called to the Chair, opened the business of
the day by shortly restating the general objects of
tl►e proposed Society, and expressing his great
willingness to forward them by every means
his p,,wer, both in his private and Parliamentary
capacity.
Mr. MALL, in rising to propose a tiumber of
Resolutions for the adoption of the Meeting, re-
marked upon the high importance of the Proles.
sion, and described at some length the difficulties
under which it is at present labour-int,. One cir-
cumstance complained of, as a great and increas-
ing evil,,was the vast number of Certificated Con-
veyancers, who are continually springing up, to
the exclusion of the regulatly-admitted Attornies.
These Conveyancers he described as being, in
many instances, persons who had been struck off
the Roll of Attornies for mal-prlacticesi in others,
as so utterly ignorant of the law as to be unable
to draw up a common title-deed without the ad-

vice of Counsel; in others, as living at a great
distance from the metropolis, and carrying on an
extensive practice entirety by proxy, not only in
conveyancing but at common LIN ; and in ot he's
as being mere non-entities, existing only in name,
and the business being conducted by a set of
clerks.

Several others of the Gentlemen present bore

testimony to this statement ; and added, that the
evil was of such magnitude, that not more than
one-fifth of professional business' was done di-
rectly by regularly-admitted Attornies. The tor•
due adv,,ntages enjoyed by the Clerks in Court,
in the Court of Exchequer, was strongly animado
vetted upon. It was stdred, that these advan-
tages arose from the circumstance of the business
of that Court being carried on almost entirely
without the agency of stumps, and the repeated
use of the same instrument tu a number of differ.
cut causes, whereby the Clerks in Court were
enabled to bold out great advantages to Attornies
bringing causes into that Court, but to the injury
of the revenue and of the profession generally.
Several Resolutions were then put, and curried
una voce, in substance as follows :

"'That the existing laws, so far from protecting regular
practitioners, subject them to much injory and discredit, by
the sufferance of irregular wad unqualified persons.
" That, for the protection of the profession, its rights, and
its character, it is requisite that a permanent and active So-,
ciety of its regular and honourable professors be forthwith
established, the chief object of whiCh Society shall be to pre-
serve the jest privileges, and support toe credit of Atturnies
and Solicitors, and to take such measures as may be necessary
fur that object," &c.

The Chairman here informed the Meeting that
e was ►ender the necessity of attending in his
lice in the 'loose of Commons; and in con-

stitierice

T. W. BLAGRAVE, Esq. was unanimously re-
quested to take the Chair for the remaining
business. '

Some further conversation then took place, se-
veral other Resolutions were carried, a set of
Rules were adopted for the government of the
Society, and the whole of the persons present rue
tered their names as members of it. The illeet,4
ing then adjourned.

LONDON JOURNALS.

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.

[Morning Chronicle.]
The report in a Morning Paper of the two new
frigates %Odell had arrived from the United Statet
at Buenos Ayres having gone round Cape Horn
to join Lord Cochrane's fleet is incorrect. We
have sera a letter from the Chili Deputy at Bue-
nos Ayres to his Correspondent in London, dated
the Gth December, in which he distinctly says
that these two frigates still remain in Buenos
Ayres.

It appears that some hard fighting preceded the
capture of the Spanish 50 gun ship, called the
Reyna Maria Isabel, in the port of Taleaguano.—
The Independents had 27 killed and 22 wounded.
The ~bove prize is represented as a most valuable
vessel, 2 years old, perfectly well fitted out, and
an extremely fast sailer.—(lbid.)

[The Times.]
The Lords of the Treasury have given direc—
tions to the Commissioners of the Customs for tha
immediate dismissal of 81 tide-surveyors- and
%salters, who have been proved to have take!' itcs
contrary to the Act.

11)05e
cohlBAl su,o7naesy 2a113n8.:1
nttlie 1 ,
idnt, •?-°'-17. Ft
' t'- :.:
::.
,i.ii(4ll
45,7601. From 1815 to 18i• .<.
ll' --.7-' ad-
mitted was 1091', and the duty
4, 251. etch,
was 27,27516 The rminber of '
out in the years 180 and 1'..,:'
the ditty paid, at an vet I:7'`- i ,eAtoits
45,5911. per annum.
The Society was forme • RICA
present enrolled their ttants ' t's•
ANOTHER ACCOUN )
[From The Morning lierald.l
....... _ _