BY HUGH FRASER, 1908.-The popu

Seventh Edition. The Law of Torts. M.A., LL.D. London: Sweet and Maxwell. larity of Mr. Fraser's compendium is well shown by the rapidity with which edition succeeds edition. It has been published now for over twenty years, and the last edition was issued as lately as 1905. The work is specially adapted for the use of students, and answers that purpose admirably. The principal additions Mr. Fraser has had to make in this edition are to the Trade Disputes Act 1906 and the Workmen's Compensation Act 1906. We do not, however, see how proceedings by a servant against his employer for injuries suffered by the former from an accident can be correctly said to be caused by the tort of the latter. Another new Act included is the Dogs Act 1906, in referring to which Mr. Fraser says "a dog is no longer entitled to even one worry," but this of course must be limited to sheep and cattle. If the portion of the work devoted to libel and slander is rather an undue proportion of the whole, it is easy to sympathise with the author for having yielded to the temptation to give space to a subject on which he is an authority.

Eighth Edition. Shaw's Manual of the Vaccination Law. By J. LITHIBY, C.B., LL.B. London: Butterworth & Co. 1908.—It is a little over one hundred years since vaccination became almost universal among the educated classes of this country, but it was not the subject of legislation till 1840. Since that time nine more Acts of Parliament have been passed dealing with the subject, the first of which, in 1853, made vaccination compulsory. The Act of 1898 is the one on which the present state of the law mainly depends; it made many important alterations, and established "the conscientious objector," of whom we have heard so much. This "tremendous experiment," as Lord Lister called the Act, has been renewed from time to time, and the last Act on the subject, that of 1907, was passed, we suppose, to make things easier for the conscientious objector, in his wish to prevent his offspring being protected against small-pox. Mr. Lithiby gives all the Acts, Orders, Memoranda, Cases, &c., and in his Introduction gives information which, though not on legal matters, is perhaps more valuable to the community than all the rest of the book. He calls attention to the fact that the intelligent parent can now with ease relieve himself of the obligation to obey the law, and that the only means the vaccination officer can now use to enforce the law is persuasion. He therefore gives for

their benefit the opinions of the majority of the Royal Commission of 1889, which are strongly in favour of vaccination, as the result of a most exhaustive investigation. We are glad to notice that Mr. Lithiby seems to think that the change in the method of obtaining exemption will increase the number of children vaccinated, but we fear he is too hopeful.

Twelfth Edition. The Secretary's Manual. By J. FITZPATRICK, F.C.A., and T. E. HAYDON, M.A. London: Jordan & Sons. 1908.-The office of secretary of a company increases every day in importance and difficulty with the continual growth of Company law, particularly Statutory Company law. The number of things he must do or must not do under severe penalties, are continually on the increase. The best thing he can do is to buy this Manual and study it day and night. The changes in the law made by the very recent Companies Act 1907 make it more necessary than ever. A good deal of labour and care have been required to incorporate the provisions of that Act, and much re-drafting of forms. The comfort of a secretary's position will not be increased by the caution given in the Preface to the present edition in regard to the Act of 1907, that "It is to be regretted that the wording of some of the sections is wanting in precision, and raises many difficulties that can only be settled by judicial decision or fresh legislation." The difficulties of that Act commence with the definitions, as it does not seem at all clear what the restriction on transfer of shares, which is one of the necessary conditions of a "Private Company," means. A very important part to secretaries is the full discussion of their position when a company is in difficulties and a receiver is appointed or the company is wound up. The requirements of the London Stock Exchange in respect to the obtaining of an Official Quotation are fully set out. As giving an idea of the care required in discharging statutory obligations, we may refer to a list given on pages 296–308, and which though only purporting to give the most important penalties yet gives no less than 68, and most of which render the offender liable to a penalty of from £50 to £5 for every day in default. It is true that this list includes Perjury and Falsification of Accounts, which are offences that can hardly be committed inadvertently. It would have added to the value of the book, in our opinion, if the text of the Act of 1907 had been given in an Appendix.

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CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN LITERATURE.

Quelques Observations sur l'Exception de Jeu en Suisse. By Dr. A. CALEB. Paris: 1908.

A brief discussion of a decision of the Federal Court of Lausanne in 1905, which held that bourse profits and margins could not be recovered by action.

Die Trennung von Staat und Kirche. By Dr. KARL ROTHENBÜCHER. Munich: 1908.

The gradual separation of Church and State in most of the western nations is the subject-matter of an exhaustive and complete historical treatment. As a study in politics from the time when, according to the writer, Church and State were one, the book may be read with great profit. At p. 374 will be found a very full and correct account of disestablishment in Ireland and its effects, good and bad. At p. 44 there is an analysis of an almost forgotten work, Gerard Winstanley's Law of Freedom in a Platform or True Magistracy restored (1651).

Utili Insegnamenti del Diritto Inglese, &c. By Prof. M. SARFATTI. Turin: 1908.

How the English law of stolen goods and fraudulent dealing with documents of title strikes an Italian jurist. He thinks that under certain circumstances an action based on colpa aquiliana would lie. This is a good instance of the survival of Roman law terms in modern Italy.

PERIODICALS.

