Volume I, Mr. Macmorran has had the valuable assistance of Mr. Joshua Scholefield, and in the preparation of Volume II, his assistant has been Mr. S. G. Lushington, who is well known, not only as an authority on Public Health, but as being himself also the author of many widely-read law books. The Index, which is clear and illuminating of the text, must have necessitated considerable labour in its preparation and compilation. The Tables of Statutes and Cases are excellent. In conclusion, one may be forgiven for hoping that Mr. Macmorran may be able to superintend many future editions, and that he will always find to hand such able lieutenants as Messrs. Scholefield and Lushington. On the general merits of this treatise all has been said in its praise before that can possibly be said, and we feel certain that in the future as in the past, the library of no clerk to any local body will be complete without it.

Seventh Edition. Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution. By A. V. DICEY, K.C., Hon. D.C.L. London: Macmillan & Co. 1908.

Professor Dicey's work, which was originally intended to fit the student for an intelligent study of Blackstone's Commentaries, is too well known to call for much comment. The present edition is to all intents and purposes a reprint of the sixth. One important exception, however, calls for notice, that being the revision of Chapter XII, on Droit Administratif. Three reasons are given for this revision: (a) A wish to meet criticism on the description of a branch of French law, first brought to the notice of the English reading public by Professor Dicey himself; (b) A wish to insert in the text two long Notes on this subject formerly to be found in the Appendix; (c) A wish to show that the fundamental differences existing between the French and English systems is day by day diminishing, by reason of the enlightenment of French jurists. In this connection the learned Author avows the debt of gratitude he owes to Professor Jéze for his valuable suggestions. In the Introduction, the learned Author deals with the true nature of Constitutional law, in the course of which he speaks of the great services rendered by Bagehot, the political theorist, in elucidating the intricate workings of English Government. Part I gives an account of the Sovereignty of Parliament, and when speaking of the policy of Imperial government not to interfere with the action of Colonial Parliaments, the learned Author gives the striking instance of the Immigrant's Restriction Act

1907, No. 15, passed by the Transvaal Legislature. In commenting on this Act, the Secretary of State for the Colonies condemns in strong phrases the terms and effect of this Act from the English point of view, and yet, acting on the principle that a Colony knows what legislation best suits its local requirements, he gave it his of ficial sanction. It is surprising to see a writer of Professor Dicey's accuracy assign to Mr. Morley the post of Secretary of State for the Colonies, a position he certainly did not hold in 1907, and, as far as we know, has never held in his life. In Part II he treats of the Rule of Law and its omnipotence in the political institutions of England, and throughout this part of the work we learn its nature and general applications. Chapter XII most ably deals with a comparison between the English Rule of Law and the French Droit Administratif, and presents in a most striking manner the Continental point of view as compared with ours. Part III gives us the connection between the Law of the Constitution and the Conventions of the Constitution. One of the most remarkable things in studying our system of government is the recognised code of unwritten Conventions. Without possessing the formal authority of the Statute law, at the same time history and usage has given it a binding force of equal strength. In the Appendix are gathered together notes upon the twelve constitutions framed by French constitution-makers since the meeting of the States-General in 1789, the division of powers in Federal States, the distinction between a Parliamentary executive and a non-parliamentary executive, the right of self-defence, questions connected with the right of public meeting, and many other subjects of intense interest to the reader. Originally, this work was made up of actually delivered lectures to students, but by means of revision and alteration it has become the recognised standard work for those on the threshold of their study of Constitutional law.

Poor Law Settlement and Removal. By H. DAVEY. London: Stevens & Sons. 1908.--Poor Law Settlement is not as prolific of litigation, and as good a friend to the lawyers, as it used to be, but there have been two very important decisions in the House of Lords lately, which probably had much to do with the production of this book. These are Fulham Union v. Woolwich Union, and West Ham Union v. Edmonton. The former over-ruled Tipton's Case, and the other cases which follow it, in spite of these cases having been followed for many years. In that case, although the judgment

of the Court of Appeal was reversed, it was merely formal, as that Court decided as they did because they considered that they were bound by the previous decisions. The second case also decides important points. Mr. Davey has worked carefully through the whole subject, and discusses the difficult questions, some of which are not yet completely settled, with care. An addition of considerable value, and particularly in a book which is intended to be taken about the country to a distance from libraries, is the appendix taken from the Law Journal Reports, and containing the reports of all the House of Lords cases on the subject, which number no less than nine, and in four of them the West Ham Union was a party; the reports of four cases in the Court of Appeal, and of five in the Divisional Court.

