Page images
PDF
EPUB

BOOK REVIEWS.

A HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL CRIMINAL LAW. BY CARL LUDWIG VON BAR, late Professor of Law in the University of Gottingen, and others. Translated by THOMAS S. BELL, of the Los Angeles Bar, and others. With an Editorial Preface by JOHN H. WIGMORE, Professor of Law in Northwestern University, and Introductions by WILLIAM RENWICK RIDDELL, Judge of the High Court of Justice for Ontario, and by EDWIN R. KEEDY, Professor of Law in the University of Pennsylvania. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1916.

We have here another weighty and interesting volume in the Continental Legal History Series published under the auspices of the Association of American Law Schools under the supervision of an Editorial Committee headed by Judge John H. Wigmore, who contributes a scholarly preface to the present work.

Like other volumes in the present series, this one is built up around a central treatise, namely the late Professor von Bar's "Geschichte des Deutschen Strafrechts und der Strafrechtstheorien." Much additional matter has been added, however, from the works by von Hamel, Stemann, Pfenninger, von Stein, Glasson, and Garraud, while a small amount of original or new material in the text and notes has been contributed by Dr. Ladislas von Thot, a learned Hungarian jurist. The result as a whole is exceedingly creditable to American legal editorial scholarship as this volume, while falling short of an ideal history of Criminal law, furnishes lawyers and students of legal history with a comprehensive and scholarly survey of the origin and development of criminal law in continental European states up to the present time. If read in conjunction with the volumes on Continental Criminal Procedure (Vol. V), and on the History of Italian Law, largely a criminal law survey, by Calisse (Vol. VIII), one cannot fail to get an excellent knowledge of the history of European criminal law and of its procedure. It is safe to say, therefore, that these volumes are a distinct contribution to legal historical literature in English and, on account of their composite character, careful editing, and up to date annotations, are almost more valuable than the original treatises in various foreign languages.

Members of the bar in America and England should take advantage of the opportunities afforded them by this series and by the Modern Criminal Science Series to acquaint themselves with the history, principles, sociology, and general background of modern law.

CRIMINALITY AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. BY WILLIAM ADRIAN BONGER, Of
Amsterdam, Netherlands. Translated by HENRY P. HORTON. of Ithica,
N. Y. With an Editorial Preface by EDWARD LINDSEY, of the Warren, Pa.,
Bar, and with an Introduction by FRANK H. NORCROSs, Justice of the Su-
preme Court of Nevada, Vice-President of the American Institute of
Criminal Law and Criminology. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1916.
The Committee of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Crim-
inology could hardly have chosen a more interesting, stimulating, and

informative work for translation in the Modern Criminal Science Series than this by the brilliant and industrious young Dutch scholar. Dr. Bonger has earned a reputation among sociologists of today as a careful student of social problems. His publications are numerous and are marked by a spirit of research and a use of statistical information which back up his strongly socialistic theories and interpretations.

The present work is divided into two parts of different type and origin. Part 1 is entitled "A Critical Exposition of the Literature dealing with the Relation between Criminality and Economic Conditions." Copious extracts from writers dealing with crime and criminal science from various viewpoints are given and appended to these are critical comments by Dr. Bonger. Thus part 1 is virtually a source book of modern criminology and one gets quite a comprehensive viewpoint by reading these eight interesting chapters. The literature of criminal science in Europe, England, and America is covered in a general way, no less than fifty-eight writers being drawn upon for illustrative extracts. The emphasis is, of course, on the economic side of crime, but the extracts cover a broad range and deal with statisticians, environmentalists, bio-socialists, spiritualists, and writers of the Italian school such as Lombroso, Garofalo, and Ferri.

