R (Brown) v County Council of County Wicklow

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 30 October 1899
• Date: 01 January 1900
• Court: Queen's Bench Division (Ireland)

Reg. (Brown)

and

County Council of County Wicklow.

Vol. II.] QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION. 351 REG. (BROWN) v. COUNTY COUNCIL OF COUNTY Q. B. WICKLOW (1). Oct. 27,30. Local Government [Ireland) Act, 1898 (61 # 62 Vict. c. 37) sects. 109, 115, and Schedule vii.Compensation to " existing officers"" County solicitor "Solicitor for a Grand Jury. The solicitor for the Grand Jury of a county is the "county solicitor" referred to in section 115 of the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, and entitled, upon dismissal for some other cause than misconduct or incapacity, to compensation under that Act for loss of office. Mandamus. This was an application to make absolute a conditional order, dated 1st June, 1899, for a writ of mandamus directed to the County Council of county Wioklow, commanding them, pursuant to the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, and the statutory-provisions thereby incorporated, and applied or adopted thereunder, to proceed to take into consideration the claim of the applicant, Mr. Frank Brown, on account of his emoluments as solicitor to the Grand Jury of the county of Wicklow, and that they should proceed to consider and assess the amount of compensation to be paid to Mr. Frank Brown as an existing officer within the meaning of the statute by reason of his dismissal from the office of solicitor to the Council, and that they should thereupon inform Mr. Frank Brown of their decision, and do all acts necessary for the due consideration of his claim, and the assessment of the compensation to be paid to him. The conditional order was obtained on the affidavit of the applicant, which stated that he had been appointed at the Spring Assizes, 1887, by the Grand Jury of the county as their solicitor, and had continued to act as such solicitor, transacting all the legal business of the Grand Jury, representing the county, down to their (1) Before Sm Peteb O'Bkikn, L.C.J., and Muhpht, Gibson, and Madden, JJ. 352 THE IRISH REPORTS. [1900. 1899. passed thanking him for his services. The applicant stated The Queen . that he had not heen employed in any business of the Grand Jury C(TcokuncTl except that of solicitor to that body. On the 2nd May, 1899, the applicant (who claimed to be an " existing officer " within the Act of 1898, and solicitor to the County Council) attended an adjourned meeting of the Council; but his position as such solicitor was questioned, and a resolution passed that Mr. J. H. M'Carroll, solicitor, attend to the cases of malicious injuries at the June Quarter Sessions at Wicklow, or elsewhere, and should for the future transact any legal business that the Council might authorize him to do. Mr. Brown protested, stating this was tantamount to a dismissal entitling him to compensation, and suggesting, but without effect, that the opinion of the Local Government Board should be taken. On the 16th May, Mr. Brown sent in a formal claim for compensation, with the requisite statutory declaration as to his emoluments during the preceding five years. On the 29th of May he had repeated the request that his claim should receive immediate consideration. The County Council filed an affidavit as cause, in which their secretary stated that, having taken the opinion of counsel, the County Council, at a meeting on the 27th June, 1899, having fully considered the claim, resolved that, in their opinion, Mr. Brown was not an existing officer, or entitled to any compen-satiou. Wakely, Q. C. (W. O. Gibson, with him), for the applicant: The post of solicitor to the Grand Jury of...