concerned are set forth in full with ample notes and references to the decisions in point. All the necessary Forms and Rules are also given. The Table of Cases should have references to the Reports. The book may prove useful to those affected by these Acts.

A Guide to Trust Accounts. By P. W. CHandler. London: Butterworth & Co. 1907. Recent events, and a consequent correspondence in the Press, have had the effect of stimulating interest in this subject; and we think this is not the first book to deal directly with it. Mr. Chandler attempts to prescribe a system on which Trust accounts may be kept, and he claims that, however elaborate the accounts may be, the system given may be used as a basis. Two essentials are involved (a) the Schedule containing a list of the Assets; (b) the Cash and Securities Account recording the dealings with them. The first chapter is historical, and in subsequent chapters the system recommended is thoroughly explained. The Appendices illustrate the text from the estate book of one Mr. William Roberts-from Will to Income Account. We do not doubt that this system will be largely employed by Trustees and Executors. The Law relating to Freight. By J. E. R. STEPHENS. London : The Syren & Shipping. 1907. This book is one of a series of handbooks which the Syren & Shipping are issuing primarily for the use of persons interested in shipping affairs. Its predecessor, on Demurrage, by the same Author, was reviewed by us, and, we are glad to learn from the Preface, has met with success. Mr. Stephens deals with his subject well and, on the whole, clearly; though we confess we found it somewhat hard to follow him in the opening definitions. In his anxiety to collect the authorities on the nature of "Freight" he becomes a little involved. But generally the book is excellent. Each chapter deals with a well-defined division of the subject, such as Manner of Calculating Freight; Mode of Payment; Payable to whom and by whom, &c. As far as we can judge, the most recent cases are included. The "finish" of the book is admirable, there being a good Index and a thorough Table of Cases with full references. We might suggest a Table of Abbreviations of Reports for the next edition.

The Lawyers Reference Book. London Sweet & Maxwell. 1907. One is so often puzzled by a cryptic reference in initials to some ancient report that this handy guide to the English, Scotch, Irish, and Canadian Law Reports must be welcome. Besides

complete chronological lists of these reports, the book contains lists of the English Law Reports from 1810 to 1907, showing the dates of the volumes and the concurrent series of reports; a list of abbreviations; a table of Regnal Years; and a Table showing the corresponding volumes of the old Reporters and the Revised Reports.

The A. B. C. County Court Practice. By H. L. TEBBS. London: Butterworth & Co. 1907. This is a digest of County Court practice alphabetically arranged, so that the book is its own Index. We think that such a work may be of considerable value, but to compete with the existing manuals it should be compiled with great care, and cross-references should be frequent. We have been unable to find any mention of the rule as to costs in an action of contract remitted from the High Court which might have been begun in the County Court. A book of this sort is capable of vast improvement in later editions, and doubtless Mr. Tebbs will see his way to make it. The second part of the book contains the County Court Rules, and a useful digest of the Practice under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1906.

Oddities of the Law. By N. A. HEYWOOD. London: John Ouseley. 1907.-We cannot think that the title of this book is happily chosen. One would naturally expect to read of the inconsistencies of our legal system: whereas the book is a series of articles on obsolete crimes and punishments. Such as they are, they are not uninteresting, although slight in volume and a little “slangy” in style. Among the matters discussed are "The Death Sentence," "Villeins," "The Military Duel," "Witches," "The Pillory" and "Benefit of Clergy." We think the Author might have done better to have taken fewer subjects and treated each more fully.

Paterson's Practical Statutes, 1907. By J. S. COTTON. London : Horace Cox. 1907.-Fifty-six statutes were passed in 1907. Of these the most important were the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act; the Criminal Appeal Act; the Limited Partnership Act; the Vaccination Act; the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act, and the Small Holdings and Allotments Act. Many others, such as the Butter and Margarine Act, and the Patents and Designs Act may make food for lawyers. This excellent annual contains the text of all the new measures, as well as Tables of Principal Enactments Repealed and Subjects Altered, a list of Local and Personal Acts, and an exhaustive Index. It is an invaluable book of reference.

The Law of Money-Lenders and Borrowers. By C. G. ALABASTER. London: Stevens & Sons. 1908.-In his Preface the Author quotes a judge as saying of the Moneylenders Act that "there had been only one judge who could have, to the satisfaction of anyone, understood this statute; that was King Solomon. If there ever was another it was, he thought, Sancho Panza.” Apologising for his inability to come up to this standard, the Author claims to have collected all the reported cases on the Act, and to have extracted general rules therefrom. There is an Introduction explaining the origin of the Act; the text is then given, and the Author deals with the whole subject in detail. Registration of Money-lenders, Money-lending Transactions with Infants, Relief from Excessive Charges and Unconscionable Transactions, Relief given in Equity, and Sureties—all these matters are adequately discussed. The Caselaw appears complete, and there are useful Appendices. One of these has the Report of the Select Committee on Money-lending (1898), and another a Glossary of Terms. The Table of Cases and the Index leave nothing to be desired.

