BOOK REVIEWS. BROWNE ON PAROL EVIDENCE. By Irving Browne, editor of the Albany Law Journal and the American Reports. A treatise on the admissibility of Parol Evidence in respect to Written Instruments. L. K. Strouse & Co., 63 Nassau Street, New York City. We are somewhat surprised at the appearance of this work, principally because we fail to conceive the least necessity for it, and our professional brethren are already distracted over the extreme fecundity of the legal press. There is no solitary department of the law of evidence that is better understood than the rules regulating the admission of parol evidence to effect the terms of a written instrument. While there is great controversy over other subdivision of evidentiary law upon which exposition may be deemed necessary, “bench, bar, and commentator" are agreed on this, and in our judgment to inflict upon the legal profession a 500 page "Treatise" upon the topic, shows a writer "out of touch" with the needs of the profession. Men who substitute the activities of a trial lawyer for the monastic seclusion of the editorial chair, are not likely to apprehend the nature and scope of professional needs. Now there are many admirable discussions relating to this branch of evidence. The English authors, from Baron Gilbert to Sir James Stephen, have been especially felicitous in their exposition of the rules. Best, Starkie, Phillips and Taylor have given it critical attention, while Vice-Chancellor Wigram may be said to have placed the matter entirely at rest fifty years ago by a most elaborate discussion of its relevancy when applied to the interpretation of wills. In this country Kent, Story, Willard and Pomeroy have assisted in allaying all agitation of the subject, and placed it in fact beyond the reach of controversy, and we doubt if any decision handed down within the last twenty years is anything more than a reaffirmance of previous judicial utterance upon the subject. Our notions of what the legal profession requires is based in part upon the dictum of Lord Chancellor Thurlow, in his "Address" to the Barristers of Lincolns Inn. The settled law will not concern you; direct your energies to the controverted phases of jurisprudence upon which much is said and but little determined." The only discussion in regard to Mr. Browne's topic that for a time disturbed the extreme monotony of the situation, was over a question raised by a distinguished jurist in a celebrated case as to how far parol evidence transmitted through the telephone" could be relied upon to explain or affect a written instrument. This was a question of considerable novelty, and was followed by some absorbingly interesting arguments, both in England and America. Vide Judge Seymour D. Thompson's late work on "Electricity," which contains a suggestive commentary upon the present situation, as well as a careful analysis of the legal principles that sanction the admission of parol evidence in such cases. This entire subject of Parol Evidence, as affected by the telephone, is utterly ignored in the book under review, an astonishing omission when we consider that this little instrument has occasioned about the only agitation this very narrow subject has received in this generation. A "Treatise" that fails to mention it must be deemed deficient in treatment, and painfully suggestive of other omissions. Our further criticism of this book is based upon the gratuitous and stupid insult to the American judiciary, at page 370, where the writer says :—The infirmities of our judicial system lie in fact that our judges in the previous professional work of the lives have been engaged half the time in favor of the wrong, so that however honest and upright they may be as men, when they come to the technical work of their profession, their mental processes reason as assiduously in favor of the wrong as in favor of the right. Traveling on techniacal lines, they are absolutely indifferent to justice ! ! ! Now a statement of this nature is both false and scurrilous more than that it is wantonly so. A man must have an inflated estimate of his abilities, when he attempts to reveal the mental processes of the American Judiciary: and he must have very fogy conceptions of truth when he asserts of that Judiciary that they are "absolutely indifferent to justice." The time is not very far remote when a writer so offending would cool his lurid imagination in Newgate or the Old Bailey. To interpolate language of this character into what purports to be a "treatise" on a sober theme of law, is bad morals and worse taste. We submit that intelligent and dispassionate criticism is one thing, while distempered and senseless invective is quite another thing. The first function of a text-book is to inform the profession of what the law is, and not to ventilate the writer's opinions of what it should be. We further believe that a text-book is perverted from its legitimate use when it is made the receptacle for such insult and detraction as we have outlined. To inculcate a contempt for the ministers and expounders of the law is an indirect menace against the orderly administration of justice, and these "smart" flings at the judicial ermine come with exceeding poor grace from one whose province it is to teach reverence for the law, and at least "common respect " for its duly annointed expositors. