Guss, B. R.

English

University of New Brunswick: Centre for Digital Scholarship Journals

24 L A W  S C H O O L  J O U R N A LREPORT BY B. R. GUSS, ESQ., ON THE MID-WINTER MEETING OF THE CANADIAN BAR ASSOC­IATION HELD IN SAINT JOHN, N. B.The mid-winter meeting of the Council of the Canadian Bar Assoc­iation held a t Saint John the week-end of February 9, 1950, served a purpose which transcended the usual conventional objectives. I t  did that too. There were the usual progress reports of committees and sections, but above and beyond th a t there was a feeling of warm th and friendliness, a real esprit de corps permeating the atmosphere th a t will be difficult to match in future. Nor does this mean to indicate th a t it was a rubber-stam p Council; not a t all—there was ample de­bate on everything: On the Inns of Court Funds, on the Canadian Bar Review, on the Survey of the Legal Profession, on the Junior Bar.The lawyers of the Loyalist City opened hearts and hearths and all those visitors who had indicated their intention of arriving on Thursday were entertained a t the homes of the Saint John  members of the National Council.Despite the high holiday spirit thus engendered and despite the length and warm th of debate the meetings were conducted so expertly by Mr. A. N. Carter, K.C., the President, th a t they commenced and ended on time. Most favorable comment was heard on all sides a t ¿he high standard set in the business transacted and the hospitality offered.The usual meeting of the Executive of the Council of governing bodies of the Legal Profession took place Thursday morning, and on Thursday afternoon the program committee from W ashington met and deliberated as did the Legal Education Committee.On Friday morning the Advisory Board of the Association met as is customary.The Council meeting opened promptly a t 2.30 a t the Admiral Beatty Hotel. Mr. Carter welcomed and greeted the members warmly in ap t phrases. “This meeting," said Mr. Carter, “affords us in New Brunswick an opportunity of showing in a small measure and as it were by way of token the feeling of warm friendship which we have for our fellow members of the Canadian Bar Association. Regretting the absence of Mr. Harold Gallagher, the President of the American Bar Association, Mr. Carter went on: “I am very happy however to welcome Mrs. Olive Ricker, the very able and very charming executive- secretary of the American Bar Association. W hat there is to know about Bar Associations and their arrangem ents and personalities, Mrs. Ricker knows—we are very fortunate in having her with us to give us the benefit of her wide counsel.”The Honorary Secretary, Andre Taschereau. read his report and made a number of important; recommendations. T hat the Association:1—Study Lawyer’s Reference Plans and Legal Aid.2—Give more attention to Legal Education.3—Give some thought to relations with the Public.He also mentioned with regret the absence of Mrs. A. N. C arter and Mrs. Stanley McQuaig. who were unable to attend due to illness.L A W  S C H O O L  J O U R N A L  25The report of the Honorary Treasurer, Paul P. Hutchison, K.C., showed th a t the financial position had been bettered by over $6,000 during the fiscal year of 1949, although expenditures had been in ­creased by approximately $4,000. Mr. Hutchison felt th a t the trend of increasing expenditures was not a satisfactory one, and recommended th a t the report of the annual proceedings be carefully edited and th a t thought be given to reduction of expenditures generally and th a t :noney requests should pass through the Council. His report was adopted with the recommendations.Prom the report of L. V. Sutton, K.C., chairm an of the Member­ship Committee, it was learned th a t as of January  31, 1950, the Assoc­iation had 4,275 members. Mr. Sutton pointed out th a t the 777 mem­bers of the British Columbia Bar are members of the Canadian Bar Association.Mr. Sutton’s report touched off a warm discussion in which G en­eral Clarke of Vancouver participated: “W hat is being done to follow the British Columbia example?” asked General Clarke. General Clarke challenged: “Our Bar wonders if Lawyers in other Provinces are as interested in the Canadian Bar Association as they should be?” Mr. Sutton pointed out then there were three views: (1) T hat all lawyers must become members of the Canadian Bar Association; (2) T hat there should be a drive for members; (3) T hat there should be no drive but our appeal for membership should be through our good works. The report was accepted.Mr. Hutchison