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the law, will find in it much of value, even though they may differ from the conclusions reached.

As was to be expected from his nationality and training, the author in many matters runs counter to accepted common-law theories as to the conflict of laws. He regards Private International Law as a true system of law, and rejects utterly the idea, current in this country and in England, that its basis is the comity or courtesy of nations, which leads the sovereign to tolerate the application on his soil of foreign law to the degree rendered desirable by international intercourse. For him it is truly a branch of international law.

The most important and most novel part of the book is the author's own theory of the method by which conflicts of laws should be solved. He believes that every man should be governed by one law, which on principle should be determined by nationality, though the exigencies of practical life often require that it shall be the law of the domicile. This law should be continuous, that is to say, it should govern one in all the relations of life everywhere. But there is another requisite of law, that it should be general, the same for all the people in a given country. If a foreigner comes in whose personal law differs, it is obviously impossible to have both continuity and generality preserved. Which shall give way? M. Pillet examines the object of the law in question. If he finds that the law is for the protection of the private person, he would give it extra-territorial operation and preserve its continuity. If, however, the object of the law is the good of society as a whole, the interests of the individual must yield and continuity be sacrificed. The application of this novel theory requires careful consideration of the real object of a law, and to this subject an important part of the work is devoted.

Professor Pillet disclaims any idea of having solved all the problems of Private International Law, specifically admitting his inability to settle certain ones on any theory. But there is no question that he has produced a very valuable and stimulating book.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. By Emlin McClain. London and Bombay: Longmans, Green & Co. 1905. pp. xxxviii, 438. 8vo. This book by Judge McClain is one of the American Citizen Series published by Longmans, Green & Co. under the editorship of Professor Albert Bushnell Hart. The book is in no sense a law book, nor does the author intend that it should be so considered. In his preface Judge McClain states that it is "intended to give to non-professional students an intelligent conception of the Constitutional Law of the United States, both state and federal." For such students the book is undoubtedly of value. Judge McClain's scholarship and ability are sufficient guarantee of the carefulness and thoroughness of the work; and his experience both on the bench and as a lecturer on Constitutional Law at the State University of Iowa, puts him in a position to know the importance of the various branches of constitutional law, and the best way in which to give the student a clear understanding of it.

He has approached the subject from the viewpoint of the historian. References are made to English and Colonial institutions, so far as is necessary to explain the nature of our governments, both state and national. But though he has traced the sources from which our government is drawn, and the way in which it was created, Judge McClain has not written a mere history of it, nor a mere exposition of its actual working at the present day. He has borne in mind that our constitutional law is concerned mostly with the interpretation of written instruments, in themselves more or less unchanging, and he has shown the theories underlying the interpretation of those instruments, as well as the value and the effect of the precedents that exist as a result of actions and decisions of courts.

Covering the subject in so few pages, Judge McClain was, of course, obliged to condense a great deal. The book, consequently, is not one from which the untrained reader would gain much. But for the student who has been trained

in the history of England and of the United States, it will be of great value to supplement and complete his studies, because of its conciseness, and because it is written by a trained jurist who knows whereof he speaks, both theoretically and practically.

A select bibliography is prefixed to the main body of the work, giving the standard works on the general subject matter of constitutional law and history. The bibliography is divided under the headings of Constitutional History, Formation and Adoption of Federal and State Constitutions, Theory of Our Government, Description of the Actual Government in the United States, Technical Works on Constitutional Law, and Judicial Decisions. At the beginning of each chapter are references, not cited as authorities for the statements in those chapters, but intended to serve as suggestions for collateral reading. In the course of the book, most of the leading decisions of the Supreme Court on the more important points of constitutional law are referred to.

An appendix of documents contains extracts from Magna Charta, the English Bill of Rights, the Virginia Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the North West Ordinance and the Constitution of the United States.

THE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESS CORPORATIONS. By Walter C. Clephane. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co. 1905.

pp. xxvi, 246. 8vo.

This book is a result of a frequently urged demand for law school instruction in the practical application of legal principles. It is, therefore, intended primarily for students. The author designs also to assist lawyers who have not had the advantage of practical corporation office work and laymen who are officers of corporations. He makes no effort to deal to any extent with the principles of corporation law, but confines himself to directions and suggestions as to the actual forming and carrying on of corporate bodies.

With these aims and purposes in view, he discusses first at considerable length the general corporation laws of a number of the states that he regards as the most favorable for the formation of business corporations, emphasizing the importance of choosing for the domicile of a particular corporation a state in which the incorporators may accomplish their purposes with the maximum benefit and the minimum liability and expense. He then takes up in successive chapters the formation of the corporation and the proceedings at the meetings respectively of incorporators, directors, and stockholders. The book ends with one chapter on the amendment of charters and another devoted to the important topic of reorganization. Somewhat more than one-fourth of its pages are given up to the forms to be used at the various stages in the organization and management of the corporation. In view of the fact that the book is intended for use in various jurisdictions, it would have been obviously impracticable to attempt to gather together all of the forms that could conceivably be desired. At the same time Professor Clephane has collected a number that might be found useful in any state, and for these, as well as for the careful directions by which they are accompanied, it is believed that the book should be of considerable value to the young practitioner and of much interest to the student.

SELECT STATUtes, Cases, and DocumentS TO ILLUSTRAte English CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, 1660-1832, with a supplement from 1832-1894. Edited by C. Grant Robertson. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. London: Methuen & Co. 1904. pp. xviii, 452. 8vo.