Registration of Electors.-By C. G. E. FLETCHER. London: Butterworth & Co. 1908.-This is just what it purports to be, a practical guide for the use of those who have to take part in registration work, such as overseers, rate collectors, political agents, &c. It gives the law shortly, refers to a few cases, some twenty or so, and gives many useful practical hints. For the discussion and examination of difficult and doubtful points, Mr. Fletcher wisely refers his readers to Mackenzie and Lushington's Manual. The main legal interest is to see what is said of the so-called "latch-key" cases, namely, Kent and others v. Fittall, and Douglas v. Smith. We may notice on the way that the Table of Cases is constructed in rather an unusual way. The cases are not given, as is usual, in alphabetical order, nor chronologically, but in the order in which they are cited in the text. The two cases we have referred to form the main staple of the whole chapter on Inhabitant Occupiers and Lodgers. Mr. Fletcher considers that these cases have been much misunderstood; that they depend mainly on the findings of fact of the Revising Barrister, and that no question of law was raised. The working rule suggested is "that where the landlord is resident and unfurnished rooms in the dwelling-house are let to another person, there is a primâ facie presumption that such a person is a lodger."

Old Age Pensions Act 1908. By D. OWEN EVANS. London: Sweet & Maxwell. 1908.-The introduction to this work is by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The book itself is written in popular form, and is avowedly intended for popular use. In a very carefully written introductory chapter the learned Author outlines the scheme

for granting pensions, and the effect of the statute itself. The notes to the text are carefully drawn up, and the authorities cited are to the point. In the appendices are collected the various Regulations which have been issued with regard to the Act itself. A very useful list has been compiled of the English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish pension authorities. The method of arrangement and matter comprised in this little work are both excellent, and will undoubtedly commend it to a large reading public not usually given to the perusal of abstruse law books.

The Money-lenders Act 1900. By J. B. MATTHEWS and G. F. SPEAR. London Sweet & Maxwell. 1908.-Mr. Matthews has a very wide experience of cases in connection with money lending, and so is fully qualified to write on the subject with authority. In the present work he takes the Act of 1900 and annotates each section; the arrangement of his notes and the care with which he has selected the extracts from judgments is very highly to be commended. In the appendices are collected various cases taken from shorthand-writers' notes, which will be most useful, on account of their not being reported elsewhere. The learned Author finds fault with the reporters, being of opinion that they do not report really important money-lending cases, thinking that they turn so much upon their special circumstances. The Index is good, and at the end of the book are printed many Acts germane to the subject. Owing to the practical, as well as to the theoretical knowledge possessed by the Author of the subject upon which he writes, this little book will prove of enormous utility to the legal profession.

State and Family in Early Rome. By C. W. L. LAUNSPACH. London: George Bell & Sons. 1908.-The work under review only can by a stretch of language come within the category of a law book, but our law is so much based upon Roman law, that any historical description of the fountain head is of interest to lawyers. Rome as the infant and hobbledehoy, so far as any authentic history exists, is the story of the growth of a mighty State upon lines not altogether dissimilar to those upon which our Empire grew. With the Roman the family always was, par excellence, the mainspring of existence. Mr. Launspach shows with considerable skill the growth of this struggling child, until it reaches the dawn. of the epoch in which the law was embodied in writing. The various phases of family life are outlined, and we have presented

before our eyes a vivid picture of the daily life of the early Romans in a form which cannot fail to interest the reader.

Third Edition. Mozley and Whiteley's Law Dictionary. By L. H. WEST, LL.D., and F. G. NEAVE, LL.D. London: Butterworth & Co. 1908.-This is a very useful little dictionary. We have looked into it here and there, and have almost invariably found what we were looking for. We rather doubt the utility of many of the translations of Latin maxims. Many of them are not worth the room they take up. We have noticed a few slips, such as the statement that on each Circuit Assizes are held four times a year. Spring Assizes are only held on part of the Northern and part of the North Eastern Circuit. To the list of Barons should be added those of the Cinque Ports. The Statute De Hæretico Comburendo applied to those heretics who having been convicted refused to abjure, as well as to those who relapsed. The instances given of the use of the word "Respite are" somewhat insufficient.

CONTEMPORARY FOREIGN LITERATURE. Il Concetto della Natura e il Principio del Diritto. By G. DEL VECCHIO. Milan : 1908.

This is a half-legal, half-logical addition to the considerable volume of literature which regards the law of nature as an integral part of law. The writer bases his criticism largely on Hobbes and Bruno, especially from the latter's fifth dialogue (De la causa, principio, e uno), where he says that by one and the same ladder nature descends to creation of things and the intellect ascends to cognition of them. An English lawyer, possibly too much disposed by his environment to disregard the law of nature as a factor, may fail to see what is gained by a division of orientazione into subiettiva and obiettiva or the antithesis of jus naturale and lex naturalis. According to the author, a professor at Sassari, Hobbes dwells too much on the former to the exclusion of the latter. The book shows a competent knowledge of English authorities, even of recent ones, such as Mr. D. G. Ritchie and the Rev. A. J. Carlyle.

Tra l'Antipatriottismo di Hervé ed il Patriottismo degli Antihervestei. By E. CIMBALI. Rome: 1908.

This somewhat nebulous book is, like the last, the production of a professor at Sassari. Its gist is that no arbitration can be