growth of President Monroe's message to which its birth is commonly ascribed, and its annunciation by Monroe is proved to have been prompted by Mr. Canning, then Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, in the course of his endeavors to frustrate the schemes of the Holy Alliance, for the reconquering of South America. Mr. Edgington then takes up the various diplomatic crises connected with the Monroe Doctrine from the early boundary disputes, down to the recent financial irresponsibility of Venezuela. In so doing he gives a generous amount of space to the history of the Spanish-American republics, their political conditions, and their foreign policy as illustrated by the Calvo Doctrine. In addition there are chapters on the question of coaling stations, and on the Hague Tribunal and assimilated conferences in this hemisphere, as viewed in connection with the foreign policy of the United States. The book closes with a number of suggestions for the more convenient enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine by means of a possible reformation of South American misgovernment. It will be seen, therefore, that the author furnishes his readers with a quantity of valuable information which they might otherwise have had to go far to obtain.

But though Mr. Edgington has made something of his opportunity, it seems undeniable that he has failed to make the most of it. Both the usefulness and the interest of his book are marred by serious faults in construction. Although the book was presumably intended as a unit, the chapters are disjointed and their relation to one another and to the subject is not always clear. The point of view changes in a most baffling manner. In addition the chapters are illarranged. Thus the historical development is interrupted without warning by the chapter on coaling stations, which, since it serves no purpose but to explain a scheme of the author's for the settlement of international questions raised thereby, belongs logically with his other suggestions at the end of the book. Matter is sometimes introduced, which, though not uninteresting in itself, has only the most remote connection with the doctrine under discussion. Madame de Krüdener, whose life is given at some length, is about as important a figure in connection with the history of the Holy Alliance, as that alliance is in connection with a discussion of the Monroe Doctrine. But perhaps the most patent defects are the repetitions. For example, at p. 55 an entire chapter is devoted to the calling of the Panama Congress by Simon Bolivar, and the probable endeavor of John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay to form a secret treaty among all the republics of the western hemisphere. On pp. 108 and 109 the subject is again explained. On pp. 261 and 262 it is explained for a third time. Moreover the second and third explanations are almost identical, though the author has experimented a little with the paragraphing. For another instance of identical repetition see pp. 172 and 177. When the opportunity was so great as in the present case for a work of real excellence, such defects can only be most sincerely regretted.

A. H.

OUTLINES OF THE LAW OF BAILMENTS AND CARRIERS. By Edwin C. Goddard. Chicago: Callaghan & Company. 1904. pp. xiv, 250. 8vo. 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. iv, 742. 8vo.

These are companion volumes, designed primarily for the use of students. There is a certain convenience in this arrangement; in the text book are set forth the foundation principles of this branch of the law; while in the case book are nothing but the principal cases. It is now pretty generally agreed among teachers of law that when students are sent to read the cases, the less indication in the case book of the subject of any particular case, or of the principle in any group of cases, the better; for in order to get the greatest benefit from such work the student should be thrown wholly upon his own resources. By this scheme of having a separate text book all of the annotation and most of the subdivisions are taken out of the case book. But whether the student will have

self-control enough to refrain from getting his first information from the text book is a question.

The scope of the author's subject is to be remarked. It covers more than the traditional carriers of goods and of passengers; it includes innkeepers and warehousemen, telegraph and telephone companies. The common undertaking that the editor finds here is that of bailment; either the relation is that, or something like that. It is true that these callings have historically been treated upon the basis of bailment; but the fact remains, as the commentator himself recognizes by his phrase quasi-bailment, that in many of these undertakings the relation is not that of bailment. The real unifying principle that justifies the treatment of all of these callings together is that of public service. In all of these undertakings, and in many more, there is the obligation to serve all that apply with adequate facilities, for reasonable compensation and without discrimination. This, indeed, is affirmed by the author, who in the case of each of these callings devotes a section to establishing the public duty involved. Whatever is peculiar in the topics that the editor has under discussion, and whatever is common to them, are to be explained by this law governing public calling rather than by the law of bailment. It may be agreed, then, that the editor is doing a distinct service by calling attention, by the extent of the scope of his work, to the fact that the carrier is not an isolated instance, but a representative of a class.

