LIST OF THE COUNTY CLERKS WHO HAVE FORWARDED A PART OR ALL OF THE JUDICIAL STATISTICS IN THE FORM REQUESTED BY THE COMMITTEE.

LIST OF COUNTY CLERKS WHO, AT THE TIME OF THE FORMULATION OF THIS REPORT, REPORT THEIR WORK STILL UNDER WAY.

We will now hear the report of the New York State Association of Surrogates, which will be presented by Hon. Willis E. Heaton.

Willis E. Heaton, of Troy, presented the report as follows:

REPORT OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSOCIATION OF SURROGATES

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the best report that I can make for the New York Association of Surrogates is that about twenty of them came in with me just now and nearly broke up the meeting. That shows you that a good many of the Surrogates are here and I want to say that they are here and are working upon questions involved in the revision of the practice in that Court and that they have been working since yesterday afternoon. The Surrogates' Association is a creature of the Bar Association. Like many other good things that you have suggested I understand last year the formation of a Surrogates' Association was suggested and Judge McCann was made President of it and the Association has been organized and has been at work. You are all interested in the Surrogates' Courts and many of you are interested in the Surrogates themselves when it comes to a question of allowances. We have been working during most of this year through a committee of nine members appointed to study the Code. There are other people who are studying the Code as you well know and what the result of that study will be no one can tell. We are not wise enough to tell. But this we have found in studying the Code relating to Surrogate practice, that apparently nobody has ever given it any careful consideration heretofore. From the very earliest time when some of the laws were passed, down through every year when an amendment or a dozen amendments perhaps have been tacked on to various parts of the law and sections of the Code, nobody has ever given any real thought to making those sections a consistent procedure of the Court. So we find that a dozen sections will contain the same thing, some

man having added something that he thought ought to go in, without ascertaining whether it was in or not. We find that there are very many useless things in the Code relating to Surrogate's practice - sentences tucked away in a long section that none of you who are in active practice have ever noticed in the fine print. They are like some of the lightning rod contracts and book contracts that have got something tucked away in fine print that you realize after awhile is very unpleasant to have there. We are trying to sift those things out. We are trying to get the parts of the Code that relate to the same subjects together. It will open your eyes to see what this Committee has found in the Code. We will be prepared to extend any help to the Board of Statutory Consolidation that they may want from us. We want it understood that there is no antagonism between this Committee of Revision of the Surrogate's Law and any other commission. We want to co-operate with anything that is done. I want to give you this one thought, leaving the Code out entirely. We have found this and many active Surrogates and active lawyers have found it, that there are provisions relating to the practice, or particularly to the law, applicable in Surrogate's Court to be found in nearly every statute which we have on the books. We must go to the Prison Law for some things to be applied in Surrogate's Court, the Debtor and Creditor Law, the Insanity Law, the Poor Law, the Real Property Law, the Domestic Relations Law, the Banking Law,— I might go on and enumerate nearly all of them. It will be our aim to pick those things out from the laws and try and get them together so that they can be shown you perhaps at the next meeting of the Bar Association. Just to give you an illustration. I had a will the other day where a man left $50,000, a townsman of mine, for a public library, and as I read the will, being very much interested in a library

which is now in existence and which this was to help, I noticed he had said “I give $50,000 to A, B, C, D, E, F as trustees to form a library to be used forever." Perhaps it was a good trust, I don't say that it was not, but there was a great question whether that was a good trust or not. I finally found out much to my relief that the general Municipal Law provided for a trust of that kind. It is our purpose to go over all of the laws that we can, and try to get the laws which relate to Surrogate's Court somewhere and in some shape so that you gentlemen can find them. I will not take any further time because I expect the Surrogates want to continue their work now. I thank you.

(Applause.)

The President:

I am sure the Association heard with pleasure this report of Judge Heaton, and we extend our cordial greeting to the Surrogates who have been pleased to come in with us. We would not like to have you feel or the Judges feel that we are discourteous in so vigorously debating this report on Judicial Statistics but we lawyers have to work so that we simply want the other fellows connected with the business to work also. We will have now the report of the Grievance Committee.

Vasco P. Abbott, of Gouverneur :

Mr. President, in the absence of Judge Nellis, the Committee instructs me to present the report as follows:

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON GRIEVANCES "To the New York State Bar Association:

Your Grievance Committee beg to report as follows: But two matters have been presented to the attention of the Committee during the year that is past. The one came in a mass of papers without any form of complaint con

nected therewith which were returned to the parties who sent them, upon the ground that By-Law (VIII) which gave this Committee, at its discretion, power to hear any specific complaint which might be made to it by any member in writing affecting the interests of the legal profession, the practice of the law, or the administration of Justice, had not been complied with.

Since the grievance alleged was against a member of our Association, the Committee concluded that he should be given an opportunity not only to be heard before the Committee, but also in writing to state his answer to some specific complaint. Accordingly the parties who sent the papers were notified by the Chairman as follows:

'As I view the by-laws of our Association (VII) the Committee is without jurisdiction in the premises until a complaint, such as good lawyers would call a complaint, is formulated and presented to the Committee. I apprehend that the proceedings before our Committee should be conducted to safe-guard the rights of all concerned; particularly with a view of notifying him against whom a grievance is alleged, of the exact statement of the facts constituting the grievance and giving him ample opportunity to be heard in regard thereto and to assert that all else is irrelevant.'

Concerning the other matter submitted to the Committee, no action was taken by it because upon inquiry of the Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division of the Third Judicial Department, it was ascertained that the same matter had been already presented to the Appellate Division for its action.

Respectfully submitted.

ANDREW J. NELLIS,

ALBANY, N. Y., January 21, 1913.

Chairman.