Codifying Statute, and discuss and criticise decisions, without fear or favour. Interspersed we find many characteristic remarks, such as, "Never have, if possible, any doubt. The last man I respect is the man of doubts. We do not come into the world to have doubts, but to become certain." "You will never reform anything in England unless you have a sort of volcanic action," and in his concluding lecture, "The law relating to the sale of goods is a very serious and solemn subject."

London :

The Acts relating to the Supply of Gas and Water by Companies and Local Authorities. Compiled by JOSEPH REESON. Butterworth & Co. 1902.

Mr. Reeson is thoroughly qualified, by his professional experience with the Gas Light and Coke Co., to prepare this most useful compilation. It does not purport to be written for lawyers, but for

use and ready reference in the ordinary course of business." It does not therefore "deal with legal views, interpretations, or decisions." It is, however, calculated to be of great use to lawyers, as it contains all the general enactments in force in all parts of the United Kingdom, relating not only to the supply of gas and water, but numerous other subjects intimately connected therewith, also private Acts of Gas Companies and rules, regulations and bye-laws. Though no decisions are given, the sections of the Acts are elaborately annotated with reference to other Acts which repeal, amend, or explain them. Another remarkable and valuable feature of the book is that it contains three Tables of Contents. The first is chronological; the second alphabetical; the third subject-matter. The general Acts begin with the Metropolitan Paving Act 1817, and go down to the Burgh Sewerage, Drainage, and Water Supply (Scotland) Act 1901. There is provided a very complete and exhaustive Index of more than 200 pages, and we hope with confidence that the great labour and care which must have been bestowed on the carrying out of this work will be adequately rewarded.

The Private Street Works Act 1892. By JOSHUA SCHOLEFIELD and GERARD R. HILL, M.A. London: Butterworth & Co. 1902.

As increased powers in respect of Private Street Works have been conferred on Local Authorities, it is very advisable for all who may

have to advise either them, or the landowners whose property they may seek to affect, to have a means of ascertaining the law on the subject. This means Messrs. Scholefield and Hill have provided in the present work. They begin by pointing out the defects in the former law, and the alterations made by the Act in question. They deal very fully with the important section which confers the powers, namely, section 6, which they divide into three heads; what streets an authority may deal with; what work an authority may do; how expenses are to be defrayed and apportioned. Procedure is very fully and carefully dealt with, and difficulties and doubtful questions pointed out. The next chapter is on the recovery of the expenses, followed by one on the charge when it is imposed on the premises-and it is particularly pointed out how this charge differs from the charge imposed by section 257 of the Public Health Act 1875. The last chapter, on Adoption of Private Streets, should be read by all owners of the soil of streets, whose rights are seriously affected by section 19. The Appendices contain the Act, sections of the Public Health Act 1875, and forms and precedents.

Bankers' Advances on Mercantile Securities. By ARTHUR BUTTERWORTH. London: Sweet & Maxwell. 1902.

We do not think that lectures make an ideal form of law book, but we think Mr. Butterworth has been well advised in publishing his lectures to the Institute of Bankers. It is not correct to say these lectures were all delivered to the Institute; the course consisted of four lectures; but, owing to a number of questions being asked and answered, the lecturer was unable to deliver himself in his prescribed number of lectures, and has added two more which are now published. We certainly recommend the reading of this book, not only to lawyers, but to business men. Lawyers will probably learn something more of business, and business men of law. We do not know whether Mr. Butterworth need have explained so carefully to such an audience the meaning of the commercial terms, but we have no doubt there are many lawyers, who are not often seen in the Commercial Court, to whom such information will be useful. Mr. Butterworth has a wide knowledge both of law and business, and we should particularly recommend the reading of the first two lectures, and then consideration of the questions put by shrewd business men as arising therefrom,

and the answers.

We fear Mr. Butterworth has no good opinion of the decision in Lord Sheffield's Case, and thinks the House of Lords barely saved their credit by the explanation they gave of the former case in Simmons v. London Joint Stock Bank; but worse than this, he actually dares to differ with Judge Willis on the question of what constitutes a negotiable instrument.

Ruling Cases. By ROBERT CAMPBELL, M.A. London: Stevens & Sons. 1902.

We must congratulate most sincerely Mr. Campbell and the learned gentlemen who have assisted him, on the successful completion of their great work. They have produced the collection of Leading Cases, well selected, well arranged, with most valuable notes, illustrative of both English and American law. The Index and Table of Cases have been prepared by Mr. Edward Manson and are both thoroughly well done. Mr. Manson has also contributed a most readable preface in which he eulogizes Leading Cases as the best way of teaching law, and quotes from Professor Brown: "The study of case law is the one way to know the law." He also points out some interesting differences between the American and English law. Mr. Gould, who has revised Mr. Manson's Index from the American standpoint, points out in a short preface his reasons for thinking that the "English Leading Cases will have peculiar value for the Bench and Bar of the United States," and explains that the main object of the American Notes has been "to cite decisions following the lines of the main cases, from a wide range of our different State and National jurisdictions, thus facilitating further investigations." We notice one little misprint which creates the curious looking word "sacarment."