As to the way in which the matters are worked out in these books, one could wish to see more generalization in place of the author's practice of treating each business entirely by itself; but perhaps in the present state of the law this would be dangerous, if not impossible. In regard to the execution of the books one could wish that the range of choice in selecting the cases were larger. However efficiently the editors of the American Decisions, the American Reports, and the American State Reports may be thought to have done their work, it is hardly safe for an author to consider that they have overlooked nothing; and it is obvious that many important cases have not been included in these books by reason of this limitation in the editor's search. As to one other detail, it would seem to be better in arranging footnotes to put the cases in the alphabetical order of the jurisdictions, which is now the accepted method.

When all is said against compression, one always turns first by preference to a terse hand book like the present, where he will find the general principle succinctly stated and well illustrated by a few pertinent examples.

B. W.

A TREATISE ON DAMAGES, covering the Entire Law of Damages both generally and specifically. By Joseph A. Joyce and Howard C. Joyce. In three volumes. New York: The Banks Law Publishing Co. 1903-4. pp. clxxv, 1-855; cliv, 856-1726; cxxxvii, 1727-2669. 8vo.

The existence of two treatises as well known and of as great merit as Sedgwick on Damages and Sutherland on Damages, renders the task of an author or authors who essay the same field not an easy one. The authors of the newest work have presented a very creditable and a useful treatise. It cannot be said that the scientific study of the law has been very much advanced by their work, but there is little question that the practising lawyer will be aided.

The division of the work into chapters is different from that in Sedgwick or in Sutherland; and the division does not seem to present advantages over that in the older works. Too much space has been given to the law of damages as applicable to tort actions for personal injuries. About one-fourth of the entire work is devoted to discussion of damages in cases of death by wrongful act. Though this is an extremely important subject, and one on which the practitioner needs to be informed, it is fair to say that its difficulty and importance do not seem to warrant giving up so large a part of a general work on damages to it. On these points, the authors' opinion differs from that of the reviewer, for they state in the preface, "Inasmuch as actions to recover damages for personal

injuries and for death of a human being have occupied so largely in excess of others the attention of the courts, the authors have given to them the space and prominence which their proper consideration necessitates."

It would seem, too, that the general principles of the law of damages have not been discussed with as much fullness as is desirable before entering on particular applications, and that some questions not strictly within the law of damages are included, as for example in Title II. The important subject of consequential damages in its general aspects and apart from particular applications, is not treated at great length, nor is the subject of damages for breach of contract fully developed. It is a matter of regret that the authors have not availed themselves of the opportunity, open to them by the failure of the older treatises, to give us help on the question of damages for "anticipatory breach.'

Considerable attention has been paid to the matter of damages for mental suffering, but here again the discussion is scattered among the various classes of cases in which the question may arise.

On the matter of damages for personal injuries or for death, this work should make a place for itself, and be of incalculable assistance to the triers of tort cases. For example, in the note on pages 240-262 inclusive, a collection is made of cases in which the question raised was whether or not the verdicts rendered were excessive. The authors have classified the cases under the heads of particular injuries, and have given for each case a concise but sufficient statement of facts to allow the practitioner to see at a glance the bearing and effect of the case.

Roughly, 20,000 cases have been cited in the work. This is a smaller number than are cited in Sutherland, but somewhat larger than in Sedgwick. The citations are well arranged, alphabetically by states and chronologically within each jurisdiction, the latest decision being put first. Citations are made to all unofficial reports and collections, as well as to official reports. In the front of each volume is a table of contents of that volume, and a list of the cases cited in the volume. In that respect the arrangement is similar to that of the other large treatises on damages. At the end of the third volume is an index digest of the whole work.

