these two books is probably well known to all our readers. Williams on Bankruptcy is a complete and exhaustive work on the Law of Bankruptcy, in the form of an annotated edition of the Bankruptcy Acts. Mr. Ringwood's is a treatise on the Principles of Bankruptcy, full enough to be of great practical use, but in a form which is well adapted to the use of the student.

Eleventh Edition. Harris's Principles of the Criminal Law. By C. L. ATTENBOROUGH. London: Stevens & Haynes. 1908. Although the last edition was published as recently as 1904, a fresh one has been found necessary. This is a striking proof that this treatise has a very large circle of readers, chiefly, we should think, among law students, to whom it should specially appeal. Since the last edition many important Acts affecting Criminal law have been placed on the Statute Book. The Aliens Act 1905, and the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, afford plenty of scope for judicious treatment. Also the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 is a daring experiment in legislation. This Act gives the Court power, not only of binding over for three years any person convicted on indictment having regard to their antecedents, but also of ordering the offender to pay compensation. A good deal of criticism might rightly be passed on this new channel for supervision by the police, a supervision which leaves much to the discretion of the officer exercising it, and which has laid the system open to much invidious comment. The high-water mark of novelty has been reached by the power given to a Court of ordering a parent or guardian of the offender, under sixteen, to pay compensation and costs if it appears to the Court that such parent or guardian has conduced to the commission of the offence. If the principle of punishing individuals not directly charged with the offence is once admitted, it is hard to see where there is likely to be any finality. Although it can readily be perceived that these new powers will do much good, it is quite possible for the benefits to be more than equalled by the amount of hardship which can be inflicted. However, we live in a humanitarian age when crime is treated on the same lines as a doctor deals with disease, so that whatever misgivings one may feel, a critic must fall in with the trend of modern thought. The text of the new Criminal Appeal Act 1907 is given in the Appendix, but the new Rules of Court made thereunder are totally omitted. What good can it be to the practitioner to know that there is an appeal if no method

is given of the way to make such appeal? We certainly think that this fault should be remedied in any future edition. The Table of Offences is very well worked out and the Index complete. The present edition will undoubtedly occupy the same high position that former ones have occupied in the past.

Thirteenth Edition. Roscoe's Criminal Evidence. By HERMAN COHEN. London: Stevens & Sons. 1908.

We have always preferred Archbold to Roscoe, as being more useful to practitioners, but there is no doubt as to the high qualities of the latter, and the position it has held since it was first published in 1835. We believe this is the first year of Mr. Cohen's editing, and as might be expected, his work is careful and thorough. He has been skilful enough to gain space by a variety of methods, such as the excision of obsolete case-law; of "redundant matter and accretions;" by the citations of reports in one passage only; by an abbreviated notation of Acts of Parliament; and by leaving out the abbreviation R. v., in the title of criminal cases. The space gained by these ingenious devices he has utilized to add the dates to all the cases cited and a few new subject-sections. As an instance of the care and labour bestowed in bringing the work up to date, we can refer to the citation of R. v. Warren decided as lately as October, from a MS. note of Bosanquet, C.S. We have nothing but praise for the manner in which the work has been revised, but we have noticed a few omissions. There is no reference to R. v. Hotine, a rather important ruling in 1904 on the Larceny Act 1901. We have not been able to find sufficient information as to how to prove registers of births, deaths and marriages abroad, nor any reference to Lyell v. Kennedy or Brinkley v. Attorney-General. We hope that in the next edition Mr. Cohen will see his way to grouping the statutes under their respective years, and giving their short titles. It would often save much trouble. We notice with satisfaction the appreciation shown of Professor Kenny's Outlines of Criminal Law. We were anxious to see how Mr. Cohen would deal with the debatable question as to whether death caused by an illegal operation was murder, but have not been able to find any reference to R. v. Whitmarsh and the other cases recently decided on that point.

CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN LITERATURE.

L'Identification des Récidivistes. By Dr. E. LOCARD. Paris: 1908. All modern systems of identification are examined, those of Berthillon and Reiss especially. The latter authority is called by the author "la vivante incarnation du moderne Sherlock Holmes." The Tichborne case is set out at some length on page 7 as an example of the difficulties which may beset an apparently simple question of identity. Dr. Locard is in favour of an international system with "un office identificateur international." Probably this would savour too much of what we are accustomed to call Continental police methods to make it acceptable in England.

Peine de Mort et Criminalité. By A. LACASSAGNE, Professor of Legal Medicine at Lyons. Paris: 1908.

