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repair for two years. While the work was in progress the premises were wholly destroyed by fire. The fire was held to discharge the contract. The same spirit appears in the Sale of Goods Act (36 & 37 Vict. c. 71), section 7 of which enacts that an agreement to sell specific goods is avoided if, before the risk has passed to the buyer, by fault of neither party the goods perish.

We referred, at page 355 of this volume, to the case of Powell v. Powell (44 S.J. 134) where Farwell J. set aside a settlement executed by a young lady just of age in favour of step-relations. The Court of Appeal in Barrow v. Willis (109 L.T. 58) have just reversed a contrary decision of Cozens -Hardy J., and decreed a declaration in favour of the plaintiff's claim. There, as in Powell v. Powell, the principle of Huguenin v. Baseley was invoked, but Cozens-Hardy J., had (81 L.T.R., 321), decided against the lady. The plaintiff had in 1889 married one Willis, and in the following year a deed was executed for the purpose of carrying out a family arrangement between Willis and his mother and settling property belonging to them. The plaintiff was a party to the deed This was followed by two other deeds, to which the plaintiff was also a party, and which dealt with the same property. The son of the solicitor who prepared the three deeds had a contingent interest in the property. In 1897 the plaintiff, being a widow, was re-married, and shortly afterwards commenced an action claiming rectification of the settlement by restoring the general power of appointment to her as the survivor. It was contended on her behalf that the solicitor in question was her solicitor and confidential adviser at the times when the deeds were executed, and that in neglect of his duty he did not explain to her that she was voluntarily releasing a portion of her life interest and the general power of appointment, and that this release could not be supported because the son of

the solicitor benefited by the release of the general power of appointment, and his reversionary interest. was thereby rendered less liable to failure. The Court of Appeal, relying on Liles v. Terry (73 L.T.R. 428). reversed the decision of the Court below, considering that the learned Judge had not attached sufficient importance to the confidential relationship that existed between the solicitor and the plaintiff, and that he had over-rated her admission that she did not employ him as her solicitor. A gift to a solicitor-and there is small difference when his son is in question-made by a client, who has had no independent advice, while there is any influence over the client arising from the solicitor acting as such, is invalid. If a client wishes to make a gift to his solicitor, what the solicitor must do in order to make the gift a valid one is to obtain competent and independent advice for the donor Some judgments of Lord Eldon are very strong authorities. in support of this rule; and there is also a very valuable judgment of Turner, L. J., in Rhodes v. Bate (13, L.T.R.,. 778). In Liles v. Terry, Lopes, L. J., says: “I do not recognise any substantial distinction between a gift to a solicitor and a gift to a solicitor's wife, even though she may be a relative of the donor." And in Goddard v. Carlisle and others (9 Price, 169) Richards, C. B., says: "There is no difference in principle between a gift of this sort to a man's wife, and a gift immediately to himself, if the gift to the wife be effected by undue means on the part of the husband." From these eminent authorities we may gather that the principle and basis of the rule is that while confidential relations exist between a solicitor and a client it is impossible to rebut any inference of undue influence in the making of a gift.

SHERSTON BAKER.

498

Reviews.

[SHORT NOTICES DO NOT PRECLUDE REVIEWS AT GREATER LENGTH IN SUBSEQUENT ISSUES.]

The Law of Animals. By JOHN H. INGHAM. Philadelphia: T. & W. Johnson & Co. 1900.

THE law of "Property in Animals, wild and domestic, and the rights and responsibilities arising therefrom " has hitherto had to be collected from a great variety of sources, and it has been left to Mr. Ingham, a learned member of the Philadelphia Bar, to produce a work dealing comprehensively with the subject. "The Law of the United States," which naturally forms the greater part of the work, is in many points the same as our own. From the nature of the country the question of property in wild animals is more often raised in the States, and is, perhaps, of more importance than in our own land, and it is interesting to notice the decisions as to the property in bees and honey, which are not often the subject of litigation over here. On the other hand, from the different manner in which railways are constructed in America, there is a much greater mass of decisions and questions of law as to the liabilities of railway companies for injuries to animals, both irrespective of, and under the numerous statutes which have been passed relating to fences. It is, however, interesting to see that the much attacked doctrine of scienter is still in force. We do not quite approve of Mr. Ingham's practice of using citations from legal periodicals to state or summarise the law on a point. Such citations, however learned may be the writer, and however respectable the periodical, are not authorities, not even if they should come from our own pages.

