equitable estates. You cannot imply legal limitations in this way; a suit for the rectification of the deed would be necessary. Nor can it be done even in regard to equitable limitations, unless an intention can be found expressed, or sufficiently shown on the face of the deed. From the purely Irish point of view, the decision is noteworthy as a refusal to follow Meyler v. Meyler (11 L. R. Ir. 522), and a preference of In re Tringham's Trusts (L. R. [1904], 2 Ch. 487).

Wills v. Wills ([1909], I Ir. R. 268) is another of the unending instances of conflict in judicial opinion on the construction of a will. A testator had two classes of lands; first, settled lands, limited to himself for life, with remainder to his first and other sons in tail male, with remainder to himself in fee: and secondly, unsettled lands. Arrears of rent were due at the time of his death in respect of both. His will gave to his eldest son, absolutely, all his real and chattel real property, whether in possession, reversion, remainder, or expectancy, or over which he had power of disposition, together with all rents and arrears of rent due thereout at the time of his death. There was a direction that all outgoings charged thereon or payable thereout at his death should be paid out of such rents. Then followed a gift of all property not disposed of in trust for his children generally. The Master of the Rolls, and one member of the Court of Appeal, held that the gift of rent and arrears of rent to the eldest son must be confined to the unsettled lands; the other two members of the Court of Appeal held the eldest son entitled to the rents and arrears out of both the settled and unsettled lands. The principal difficulty is, of course, to find what the words "due thereout" refer to; probably the majority of the Court of Appeal were right in giving these words, occurring in so general a gift, the widest possible construction.

J. S. B.

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Reviews.

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

The Laws of England.

Vols. VI, VII, and VIII.

By the London:

Right Hon. the Earl of HALSBURY and other lawyers.

Butterworth & Co. 1909.

It will no doubt be noticed that these volumes seem to appear a little prematurely, as Vol. V has not yet been issued; but this is accounted for by the delay which has been caused in the production of that volume, which is entirely devoted to Company law, by the fact of the Companies Consolidation Act not having received the Royal Assent till the 21st December last. The sixth volume only contains two headings and part of a third. They are, Compulsory Purchase of Land and Compensation; Conflict of Laws; and Constitutional History, Parts I-V. The title on Compulsory Purchase of Land and Compensation has been contributed by the Lord Chief Justice and Mr. C. E. Allan and covers about 175 pages, and is, as might be expected, a thorough compendium of the law. The attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer might perhaps be directed to the statement that questions of considerable difficulty have arisen as to what are mines and minerals. For the title Conflict of Laws we are indebted to Sir Thomas Raleigh, Mr. Maurice L. Gwyer, Mr. W. A. Greene, and Mr. J. L. Brierly. It occupies 130 pages, and is divided into eleven parts, of which perhaps the most important is that dealing with Husband and Wife. The nature of the subject is rather a difficult one to define, and it is stated to consist "of the rules adopted by the English Courts for determining, first, the limits of their own jurisdiction in disputes which either wholly or in part arise abroad, or at least in connection with foreign transactions; and, secondly, if the matter falls within their jurisdiction, the law, whether English or foreign, which in the circumstance of the case it becomes their duty to apply." The many difficult questions connected with marriage and divorce are treated with care and caution, and it is somewhat disturbing to notice how many doubtful points. there are. The last 190 pages of this volume and the first 277 pages of the seventh volume are taken up with the very important subject of Constitutional law. The contributors to this are Mr. W. S.

Holdsworth, Mr. E. Wavell Ridges, Mr. Meryon White-Winton, and Mr. A. Hildesheimer. Constitutional law is perhaps rather too wide a description of the subject-matter of the title, as there are very many important Constitutional questions which are not touched on, and will have to be sought for under such titles as Parliament, etc. The present title deals mostly with the powers and position of the Crown, its relations to the Executive, and its Hereditary and Private Revenues. The rest of Volume VII is given to the two titles Contempt of Court and Contract. The former is the work of Master J. C. Fox, and the second title, which of course deals with its important subject in a somewhat general way, is contributed by Mr. H. F. Manisty, K.C., Mr. J. A. Johnston, Mr. A. Robinson, Mr. W. Bowstead, and Mr. M. R. Emanuel. Wherever we have consulted it we have found the law clearly and we believe accurately laid down. We may in passing call attention to the opinion expressed on one much-mooted point. "The question whether a letter of acceptance can be anticipated by telegram or by any other means of communication, and revoked before it reaches the person who made the offer, has never been expressly decided by the English Courts. On principle, it is submitted that a letter of acceptance which has been anticipated in this manner is not binding upon the person by whom it was sent." The eighth volume has five titles. The first of these Copyholds-is one of considerable importance. It fills over 130 pages, and is written by Mr. A. R. Ingpen, K.C., and Mr. R. Leigh Ramsbotham. Copyright and Literary Property is by Mr. A. R. Ingpen, K.C., and Mr. Harold Hardy. Mr. J. Brooke Little has contributed the article on Coroners singlehanded. Corporations is by Mr. O. L. Leigh Clare and Mr. R. Leigh Ramsbotham; and the longest article-County Courts— which covers nearly 300 pages, is contributed by His Honour Judge Woodfall and Mr. E. H. Tindal Atkinson, assisted by Mr. H. L. Ormsby, Mr. H. L. Tebbs, and Mr. S. E. Pocock. All these articles seem to us to well uphold the high standard set in the preceding volumes, and to give excellent compendiums of the law up to a remarkably recent date. For instance, in Volume VIII, which was published at the end of June last, the law is stated to be as at June 2nd. We shall look forward with much interest to the next volume, where the highly-important subject of Criminal Law and Procedure is to be treated by so competent an authority as the Common Sergeant, with other experienced lawyers.

