equity will not perfect an imperfect gift by treating it as a declaration of trust, and (2) that where a donor intends to make a gift or trust ambulatory or revocable till death, that can only be done by a writing executed as a will. These are well illustrated by the curious case of O'Flaherty v. Browne ([1907], 2 Ir. R. 416.) The facts are too peculiar and complicated to be worth setting out here. The eccentricities of testators are unending, and display themselves not merely in the expression but in the execution of their wills. In the Goods of Ellison ([1907], 2 Ir. R. 480), is a case on attestation. A careless testator made his own will, leaving a space blank for the names of the executors. He then signed it and took it into his bank, where he acknowledged his signature in presence of two of the bank porters, whom he requested to sign as witnesses. The place which he pointed out for their signature was the place which he had left blank for the executors' names. But the witnesses did sign there in his and in each other's presence; and this was held a sufficient execution to satisfy the Wills Act. Pearson v. Corporation of Dublin ([1907], 2 Ir. R. 537), is a decision of the House of Lords at present reported only in the Irish Reports. It is noteworthy for an authoritative pronouncement on that much criticised case, Cornfoot v. Fowke (6 M. & W. 358). That decision, it is now declared by Lord Halsbury, "is not law if it is supposed to affirm a proposition, that principal and agent can be so divided in responsibility that the united principal and agent might commit fraud with impunity." It does not matter which possesses the guilty knowledge or which makes the incriminated statement-if those two factors co-exist, apparently there is a fraud for which the principal is responsible. J. S. B. 113 Reviews. [SHORT NOTICES DO NOT PRECLUDE REVIEWS AT GREATER Railway Rates and Charges Orders. By H. RUSSELL. London: Stevens & Sons. 1907. Mr. Russell has selected a difficult and technical branch of law. He deals with the law under the Railway Rates and Charges Orders Confirmation Acts 1891 and 1892, and the Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1894. By these Acts are regulated the rates and charges which railway companies are entitled to charge and make for the carriage of merchandise on their railways. A systematic treatise on this subject is certainly likely, as Mr. Russell hopes, to be "useful to traders as well as to the officials of railway companies who deal with rates"; but it is "chiefly intended for lawyers who are called on to advise either railway companies or traders." All the difficult questions connected with "conveyance," "terminal services," "reasonable facilities," are carefully considered, and all the cases on the subject cited and compared; pages are filled up with the classification of merchandise traffic. Some of the difficulties in the way of construing parts of the orders may be appreciated by reading the notes on the measurement of timber, and perhaps a reader will be inclined to agree with the language of the late Mr. Justice Wright, in the case of G. W. Ry. Co. v. Lowe. "This is not a case in which it is desirable to give too many reasons, because the problem which we have to solve, is, in truth, unsolvable if we try to follow out the language of the Act or Provisional Order that we have to deal with." The Tariff and the Trusts. The Macmillan Company. By FRANKLIN PIERCE. New York: 1907. The object of this book is to state "the injustice of the Dingley Tariff." Mr. Pierce, who is a member of the New York Bar, aims at reviewing this subject from the standpoint of the consumer, not, as most protectionist writers have done, from the standpoint of the producer. He points out that the protection which was intended to foster infant manufactures is no longer needed, and that the United States have during the last thirty years attained a superiority over all other peoples of the world, due to the efficiency of their labour, the large use of labour-saving machinery, unlimited supply of raw materials, and low rate of taxation. Yet in despite of this, there has been a steady increase in the price of the necessaries of life. 66 By ingenious methods a few hundred men have destroyed our chances for cheap commodities, and have been able to take the consumers' money, without their knowing it, under the specious guise of a protecting tariff." After discussing the duty on wool and woollen manufactures, the operations of the United States Steel Corporation, and various other duties, the Author comments as follows:-"The duties are mysteriously incorporated in the price of about everything which the mechanic, the farmer, the housebuilder and the housewife buy. They do not add a dollar to their worth, but are simply a private tax permitted by government to the safeguarding and increase of the income of profit of a few hundred manufacturers and wool-growers, who have succeeded in maintaining for their own advantage this confusion between public and private right." Mr. Pierce's argument is shortly this, that the existence of the protective tariff favours the creation of Trusts and the consequent exploitation of consumers, by the addition of nearly the whole of the tariff to the cost of production. Among other evils, the organisation and operations of these Trusts lead, in his opinion, towards State Socialism, to which he is strongly opposed. Another evil for which Trusts are largely, in his opinion, responsible is, the decadence of the American merchant marine, as to which he adduces some remarkable figures. But the worst evil of all is, as he says, the effect on the