this branch of the subject such preventive measures against war as mediation and arbitration, and such acts of constraint short of war as pacific blockades, an adaptation of the term which has justified itself as a practical measure of police.

The fourth part, which deals with the war relations of States, naturally claims special attention. Admiral Stockton's treatment of the subject is noteworthy for its enunciation of the limitations which practical necessities impose on the applications of such wellknown general principles as the immunity of non-combatants, and the protection of private property on land, and, in this connection, for his recognition that the theory that private property at sea should be exempted from capture-which the United States have continuously urged-is at present unlikely of acceptance, and that the best line of progress towards this object is by increasing the exceptions of certain classes of ships. The present war is a practical commentary on such general ideal principles as that set forth in the Declaration of St. Petersburg in 1868, that only measures for weakening the military forces of the enemy are legitimate, when the claim is openly made to sink commercial ships, enemy or neutral, without warning or regard for human life, to inflict damage on undefended towns, and to deal ruthlessly with non-combatant inhabitants of the area of military occupation. The Author regards the provisions of the United States Regulations for Armies in the Field as superseded by the Hague Land War Convention, and would eliminate from them such propositions as the right of a military commander to refuse quarter to his opponents when circumstances render it impracticable to take prisoners, and the right of besiegers to drive back non-combatants who have been expelled from besieged towns in order to accelerate their fall by starvation. In connection with the question of reprisals for breaches of the rules of war, he cites, with approval, Professor Holland's suggested conditions of their admissibility, viz., previous careful inquiry into the alleged offences, the impossibility of punishing the real offender, their infliction only with the authority of the supreme commander, and their being not disproportionate to the offence, in no case barbarous, and not by way of revenge, but only to prevent repetition of the offence. The accounts of warfare by sea, including submarine mines (but not vessels), warfare in the air, and the rights and obligations of military occupation of a hostile country may be cited as particularly instructive.

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The fifth part treats of the relations between belligerents and neutrals, neutral rights and obligations, contraband (and pre-emption of contraband, which the Hague Convention does not touch), blockade, unneutral service, internment of belligerent forces,-in which it seems that the Author does not agree with the liberal view taken by the Government of Holland that shipwrecked belligerents rescued by neutral ships and even brought into neutral ports are not bound to be interned-the destruction of neutral prizes, which apparently the United States Naval Code recognises in case of necessity, the transfer of enemy ships to neutral flags, enemy character, and prize jurisdiction, including the International Prize Court set up by the Hague Convention (only as yet ratified by the United States Government). The Appendix includes the texts of this Convention, and of the Hague Arbitration Convention, and the Declaration of London, but not, as one might have expected, those of the Hague Conventions for Sea and Land Warfare. Certain points for criticism may be noted, viz. the passage in the opening part that a person's final capacity is determined by the law of his domicil, which seems to ignore the adherence of the Continental States to the criterion of nationality for this purpose (though this is referred to in the account of enemy character); the omission of the Danube and Rhine from the list of International rivers; the merely cursory references to nationality and naturalisation, the passing mention only of the claim to take hostages and inflict collective punishment on a hostile population for individual offences against occupying forces; the omission of the Napoleonic, Milan and Berlin decrees against England and the British retaliatory Orders in Council from the account of reprisals, of which we see the counterpart now. But, taken as a whole, the work will rank as an admirable practical sketch of the main outlines of a science, which is essentially organic and must progress with the march of mankind. The present war is re-writing the laws of war and neutrality in many respects. The Author traces the modern development of the whole system from the peace of Westphalia, which followed on the Thirty Years' War in Germany, when the idea of a family of nations first took shape. The present gigantic struggle, perhaps to be known in history as the German War, will, it may be hoped, bring about a like result and eliminate for a considerable period, if not finally, from the policies of nations the ambition for military predominance and the ideal of brute force as the ultimate sanction of International rights.

The Law relating to the Child. By ROBERT W. HOLLAND, M.A., M.Sc., LL.D. London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. 1914.

This book, which deals with the law relating to the protection, education, and employment of children, will perhaps be of more value to the social reformer and the legislator than to the practitioner. In spite of the progress which has admittedly been attained in this country in legislative provisions affecting children's education, with notifications, school feeding, exploitation of child labour, physical protection, and special Courts, Mr. Holland is not satisfied. central authority presided over by a Minister for the Protection of Childhood is, he maintains, quite as necessary as a Minister of Commerce. We quite agree, but we doubt whether in the present experimental stage a codification of the existing law, which he suggests, would be altogether wise. No doubt, in many respects, we are behind foreign nations in our legislative efforts for the protection of child life. No provision, as Mr. Holland points out, is made for the education of children under five, as in Germany, Belgium, and France. But, here again, State-imposed systems might prove disastrous in the present experimental stage. The Kindergarten system which Mr. Holland favours is already under suspicion, and will probably be superseded by the Montisorri system now on trial in Italy, in this country, and in the United States. It is, by the way, curious that in his comparative study, in the Introduction, Mr. Holland has entirely neglected the American evidence. Both in their legislation and in its administration by children's Courts, the United States are in many respects in advance of Great Britain. On page vi Mr. Holland states that the minimum age for persons below ground, in mines, is sixteen. By sect. 91 of the Coal Mines Act 1911 the age is, of course, fourteen. This section he quotes correctly on page 132. Those interested in this branch of social reform will find, especially in the Introduction and Bibliography, much of value and assistance in this book.