in giving the report for the Investment Committee stated th a t there had been no change since the last meeting.A report prepared by J. A. Campbell, K.C., on the Inns of Court, read by Mr. E. Gordon Gowling, K.C., disclosed th a t approximately $17,000 had been raised although a minimum of $25,000 had been r,et. Members did not seem to understand the situation, but a full explana­tion by D. Park Jamieson clarified the m atter and a great deal of dis­cussion ensued. Finally in answer to the questions which had been posed by Mr. Campbell’s report (a) How long should our activities continue; (b) How, when and in what m anner shall the money be distributed? it was resolved th a t the work of the Inns of Court Com­mittee in respect to the collection of funds should be wound up by July 1st, 1950, provided th a t the minimum oblective of $25,000 be raised by then. I t  was further resolved th a t the Council authorize the com­mittee to dispose of the funds as it thought best, with the approval of the m ajority of Provincial Chairmen, provided no part of the money be sent to England in cash unless the committee be assured th a t che money be not used to reduce the amount of insurance or indemnity payable to the Inns of Court.The Junior Bar next came in for warm discussion. B. R. Guss had been named to head a committee consisting of Mr. Justice Barlow, Alexander Stark, and Stanley Biggs, chairm an of the Junior Bar Sec­tion, and Jacques Viau. Mr. Guss outlined the main points of a con­stitution and by-laws which the committee proposed for the Junior Bav. The m atter was tabled for discussion for Saturday, when speaking to a motion proposed by D. Park Jamieson, K.C., and seconded by Wilfred Gregory, Mr. Guss pointed out th a t the Junior Bar Section had no prescribed field of endeavour and th a t it would be advantageous to the Association if the Junior Bar were given definite form and definite26 L A W  S C H O O L  J O U R N A Lwork to do. I t  was finally decided m a t the Constitution be not taken up and th a t the m atter be referred back to the committee for he pur* pose of organizing the Junior Bar in a m anner similar to any othersection.The Canadian Bar Association Essay Competition next came in for discussion. Mr. A. N. C arter read a report th a t was prepared by Mr. Edmunds. I t was decided to continue the Essay Competition for another year, and th a t the prizes be reduced as follows:—First prize, $500.00; Second Prize, $250.00; Third Prize, $100.00; and th a t the com­mittee on the Essay Competition be: Chief Justice Williams, W inni­peg, Gustave Monette, K.C., Dean Cesar Wright, Toronto, and th a t students be not eligible for Essay Competition during 1950.Mr. G. V. V. Nicholls explained th a t students had been eliminated in order to raise the standards and th a t essay competitions were not restricted to teachers of Law and practising lawyers in Canada.The report of Edson L. Haynes, K.C., on the proposal to form a Canadian Medico Legal Society was read by Mr. M artin. I t  was pointed out th a t the success of such an organization depends on per­sonal initiative and personal good-will and on the energy expended upon the work by each provincial group. After considerable discussion in which Mr. M artin, Mr. Owen, Mr. H arry Smith, Mr. George E. Edmonds, K.C., took part, it was decided to continue the work of the committee.Mr. E. G. Gowling, K.C., then presented his interim  report of the organization committee. I t  was agreed th a t $3,000 be allocated to buy equipment for the secretary’s office and for a modern addresso- graph machine.In  spite of the great amount of discussion Mr. C arter conducted the meeting so ably th a t all the m atters of business which had been set for Friday afternoon had been concluded earlier than  anticipated. There were no “yes” men present as is evidenced by the heated dis­cussions and the intelligent questioning of every item of business th a t was brought up. By unanimous consent it was decided to continue the meeting, and in the absence of Mr. John T. Hackett, K.C., the President, Mr. Carter, called on the Honourable C. P. McTague to give his report on the Survey of the Legal Profession. Mr. McTague pointed out th a t it was obvious th a t some sections of the Bar did not under­stand what is expected of them  and Mr. McTague pointed out th a t the survey was a good thing for the profession and was not interested in individual returns. The returns were not to be used in any personal way but were to be tabulated as all statistics are tabulated