Much more important than the first part is Part II, which takes up and discusses fully the present economic system in relation to criminality. The strongly Marxian views of Dr. Bonger appear constantly throughout this part of the volume and the remedies along lines of economic readjustment which he suggests and favors will appear doctrinaire and impractical to most Americans. Nevertheless his analysis and description of various classes of crime in relation to economic conditions and environment is so searching, his statistics and pieces justicatif so convincing, and his reasoning so clear and cogent that the book makes a deep impression. He is a sturdy enemy and critic of capitalism, militarism, and alcoholism while showing strong leanings toward socialism of enlightened character. Particularly interesting are Dr. Bonger's chapters on the relation of the sexes and of the family and on economic and sexual crimes. Many of the other chapters are brief and summary merely setting the author's viewpoint. Dr. Bonger places himself in strong oppositoin to the writers who regard crime as largely a disease due to heredity and he makes an effort to show that crime and degeneracy are largely the result of social and economic environment and are not necessarily heritable. His main conclusion is "that economic conditions occupy a much more important place in the etiology of crime than most authors have given them." From this he goes on to attack in detail the present system and decides "that where crime is the consequence of economic and social conditions we can combat it by changing those conditions." The last pages of the book present an optimistic and glowing, but by no means convincing, picture of how crime would be eliminated by a fundamental reorganization of government, society, and industry along lines of Marxian socialism, the author concluding that "in such a society there can be no question of crime properly so called." This is a rather sweeping assertion.

The volume is well equipped with prefaces and introductions of brief character and the work of translation from the French original has been admirably done by the Rev. Henry P. Horton of Ithica, N. Y., whose sociological interests have made him a sympathetic and understanding translator, something to be much desired in work of this character. An exceedingly thorough and comprehensive bibliography and a fairly good index will be found at the close of the volume.

VICARIOUS LIABILITY. The History of the Liability of Employers, Principals, Partners, Associations and Trade Union Members, with Chapters on the Laws of Scotland and Foreign States. By T. BATY, D. C. L., LL. D. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1916.

This is a type of scholarly legal historical essay, fortified by references and citations of cases, for the production of which English lawyers are justly famous. The author of this volume, Dr. T. Baty, is already known for his contributions along lines of law and political science and has added to his reputation by this timely and interesting discussion of vicarious liability. The title suggests the nature of the contents of this small volume which deals historically and contemporaneously with the principles and application of the law of the liability of masters, corporations and other employers and principals for the wrongdoings or torts committed by individual servitors or members of associations or societies. A brief, discriminating preface points out that "the present day discussion of the question of the liability of Trade Unions is hampered by the constant and unwarranted implication that liability on the part of principals and employers for the wrongful acts of those who are employed by them is a sort of natural law." That such an assumption is wrong historically and legally is Mr. Baty's thesis which he proceeds to develop and support in ten interesting chapters. The discussion begins with the history of vicarious liability in England for which the author finds no solid legal foundation before the time of Lord Justice Holt at the close of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries whose decision in the famous case of Hern v. Nichols was the cause of subsequent misinterpretation and poor law in regard to the liability of principals for the actions of agents. So fast did bad law develop that by 1765 Blackstone wrote "if a servant by his negligence does any damage to a stranger the master shall answer for his neglect" as if, observes Dr. Baty, "that had been the glory of English law per saecula saeculorum.” The author's judgment is that "the liability in tort constitutes a gigantic inverted pyramid whose apex is nothing but nisi prius dicta."

Dr. Baty's iconoclastic viewpoint as to the law of vicarious liability in modern times as a false and mushroom growth is skillfully developed in chapters on the liability for agents and partners; for coadjutors, managers of associations, and underservants; as well as for servants proper. There are also chapters on corporations and quasi-corporations as masters; deliberate trespass of servant; fraud of servant and liability to bailors; scope of employment; and justification in morals. One supplemen

tary chapter deals with the law of Scotland and foreign states in rather summary fashion, another with vicarious criminal liability. The usual lists of authorities, cases, statutes, and an excellent index complete this compact volume. Dr. Baty is to be congratulated for having produced such an interesting and readable little treatise, which cannot fail to stimulate thought in the direction of law reform. The author's remarks on the history of the law of vicarious liability in the United States (pp. 181197) are especially stimulating and ought to be read and pondered over by American practitioners and teachers of law. In general it appears that we have pursued a more rational course than Great Britain in spite of our inheritance from Bracton and the influence exercised by Story.

THE LAW OF PROMOTERS. By MANFRED W. EHRICH, of the New York Bar. Matthew Bender & Co., Albany, N. Y. 1916.

