Customs Tariff, contains portions of the Acts of 1876 and of the Finance Act, 1901, as modified by later Acts; Part II consists of the greater part of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, with amending Acts; Part III comprises enactments relating to particular goods; Part IV contains the Customs laws and tariff of the Isle of Man; and Part V miscellaneous statutes affecting the customs.

Nor is the arrangement of the subject-matter the only merit of the work; the notes upon the sections and the cross-references are no less meritorious; and as regards accuracy, we can find no cause of complaint. After some search we thought we had found one misprint, to wit, in the text of s. 194 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876; but on reference to the editions printed by authority we find the responsibility for the grammatical error, if it be one, must rest with either Parliament or the Queen's Printers.

The Principles of Commercial Law. By JOSEPH HURST and LORD ROBERT CECIL. Second Edition by JOSEPH HURST. London: Stevens & Haynes. 1906. 8vo. Iv and 431 pp. (10s. 6d.)

A BETTER title for this book would be Some Notes on Commercial Law,' for though it contains a considerable amount of information on a multitude of topics, there is but little exposition of principles.

The first edition, which appeared about thirteen years ago, showed that the skill of the authors in expounding principles was not equal to their industry in the collection of materials. It contained many isolated statements, to which taken singly no objection could be made, but which by reason of their isolation were often insufficient if not misleading. And we cannot say that in this respect the edition now before us shows any great improvement on its predecessor.

For instance, the subject of arbitration is dealt with in two or three paragraphs. After stating that agreements to refer cannot be pleaded as a defence at Common Law, and referring to the statutory power to stay actions under s. 4 of the Arbitration Act, 1889, the effect of the remaining provisions of that Act is thus stated: Further, by the recent statute a submission of present or future disputes to arbitration is irrevocable as soon as arbitrators have been appointed thereunder; but no power is given by the Act, or existed before, to compel any party to a submission to appoint an arbitrator, though a refusal to do so is a breach of the agreement, and may be the subject of an action.'

Who would suppose from this passage that a submission is and always was irrevocable both before and after the appointment of an arbitrator; that the Court now has extensive powers for overcoming the reluctance of a party to appoint an arbitrator or umpire; and that an action for breach of an agreement to refer is in practice an unheard-of remedy?

Again, treating of the Bills of Lading Act, it is stated that by that Act 'the bill of lading is only conclusive evidence of the shipment as against the master or other person signing the same, but an erroneous statement therein will bind no one else. Therefore a statement contrary to the actual fact will impose no liability on the shipowner.' This is, indeed, a lame exposition of the extent to which admissions in a bill of lading may affect the shipowner as admissions made by an agent or by estoppel.

The statutory modification of the Common Law rule is stated-and not even correctly stated-as if it were the whole law on the subject. We

might refer the learned editor to the recent case of Comp. Nav. Vasconzada v. Churchill & Sim [1906] 1 K. B. 237, where some aspects of the question are very fully discussed, as well as to Grant v. Norway, 10 C. B. 665, which is cited, but apparently with no appreciation of its effect.

The present edition seems to differ but little from the first, except that the Sale of Goods Act is set out in full with a few notes in place of the original chapter on the subject. We have searched in vain for some reference to many important cases relating to the topics dealt with. Among those whose absence is most noteworthy are Lawford v. Billericay Council [1903] 1 K. B. 772; The Wingfield [1902] P. 42; Universal Stock Exchange v. Strachan [1896] A. C. 166; Scott v. Brown [1892] 2 Q. B. 724; Jones v. Scullard [1898] 2 Q. B. 565; Bentsten v. Taylor [1893] 2 Q. B. 274; Keighley, Maxsted & Co. v. Durant [1901] A. C. 240; and In re Tiedemann & Ledermann Frères [1899] 2 Q. B. 66. The points dealt with in the last two cases are hardly touched on, but a chapter on the law of agency cannot be regarded as in any degree complete without some reference to the rules as to ratification.

Building Cases. By F. ST. JOHN MORROW. London: Butterworth & Co. 1906. La. 8vo. xxxvi, 385 and 80 (index) pp. (158. net.)

THIS Compilation purports to be a digest of reported decisions affecting architects, surveyors, builders, and building owners. The work consists of summaries of cases arranged as a digest according to their subjectmatter, supplemented by a very complete index and tables of cases and of statutes. The digest contains selections from all the reports, English, Irish, and Scotch, from the early seventeenth century onwards. Among them are many nisi prius and practice cases, and others which are mere findings of fact taken from newspapers.