Practical Accounts for Executors and Trustees, with Examples. By SYDNEY HODSOLL. London: Stevens & Sons. 1914.

Not only solicitors and their clerks, but trustees and executors, who keep their own trust accounts, should welcome this very practical result of Mr. Hodsoll's twenty-five years' experience in this branch of Accountancy work. As Mr. Hodsoll points out, the fundamental principles of book-keeping are similar in all classes

of accounts, but the methods suitable for Trust Accounts are quite distinct from those generally used in the commercial and business world. An absolutely uniform system for all cases is, of course, impossible, but the leading principles can be indicated and examples given which will be found suitable in the majority of cases. Mr. Hodsoll takes three main divisions, viz.: Executors' and Administrators' Accounts per se; Accounts of Continuing Trusts under Wills (Settled Property, etc.); and Trust Accounts under Marriage and other Voluntary Settlements, and gives examples of each class taken from actual practice.

Recollections of Bar and Bench. By the Right Hon. VISCOUNT ALVERSTONE, G.C.M.G. London: Edward Arnold. 1914.

It is perhaps as difficult a task for the reviewer to justly appraise an autobiography as it is for the author to write it without incurring the charge of undue egoism. In the present case each reader must form his own conclusion, and decide for himself whether the balance has been consistently maintained by the distinguished Author of this book. Lord Alverstone was, as he states in the Preface, undoubtedly singularly favoured by good fortune at critical periods of his professional career. But a man with Richard Webster's powers of physical endurance, capacity for taking infinite pains, and marvellous memory, was bound to succeed in any profession. It is quite true that unusual and unprecedented opportunities came to him, such as the offer of the Attorney-Generalship, although he had never sat in Parliament or filled the office of Solicitor-General. The real secret of Webster's success, like that of all successful men, lay in his strength of character, which enabled him to make the most of any opportunity for advancement offered to him. Added to this was his determination to fit himself as far as humanly possible for any work which might come his way. As an instance of the former may be cited his first appearance in the House of Commons, after his appointment as Attorney-General. Within ten minutes of taking his seat he was called upon to reply to Mr. Gladstone on the motion relating to the right of Mr. Bradlaugh to take the oath. "I need not say," writes Lord Alverstone, "that I was terribly nervous, and it certainly was a great ordeal for a young man who had never been in the House of Commons except as a spectator." In fitting himself for his profession young Webster went outside the usual routine. He was first sent by his father, an

eminent Queen's Counsel, to the office of Messrs. Young, Maples, Teesdale & Nelson, the well-known firm of solicitors. Next, he passed his time in the solicitor's office of the Great Western Railway, where he learnt the details of railway rating under Mr. Joseph Fisher, which later stood him in such stead in his practice at the Bar, and finally he became a pupil in the chambers of Mr. H. H. Dodgson, the distinguished pleader. "I made good use of my time there," observes Lord Alverstone, "arriving early every morning and staying late, and became thoroughly acquainted with the ordinary pleaders' work, besides attending judges' chambers with Mr. Dodgson." After his call by Lincoln's Inn, in 1868, Webster devilled for Mr. Kemplay for some months, drafting declarations and pleas. He next devilled for Mr. J. P. Murphy, Serjeant Parry, and Mr. Day, taking notes and even conducting cases in their absence. Here, again, he fitted himself for such work by attending Court every day from ten to four, and arriving early in chambers in case any of those gentlemen required his assistance. To this latter practice Lord Alverstone attributes much of his early success at the Bar. "I am satisfied," he says, "there is no more useful way in which a barrister can learn his work at the Bar than being present after having read the brief while the case is actually on in Court." This custom of junior counsel employing an understudy, the learned Author assumes, has largely fallen into disuse. Such is certainly not our own experience, and we venture to think he has been misinformed. With such equipment, natural and acquired, and with such a course of action, it is apparent that even without the assistance of luck, of which he enjoyed his full share, Richard Webster was assured of the highest eminence in his profession. These "Recollections" constitute a faithful record of a strenuous legal career. Lord Alverstone passes in review every phase of his life at the Bar and on the Bench, and devotes separate chapters to the special classes of cases, such as patent cases, compensation cases, and arbitrations, in which direction lay the larger part of his practice. He also treats at length of his practice in the House of Lords and Privy Council, and in International Arbitrations, and concludes with a relation of his connection with athletics in which he played in his undergraduate days such a prominent part, and with a few observations upon his more renowned contemporaries. On some controversial questions which are still unsettled, Lord Alverstone pronounces