The Rhodian Sea Law. Edited from the Manuscripts by WALTER ASHBURNER. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1909.

For a minute and exhaustive study like this the Author must be at once a competent Roman lawyer, and a competent Byzantine scholar. Mr. Ashburner is obviously both, and his edition will probably be the final one. The subject is an important one, as the Lex Rhodia is the basis of the whole modern law of jettison and general average. The work consists of an introduction, an apparatus criticus of manuscripts and of printed editions, from 1561 downwards, and a translation with notes. The actual text is meagre, how much so appears from the pagination (pp. ccxciii, 132). But the law acted as a rough and ready measure of justice at a time when Greek sailors were wont to steal the passengers' shirts. The regulations as to the bedding and food to be supplied to the forecastle are except as to wine-a forecast of modern Board of Trade rules. The captain was more autocratic than at present, and could inflict severe corporal punishment, possibly even the rack, though there is some doubt as to this. He had generally some share in the adventure. Cutting the painter was a delict falling under the Lex Aquilia. It is interesting to note that a charter-party must have been in writing. Some unfamiliar terms are used in this strange link between ancient and modern Commercial law, e. g., columna for a partnership; commenda, an advance to a trader; mudua, a convoy; and cariti, the twenty four parts into which the ownership of a vessel was divided. When the twenty-four parts became the modern sixty-four Mr. Ashburner does not inform us.

Fourth Edition. Lely and Aggs' Agricultural Holdings. By W. HANBURY AGGS, M.A., LL.M. London Butterworth & Co.

1909.

Mr. Aggs treats in this work a large number of statutes affecting agriculture. These, printed at length, are some thirty-five in number, and he has certainly brought them together in a convenient form "for the use of landlords, tenants, land agents and their advisers." The two most important statutes treated on are, of course, the Agricultural Holdings Act 1908 and the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908, but there are many other statutes set out and explained on such subjects as Distress, Game, Wild Birds, &c. The Agricultural Holdings Act 1908 repealed, as far as regards England, the Agricultural Holdings Act 1906, the Agricultural

Holdings Act 1890, and the Agricultural Holdings Act 1883, but re-enacts and consolidates their provisions with some important alterations. Perhaps the most important of these are (1) that all questions referred to Arbitration must be determined by a single arbitrator; (2) Compensation can be received for damage caused by game. The first alteration is, as the Author points out in some detail, likely to prove unsatisfactory in many instances; and he gives a remarkable and closely reasoned note showing the great difficulties in fairly assessing the injury caused by game, and the eminent qualifications an arbitrator must possess to be able satisfactorily to do so. Mr. Aggs' notes all through are full and valuable, and we fully agree with the view that he expresses in the preface, that it is better to give a mistaken opinion than be silent on the many and important difficulties of construction which arise from this Act. Some of the difficulties he refers to arise on such questions as to what is "drainage," "permanent pasture," "can the Act be evaded?" &c. His views are always well supported by argument, but we can hardly agree with him when he says in a note to the interpretation clause that "the Court will always, in a case of doubt, adopt the construction which is most just and equitable and most likely to prove beneficial to the tenant." The italics are ours. The Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908, the other principal Act contained in this book, is also a consolidating Act and so the only one necessary to consider. The conclusion Mr. Aggs draws after summarising the Act is that "if there is a genuine demand for small holdings and allotments it is believed that a sympathetic administration of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 will bring about immense rural changes." Mr. Aggs, however, is justly severe on the provisions, that a party to an arbitration under this Act shall not, as of right, be entitled to employ counsel, and that there is no guarantee as to the standing of the arbitrator, or that he should be free of political control. This strikes us as another sign of the tendency which is now apparent in legislation to have disputed questions tried as far as possible by Government officials and not by judicial tribunals.

Fourth Edition. The Law and Custom of the Constitution. By Sir W. R. ANSON, Bart., D.C.L. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1909.

With this volume Sir William Anson completes the edition of what he modestly describes as "an introduction to the Study of