The book is designed to be useful not only to members of both branches of the legal profession and the parties whose rights and liabilities are therein defined, but also to the large body of officials who are engaged in administering local government.'

The author candidly admits that among the cases will be found some decisions which have been overruled by subsequent decisions of the High Court, because, although they can no longer be relied on in courts of justice, they frequently furnish valuable assistance to those whose duty it is to advise parties as to their legal position.'

We should have thought that the one place in which an overruled case might sometimes be used is a Court of Justice, where overruled cases are often valuable to establish a principle or explain the history of a doctrine. In the hands of the parties whose rights and liabilities are defined' and of officials, an overruled case, or one decided on a repealed statute, is a dangerous weapon, especially if it is supplied without any warning of the limitations of its application. Thus in the group headed' ancient and other lights,' we find Kelk v. Pearson (L. R. 6 Ch. 809), Calcroft v. Thompson (15 W. R. 887), and Lazarus v. Artistic Photographic Company [1897] 2 Ch. 214 set forth without comment, and Lanfranchi v. Mackenzie (L. R. 4 Eq. 421) is cited as deciding that in order to establish the right to the access of an extraordinary amount of light necessary for a particular purpose or business to an ancient window, open uninterrupted and known enjoyment of such light in the manner in which it is at present enjoyed and claimed must be shown for a period of twenty years.' Lanfranchi v. Mackenzie is approved in Colls v. Home and

Colonial Stores [1904] A. C. 179, but not as deciding that proposition. Under Light and Air' we find Trahern's Case (Godb. 221) cited without warning, and a case of Dickey v. Pfeil (reported in Fletcher's 'Light and Air'), in which Fry J. is alleged to have granted an injunction in such circumstances, that one can only infer he was oblivious of Webb v. Bird (10 C. B. N. S. 268).

Under Action' we find a case on notice of action under the repealed s. 102 of the Metropolitan Local Management Act, 1862, without any notice of the repeal, and elsewhere are obsolete cases on the Metropolitan Building Act, 1855, and on the repealed sections of the Fires Prevention Metropolis Act, 1774, which at one time regulated building operations in the Metropolis.

We should add that there is a useful appendix, which contains a form of agreement and schedule of conditions for building contracts, the rules of professional practice approved by the Society of Architects, and Ryde's Scale of Surveyor's fees.

We have also received :

The Elements of Jurisprudence. BY THOMAS ERSKINE HOLLAND. Tenth Edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press. London: Henry Frowde and Stevens & Sons, Lim. 1906. 8vo. xxv and 443 pp. (108. 6d.)—This is by no means the first time we have been called on to admire Prof. Holland's diligence in keeping his work, now twenty-six years old, up to date, and we hope it is as far from being the last. Next to nothing of the recent material appropriate to the learned author's purpose has been overlooked, and next to nothing that has become obsolete is retained. Prof. Holland does not, like a brilliant German colleague who lumps him and Austin together as 'Naturrechtler,' range from the Vedántic philosophy to Morgan's theory of prehistoric kinship; but English readers prefer to have the facts given them in an orderly manner and fit them into their general solution of the universe (if any) for themselves. We would suggest that in a future edition the 'realist' account of artificial persons may deserve more than a footnote; that something may have to be said about the Japanese adoption of Western legal ideas; and that a more explicit statement as to the indirect as well as direct results of the Hague Convention, if not necessary, would be useful.

Encyclopaedia of the Laws of England, with Forms and Precedents. By the most eminent legal authorities. Second Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Vol. I. Abandonment to Banker. Edited by Mr. Justice A. WOOD RENTON and MAX. A. ROBERTSON, with a General Introduction by Sir F. POLLOCK. London: Sweet & Maxwell, Lim. Edinburgh: Wm. Green & Sons. 1906. La. 8vo. xvi and 712 pp. (218. net per vol.)—We cannot now do more than note the appearance of the first volume of the new edition of this excellent work. All the articles have been revised and many of them enlarged. As an instance of the considerable additions made, we may mention the article on 'Appeals.' In the first edition only fifteen pages were allotted to this subject. Mr. Charles Burney's article in the present edition occupies nearly fifty pages.

An especial feature of this issue is the addition of forms to many of the articles. Those in the present volume (e. g. Abstract of Title, Advowson, Allotments, Arbitration, Attestation, &c.) look eminently practical and useful, and should in most cases be sufficient for the ordinary needs of the practitioner without the necessity of consulting other works.

