We do not attempt to make farther enumeration of notes upon particular subjects. Let it suffice to say that both the student and the practitioner can use this edition with the assurance that the latest decisions upon all the important subjects of Kent's Commentaries have been noted and discussed, so far as practicable in a work covering pretty much the whole field of the law. Of course it does not do in such a work to cite all the cases, as might be done in a work devoted to some limited branch of the law. The present edition contains all the notes of the famous twelfth by Judge Holmes, and many of the notes of Mr. Barnes in the thirteenth edition. Mr. Gould is known to the profession everywhere by his excellent work on the Law of Waters, which is an authority in all the courts; and known, too, by his editorial work upon several standard treatises, such as the works of Judge Story, and Mr. Daniell.

Mr. Gould's labor upon this edition of Kent has been great, not merely measured by the number of decisions examined and used, but by the accuracy of his annotations, and the skill with which they are adjusted to the original texts.

The printing is by the well-known University Press at Cambridge.

RULING CASES. VOLUME VIII.-Ruling Cases. Arranged, Annotated, and Edited by ROBERT CAMPBELL, M. A., of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law, Advocate of the Scotch Bar, and Late Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Assisted by other members of the Bar. With American Notes by IRVING BROWNE, formerly editor of the American Reports and the Albany Law Journal. Vol. VIII. Criminal Law-Deed. London: Stevens and Sons, Limited. Boston, U. S. A.: The Boston Book Co., Law Publishers and Booksellers. 1896. This volume contains nine principal topics, as follows: Criminal Law arranged under sections upon Jurisdiction, Mens Rea, Evidence, and Procedure, pp. 1-149; Crown, with sections upon Prerogative, Crown Grants, Crown Appointments, and Proceedings against the Crown, pp. 150-274; Custom, pp. 275–359; Damages with sections upon The Nature of Damages, Measure of Damages, and Assessment of Damages, pp. 360-461; Dead Body, pp. 462-478; Dead Freight, pp. 479-511; Death, pp. 512-555; Debtor's Acts, pp. 558-576; Deed, with sections upon Execution and Effect, Statutory Requirement that an Instrument should be by Deed, Registration, Title Deeds, and production of Deeds, pp. 576–728. Under the title Criminal Law the notes of both the English and American editors are numerous and full. Upon the matter of Criminal Intention there is a very valuable note of sixteen pages by the American editor. He has another long note on Evidence to Prove Interest: another on Confessions, of six or seven pages; and another on the law of Conspiracy.

Under the title of Custom there are several notes of unusual interest by the editors.

Under the topic of Damages, the sections upon the Nature of Damages and the Measure of Damages give occasion for several interesting notes, both English and American.

Under the subject of Deeds, some of the cases reported have little or no application in this country; but others, especially those under the section relating to Execution and Delivery, apply here as well as in England; and Mr. Browne well presents the American Law in several ample notes.

The work of the editors in this volume seems to be fully up to the standard set in the previous volumes. In the Preface to this volume the statement is

made that: "The plan of Ruling Cases is now so far developed as to afford almost a certainty of the work being completed in twenty-five volumes, as originally estimated. It will be found that, in nearly all English and American legal compilations which are based on an alphabetical arrangement, a comparatively large bulk of the work is occupied by headings under the first three letters of the alphabet. This proportion is enhanced in the present work by the system of dealing with each subject under the earliest convenient heading. Thus Abandonment' and 'Deviation' fully deal with large branches of 'Insurance; ''Abatement,' with topics usually found under 'Parties' or 'Practice,' etc. As to the title 'Practice,' which occupies so large a space in most Digests, only a small part deals with points of general interest, so as to come within the scope of the present work; and, probably this maddening title will be omitted altogether, the questions involving principles of general application being dealt with under other heads."

About twenty-three hundred cases are cited in the volume under review, and these are nearly equally divided between England and America.

LIFE OF THOMAS HUTCHINSON, ROYAL GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.- BY JAMES K. HOSMER, author of the life of Sir Henry Vane, Samuel Adams, etc., etc. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1896.

