in regard to the citizenship of District of Columbia corporations, it would obviously not prevent the removal of a cause on the broader ground of a federal question being involved. That this would be a proper ground for removal in cases turning on a proper interpretation of the act of Congress creating the corporation is evident. But it is hard to understand how all suits to which the corporation is a party can be said to arise under laws of the United States. What federal question is involved, for example, in an ordinary tort action brought against the corporation in a state court? Nevertheless the writer's conclusion in its broad form seems to be established by the authorities. Pacific R. R. Removal Cases, 115 U. S. 2; Butler v. National Home, 144 U. S. 64, 66. National banks present only an apparent exception, as the right of removal has there been expressly limited by act of Congress. Ex parte Jones, 164 U. S. 691. LOCUS OF SALES C. O. D.- In the case of a shipment of goods through a carrier C. O. D., the question arises as to where the sale takes place. One group of decisions holds, according to the Pennsylvania rule, that title passes to the vendee at the point of shipment, possession alone being retained, under a vendor's lien. Another group, following the Vermont rule, holds that in such cases the sale takes place and title is transferred only at the place of ultimate destination, on payment of the price and delivery of the goods. There are several instances in which this question is of vital importance, as in determining which jurisdiction may take cognizance of the validity of the sale; in deciding the criminality of the vendor in case of sales prohibited in one place but allowed in the other; in ascertaining the place of prosecution when such sales are criminal under the laws of both jurisdictions; and in determining the person upon whom the loss shall fall in case of injury or destruction of the goods in transit. The subject is interestingly presented in a recent article in the Columbia Law Review. The Locus of Sales C. O. D., by Charles Noble Gregory, 4 Columbia L. Rev. 541 (Dec. 1904). The writer makes a lengthy and careful review of the decisions in point, showing that the decided weight of authority supports the rule that title passes upon delivery to the carrier. This is not only more in harmony with the general law of sales, but it completely carries out the intention of the parties by giving the vendor security, and still passing title and, along with it, the risk, to the vendee. The Vermont rule, on the other hand, is objectionable in that it subjects consignors to criminal prosecution under a strained presumption as to their knowledge of laws in force at remote points. It tends to hamper many large and useful branches of trade, for it makes dealers hesitate to ship any commodity C. O. D. the sale of which has ever been placed under restriction, without first carefully informing themselves as to the statutes and even the local ordinances in force at the point of destination. It bears more heavily upon the small dealers without established credit, to whom shipments are most frequently made C. O. D., than upon large dealers whose credit is established. And finally the Vermont rule is based upon the erroneous supposition that the carrier in this class of cases is exclusively the agent of the consignor. The writer concludes by suggesting a clause embodying the substance of the Pennsylvania rule for incorporation in the proposed "Draft of an Act Relating to the Sale of Goods." NECESSITY FOR TRANSFER OF STOCK ON BOOKS OF COMPANY. — In view of the rapidly increasing wealth, magnitude, and number of corporations, and the prevalent business practice of using the stock as collateral security on which to obtain credit, the question as to the respective rights and duties of the various parties interested in its transfer is one of constantly growing importance. The Central Law Journal presents a carefully prepared article in point. What Constitutes a Complete Transfer of Stock as against Third Parties, by Romney L. Willson, 59 Cent. L. J 448 (Dec. 2, 1904). The author calls atten tion to the mass of confused and conflicting decisions resulting from the varying relative weight given two opposing tendencies, the demand for greater facility of transfer in the business world on the one hand, and the desirability of better protection and assurance by means of registration on the other. According to the trend of decisions the bona fide conveyance of stock certificates to a purchaser for value or to a pledgee is valid as against a subsequent judgment creditor without notice, even though there has been no actual transfer on the books of the company. The argument advanced in support of this