Journal du Droit International Privé. Nos. V-VI. Paris: 1908. This indispensable periodical is of course up to its usual high standard. An article by MM. Meili and Plumon on Les Automobiles en Droit International is especially interesting, as showing the large amount of legal literature on the subject. La Presse et les Loteries déguisées en Angleterre deals mainly with the legality of Limerick competitions from the view of a French jurist. There appear to be decisions on both sides of the line. The following decisions on other points are worth notice. The Belgian tribunals do not accept anything like the provisions of Lord Kingsdown's Act. A holograph will made by a Belgian in Holland and domiciled there is not valid unless executed with the formalities

of Dutch law (p. 885). In estimating the sum payable to the family of a person killed by the negligence of the driver of a motor-car, the claims of the fiancée of the deceased are to be included. The penalties in this case were considerable, as the driver exceeded 60 kil. an hour. One month's imprisonment, 2,000 fr. fine, 373 fr. costs, 16,850 fr. damages (p. 926). There is an amusing account of the proceedings against the German periodical Simplicissimus. One of its cartoons represented an ex-officer of the Deutz cuirassiers saying that as he had been sixty years in the regiment he had naturally forgotten how to write. The officers treated the matter seriously as a reflection on the intellectual capacity of the regiment. The proprietor was fined 100 marks at Stuttgart.

Vol. II.

Zeitschrift für Völkerrecht und Bundesstaatsrecht. Breslau 1908.-Dr. Josef Kohler, the editor, has succeeded in issuing a most successful second volume. England and America are well represented. An article by Prof. W. B. Munro on representative government in the Philippines shows that time and tact will be necessary. The review contains a valuable collection of Acts of Parliament dealing with the political and judicial systems of the British colonies, as far as they are affected by imperial legislation. Other notable articles are that giving an account of consular jurisdiction in Sicily (by two professors at Palermo), and that comparing the law of contraband of war among all nations. This is most complete and exhaustive, and covers 130 pages.

Zeitschrift für Internationales Privat-und Öffentliches Recht. Leipsic: 1908.—A review of a narrower and more national scope than that of Dr. Kohler, the reason being that questions of Private International law are of a more restricted character. Cases on appointment of foreign guardians and of the Erfullungsort of a contract are discussed on pp. 180 and 182. The Belgian jurist, Ernest Nys, is regarded in a review of his Droit International as the modern representative of Sir Henry Maine.

:

Deutsche Juristen-Zeitung. 1 July-15 Sept. Berlin 1908.The chief feature is a huge draft, extending to 400 pages, of the proposed new Penal Code for the Empire. Among other notable articles are those on criminal liability for unsworn statements (p. 734), legal education in America (p. 777), and the legal position of the Prussian Heralds' College (p. 815). The Juristentag was held at Karlsruhe in September, and a report of the proceedings will appear in the Zeitung of a later date.

Giustizia Penale. 18 June-17 Sept. Rome: 1908.-There are several decisions on the law of 7 July, 1907, forbidding trade on Sundays and feast days. One is to the effect that trading by a person in some other trade than his own is not a contravention of the law (p. 829). This seems in accordance with English law. It is an offence to receive goods stolen in France, provided of course that guilty knowledge (illegittima provenienza) can be shown on the part of the Italian receiver (p. 888). Here again modern English law agrees. It is not extortion to write a threatening letter, the delivery of which was frustrated by the police (p. 964). Disaffection of one-third of the crew is necessary to constitute the offence of mutiny (p. 1073). Before a conviction for pesca abusiva evidence of objection by the owner of the fishery must be given, but it is discretionary with the judge to receive evidence of the owner's right (p. 1098).

JAMES WILLIAMS.

Books received, reviews of which have been held over owing to pressure on space :-Lloyd's Law of Horses; Freeth's Death Duties; Palmer's The Companies Act 1907; Selden Society's Publications, Vol. 23; Barnett's Legal Responsibility of the Drunkard; Holland's Laws of War on Land; Digest of English Civil Law; Jordan's A. B. C. Guide to Companies Acts 1862-1907; Lumley's Public Health Acts; Fulton's Law relating to the Public Trustee; Procedure on Motions in Bankruptcy (Butterworth & Co.); Encyclopædia of the Laws of England, Vol. 12; Ingpen's Law of Executors; Dicey's Law of the Constitution; Porter's Laws of Insurance; Beal's Cardinal Rules of Legal Interpretation; Maitland's Constitutional History of England; Hogan's Pacific Blockade; Reitzenbaum's Decisions regarding German Patents; The Annual Practice 1909; A. B. C. Guide to Practice; Cox's Art of Writing, Reading and Speaking; Matthews and Spear's Money Lenders Act 1900; The Yearly Practice of the Supreme Court 1909; Laws of England, Vol. III; Vecchio's Il concetto della Natura, &c.; Bower's Code of Law of Actionable Defamation; Seaborne's Vendors and Purchasers; May's Fraudulent and Voluntary Disposition of Property; Parmelee's Anthropology and Sociology in relation to Criminal Procedure; Kerly on Trade Marks; Buckland's Roman Law of Slavery; Burge's Colonial and Foreign Laws, Vol. II.

Other publications received :-Index to Legal Periodicals (American Association of Law Libraries); Baines' Guide to the Companies Acts; Cababé's Time Limit, Monopoly Value and Compensation; Smith and Williams' Philosophy of the Licensing Bill; Littler's Compensation in Licensing.

Re your

Messrs. STEVENS & SONS write :- 66 notice of Mews' Annual Digest in your August issue (p. 489), this is a digest of all cases appearing in any one year, so that a case digested in 1907 appears in the issue for that year, and if reported in any belated report in 1908, will appear again in the issue for this year. The reason for the appearance of the cases you refer to is owing to the late issue of Cox's Criminal Cases."