Lawyers will find Dr. Hosmer's Life of Governor Hutchinson very interesting and very instructive reading. It is, possibly, a somewhat trite remark, that fame is a very curious and uncertain thing; and not always the reward of true merit. The fact is brought vividly home to us, as we contemplate the history of this remarkable man, who won so high a place in the colonial world. A few years before the Revolution, John Adams wrote of him: "Has not his merit been sounded very high by his countrymen for twenty years? Have not his countrymen loved, admired, revered, rewarded and almost adored him? Have not ninety-nine in one hundred of them really thought him the greatest and best man in America? Has not the language of many members of both Houses and of the majority of his brother counselors been, that Mr. Hutchinson is a great man, a wise, a learned, a good man, an eminent, a sound, and a philosopher? Nay, have not the affection and admiration of his countrymen risen so high as often to style him the greatest and best man in the world? "

In 1776 Hutchinson was probably the most prominent man in the colonies. But he was one of those who believed that mankind should be governed by the deserving few; and had nothing in common with the men who became the leaders of the people in their struggle with the mother country. He cast in his lot with the royalists, and his name became a hissing and a by-word in the land where he had been lauded as a hero. Enrolled among the betes noirs of American history, he has been mentioned only to be execrated. From this undeserved fate Dr. Hosmer has rescued him. His merits, as well as his defects, receive proper consideration. The colors are not all black, and Hutchinson here for the first time in a hundred years, appears as he really was. A man of fine mind and liberal attainments, loving his native land, he sincerely and honestly believed that the people were being led into devious ways of treason by men who were seeking to advance their own personal interests. Naturally conservative, he had no sympathy with such men as "that brace of Adamses "

and their associates. In the great contest, he chose to adhere to the losing side; and thus passed into our history as an enemy to his country. But we can now afford to do justice to his memory. As a legislator, he had no superior in America. His bitter enemy, John Adams, said of him thirty years after his death: "If I was the witch of Endor, I would wake the ghost of Hutchinson, and give him absolute power over the currency of the United States and every part of it. He understood the subject of coin and commerce better than any man I ever knew in this country."

As a judge, Governor Washburne, in his Judicial History of Massachusetts, said; "Few who sat upon the bench in the last century, were more deserving of commendation than Judge Hutchinson. His character in this capacity was irreproachable, his learning even in the science of law was highly respectable, and when one considers his early education, indeed remarkable." Dr. Hosmer has laid prejudice and panegyric aside, and dealt out even-handed justice in a judicial spirit. It is the work of a sure hand, under the guidance of a trained and full mind. Nothing else could be expected from the author of the life of Samuel Adams and Sir Harry Vane.

C. B. E.

JAHRBUCH DER INTERNATIONALEN VEREINIGung für VerglEICHENDE RECHWEISSENSCHAFT UND VOLKWERTHSCHAFTSLEHRE, zu Berlin I Jahrgang 1 Abtheilung. Berlin. 1895. 335 pp.

There seems to be a growing interest in the study of comparative jurisprudence. The work of the French society is well known, and a similar organization was recently effected among English lawyers and jurists. The first volume issued by the International Society of Comparative Jurisprudence and Political Economy of Berlin contains much valuable matter, and augurs well for its future work. It is divided into five parts. The first is devoted to special papers, the second to legislation, the third to legal literature, the fourth to cases, and the fifth to the general business of the society.

Prof. Meile, of Zurich, writes of International Conventions in Switzerland; Mil. R. Wesnitsch, of Village Responsibility for the Criminal Acts of the Members in Old and New Servian Law; Otto Warshauer of Louis Blanc and Socialism in France; Antonopoulis and F. Myer, of Exterritoriality of Foreigners in Turkey; Pasquale Fiore, of The State and the Right of Man; W. Schuppe, of the Science and Philosophy of Law.

The Second Division deals with notaries in Greece and foreigners in Canada and in Venezuela (Pappalava) and the work of the Croat Slavonic Parliament in 1894 (Jovanovie).

Under our system of Federated States, we are continuously engaged in the study and comparison of different systems of Jurisprudence. The wider field occupied by this society should prove very attractive to lawyers trained in such a field. C. B. E.

INDEX.

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