The Modern Lawyers' Office. London: Stevens & Sons. 1902. This little book, written by "a Solicitor of the Supreme Court," is full of suggestions for improvements in the organisation of law offices and the appliances and methods therein. It will not diminish the attention which is likely to be paid to these suggestions, that they are largely taken from observations recently made by the writer in America. They are, to use a word we do not like, but cannot do without, thoroughly up-to-date. We recommend the book to the perusal of all solicitors who, whether they adopt the Business Register and Card System described or not, will, we are sure, find many things worth consideration and trial.

Registration of Title to Land. By W. G. NOTtage. London: Sweet & Maxwell. 1902. A good many opinions have been expressed about the Land Transfer Acts, and not all favourable, but Mr. Nottage in this useful little guide is entirely in its favour. He speaks as one who knows, for he is "Examiner, Survey and Map Department, Land Registry." His book is very practical, and will be found of special use in the branch of the subject with which his duties are connected.

The Statutes of the Commonwealth of Australia. Vol. 1. 1901. Compiled by H. M. COCKSHOTT and S. ERNEST LAMB. Sydney: The Law Book Company of Australasia. 1902.

This volume possesses the interest of containing the first essays in legislation of the great Commonwealth so newly formed. It begins with the Commonwealth Constitution Act, and then follow seventeen Acts of the Commonwealth properly so called. The first is only Supply, but the second has the laudable object of the "Interpretation of Acts of Parliament and for Shortening their language." We at once notice the difference in the enacting clause from that in our own Acts, as it purports to be "by the King's Most Excellent Majesty the Senate and the House of Representatives," &c. The Acts relate mostly to the necessary steps to be taken to run the Commonwealth, such as Audit, Customs, Excise, Distillation, and Posts and Telegraphs. In the last we notice the significant clause, that every contract for carriage of mails must contain a condition that only white labour shall be employed." There is an important Act for the Acquisition of Property for Public Purposes, where the principle of betterment is to be found, and an Act to place restrictions on Immigrations, &c., which has already given rise to litigation in the Privy Council.

A History of English Legal Institutions. D.C.L. London: Butterworth & Co.

1902.

By A. T. CAarter,

This is an expansion of Outlines of English Legal History, published in 1899. Dr. Carter's researches have led him to consult fresh authorities, and so to modify some of the conclusions of the earlier volume. At the same time he has not named, and possibly not consulted, certain other authorities which might have been useful, e. g., Professor Thayer's work on Evidence, and Messrs. Rhys and Brynmôr Jones' chapter on Welsh law in their well-known

treatise. Dr. Carter does not even mention the Court of Great Sessions of Wales. Certain interesting analogies might also have been adduced from the Icelandic sjalfdomr, eptirmálr and other terms. Among smaller omissions is that of Fleta's notice of the secta in appeals of felony, and of covert in forest offences, as well as of vert and venison. As to canonical purgation, is Dr. Carter quite right in saying that it was duodecim manu, as in Common law compurgation? According to some authorities the number seems to have been at the discretion of the ecclesiastical judge. It will be new to most readers to find that compurgation existed in the Tolzey Court of Bristol at least as lately as 1789. The book, as a whole, is most interesting reading. Its value is increased by an appendix containing an abstract of the "Little Red Book of Bristol," from a MS. of the fourteenth century in the British Museum, with its provisions for what Bracton calls justitia pepoudrous between traders in accordance with early lex mercatoria. As to other matters, Dr. Carter makes clear the extreme importance of the reeve and his four men as the basis of so many modern institutions. He is also quite sound on the object of early evidence, the object being to satisfy the Court that certain formalities had been observed, not to arrive at the truth of the case. (See Salmond's Jurisprudence, p. 588.) Some of the cases cited are not without humour, even to the lay reader. Examples are Hodges v. Harry (p. 153), Aitken v. L. and N. W. R. Co. (p. 188), the judgment of Cavendish, C.J., in Y. B. 50 Edw. III, 6, 12 (p. 216). The book is indispensable to the student, and is capable of teaching even the academic lawyer-not to speak of the practitioner-a good deal. It is almost the only work of the kind in the English language, and is a good specimen of what Oxford is doing on the historical side of law.

Second Edition. The Stamp Laws. By NATHANIEL E. HIGHMORE. London: Stevens & Sons. 1902.

A practice book of this nature is one that peculiarly requires to be kept up to date, as every year some Act is passed which extends or alters the Stamp Duties. For instance, although the last edition of this work came out in the early part of 1900, yet there have been three Finance Acts passed since, each of which in some point deals with Stamps. There have also been passed miscellaneous Acts of various kinds imposing duties. The result of the passing of these