for the benefit of the profession and the public. The Courts would also be considered and thought was being given as a result of questionnaires as to how to improve the efficiency of our Courts. The Hon. Mr. Ju s ­tice Ivan C. Rand had been asked to prepare a report on Legal Edu­cation.Mr. W. B. Scott, K.C., then questioned the value of the survey. He pointed out th a t it  would be very easy for the inquisitive to find out how much each firm was doing. Mr. Scott also asked w hat good is a report of such a survey if it came three years later? Mr. McTague then replied th a t it would be of value to the profession to know what are the sources of income. When did a lawyer have his best earning year? How does one district compare with another district? HowL A W  S C H O O L  J O U R N A Lm any non-lawyers do lawyers employ? "Isn 't it valuable,’’ asked Mr. McTague, if we can help dispel false impressions held by the public concerning our profession?” Mr McTague further pointed out th a t the Dominion Departm ent of Statistics had carried out a similar s ta ­tistical survey with regard to the Medical Profession and Dental Pro­fession and the Druggists. The same or a similar form went out in the Unitea States of America and also in England.Mr. McTague pointed out th a t the survey did not want particular inform ation concerning particular offices and th a t the survey does not assist the Income Tax Departm ent to spy.This cold page cannot begin to indicate how warm the discussion waxed and how much interest was shown in the discussion, until the lateness c* the hour called for a motion to adjourn.On Saturday morning, Mr. Richardson presented an  historical and analytical report on the Canadian Bar Review.Mr. Richardson pointed proudly to the fact th a t the Canadian Bar Revii n had taken a leading place amongst Legal Journals and the question before the Association was whether the position of editor should be considered as a career job? If so, a salary commensurate with a full-time position of a leading legal journal should be provided for the editor. The inevitable question of lack of funds was then dis­cussed and means of raising more money for the Bar Review were suggested. Particular reference was made to the hiring of R. C. H an­nah  as a.r. advertising solicitor to obtain advertising estimated to reach $18,000. I t  was suggested it m ight be necessary to prin t less than  ten issues or th a t the number of pages be reduced. I t  was recommended th a t the position of the editor should be a full-time job offering a career to the incumbent and th a t as soon as money becomes available editorial assistance should be provided. I t  was hoped to be able to provide funds to permit the editor to travel to meet prospective con­tributors.The advertising rates were agreed to be $60.00 per page and the committee was empowered to continue its investigation with a view to having the printing done in Montreal. The committee was to report again June 15th, 1950, and make further possible recommendations at th a t time concerning the editor’s salary.Mr. C arter pointed out th a t there should be no question as to whether t .e Review committee has authority to deal with the contin­gencies arising in June, 1950, and it was agreed th a t the committee should use its best judgment, should the funds available from adver­tising not reach the expectation of the committee. In  general, the com­m ittee was given a free hand to deal with any contingency th a t might arise.At this point, Mr. Carter reported on the W ashington meeting and said th a t letters had been sent to the Chief Justices of the Provinces asking them to arrange the Court to enable the lawyers to attend the annual meeting in Washington from September 18th to September 22nd inclusive. Mr. Carter pointed out th a t the Mayflower Hotel in W ash­ington had been set aside for the Canadian headquarters. Mr. Carter reported also in discussion with the Foreign Exchange Control Board and hoped th a t consideration would be shown adequate to the needs. I t was obvious th a t numerable details had already been settled through28 L A W  S C H O O L  J O U R N A Lthe  diligent work of the President, Mr. Carter, the Secretary. Mr. Laid- law, and Mrs. Olive Ricker, Secretary of the American B ar Association.Progress Reports were then received from the Vice-Presidents of each Province.Progress Reports from the following sections were also received: — Administration of Civil Justice; Civil Liberties; Commercial Law; In ­dustrial Relations, Insurance, Junior