This and the previous book noticed are volumes of the Bibliothèque de Criminologie, Professor Lacassagne being the editor of the series. One or more have been already reviewed in this Magazine, especially La Servante Criminelle. The professor is strongly in favour of retention of the death penalty. The only reform he would make is to increase the certainty of the sanction by not allowing it to be diverted by popular clamour or the misplaced humanity

of the State.

Le Blocus Maritime. By NILS SODERQVIST. Stockholm: 1908.

A thesis for the doctorate at Upsala. It appears to include all that can be said on the subject, especially with regard to history, and is made additionally interesting by the appendices. These are mostly reprints from documents in the Riksarkiv at Stockholm going as far back as 1342. They are probably unattainable in any other printed work.

Die Geschichte des englischen Pfandrechts. By Dr. H. D. HAZELTINE, Reader in English Law at Cambridge. Breslau: 1907.

This is Vol. XCII of the Untersuchungen, edited by Dr. Otto Gierke, and so far Dr. Hazeltine appears to be the only English or

American contributor to the series. He shows his knowledge at once of the German language and of the English law of pledge and mortgage, a quite unusual combination. The historical treatment of the subject manifests profound learning and an intimate acquaintance with the writings of the great German authorities, such as Liebermann, Brunner, and Gierke. In addition to these, citations are made from recondite English authorities, such as the Abingdon Rolls and the publications of the Surtees Society. There is a valuable and carefully compiled appendix of charters, decisions, statutes, and forms from the year 804 to 1374.

A Systematic List of the Principal Continental Law-Literature published during 1907. The Hague: 1908.-A most valuable and complete bibliography, including collections of statutes, reports, and articles in periodicals as well as text-books.

PERIODICALS.

There is

Journal du Droit International Privé. Nos. III-IV. Paris: 1908. The sketch of private International law as administered in Greece is very interesting, if only for the mention of text-books of which the very names are unknown in this country. also an article on the application of renvoi by the Courts in Portugal. The Court of Appeal has the somewhat remarkable title of A Relação de Lisboa. A long discussion on the clause de viduité in a will refers to several English decisions. The point is the validity of the clause where it is good by the law of the country of the testator, but not by the law of the country of the widow, to which she reverts on widowhood. The laws of different nations are not in accord on the matter. In view of certain English decisions, a case before the Court of Appeal at Florence in 1907 will repay perusal (p. 601). The Court held void the marriage of an Italian under twenty-five to an Englishwoman in England, where the consent of the minor's ascendants had not been obtained. It is to be noticed that the Court did not regard the marriage as void ab initio. Apparently it held good until annulled by the Court at the instance of the person or persons whose consent ought to have been obtained.

Zeitschrift für Internationales Privat- und Öffentliches Recht. Vol. XVII, parts 4 to 6. Leipsic: 1907.-Herr H. Wittmaack discusses the English law of extradition, and compares it with the law of the German Empire as contained in the Strafgesetzbuch. The documents relating to the Second Hague Conference of 1907 are fully set out, and its results are summed up by Professor O. Nippold of Berne. Dr. Nippold of Vienna examines the position taken by the Hague Convention of 1902 towards marriage in its international relations.

Deutsche Juristen-Zeitung. 1 April-15 June. Berlin: 1908.An article by a Limburg judge with the title Wahreit und Dichtung rather belies its title. It has nothing to do with Göthe or poetry, but is an essay on law reform. The law in Germany—and in England too-is, in the learned writer's opinion, too much in the nature of Klassenjustiz, or class legislation. The new bourse law of 8th May last is criticised by Dr. Weber. Professor Liepmann of Kiel agrees with many in this country that examinations are not always the best tests of the efficiency of students of law. He would have no condition for entrance to the legal profession beyond attendance at a certain number of seminars and favourable reports of the professors or readers.

Giustizia Penale. 19 March 11 June. Rome: 1908.-If a man fell trees to which he reasonably but wrongly thinks he has a right, he is guilty not of larceny, but of attempted larceny (p. 376). This would surely not have been so decided in England. At p. 503 is a report of the Causa Kingsland before the Court of Appeal of Modena on March 12th this year. The case has been much discussed in Italy. It was held that a charge of assault against a captain of cavalry for striking with a sabre a person not taking an active part in a riot was within the exclusive jurisdiction of a military tribunal. There are several decisions on the construction of the term domicilio coatto, one to the effect that the breach of it is an offence, although the facts on which it was imposed are denied.

JAMES WILLIAMS.