in Ismay, Imrie & Co. v. Williamson. The only important new Statute included is the Agricultural Holdings Act 1908, which does not practically affect the jurisdiction of the County Courts. The practitioner can still resort to the work with confidence that all that care and labour can do to aid him has been done.

The Annual Practice, 1909. 2 Vols. By T. SNOW, M.A., C. BURNEY, and F. A. STRINGER. London: Sweet & Maxwell.

The Yearly Practice of the Supreme Court for 1909. 2 Vols. By M. MUIR MACKENZIE, T. WILLES CHITTY, S. G. LUSHINGTON, M.A., B.C.L., J. C. Fox, and R. E. Ross, LL.B. London: Butterworth & Co.

The A.B.C. Guide to Practice, 1909. By F. A. Stringer. London: Sweet & Maxwell.

One or other of these works every practitioner must have, and in making his selection he will probably choose the one whose arrangement he is most used to. Both Practices, if we mistake not, are rather more substantial than in former years; in fact, to our mind, the larger volumes are so bulky as to be unpleasant to handle. The Editors have had some important additions to make. The Rules of March 1908 considerably increase the jurisdiction of the Masters of the King's Bench Division and of the Registrars of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division. Order 53a, June 1908, is an important Order regulating the procedure in actions for infringements of Patents and under the Patents and Designs Act 1907. Careful notes have been appended to these rules in each of the works under notice, those in the Annual Practice having been prepared by Mr. Courtney Terrell, and those in the Yearly Practice by Mr. W. E. Bousfield. A very material change in practice at Chambers is made by the rules of July 1908; in the opinion of the Editors of the Annual Practice the "new system may result in the abolition of Judges' Chambers." The Short Causes Rules (Admiralty Division, 1908) were very recently issued, but are of great importance, as they may possibly, as pointed out in the Yearly Practice, prove a speedy and economical mode of trying Commercial Cases. Considerable attention has been paid in both these works to the law regarding Solicitors, sections of the principal Acts referring to them being given, and Mr. E. Todd has contributed a useful note on Solicitors' Costs and Lien to the Yearly Practice. What still remains peculiar to the Annual Practice is the valuable collection of the resolutions of the General Council of the Bar upon Professional Etiquette; the Tables

giving the new Schedule for Circuit dates appointed by the Order in Council of March 1908, and two elaborate Tables giving precise details of the work assigned to every Judge of the King's Bench Division during the year's Court work. We also notice this year the inclusion of the British Law Ascertainment Act 1859. The names of the Editors are sufficient to vouch for the care and accuracy of the revision and addition of cases. The re-arrangement of the Judicature Acts in the Yearly Practice is in our opinion an improvement.

Mr. Stringer's A.B.C. Guide to Practice is as usual a concise and useful abstract of the Practice, with numerous references to The Annual Practice, where more information on a subject may be required.

Encyclopedia of Forms and Precedents. Vols. XII-XVI. Edited by A. UNDERHILL, M.A., LL.D. London: Butterworth & Co. 1907-8.

We sincerely congratulate Mr. Underhill and those gentlemen associated with him in editing and drafting the notes and forms in these volumes, in having so nearly arrived at the conclusion of their labours. As Vol. XVI is concerned with "Notanda and Supplementary Forms," we conclude that the only volume that remains to be issued is the Index volume, which we are told will take up some 700 pages. We must also congratulate the publishers in having produced so valuable a work in so handsome a form. Mr. Underhill has been assisted by the following gentlemen, who acted as sub-Editors. For Vols. XII and XIII, Messrs. H. B. Bompas, M.A., and H. H. King, LL.B.; for Vol. XIV, Messrs. F. G. Underhay, M.A., and W. M. Crowdy are added; for Vol. XV, Mr. King and Mr. H. F. F. Greenland are associated; and in the sixteenth volume Mr. W. F. Webster has joined the last two gentlemen. A very large number of gentlemen has contributed to the notes and forms, and we shall mention some of them when noticing the contents of each volume.

Vol. XII is a very bulky one, in fact, we think it is the largest of the whole series, but it is not too large for the important subject to which it is entirely given, namely, the Sale of Land. Ninety pages are occupied with Tables of Contents, Cases and Statutes, and the text takes up 980 pages more. The preliminary note of 148 pages is contributed by Mr. H. King, and is excellent both.

in arrangement and matter, and is followed by 309 Precedents, commencing with 38 agreements for sale and concluding with 16 Mixed Assurances. Footnotes indicate the correct stamps on all the documents that require them. The majority have been settled by Messrs. J. H. Redman, H. Freeman, E. Riviere, G. M. Kindersley, H. F. F. Greenland and F. E. Colt. They cover a wide range and seem very carefully drawn, and include such rather unusual conveyances as one of freeholds belonging to a convicted felon, and one of lands of qualified Freehold tenures.

Vol. XIII covers Service Contracts--Settlements, and only contains those two subjects. The preliminary note on the former is by Mr. H. Freeman, who with Mr. W. A. Russell and Mr. C. A. Hunt, settles the Precedents. The latter cover a great variety of services, some of them not easy to think of. Among the Contracts of Personal Service are one between a cricket club and a professional cricketer for Colonial tour, and one with a professional golfer to lay out a golf course abroad. Some forms of contracts for services of animals for breeding purposes are worth noticing. The remainder of the volume is taken up with the difficult subject of Settlement. This, with the exception of a few forms, has been entrusted to the very competent hands of Mr. J. S. Vaizey. The preliminary note covers 120 pages. The precedents are under five headings which are Realty Settlements, Personalty Settlements, Voluntary and Post-nuptial Settlements, Miscellaneous Clauses, and Ancillary Documents.