Bar.Mr. Scott again raised the question as to the purpose of the survey and the in tent of it. Mr. H ackett replied th a t the survey was absolutely independent and th a t the resolution a t Banff had created it an auton­omous body. The survey, Mr. Hackett said was for the health  and wel­fare of the profession and for the public which depend on our profession.At this point the meeting adjourned to a most delightful luncheon tendered the members by Mr. A. N. Carter, who in his usual apt m an­ner referred to the meeting as a useful and happy one and expressed his appreciation of the privilege of having the meeting in New B runs­wick and warmly greeted the members and told them what a delight­ful thing it was for him to have all the members of the Council as his guests.Mr. C arter’s greeting was responded to by Mr. Owens, who ex­pressed his pleasure at travelling a reasonable distance from Vancouver to attend the happy gathering. He came, he said, “from the m oun­tains to see your hills, from the Fraser River salmon to see your fish, and from the Douglas fir to see your scrub.” He referred to the stan ­dard of entertainm ent as being most high and referred feelingly to the absence of Mrs. Carter who had “made such a splendid contribution and whose influence had been felt. We miss her presence, her charm  and her happy smile. We are happy in her good recovery and we ask Mr. Carter to carry to her the esteem and affection we all feel for her.” At this point he presented to Mr. C arter a lovely bouquet of roses for Mrs. Carter.When the meeting resumed in the afternoon the question of the Survey again was raised. Mr. Louis Ritchie, of Saint John, said he still felt th a t the Council should send a circular explaining why the Survey was being conducted.Many members expressed their approval of Mr. R itchie’s suggestion.The discussion was joined by Messrs. MacLaren, Jamieson and Chitty. All the speakers pointed out the importance of the Survey and th a t it would be well to contact the various governing bodies to assist them in the list of the Law Societies, for the project.At this point. Mr. Chitty for the second time raised the question of The Human Rights Committee, and wondered why it had not been allowed to remain part of the Civil Liberties Committee. He pointed out th a t a d raft international covenant on Human Rights was under examination and a report would be made a t Washington.At this point the question of the Junior Bar was again raised and Mr. Jamieson and Mr. W. Gregory spoke to the question and pointed out th a t it might be dangerous to have the Junior Bar under a Con­stitution and By-Laws of its own as it would no doubt duplicate the work of the Senior organization and a resolution was submitted and passed th a t the interim  report presented by B. R. Guss be referred back to the committee for further consideration and th a t a  fu rther report be presented to the annual meeting setting up the Junior B arL A W  S C H O O L  J O U R N A L 29as a section like other sections.General Clarke and Andre Taschereau also participated in the dis­cussion on the Junior Bar, and also opposed the setting up of a pos­sible subsidiary organization.B. R. Guss was the only member who spoke in favor of the Con­stitu tion  for the Junior Bar.The writer attended his first Bar Association annual a t O ttawa in 1933 and has been actively interested in the work of the Association ever since. The m id-winter meeting a t Saint John has not only ad­vanced the work of the Association but has created a feeling of friend­ship amongst the Council members th a t will furnish a cohesive force th a t is bound to bring far-reaching results in the hum an relations phase of the Association.In closing his opening remarks Mr. Carter struck the keynote of the meeting: “Now we have work to do—questions to discuss and to settle. I am sure we shall trea t these m atters with the despatch, the sound judgm ent and the good humour which invariably mark the pro­ceedings of this Association.”CLARENCE McN. STEEVES, '05Chartered Life UnderwriterN O R T H  A M E R I C A N  L I F E  A S S U R A N C E  C O M P A N YROYAL BANK BUILDING -  SAINT JOHN, N. B.

Report by B. R. Guss, Esq., on the Mid-Winter Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association Held in Saint John, N. B.

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Report by B. R. Guss, Esq., on the Mid-Winter Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association Held in Saint John, N. B.

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