old contributor and a constant friend to this Review, to which he had lately sent the last volume of his latest published work. Mr. W. E. Hall, though he had as yet published little, had already shown himself an original thinker in the domain of the Law of Nations, when in 1874 he brought out his essay on the Rights and Duties of Neutrals, reprinted in the relative portion of his present Treatise.

Mr. Westlake's name has so long been closely identified with the subject of his present volume, that it would have been matter for surprise had he longer delayed its issue. Intended to be "in lieu of a second edition of the work published in 1858," it is substantially a new book. We should have been glad if the learned author had seen fit to write more of a Treatise, such as would have come with so much authority from his pen, rather than draw up, as he has practically done, a Digest of English Case-law on questions which come within the field of Private International Law. For there is much in the present aspect of that branch of the modern Jus inter Gentes, which is in a fluid condition, and on which the opinion of brudentes, so to speak, might with advantage be given. It is indeed hardly possible to look abroad, whether beyond the Atlantic, or only beyond the Channel, and not recognise the truth of the observation made some years ago by M. Charles Brocher, of Geneva, in the late Revue de Législation Ancienne et Moderne (Paris, 1875, p. 557, seq.), to the effect that in this our day, Private International Law is certainly passing through one of the most important phases of its development. Many causes conspire to produce this transition period, and its close. does not seem to us by any means near. One of these causes, we ourselves cannot doubt, is the conflict between rival systems of Law, and the shock which-whatever may ultimately prove the prevalent doctrine-Von Savigny's system has suffered at the hands of the new and subversive School of Ihering. The opposition between the two is deeper, we are persuaded, and the blow to the hitherto unquestioned supremacy of Savigny is severer, than Mr. Guthrie seems to realise. It means, perhaps, nothing less than reconstruction of the entire edifice, a truly serious task, which were enough to tax generations of jurists. The division itself of International Law into Public and Private, though on the surface convenient, and following as nearly as possible the analogy of the Roman Jus Publicum and Jus Privatum, is yet, it seems to us, often difficult to draw, and not

unfrequently, when drawn, purely artificial. It depends a good deal upon the point of view from which a particular question is approached, whether it be one of Public or Private Law. Many cases of private interest might yet truly have it said of them "Ad statum Reipublicæ spectant." Take, eg., the U.S. "Trade Mark cases" (U.S. Reports, 100). They were, in themselves, cases of private interest, but they were not decided without involving very grave questions of Public Law, including the powers of the President under the Constitution of the United States, and the consequent validity or invalidity of Treaties between the Federal Government and Foreign Powers. We think, therefore, that text-writers who make Private International Law their principal subject, should, nevertheless, always bear in mind this unavoidably close connection between the two branches. Mr. Westlake has given to his new work the character of a Digest of the Law on questions of Private International Law decided in the English Courts, rather than that of a Treatise on the Principles of that branch of Law. He has, as a rule, adhered to brevity so closely that his text could not possibly have been more compressed without ceasing to be intelligible. We should often have been better satisfied had the text been fuller, and we could have dispensed with the names of the Judges, which are appended to their decisions, an innovation that does not entirely command our sympathy. But whether Mr. Westlake is collecting judicial decisions, or commenting upon them, and speaking his own mind, he is sure to be listened to with interest on all questions connected with the Conflict of Laws.

Mr. Guthrie's book is of value alike from the eminence of the profound Jurist, Savigny, whose teaching he sets before us, and from the interesting commentary which he appends throughout by way of notes. By this means the book is brought down to the present day, and the principles of Savigny can be studied in their agreement with or divergence from modern judgments or dicta. In the same way reference is made throughout both to the more recent editions of Continental writers cited by Savigny, and to English, Scottish and American cases, or text-books illustrating the subject. Thus we meet with Le Sueur v. Le Sueur, Sottomayor v. De Barros, Simonin v. Maillac, and other well-known "modern instances," and we are referred to appropriate passages in the works of Lord Fraser, who now so fitly adorns the Bench of the Court of Session, Mr. Westlake,

Mr. Dicey, Mr. Foote, &c.

Sometimes we should have been glad if Mr. Guthrie had given us a little insight into his own attitude towards his great master's teaching. For instance, it would seem at pp. 95-6, that there must have been some difference between Savigny's view of the constitution of Caracalla, extending Roman citizenship throughout the limits of the Roman world, and the view taken by Sir Henry Sumner Maine. Savigny certainly seems to make rather light of the edict, while Sir Henry unquestionably attributes to it a great and far-reaching influence. Is this divergence apparent rather than real, and does it arise from the special point of view from which each writer was regarding this constitution? Or does it indicate a real divergence, into the causes and importance of which it would be interesting to make a closer investigation? Perhaps, in a future edition, Mr. Guthrie will turn his attention to some of the at least apparent antinomies of these and other masters of modern Juridical Thought.