public virtue. The means by which Trusts attain their legislative ends are various. They purchase Congressmen; they supply large sums to the campaign chests of the different parties on implied conditions not difficult to imagine. "Another source of corruption is found in the fact that United States Senators and Representatives are themselves frequently owners of manufacturing interests which are largely affected by tariff legislation." "The control of newspapers by special interests and Trusts is a most dangerous result of protective tariffs." Other evils which Mr. Pierce brings forward as resulting from Trusts are national extravagance, tariff wars, centralization of government, and destruction of patriotism. Other chapters contain special appeals to Manufacturers, Labourers and Farmers. The only chapter we have space to refer to is the one on the tariff in Germany, which contains an interesting account of Germany's advance towards free trade, and subsequent return to protection, culminating in the von Bulow Tariff passed under the influence of the agrarians. The whole book is well worth reading carefully. The Common Law of South Africa. Vol. IV. By MANFRED NATHAN, LL.D. London: Butterworth & Co. Grahamstown, Cape Colony: The African Book Co. 1907. When we reviewed the third volume of this work in Our February issue, comment was made on the length of the book. Now Mr. Nathan brings out a fourth volume running to some two thousand seven hundred and seventy pages of text, or some eight hundred pages more than its predecessor. The learned Author assures us that the present one is the concluding volume, so now one is entitled to comment on the work as a whole. The practitioner who looks up a point will, undoubtedly, have to go through all four volumes in order to make sure that no information has been missed. The Author can, however, hardly be blamed for this, as he has followed very closely the arrangement adopted by Voet. The only suggestion that appears capable of overcoming the difficulty would be to have a complete key published to all four volumes. This would enable the searcher to see in which volume or volumes appeared fragments of the subject-matter of his quest. The present volume is divided into three parts. Part IX treats of the Law of Civil Procedure, Part X of the Substantive Law of Crimes, and Part XI of the Law of Criminal Procedure. Under the first named come such important matters as the Superior Courts of Justice, Jurisdiction of Courts, Domicile, and other incidents affecting Jurisdiction. Actions at law and everything incidental thereto, and Execution of Judgments, also appear thereunder; in fact, Civil Procedure is exhaustively dealt with in every phase. We quite agree with Mr. Nathan, in thinking that there was much wanting in the arrangement of the subject adopted by ancient writers on Crime, although perhaps Matthæus might not be included in this condemnation. The Author has made his own scheme, and it seems to be very successful. There have been collected all the statutes bearing on this subject in all the colonies of South Africa, a method which will prove very useful both to the student and practitioner who wish to contrast the law of Crime therein existing. Taking a comprehensive view of the whole book, one is bound to say that the amount of labour expended upon it is colossal. Mr. Nathan's knowledge of law is well known in South Africa, and from the store-house of his knowledge he has drawn extensively in the preparation of this treatise; whether he will be repaid for it time alone can tell. That the work itself is monumental cannot be denied, and so is the price, a fact which will place it beyond the reach of many a student. Of course, mistakes must creep into a treatise of such magnitude, such as placing sect. 2626 under the heading of Excusable Homicide, and misquoting "quot homines tot sententiæ" in the Preface. But such minor matters do not, and cannot, detract from the general excellence, an excellence which will place Mr. Nathan in the front rank of legal writers, both in South Africa and elsewhere. For one man to have digested and brought up to date the principal work of Johannis Voet is a thing to be proud of, but for one man to digest, not only Voet, but also Carpzovius, Damhouder, Matthæus, and other writers in the original, is a remarkable feat. As a work of reference, Mr. Nathan's book stands far ahead of anything of the sort in South Africa, and is likely to occupy that position for some very considerable time to come. The Annual Practice, 1908. 2 Vols. By T. SNOW, M.A., C. BURNEY and F. A. STRINGER. London: Sweet & Maxwell. The A. B. C. Guide to Practice, 1908. By F. A. STRINGER. London: Sweet & Maxwell. By The Yearly Practice of the Supreme Court, 1908. 2 Vols. M. MUIR MACKENZIE, T. WILLES CHITTY, S. G. LUSHINGTON, M.A., B.C.L., and J. C. Fox. London: Butterworth & Co. The Annual Practice is so well known to lawyers throughout the British Empire, and its merits so well established, that words of praise are superfluous, and it has got beyond the range of criticism. Year by year, the learned Authors keep their fingers firmly fixed upon the pulse of Practice. Carefully do they note any changes, however slight, in the condition of the patient. During 1907, this condition has been normal and subject to very slight variation. For the first time appears the Revenue Practice of the King's Bench Division, ably prepared by Mr. J. Johnston of the King's Remembrancer's Office. This gentleman, seconded by Mr. H. A. Hance, Chief Clerk in the same Department, has probed deep into old forms and precedents, expending much careful thought and skill |