Railway and Canal Traffic Cases. Vol. X. By J. H. BALFOUR BROWNE, Q.C., WALTER H. MACNAMARA, and RALPH NEVILLE, LL.B. London: Sweet and Maxwell, Limited. 1900.

THE tenth volume of reports of the cases decided by the Railway and Canal Commissioners, edited as it is by gentlemen so thoroughly familiar with this subject, must be of the greatest value to all interested in the important and difficult questions of through rates, facilities for traffic, and last but not least, in a sub

ject which is likely in the future to trouble Railway Companies in an increased degree, "Workmen's Trains." The value of the volume is much increased by the excellence of its paper and type.

The German Commercial Code. Translated by BERNARD A. PLATT, London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1900.

THE Commercial Code of our great commercial rival is well worth study by both commercial men and lawyers, and Mr. Platt has done good service in preparing his careful translation. The spirit of the code strikes us as very significant, and the regulations as to the entries in the Trade Register, and the manner in which traders must keep their books (though this is mostly taken from the French Code de Commerce) evidence a state regulation of private business which would be very unwelcome here. The greater part of the code deals with trading companies and partnerships and maritime commerce, and a good many branches of what is generally understood as commercial law are not included, notably the law of Bills of Exchange, Fire Insurance and Patents. Bankruptcy, even, is only dealt with as far as it affects companies and partnerships. The book does not bear the usual outward aspect of a law book, the cover being adorned with the German national colours.

A Concise Introduction to Conveyancing. By J. ANDREW STRAHAN, M.A., LL.B. With a chapter on Registration of Title, by WILLIAM BLYTH, B.A. London: Butterworth and Co. 1900.

MR. STRAHAN has produced this work "not so much to teach the student to draft, as to enable him to understand assurances of land." This is, of course, an indispensable preliminary to the other, and is, besides, a necessary part of the education of every lawyer. The plan adopted, which is a good one, and admirably carried out, is first to give a general history of the introduction and features of the various modes of assurances of land. Then Assurances by way of Purchase, Assurances by way of Settlement, Assurances by way of Mortgage, and Assurances by Will are taken separately. Usually a form of each class is given, and then the clauses are one by one considered and explained. The work concludes with a short resumé of the provisions of the Land Registration Acts.

The Law of Bailments.

By EDWARD BEAL, B.A., with notes to Canadian Cases, by A. C. FORSTER BOULTON. London Butterworth & Co. 1900.

IT really is remarkable that no new book has been published on the Law of Bailments since the well-known treatise of Sir William Jones, the last edition of which came out as long ago as 1833, and the learned author has done well in projecting and completing his really important work. He has naturally and wisely followed Story's great work, but we do not think he has been so much tempted, as the authors of some recent works, to make an excessive use of American authors. The result of Mr. Beal's labours is a handsome and well-printed volume, well arranged, and treating exhaustively all the branches of the subject. One marked feature of the work is the very large number of quotations given from judgments to support or illustrate a definition. This has both advantages and disadvantages. While it gives more weight to a definition than if it were merely the opinion of the author, the quotation is often so apt to be limited by the special circumstances of the case in which it was delivered, that it does not give so broad and general a view of the law as we require. As an instance, under the heading "Degrees of Care and Neglect," a number of judicial definitions of "negligence" and "gross negligence" are given, which, though useful as authorities for any particular proposition, do not, we think, tend to clear up the doubts that exist on the subject, but leave the reader in rather a confused state of mind as to what the legal difference may be, if indeed there is any.

After an introductory chapter on Bailments generally, come "Gratuitous Bailments," which are divided into "Deposits," "Mandates," 39 66 Loans for Use," then "Bailments for Reward," and last of all, and occupying nearly half the book, "Carriers." The whole is well and thoroughly carried out, and the Canadian Notes, which are not incorporated in the text, but are found in the form of foot notes, are frequently important and always interesting.

Appeal Cases under the Food and 1879, and Margarine Act, 1887. London: Butterworth and Co.

Drugs Acts 1875 and
By B. Scott Elder,

1900.

THIS is a collection of the Appeal Cases under the Food and Drugs Acts, etc., arranged and indexed by Mr. Scott Elder, who

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