says Lord Eldon, "it goes on this, that a person having gotten the estate of another shall not as between them keep it and not pay the consideration." The question as to what constitutes a waiver of the lien of the vendor of real estate has been the subject of much controversy. The courts are generally agreed that before a person can be said to have waived such a lien, he must have done something inconsistent with the exercise of said lien and evincing an intention to waive it. The difficulty arises when we attempt to discover what constitutes an act inconsistent with the exercise of the lien which amounts to a waiver of it. The better cases agree that the bringing of a suit and obtaining of a judgment thereon do not of themselves constitute a waiver." Suppose, as in the principal case, that the plaintiff goes one step further and levies execution. Does this amount to a waiver of the lien? The appellant's contention was that the vendor, having secured an execution lien on the property in question, had an interest inconsistent with the equitable lien. This apparently sound argument falls when we consider that the execution lien holder is not a bona fide purchaser who takes free from the lien of the vendor. The very nature of the lien in question is based on the theory that a person cannot keep the estate of another until he has paid the full purchase price. So, until the total price has been paid, or the property has been taken from the vendee by an execution sale or a sale has been made by the vendee to a bona fide purchaser, the reason for the lien is still present and the lien should continue to exist. Many cases hold that a sale of the property under execution amounts to a waiver of the lien irrespective of the amount realized thereon. Where, however, there has been no sale of the property the prevailing rule is that the mere levying of an execution thereon does not amount to a waiver of the lien. The decision of the court is sound in principle and is well supported by leading decisions in other jurisdictions.

9

8

S. F. H.

5 Mackreth v. Symmons (1808), 15 Ves. 329, 344, 33 Eng. Rep. Repr. 778, 783.

6 Selna v. Selna (1899), 125 Cal. 357, 58 Pac. 16; 2 Jones on Liens (2nd ed.), § 1073.

7 Graves v. Coutant (1879), 31 N. J. Eq. 763; Elswick v. Matney (1909), 132 Ky. 294, 116 S. W. 718.

8 Yetter v. Fitts (1887), 113 Ind. 34, 14 N. E. 707; Borror v. Carrier (1905), 34 Ind. App. 353. See also notes in 50 L. R. A. 714, and 13 Ann. Cas. 92.

9 Supra, n. 7.

Book Reviews

THE LAW OF PROMOTERS. My Manfred W. Ehrich. Matthew Bender & Co., 511-513 Broadway, New York. 1916. pp. xix, 645.

This work is an exhaustive collection and review of the leading decisions of the courts of the various jurisdictions of the United States and England upon the legal principles regulating the rights and liabilities of promoters. The author has accomplished his purpose of supplying the busy lawyer with a good reference book on this portion of the law of corporations. This publication is one of the necessary results of the rapidly accumulating mass of case law, which forces a writer to devote a whole book to what was previously covered in one or two chapters of a general treatise on company law. Although of great value as a review of the case law down to the present day, the author could have added to the fullness of his accomplishment by placing more emphasis upon the general principles of law and equity upon which the courts proceeded in reaching their conclusions.

M. C. L.

CALIFORNIA LAW OF CORPORATIONS. By Fabius M. Clarke. Bender-Moss Company, 11 City Hall Ave., San Francisco, Cal. 1916. pp. lxxv, 916. $7.50 net.

The law of corporations, depending as it does on local statutes and decisions, is a subject that demands with peculiar force a text book dealing with local applications of that law. The above volume endeavors to answer such a demand. The author attempts no more than to give "California law, pure and simple." The work is necessarily, therefore, not a complete study of the law of corporations, and can fairly be tested only by the extent to which it serves the needs of the bench and bar of this state.

No one, except perhaps a reviewer, reads through local text books, which are merely handbooks to be examined as need arises. They should be, therefore, aptly arranged and clearly indexed,-in a word, thoroughly sign-posted. Mr. Clarke's volume does not perfectly fulfill these requirements. The arrangement seems rather haphazard, which would not be a great matter, if the index led one easily to the place where any given point were discussed. The index does not do so, however, for it consists in vague general headings under which the subheadings referring to the text are not arranged or classified according to any discoverable scheme. For example, to find any given point under the general heading "Directors," the hurried practitioner or judge must look over four pages of catch phrases. In another and similar aspect the book suffers. The author frequently indicates a question that arises incidentally,

remarking that it will be discussed more fully elsewhere. But where? There are very few cross references. The practitioner is driven to the imperfect index.

The author purports to include all cases bearing upon his subject up to and including 170 Cal., 28 Cal. App., and 7 Cal. Unreported. This is, of course, highly desirable, for often a case of seeming unimportance is a straw to a drowning man. So far as the reviewer can judge, the author has generally kept his promise. The learned author is aware that the law is a growing science that gains by the white light of criticism. Not content to state the result of code or decisions, he discusses their logicality and sufficiency to serve business or other needs. Some may object to such comment, but the majority will often find in such criticisms much that is clarifying, and in addition those who are interested in the development of the law will also discover food for thought. In particular may be cited the criticism of the familiar doctrines relating to stockholders' liability on page 363.

A. T. W.

Books Received

THE LAND-TITLE REGISTRATION ACT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. By Dorr Viele and Joseph C. Baecher. Matthew Bender & Co., 109 State Street, Albany, New York. 1916. pp. 87. $.50. TRUST LAWS AND UNFAIR COMPETITION. By Joseph E. Davies, Commissioner of Corporations. Government Printing Office, Washington. 1916. pp. xi, 832. $.40.

EIGHTH AND NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT OF CHICAGO. By the Municipal Court of Chicago. Dec. 1913 to Dec. 1915. pp. 163.

MAGNA CARTA AND OTHER ADDRESSES. By William D. Guthrie. Columbia University Press, Lemcke & Buechner, agents, 30-32 West 27th Street, New York City. 1916. pp. x, 282. $1.50 net.

LAW OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS. By Edward W. Spencer. The Banks Law Publishing Co., 23 Park Place, New York City. 1916. pp. lxiv, 777. $6.00.

THE LAW OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE AND ITS FEDERAL REGULATION. By Frederick N. Judson. 3rd Edition. T. H. Flood & Co., 214 W. Madison Street, Chicago, Ill. 1916. $7.50.

pp. vii, 1066.