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.

This is the first attempt to bring together the borough customs of England or to set them forth so that they may be compared and studied. The Selden Society deserves commendation for having undertaken to recover the customary law from the municipal archives and for having selected an editor so well fitted to do the work. It is probably safe to say that no collection of materials of more importance for the study of the borough institutions of England has ever been published; it is a substantial contribution to our knowledge of municipal as well as legal history.

The general scope of the work is explained in the introduction as follows: "The present volume is confined to the jurisdiction of the borough court and its procedure. A few further points of procedure and rules of merchant law will be treated in the next volume, but the main themes of the second volume will be the rules of family law and rules which define the relation between the seignorial and ecclesiastical powers on the one hand and the burgesses on the other. The laws of borough elections and what may be called the constitutional laws of the boroughs, and the laws and customs of trades, are excluded from our scheme, partly from exigencies of space, partly because the comparative method seems to be less suited to their case. The exclusion of the constitutional laws is to be regretted. What we need is a corpus of borough law, including all its main branches; it would be a great boon to scholars if the Selden Society would extend the scope of this collection of texts and give us three or four volumes of borough customs instead of two.

It is difficult to set forth or analyze the contents of the volume before us, for

many topics are dealt with, and there was much diversity in the customary law of the various towns. The reader will be struck by the survival of many archaic usages and old legal principles in the boroughs, such as the blood-feud, extrajudicial distress, compurgation, various barbarous forms of punishment such as drowning, burial alive and burning, and the requirement that the prosecutor or appellant should act as executioner. Writers are often inclined to exaggerate the progressive spirit of the medieval municipalities, but in some respects municipal custom was much more conservative than the common law. This volume is particularly rich in new material relating to the older modes of proof and to the attitude of the burgesses toward judicial combat and trial by jury. In the interesting section concerning the assize of fresh force the editor surmises that the forty weeks named in the London Liber Albus as the limit of time within which this action may be brought is a mistake for forty days; but the period of forty weeks is again mentioned in Letter Book C (ed. Sharpe, p. 146), and the same period seems to have been recognized by the customs of Oxford (Jenks, Reports 21), which were modelled after those of London. The only extract relating to the writ ex gravi querela is taken from a customal of Lincoln (1480); references to passages of much earlier date will be found in 18 HARV. L. REV. 130.

It is difficult, however, to discover omissions or flaws in Miss Bateson's work; she is a thoroughly competent editor; her industry, learning, and remarkable knowledge of the sources of municipal history deserve the highest praise. We look forward with interest to the publication of the second volume, in the introduction of which she proposes to inquire into the significance of the texts which she is editing.

C. G.

STUDIES IN BIBLICAL LAW. By Harold M. Wiener. London: David Nutt. 1904. pp. xi, 128. 8vo.

So slight has been the direct influence of the code of the Pentateuch upon the development of our law, despite the intensely Puritan movement that swept over the English race in the seventeenth century, that Mr. Wiener's book, though written from a lawyer's point of view, is of more interest to the layman than to the law student. It is an 66 attempt to apply the ordinary methods of legal study to the solution of Biblical problems," and, despite the taint of the professional fallacy that only lawyers can reason, is both novel and interesting.

The first part of this little volume is devoted to a vigorous, if not potent, criticism of the higher criticism of the Bible, in which Ewald, Renan, and Driver are "refuted" to the author's satisfaction. The method employed is an ingenious and skillful application of the principles of legal interpretation to texts in apparent conflict, and the results are at least more plausible than those usually obtained by such as seek to reconcile scientific theorizing and Biblical exegesis. Of greater interest is Mr. Wiener's theory that the covenant at Sinai is a religious treaty, drawn up with all the technical formalities of early Hebrew conWhen Jacob and Laban enter into a pillar-covenant at Galeed, the attending formalities are a pillar, and a heap of stones as "witnesses," an oath, sacrifices, and feasts. Similarly, at Sinai, we find a bilateral agreement made with all the "covenant" formalities, — altar, and pillars as witnesses, oath, sacrifice, and feasts, and the entire process is paralleled at the Deuteronomic repetition. The writing and stone tablets are not the vehicles for expressing the contract, but are additional "witnesses," which accords well with what is known of the primitive law of evidence, among the Franks and the Lombards.

tracts.