Third Edition. A Handbook for Public Meetings. By G. F. CHAMBERS, F.R.A.S. London: Stevens & Sons. 1907.-The book is somewhat ambitious in its scope: it purports to deal with the summoning and management of meetings, the duties of chairmen and other officials and the rules of debate, and to contain "much information useful to the clergy ... Local Authorities and Public Companies," besides which it has a digest of cases. The Author claims long experience in the management of meetings, and so long as he confines himself to their technical conduct, the proper order for putting amendments, &c., and the legal points connected with meetings, his work is useful enough. But when he proceeds to counsel chairmen and speakers, and to furnish recipes for the extinguishing of "bores," disturbers and other ad hoc nuisances, we think he is neither necessary nor convincing. The Author says that he has "adopted a style of writing which is rather concise and to the point than pleasant to the eye of a scholar." Such a sentence as this "A chairman (when a 'bore' insists on speaking) must be good-tempered, self-possessed, courteous and sensible, but this is often pardonably difficult," is surely both of dubious grammar and unsatisfying effect.

Third Edition. Adulteration of Food. By D. C. Bartley. London: Stevens & Sons. 1907.-This subject has of recent years figured constantly in the Courts: and two recent statutes have rendered necessary a new edition of this book. The Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Act 1906 prescribes the form of the invoice, creates the official sampler, and makes clear the question as to the mens rea. Under the Butter and Margarine Act (1907), butter and milk-blended butter factories are to be registered; the right of inspection of factories by the Board of Agriculture or the Local Government Board is established; the limit of moisture in butter and margarine is laid down, and there is a new definition of "margarine." These two Acts have been added to the book, which already contained all the statutes bearing on the subject. The work has been thoroughly revised. There is an excellent Table of Cases and a good Index, and all the necessary Forms seem to have been included. The book is strongly to be recommended.

Third Edition. A New Guide to the Bar. By "LL.B." London: Sweet & Maxwell. 1907.--The ever-increasing number of those "called" at the four Inns of Court is a perpetual puzzle. Overstocked though the profession is, notorious as the "brieflessness" of the majority has become, nothing seems to damp the ardour of the would-be barrister until he has joined the ranks of the superior unemployed, and learns with equal futility to say "Don't" to the next generation. If the warnings of "LL.B." in his first chapter, save here and there some too-confident youth, from wasting his talents on the most thankless and unremunerative of all careers, this book will have justified itself. There is nothing very new in his jeremiad, but the facts are truly stated and, to our mind, a convincing lecture is administered on the dangers of attempting to earn a living at the Bar There are only two ways, says the Author, by which a satisfactory income can be obtained: firstly, by influence; secondly, by a miracle. The Author next describes the mode of admission to the Inns very thoroughly. Another chapter is devoted to practical advice to the newly "called." We cannot agree with the Author when he advises men to decide before "call" on what branch they will "specialise." The junior is forced to take what he can get, and " specialisation" should come later. The Appendices contain the Regulations, prospectuses of Lectures, and recent examination papers. book is both interesting and useful.

The

Fourth Edition. Wise on Riots and Unlawful Assemblies. By A. H. BODKIN and L. W. KERSHAW. London: Butterworth & Co. 1907. The branch of law discussed in this book is, on this side of the Irish Channel at all events, one rarely referred to in our Courts. "Hooliganism," however, is occasionally heard of, and in reading these pages we have been reminded of the duties of the public towards the police, and of the legal consequences of a refusal to aid them. In R. v. Brown (Car. & M. 314), a man was convicted for refusing to aid and assist in quelling a riot. We think that this law might be frequently enforced with salutary effect. Certain kindred matters here treated of, and the inclusion of recent legislation fringing on the subject, enhance the value of the book. Its object is, the Editors say, to point out the nature of the more aggravated offences against the peace; to explain the powers and liabilities of magistrates in the suppression of them, and to state the rights, duties and powers of private persons, constables and military. The six parts of the book deal severally with Riots at Common law and Statutory Riots; the Riot Act; Suppression of Riots; the Treason Felony Act 1848; the Riot (Damages) Act 1886; and Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875, and the Trade Disputes Act 1906. That the Case-law, which necessarily comprises many very old cases, has been brought thoroughly to date, is clear from the inclusion of Field v. Metropolitan Police Receiver (Times, 30th July, 1907), in which Phillimore and Bray, JJ., laid down the five elements of a riot. The book is altogether an excellent one.

CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN LITERATURE. La Substance des Obligations dans le Droit International Privé. Tome I. By D. JOSEPHUS JITTA, Professeur à l'Université d'Amsterdam. La Haye: Librairie Belinfante Frères. 1906.

Professor Jitta is known as an original and able thinker. In the two volumes on Obligation in Private International law, of which this is the first, he develops a theory on this difficult subject which very possibly approximates closely to the truth. He points out that the theory of the substance of obligations has been little regarded in comparison with questions of status, capacity, and universal succession; and he deals in the present volume with the neglected topic of contractual obligation. Professor Jitta surveys the work of his predecessors, and he sees that