Mr. W. E. Hall is a new candidate for public favour as a text-writer on International Law, though already known by several pièces de circonstance which showed him to be working out for himself solutions of questions of importance in international relations. Mr. Hall has read widely and thought deeply on these questions, and the result is before us in a volume which ought to be read and considered by all who take an intelligent and scientific interest in the Law of Nations. It is not the least of Mr. Hall's merits that he criticises freely both doctrines and their upholders. We do not by any means always agree with his criticisms, but they give a freshness and a point to his book which entitle it still more to our attention. Sometimes Mr. Hall introduces a new, or, at least, unfamiliar terminology. Thus, where most writers speak of "territorial waters," he speaks of "marginal seas." There are objections to the former epithet not shared by the latter, which purely states a fact. But bearing in mind the questions connected with this particular epithet, we think the form introduced by Sir Travers Twiss in our own pages, "jurisdictional waters," is better than either. And in his criticism of the various doctrines on this point, Mr. Hall does not note the employment of this phrase by Sir Travers, subsequent as it is to the latest edition of his Law of Nations. We may remark, obiter, that we fail to apprehend the exact meaning of Mr. Hall when he says in his critical note, p. 126, that the rights of sovereignty or jurisdiction belonging

to a State, are, in all cases (except piracy), “indissolubly connected with the possession of international property." The general stand-point of Mr. Hall may best be judged by his opening statement, that he regards the rules of International Law "simply as a reflection of the moral development and the external life of the particular nations which are governed by them." In his Appendices there will be found an interesting summary of the author's view of the Formation of the Conception of International Law, and also a useful précis of the enactments of the chief States which have legislated on the still complicated question of Nationality, besides other documents of practical utility for reference.

We shall hope to continue in our next issue the consideration of some of the many important topics covered by the works named at the head of this review.

Principles of the Criminal Law. By SEYMOUR F. HARRIS, B.C.L., M.A. Second Edition. Revised by the Author and F. P. TOMLINSON, M.A., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law. Stevens and Haynes. 1881.

Mr. Seymour Harris, already well-known for his several useful institutional treatises, has seized an opportune moment for the issue of a revised edition of his Criminal Law. The new legislation in regard to Summary Jurisdiction occupies a separate Book of the present edition, in which various minor alterations have also been made, tending to the greater convenience of the student. The annotations embrace terse statements of law or opinion from the works of Sir James Stephen, and of the distinguished American Criminalist, Mr. Bishop. But we do not observe that Dr. Wharton, a leading text-writer on this subject in the United States, has been consulted as we should have expected. The Table of Offences and Punishments has been already remarked upon both by ourselves and by foreign critics as a feature adding to the value of the book. Such a Table, if extended by Mr. Seymour Harris to the relative punishments of Continental States, would be an interesting study in comparative legislation in a future edition. Perhaps, by that time, the Criminal Code Bill may have become law. It sleeps just now, but it must awake ere long.

The Law of Railway Companies. By J. H. BALFOUR BROWNE, of the Middle Temple, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, Registrar to the Railway Commissioners; and H. S. THEOBALD, of the Inner Temple, Esq., Barrister-at-Law, Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. Stevens & Sons.

1881.

There are two ways of compiling such a work as that which Messrs. Browne and Theobald have given to the public-the chronological and the topical. That the system of grouping the Acts according to their subject-matter is the right one we think few will be found to deny. The authors themselves admit the disadvantages of the chronological method, but while abstaining from pointing out any virtues which may attach to it, have yet thought it best, on the whole," to adopt it. This regretable decision has had the effect, in our opinion, of materially detracting from the usefulness of the book. Until, however, a work of equal merit with this one, but arranged on the better system, shall have appeared, there can be no doubt that the book under review offers to the practitioner an almost indispensable aid in all cases of Railway Law and its kindred topics. No less than 75 Acts, from the Carriers Act (1 William IV., c. 68) down to the Employers Liability Act, passed on the 7th September, 1880, are set forth in chronological order. Between the sections are intercalated notes-often lengthy, though concisely worded-setting forth the effect of all the decided cases to November, 1880. The labour of compilation and digestion must in this part have been very considerable, and so far as we have been able to test it, appears to have been conscientiously and accurately performed. In addition to the Acts and Notes of Cases, the volume also contains much useful ancillary information, such as a list of the documents required to be sent to the Board of Trade previously to the opening of a railway; the Orders under the Railway Companies Act, 1867; the General Orders made by the Railway Commissioners under the Act of 1873; the Orders in Council under the Explosives Act, 1875, so far as they affect Railway Companies, and the bye-laws under that Act approved by the Board of Trade. In an appendix are the material portions of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons 1878-9, and the bye-laws approved by the Board of Trade for regulating the conveyance of passengers upon railways. The index, for which Mr. Montague Lush is responsible, is full and well executed; and facility of reference is aided by a complete marginal analysis. Credit