This volume contains the great English statutes and cases since 1660 in which those rights of the subject to freedom of thought, of speech, and of action which are to-day unquestioned, were established and confirmed. Such a collection is of interest to the lawyer as a student of constitutions and govern

ments rather than as a practitioner. Particular attention may be called to the statute 4 Geo. II. c. 26 (1731), found on page 123, which recites that " many and great mischiefs do frequently happen to the subjects of this kingdom from the proceedings in the courts of justice being in an unknown language," and provides that from and after March 25, 1733, all pleadings and court proceedings shall be "in the English tongue and language only, and not in Latin or French," under penalty of a fine of fifty pounds imposed upon the person offending against the act. Fox's Libel Act, providing that in indictments for libel the jury may give a general verdict upon the whole matter put in issue, is another interesting statute found in the collection. The cases in the book, like the statutes, mark the development of individual liberty. Cases representative of the object and scope of the collection are The Queen v. Nelson and Brand, on page 390, in which Cockburn, C. J., questions the existence of a so-called “martial law" applicable to a citizen who is not a member of a military company, and Bushell's Case, on page 223, establishing the immunity of the jury from punishment by the court for a verdict alleged to have been against the evidence or the law laid down by the judge. The book should readily make a place for itself in the library of the student of history or of government.

STREET RAILWAY REPORTS, reporting the electric railway and street railway decisions of the Federal and State courts in the United States. Edited

by Frank B. Gilbert. Vol. II. Albany, N. Y.: Matthew Bender. 1904. pp. xix, 1051. 8vo.

In this volume of the Street Railway Reports Mr. Gilbert follows the method of treatment which was so successfully initiated in the first volume of the series. As might be expected, the later book is more carefully edited and more pretentious than its predecessor; but in arrangement and structure the two are identical. The most marked improvement is in the scope of the notes, which, though not exhaustive, present an admirable review of the authorities upon the special subjects covered, and form by far the most valuable part of the work. Upon the topics of imputed negligence, eminent domain, municipal control, and fellow-servants, the discussion is especially full, the decisions being collected with care and so grouped as to be easily accessible for reference. The incorporation of all the cases decided in the state courts of last resort and in the federal courts concerning street railways undoubtedly introduces some material of comparative unimportance, and increases the bulkiness of each volume; but the convenience of having at hand a complete and well-indexed collection of the decisions on the subject, rendering unnecessary a laborious perusal of the larger digests, will for the specialist on this branch of the law outweigh such incidental disadvantages.

THE DICTIONARY OF LEGAL QUOTATIONS; or, Selected Dicta of English Chancellors and Judges from the 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.

The roll of English judges contains a long line of learned men, and in the exposition of their opinions they have dropped much that is wit, much that is sound common sense, and much that is of worth as precedent. The compiler of this book has collected with considerable labor the best of these legal crumbs, and by means of extensive cross-references and a complete index, put them in shape for ready use. But notwithstanding the fact that the learning contained in the collection is valuable and interesting, its value and interest are for the scholar rather than for the active practitioner.

ABRIDGEMENT OF ELEMENTARY LAW, embodying the general principles, rules and definitions of law together with the common maxims and rules of equity jurisprudence, embracing the subjects contained in a regular law course, collected and arranged so as to be easily acquired by students, comprehended by justices, and readily reviewed by young practitioners. By M. E. Dunlap. Revised by T. F. Chaplin. Third Edition. St. Louis: The F. H. Thomas Law Book Co., 1905. pp. v, 600. 8vo.

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE LAW OF RECEIVERS as applicable to Individuals, Partnerships, and Corporations, with Extended Consideration of Receivers of Railways and in Proceedings in Bankruptcy. By William A. Alderson. New York: Baker, Voorhis & Company. 1905. pp. lxxi,

956. 8vo.

GAI INSTITUTIONES, or Institutes of Roman Law by Gaius.

With a translation and commentary by the late Edward Poste. Fourth Edition, revised and enlarged by E. A. Whittuck. With an historical introduction by A. H. J. Greenidge. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1904. pp. lv, 668. 8vo. JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. By Hannis Taylor. Rochester: Lawyers' Co-operative Publishing Co. 1905. pp. lxvi, 1007. 8vo.

THE NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. By John H. Fairlie. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1905. pp. vii, 274. 8vo.

THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM. By Westel W. Willoughby. New York: The Century Co. 1904. pp. 318. 8vo.

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MERICAN lawyers and publicists will be interested to learn that the doctrine of McCulloch v. Maryland has been accepted and applied in Australia. The Australian federal Constitution1 must be taken to forbid the collection of a state incometax from federal servants in respect of their official incomes. There is nothing express in the Constitution on the subject; but the recently constituted High Court of Australia has discovered the implied prohibition in the Victorian income-tax cases.2 Jus estid quod judices dicunt.

The decision has attracted much attention throughout Australia. The man in the street is startled and puzzled. He sees a public official, enjoying a regular salary in the postal department, paying the Victorian income-tax until federation, and then suddenly exempted from the tax because the post-office has passed over to federal control. The official receives just the same benefits from the state activities as he received before; — and state activities are many in Australia. He has the same protection from the police, the same educational privileges for his family, the same conveniences from railways and other public works. His neighbor of the Lands Department and his neighbor the grocer get no more benefit from the state's expenditure than he; and yet they continue to pay the income-tax, and he ceases to pay it. Why? It must be admitted that the surprise, and even indignation, manifested in many quarters are excusable. The public have not

1 63 & 64 Vict. c. 12.

2 1 Com. L. Rep. 585.

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