position is that stock-certificates should be treated more in the nature of negotiable instruments, and that to require the purchaser or the pledgee to record transfers upon the company's books would be an inconvenience. But there are strong objections to considering stock-certificates in this light, for their ownership carries with it liability to assessment and right to vote as well as the benefit of dividends, so that it is very essential for the corporation to know who are its shareholders, -so essential, in fact, that companies make all transfers on their books and issue new certificates without charge, rendering the hardship to the individual much less than that to which a vendee or mortgagee of realty is subjected by the recording acts. Therefore the interest of the corporation is in harmony with the policy of the law, that the transfer of such property as stock, which is hard to trace, easy to secrete, and therefore readily available for secret trusts and frauds, should be accompanied by some formal act such as registration on the books of the company to give notice of the true ownership. This would render difficult a disposition of stock in fraud of creditors, and would prevent the seller or pledgor from obtaining a fictitious credit by means of an apparent ownership. APPEALS ON MATTERS OF FEderal JurisdiCTION. H. B. Higgins. 2 Commonwealth L. Rev. 3. APPELLATE TRIBUNALS FOR THE COLONIES. Robert Stout. 2 Commonwealth L. Rev. 3. AVOIDANCE OF RELEASES IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES. Cyrus J. Wood. 59 Cent. L. J. 404. BURDEN IN CRIMINAL CASES. R. Srinivasa Aiyangar. Discussing Indian law and English authorities on burden of proof. I Crim. L. J. of India 235. CODIFICATION DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL PRIVÉ, LA. T. M. C. Asser. An account of a conference held at The Hague, including the text of the agreement then adopted to be submitted to the powers. 6 Rev. de Droit Internat. 516. COMPULSORY VACCINATION. Anon. 8 L. Notes (N. Y.) 405. CORPORATIONS IN THE DIStrict of ColuMBIA. Fred. Bennett. 32 Wash. L. Rep. 758. See supra. CRIMINAL LAW AS AFFECTED BY COMMONWEALTH LEGISLATION. Charles T. Russell. 2 Commonwealth L. Rev. 14. DOCTRINE OF STARE DECISIS, THE. Edward B. Whitney. 3 Mich. I.. Rev. 89. EFFECT OF LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION OBTAINED PENDENTE LITE, THE. JUDICIAL HISTORY OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, THE. XI. Van Vechten Veeder. 16 Green Bag 725. LAW IN THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. William Wirt Howe. A short historical treat- See supra. OLD COMMON LAW AND THE NEW TRUSTS, THE. Ditlew M. Frederiksen. Arguing that the old common law relating to monopoly should be applied to-day irrespective of combination. 3 Mich. L. Rev. 119. OLD ROMAN LAW AND A MODERN AMERICAN CODE, THE. Joseph H. Drake. Comparison of the recent Porto Rico Code with the Spanish civil code formerly in force. 3 Mich. L. Rev. 108. PRESUMPTIONS OF DEATH AND OF SURVIVORSHIP AND PROOF THEREOF. S. S. Merrill. 59 Cent. L. J. 464. PROBLEMS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, SOME. Charles Noble Gregory. Discussing questions arising in the Russo-Japanese war. 14 Yale L. J. 82. PROBLEMS OF ROMAN LEGAL HISTORY. Munroe Smith. Comparing the development of the common law with that of the Roman Law. 4 Columbia L. Rev. 523. PROBLEMS OF THE RESTRAINT of Trade DOCTRINE. I., II. Anon. 49 Sol. J. 28, 49. QUESTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ARISING FROM THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR, SOME. VII. Amos S. Hershey. 16 Green Bag 744. TRUSTS CONTRARY TO THE POLICY OF THE LAW. A. H. Marsh. An enumeration of the various instances of invalid trusts. 24 Can. L. T. 395. WHAT CONSTITUTES A COMPLETE TRANSFER OF STOCK AS AGAINST THIRD PERSONS. Romney L. Willson. 59 Cent. L. J. 448. See supra. WHEN AND IN WHAT CASES WILL PAROL EVIDENCE BE ADMITTED TO SHOW THE REAL CONSIDERATION FOR A WARRANTY DEED. Walter J. Lotz. 59 Cent. L. J. 423. II. BOOK REVIEWS. CURRENT LAW. A Complete Encyclopedia of New Law. Volumes I. and II. Edited by George Foster Longsdorf and Walter A. Shumaker. St Paul, Minn. Keefe-Davidson Company. 1904. pp. x, 1-1208; xviii, 12092195. 