In the chapter on the "Spirit of Legislation," the author labors to relieve the Biblical criminal code from the reproach of inhumanity frequently cast upon the lex talionis, by proving an implied system of fines as a permissive alternative to the literal rigor of the law. But he ignores both the Semitic ideas of justice in the tribal stage of development while still dominated by the early law of blood revenge, and the administration of justice amidst roving and warlike tribes whose laws for personal security are, of necessity, brutally strict. Compensation by payment of a fine, instead of the mutilation of the offender's person, which is found in the earliest stages of Teutonic law, is a late development

among Semitic peoples. Otherwise Mr. Wiener's defense of the Biblical code, and the comparison with the code of Hammurabi, and the Roman law, make one regret the brevity of the chapter.

I. G.

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 & Co. 1904. pp. lxvi, 635. 8vo. The body of this work is made up of four principal titles, "Gifts Causa Mortis," "Wills," "Descent and Distribution," and "Administration of Estates." The subject of wills, which occupies more than two-thirds of the text, is treated at length, and includes a somewhat detailed discussion of construction. The other topics are more briefly treated, presenting broad outlines of the subjects discussed, without entering into a minute study of the complications which arise in practice. The historical matter incorporated, the space devoted to introductions, and the constant repetition of the analytical scheme of the book, seem to indicate, in so condensed a treatise, that the writer is addressing the student rather than the practitioner. Though at times verbose, he has covered the details more fully than the available space would lead one to expect. The citations are mainly confined to leading cases, and this results in an unusually large proportion of English authorities. On important points, the summaries of statutes and decisions in the various states seem careful and complete. The practice of citing on each point the annotations which are to be found in standard collections of cases will prove useful. Although the author, in discussing some well-known points of conflict, seems a trifle overconfident as to the weight of authority, the tone of the book is conservative. It can claim no especial distinction for originality, but its scope is broad enough, and its treatment sufficiently reliable, to make it a very useful practical handbook.

AN OUTLINE OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

By George Arthur Ingalls. Albany, N. Y.: Matthew Bender, 1904. pp. 79. 16mo.

The municipal government of Greater New York has such manifold and intricate features that Mr. Ingalls has, perhaps, rendered some service in presenting, through a hasty but rather compendious survey, its important parts. A concise exposition of the political position of the city in the state government is followed by a detailed summary of the powers, duties, etc., of the various branches and departments of the city administration. This little book will relieve the ordinary person, in search of information, from turning to the repellently bulky volume containing the New York Charter, but its sketchy outline is hardly intended for the practitioner. A dealing with the numerous legal questions which constantly arise with reference to the charter was foreign to the modest purpose of this volume.

VENEZUELAN ARBITRATIONS of 1903, including protocols, personnel and rules of commissions, opinions, and summary of awards, with appendix containing Venezuelan Yellow Book of 1903, Bowen Pamphlet entitled "Venezuelan Protocols," and "Preferential Question," Hague decision, with history of recent Venezuelan Revolutions. Prepared by Jackson H. Ralston and W. T. Sherman Doyle. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1904. pp. xxviii, 1105. 8vo. THE DICTIONARY OF LEGAL QUOTATIONS; or, Selected Dicta of English Chancellors and Judges from Earliest Periods to the Present Time. Extracted mainly from reported decisions, and embracing many epigrams and quaint sayings. With explanatory notes and references. By James William Norton-Kyshe. London: Sweet and Maxwell, Limited. 1904. pp. xxi, 344. 8vo.