An Exposition of the Law relating to Factories and Shops in Victoria. By W. A. SANDERSON. Melbourne: Stilwell & Co. 1906. xv and 160 pp. (38. 6d.) This is a publication of purely local interest, giving the provisions of the two Acts of 1905 which contain the legislation on the subject in the form of a kind of paraphrase of every section, together with an introduction and a print of the Regulations made under the authority of the Acts. Both employers and employees in Victoria should find the book convenient, and the enactments easy to understand.

The Foundations of Legal Liability: a presentation of the Theory and Development of the Common Law. By THOMAS ATKINS STREET. Three vols. Northport, Long Island, N. Y.: Edward Thompson Company. 1906. La. 8vo. Vol. I, xxix and 500 pp. Vol. II, xviii and 559 PP. Vol. III, xi and 572 pp.-Review will follow.

The Revised Reports. Edited by Sir F. POLLOCK, assisted by 0. A. SAUNDERS, J. G. PEASE and ARTHUR B. CANE. Vols. LXXXIII, LXXXIV and LXXXV (7 Moore, P. C., 1 Mac. & G., 1 & 2 Hall & Twells, 11 & 12 Beavan, 3 De G. & Sm., 8 Hare, 17 Simons, 16 & 17 Queen's Bench, 10 Common Bench, 18 Law Journal, 12 & 13 Jurist). London: Sweet & Maxwell, Lim. Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown & Co. 1906. La. 8vo. Vol. LXXXIII, xv and 883 pp. Vol. LXXXIV, xv and 898 pp. Vol. LXXXV, xiv and 815 pp.

Act of State in English Law. By W. HARRISON MOORE. John Murray. 1906. 8vo. x and 178 pp. (108. 6d. net.)

London :

A Handbook of Legal Medicine, intended for the use of the Legal Profession. By WILLIAM SELLERS, M.D. Manchester: at the University Press. 1906. 8vo. 294 and vii (index) pp.

Digest of Law Reports of the late South African Republic, including cases. decided during the British occupation prior to 1881, for the period 1877 to 1899. By J. P. R.VAN HOYTEMA and SIEGFRIED RAPHAELY. Grahamstown, Cape Colony: African Book Company, Lim. 1906. La. 8vo. xxxviii pp. and 414 columns. (£1 158. net.)

Reports of Cases decided by the Railway and Canal Commissioners, together with table of, and index to, cases reported in vols. vii to xii. By J. H. BALFOUR BROWNE, K.C., WALTER H. MACNAMARA and RALPH NEVILLE. Vol. XII. London: Sweet & Maxwell, Lim. 1906. La. 8vo. xvi and 316 pp.

An analytical Digest of Cases published in the Law Journal Reports and the Law Reports; 1901-5. By JAMES S. HENDERSON. London: Stevens & Son, Lim.; Sweet & Maxwell, Lim. 1906. 4to. lxi and 969 pp. (308.)

Principles of the English Law of Contract. By Sir W. R. ANSON, Bart. Eleventh Edition. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. London and New York Henry Frowde. 1906. 8vo. xxxvi and 406 pp. (108. 6d.)

An Introduction to Hindu and Mahommedan Law for the use of Students. By Sir WILLIAM MARKBY, K.C.I.E. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. 1906. 8vo. 172 pp. (68. net.)

Borough Customs. Vol. II. Vol. II. Edited for the Selden Society by MARY BATESON. London: Bernard Quaritch. 1906. 4to. clix and 224 pp.

Appeal Cases under the Weights and Measures Acts, &c. By G. F. ALLWOOD. London Butterworth & Co.; Shaw & Sons. xxiii, 205 and 25 pp. (68. net.)

1906. 8vo.

The Economic Development of a Norfolk Manor, 1086-1565. By FRANCES GARDINER DAVENPORT. Cambridge at the University Press. 1906. (10s. net.) Two vols. Paris: Vol. I, xlvii and 649 pp. By GIOVAnni Brunetti. xxiii and 523 pp. (1. 8.)

8vo. X, 105 and cii pp.
Code Civil Allemand.
1904-1906. 8vo.
Il Delitto Civile.
8vo.

1906.

à l'imprimerie Nationale. Vol. II, 852 pp.

Firenze: Bernardo Seeber.

The Editor cannot undertake the return or safe custody of MSS.
sent to him without previous communication.

His address is 13 Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, not Oxford.