4to. One of the marked characteristics of the busy age in which we live is the demand insistently made in every branch of human activity for time-saving devices. That the demand in the legal profession has not found an adequate response the present universally crowded condition of court dockets amply tes tifies. Only radical measures, apparently, can relieve a situation which merely grows in complication with the rapid multiplication of reporter series. Thus far no solution seems to have been found. In the meantime any device which materially aids to bring some measure of order out of the chaos is warmly received by the profession. If, then, “Current Law" proves to be a substantial improvement upon the familiar annual digests, its success is clearly assured. From an examination necessarily limited in character the claims made for it by its makers seem to be well founded. "Current Law" is a combination digest and encyclopedia covering all the current reported cases which appear in the United States. The law of the cases is stated in paragraphs like those of an encyclopedia, with foot-notes giving citations and distinctive facts wherever necessary. Frequently cases recognizing the same legal principle are classified in the foot-notes according to their facts. This plan enables the compiler to cite the same case frequently and to avoid an elaborate system of cross references, which is more or less confusing. Another valuable feature of the work, and one which distinguishes it from other annual digests, is the annotations in text-book style upon difficult points of law. The work is issued monthly as well as in bound volumes at the end of the year. The various subjects are taken up in alphabetical order, beginning with A in the first and ending with Z in the last number of the year, each month's issue being complete for a whole year upon the subjects treated. This plan has the apparent merit of enabling the compilers, by concentrating attention upon particular subjects, to do better work, and puts but slight accompanying inconvenience upon subscribers. These advantages appear on the surface. Whether or not they are intrinsic and substantial, extended usage alone will demonstrate. HANDBOOK OF THE LAW OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS. By Henry H. Inger soll. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co. 1904. pp. xvii, 738. 8vo. This book is one of the latest additions to the excellent Hornbook Series, which now numbers some thirty uniform treatises upon as many different legal topics. This series is rapidly becoming, not merely a complete library of elementary text-books for the student, as it was primarily intended, but also a most convenient encylopedia for the use of the bar generally. The present volume follows the same general plan and method of treatment as its predecessors. It is divided into three distinct parts dealing respectively with the topics Quasi-Corporations, Municipal Corporations, and Quasi-Public Corporations. The first division treats of the characteristics, powers, and liabilities of counties, townships, and other analogous bodies. The second discusses on similar lines the chartered municipal corporation proper, going much more fully, however, into its powers and duties than is attempted in the previous section. This constitutes the largest and most valuable portion of the work. The third division is a general outline of the status of some of the principal classes of public service corporations. This section, however, will be of value only as a most general summary, for the subject is by far too large a one to be condensed into the space of one hundred pages. It deserves treatment in a separate volume. No comment need be made upon the character of the discussions. The principles involved are carefully and concisely stated, and a very full collection of cases, including many recent ones, is made. It may be noted that nowhere in the volume are so-called charitable corporations in any way treated, although such corporations in many particulars come within the scope of its title. Most writers on private corporations also neglect this class, and the result is that it is difficult to find any adequate text-book treatment of the peculiar principles that govern the rights and liabilities of these bodies. It is suggested that such a topic be included in some future volume. As far as it goes, however, the present work is distinctly commendable. W. H. H. THE UNITED States anD THE STATES UNDER The ConstituTION. By C. Stuart Patterson. Second Edition, with Notes and References to additional authorities by Robert P. Reeder. Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson & Co. 1904. pp. xli, 347. 