Vol. XIV, Shipping Documents-Tramways. Contains several titles, the most important of which is probably Shipping Documents, contributed by Messrs. A. Pritchard and H. S. Moore. There is a short but instructive note, with 17 precedents, on Stock Exchange Documents, by Messrs. L. Mossop and M. N. Drucquer; and other subjects of importance of rather a special nature are―Theatres, treated by Messrs. H. S. Preston and P. Shee; Trade Combines, by Mr. E. Wooll; Trades Unions, Association of Employers and Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration, by Mr. H. B. N. Mothersole.

There are also 20 precedents connected with Tramways, for all of which, except two, Mr. J. W. Greig is responsible.

The fifteenth volume has only three headings. Of these, Trusts and Trustees is by the Editor and Mr. C. A. Bennett. The forms relating to the Public Trustee, a new and interesting departure, are by Mr. H. F. Greenland, and there are some occasional forms by

other gentlemen. There are 47 precedents, of which 17 relate to the Public Trustee. An important and useful heading is that of Water, Gas, and Electricity. The forms relating to Water have been, with one exception, settled by Messrs. Baines and Greig, and with a similar exception those relating to Gas and Electricity have been settled by Mr. Greig. These forms struck us as being likely to be in considerable request. The last Title in the volume is Wills, and it could have been entrusted to no better hands than those of Mr. H. S. Theobald, K.C., with whom are associated Messrs. J. C. B. Dyne, Jun., and H. Church. The precedents begin very aptly with a form of 32 questions to be put to the intending testator. Such questions are much to be recommended. There are 254 precedents, most of which are included in the Leading Miscellaneous Clauses. Some of these are worth noting, such as the expression of a wish to be cremated, and a provision to guard against being buried alive. The investment clauses seem to us stricter than those that are now usually inserted.

Vol. XVI consists of notanda, ranging over all the previous volumes, with occasionally supplemental precedents. Some of the most important of them are perhaps those on Allotments, Small Holdings, and Small Dwellings. In view of the recent legislation, the 25 precedents contributed by Mr. S. Clarke are well worth notice. The law of Companies has, since the publication of Vols. IV and V, been materially altered by the Act of 1907, and this renders Mr. Webster's Notes and Precedents of considerable importance. A new Preliminary Note and Supplemental Precedents have been contributed by Mr. Webster, in consequence of the Patents and Designs Act 1907 and the Designs Rules 1908. The recent Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907 is the cause of the Public Health and Public Safety note and precedents by Mr. J. W. Baines; and Mr. G. E. Jones, after waiting in vain for the statute law on the subject of Schools to be "put upon a more satisfactory footing," has had to include his postponed heading in the present

volume.

A Concise Treatise on the Law relating to Executors and Administrators. By A. R. INGPEN, K.C. London: Stevens & Sons. 1908. If Mr. Ingpen required any guarantee of his knowledge of the law of Executors and Administrators, it would be sufficient to point out that he was one of the Editors of the last edition of Lord Justice Vaughan William's great work. The present volume is an attempt

"to express in a concise form the general principles of the law relating to executors and administrators." It seems to be to a great extent based on and intended "as an introduction to the greater work." The arrangement is to a considerable extent different, and much new matter is introduced. By availing himself of the opportunity of making constant references to the larger work, the Author has been able to deal more concisely with many subjects. and cite fewer authorities than might perhaps have been otherwise necessary. It is intended for the use of both the student and practitioner,, and has therefore to guard against too great elabora-. tion and too bald statement. Between this Scylla and Charybdis Mr. Ingpen has steered successfully, and has given us a treatise sufficient for most practical purposes in a comparatively moderatesized volume. We have found any points on which we have sought information most adequately treated, and as a good sample of Mr. Ingpen's method we may refer our readers to the excellent chapter on Death Duties. The statement, correctly given, as to the general legacies not bearing interest until a year after the death of the testator, reminds one that testators perhaps do not often bear in mind the inducement that this rule may sometimes hold out to an executor who is also residuary legatee to delay winding up an estate as long as he can in order that accruing interest may swell the residue of the estate.

Encyclopædia of Local Government Law. Vols. IV-VII. Edited by J. SCHOLEField. London Butterworth & Co. 1907-8.

These four volumes complete this important work, and we are glad to be able to congratulate Mr. Scholefield on the successful termination of his labours in editing a work which is of real value to all who desire to obtain information as to the numerous rights and duties connected with Local Government. We propose shortly to call attention to a few of the most important contributions to these volumes. Volume IV-Hundreds to Nuisance-is rather a larger volume than the average one, containing 700 pages of text. The article of greatest importance is probably that on Nuisances, by Mr. W. Addington Willis and W. V. Ball. Its scope is, of course, limited, as it is intended to deal only with "such nuisances as are caused by local authorities in the execution of their statutory duties and powers, and with such nuisances as are of a public character, or for the punishment or suppression of which local