The importance of this new volume on promoters and the law connected with promoters can be seen from the fact that no special work on promoters' law has been published since 1898, whereas the activity of promoters has increased enormously and legal problems connected with their operations have become correspondingly greater in importance. There are so many special and complicated questions in connection with the activity of promoters that a volume such as this has great value both for students of law and practitioners.

Mr. Ehrich has handled his subject well from the standpoint of practical information, clear organization, and elaborate citation of cases. The first three chapters deal with the law in regard to promoters in general, and the promotion of corporations on the basis of previous agreements. Then we have a consideration of the law in regard to contracts made for the corporation by its promoters, a long and important chapter, followed by briefer chapters on promoters' expenses, and secret and lawful profits. Promoters and corporations not infrequently have fallings out which are brought into court, consequently Mr. Ehrich has given chapters to the discussion of promoters' defenses to suits by corporations, using very specific cases, and to the remedies of the corporation and suits by or on behalf of the corporation. Attention is also bestowed on the promoter's liability for false representation, a new and interesting phase of the law of liability, and to the personal remedies of stockholders, defenses of suits by individual stockholders, and the measure of recovery possible in case of fraud and false representations. Then there is an interesting short chapter on the criminal liability of promoters under American and English law, a discussion of vendors of property and their relation to the promoter, and of the rights and liabilities of promoters inter se. The volume concludes with chapters on reorganization and consolidation of companies and corporations in connection with promoters and abortive or unsuccessful efforts at promotion.

It will thus be seen that the present work is exceedingly comprehensive and practical and calculated to be of direct service to the practitioner as well as to the student of law. Over two thousand cases are

cited in the text and notes and listed in the Table of Cases. There is an excellent Table of Contents and a fairly good Index, which would be better and more serviceable were main headings more numerous and the sub-heads arranged in some sort of order either alphabetically, which would be best, or in order of appearance in the text. The indexing of law books should be done scientifically and not in a haphazard manner, as a good alphabetically constructed index is a great time saver.

ESSENTIALS OF VETERINARY LAW. BY HENRY BIXBY HEMENWAY, A. M., M. D. T. H. Flood & Co., Chicago. 1916.

This is a quasi-legal treatise by a specialist in public health and sanitation and has been written to meet the special need of a textbook on veterinary law in veterinary schools and agricultural colleges and the general need for a manual of information of veterinarians, scientific farmers, breeders and others who have to do with the care of animals and need accurate knowledge of the legal duties, responsibilities, and limitations of authority in such lines. Thus Dr. Hemenway's viewpoint is comprehensive and varied and the manual he has produced in full of all sorts of useful information and advice backed by legal usage and decisions of the courts.

Part I of the volume consists of two chapters on Legal Principles, the first of which deals with general principles of law and government and the second with police power, "due process," and nuisances. Part II has three chapters on Veterinary Practice in relation to the law and is the most valuable portion of the whole work as regulation, liabilities, and compensation are fully dealt with. Part III is devoted to Governmental Control in relation with veterinary and live stock interests and is of public importance and significance. Part IV has two chapters devoted to Animals Generally dealing with their ownership and bailment. Some six hundred cases are cited in the notes and in the Table of Cases and there is a well constructed Index arranged in scientific alphabetical way. On the whole this volume is to be commended as filling a need for a comprehensive textbook or manual for veterinary law.

AMERICAN ANNOTATED CASES. Containing the Cases of General Value and Authority subsequent to those contained in American Decisions, American Reports, and the American State Reports. Thoroughly Annotated. Volume Ann. Cas. 1916. B. Bancroft-Whitney Co., San Francisco, and Edward Thompson Co., Northport, L. I., N. Y. 1916.

The current volume of this monumental and invaluable work covers recent cases of importance to American practitioners. Particular attention might be drawn to the cases involving master and servant, workmen's compensation, municipal corporations, and negligence.

As usual the work is elaborately indexed so that it is easy to find a particular case or example. Several very interesting English and Canadian cases are cited and over a dozen long and important cases involving liability of railroads and other corporations for negligence or non-conformity to law are cited. With such a voluminous number of cases be

« PreviousContinue »