8vo. The powers delegated by the states to the federal government have always been the subject of much dispute. On the one hand the states have sought jealously to guard their rights; on the other the emergencies growing out of the increasing complexity of our civilization have led to a more liberal interpretation of the powers conferred upon the United States by the Constitution. The questions of law which accordingly arise from the relation of the states to the United States are of supreme importance, since on their correct determination depends the continuance of our present form of government. Where questions of this sort are concerned, a work which merely enables the lawyer readily to find the cases on the points on which he is interested may be of more value than the most elaborate treatise. At any rate, it is in the former respect that the present volume is likely to prove useful, for the text of the book is short, and little space is given to independent theoretical discussion. The author contents himself with clear and succinct statements of the law as laid down in the Supreme Court decisions, reasons being usually supplied by quotations from the opinion of the court. The excellent arrangement of the first edition, which was published in 1888, has not been departed from. The first chapter discusses broadly the relation of the states and territories to the federal government. The powers of the United States, taxation, and the regulation of commerce are then treated. Chapter V deals with the impairment of the obligation of contracts, Chapter X with the judicial power, and in the last chapter are briefly discussed the results of federal supremacy and the importance of preserving the rights both of the United States and of the States. The text is somewhat fuller than that of the first edition, and a considerable number of cases has been added. A COLLECTION OF PROBLEMS AND EXERCISES IN THE CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL LAW OF EGYPT. By Maurice Sheldon Amos and Pierre Arminjon. Cairo: National Printing Department. 1904. pp. 145. 8vo. Since the law of Egypt is derived from the Code Napoleon and the traditions of Continental Europe, it is but natural that legal instruction in that country should follow in general the methods pursued in France and other Continental countries, and should thus be confined almost wholly to a consideration by students of abstract principles without particular regard to concrete problems. While, owing to the overshadowing importance of the Code Napoleon in the civil law and the lack of binding force possessed by decisions of courts, it is perhaps expecting too much to look for the adoption in civil code countries of our own case system of legal study, yet it is certainly not unreasonable in us to hope that, in some form at least, the inductive, as opposed to the deductive method, will find an increasing use in all legal education. The present collection of problems and exercises seems to indicate that in Egypt at least such a change is coming about. The problems presented cover the entire range of the law, and seem calculated to stimulate the student to enthusiastic effort. The exercises are in many cases difficult, reminding one forcibly of questions put in this country at law school and bar examinations. Occasional foot-notes with reference to the code and to decided cases put the students on the track of the solution of the more difficult problems. As a supplement to regular instruction or to private study the collection ought to prove a success. At any rate the student who is able at the end of his law course to answer readily all the two hundred and sixty-five questions contained in the collection may surely be regarded as a fair master of Egyptian law. Selected CASES ON THE LAW OF Bailments anD CARRIERS, including the Quasi-Bailment relations of Carriers of Passengers and Telegraph and Telephone Companies as Carriers. By Edwin C. Goddard. Chicago: Callaghan & Company. 1904. pp. xiii, 742. 8vo. A TREATISE on the Law oF WILLS, including also gifts causa mortis and a Summary of the Law of Descent, Distribution, and Administration. By John R. Rood. Chicago: Callaghan & Company. 1904. pp. lxvi, 635. 8vo. ENGLISCHES STAATSRECHT mit Berücksichtigung der für Schottland und Irland geltenden Sonderheiten. Von Julius Hatschek. I Band: Die Verfassung. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). 1905. pp. xii, 669. 4to. THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE SELDEN SOCIETY. Volume XVIII. For the year 1904. Borough Customs. Volume I. Edited by Mary Bateson. London: Bernard Quaritch. 1904. pp. lix, 356. 4to. THE LAW OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS and Taxation of Corporations, both Foreign and Domestic. By Joseph Henry Beale, Jr. Boston: William J. Nagel. 1904. pp. xxvi, 1149. 8vo. HANDBOOK OF JURISDICTIONS and Procedure in United States Courts. By Robert M. Hughes. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co. 1904. pp. xviii, 634. 8vo. OSGOODE HALL. Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar. By James Cleland Hamilton, with illustrations. Toronto: The Carswell Company, Limited. 1904. pp. xii, 196. 4to. OUTLINES OF THE LAW OF BAILMENTS AND CARRIERS. By Edwin C. Goddard. Chicago: Callaghan & Company. 1904. pp. xiv, 250. 8vo. |