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AMERICAN LAW OF CONTRACTS AT LAW AND IN EQUITY. By John D. Lawson, B. C. L., LL. D.. pp. 640. St. Louis: The F. H. Thomas Law Book Co., 1893. The author in his opening chapter makes what seems, at first blush, a most surprising statement, that there is no American text book which presents a clear and concise statement of the principles of the law of contracts as contained in the decisions of our courts of last resort. But a careful examination will substantiate that assertion, and make it evident that such a work, as it is the aim of Prof. Lawson here to produce, is a necessity not only to the law schools of the land but to practitioners as well. It would be difficult to find a more competent person to undertake the task of supplying a treatise of this kind than the author of "Rights, Remedies and Practice." In the present volume he has given to the legal profession one of the most valuable treatises that has appeared for many a day. The work is characterised by a scholarship of a high order, exactness in detail and clearness in generalities, and a most lucid and attractive style. It contains the law as enunciated by the American courts, and is absolutely and invariably reliable. This is high praise, but it is merited by the subject. The work is divided into five main divisions, entitled respectively: The Formation of the Contract, The Operation of the Contract, The Interpretation of the Contract, The Proof of the Contract, The Discharge of the Contract and The Remedies upon the Contract. The citations of cases-about 10,000 in all-are made at the foot of each page; where the decisions conflict, a note is made of the fact, and cases are cited pro and con the point raised. We desire to recommend this work very highly to any students of this School desiring a comprehensive yet concise treatment of the American law of Contracts. SUPERSTITION AND FORCE. ESSAYS ON THE Wager of LAW, THE WAGer of Battle, the ORDEAL And Torture.-By Henry Charles Lea, LL. D. New (fourth) Edition, revised, 12mo., 629. Philadelphia, Lea Brothers & Co., 1892. $2.75. Mr. Henry C. Lea has an international reputation as a scholar and historical student and writer of rare abilities, Perhaps his most famous work is his monumental history of the Inquisition. In Superstition and Force," of which this is the Fourth Edition, Mr. Lea displays, as in his other works, most profound historical research, which, under the control of a master hand, produces a work of the utmost authority and value. Nothing could be more exhaustive than these essays on barbaric law; through his descriptions of the Wager, the Ordeal and the Torture, an entirely fresh light is thrown on the civilization of those dark periods. Through them, also, an appreciation can be obtained of the beginnings of the conception of law and legal and civil rights that can be found nowhere else. Throughout profound in tone and marvelously complete in details, its perusal will be a source of pleasure as well as instruction to every lawyer who pretends to a deeper insight into the law than what is necessary in every day practice; it is a work that should be in the library of every cultivated lawyer. * THE WORLD'S REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLIES OF TO-DAY. A Study in Comparative Legislation. By Edmund K. Alden, pp. 50. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, February, 1893, 50 cents. The is number two in the eleventh series of the John Hopkins valuable University Studies. This present monograph is very brief being hardly more than a bare statement of facts and comparisons. The lack of chapter divisions and definite arragement makes its perusal somewhat difficult. It will be found extremely valuable as a reference book on the subject. THE MAGAZINES. The Review of Reviews for February appeals with uncommon force to men of action and men of affairs in the large and small cities of the United States. It is full of timely discussion upon such questions as the municipal ownership of gas and electric lighting works, the problems of city transit and administration, the gifts of millionaires for public purposes in their respective home cities, and such practical questions as the inheritance tax. The beauty of the treatment of these questions by the Review of Reviews lies in its freedom from mere theory and dissertation and its reliance upon plenty of solid and timely facts. One can always go to the Review of Reviews without disappointment. The feature of the February number that will perhaps attract most attention of all is Mr. W. T. Stead's great character sketch of the late Jay Gould, an English journalist dealing with as distinctive an American character as our new Western civilization has produced. American Law Review-January-February, 1893.- "The New French Law on Divorce," by Emile Stocquart; "The Right to Criticise Public Candidates," by D. H. Pingrey; “Liability of a Sleeping Car Company for Loss of Baggage," by Samuel Maxwell; "Is Congress a Sovereign Legislature Touching Our External Relations," by St. George T. Brooke; "The Unwritten Constitution of the United States," by George H. Smith. The "Notes" in this, as in all the issues of the American Law Review, are extremely valuable and interesting. They form the best means obtainable for a lawyer to keep up with the times on all subjects pertaining to his profession. The Green Bag- February, 1893."The English Bench and Bar of ToDay": VII., Sir Henry Hawkins, Lord Esher, Lord Justice Bowen. "Practical Tests in Evidence: IV," by Irving Browne; "Gray's Inn," by Dennis W. Douthwaite ; "Feeders of Crime," by Albert C. Applegarth; "Some Jersey Juristic Jibes"; "The Lambeth Poisoning Case"; "Legal Education in Modern Japan: II," by Prof. John H. Wigmore; The Law of the Land: VI., Negotiable Paper," by William Arch. McClean; "London Legal Letter" "The Lawyers Easy Chair," by Irving Browne; "Editorial Department." ** The Counsellor-January, 1893.-" On the Administration of Justice," by John Brooks Leavitt; "The Constitutional Convention," by James W. Gerard. Harvard Law Review-January, 1893. "Waiver of Tort. II," by William A. Keener; "Restrictions upon the Use of Land," by Edward Q. Keasbey; "Record Title to Land," by H. W. Chaplin. Medico-Legal Journal-December, 1892. "The McNaghten Case," by Clark Bell; "Micro - Chemical Examination of Blood Stains," by Joseph Jones, M. D.; "The International Congress of Criminal Anthropology of 1892," by Louise Thomas; "Criminal Responsibility of Inebriates," by Clark Bell; "Criminal Responsibility in General Paralysis," by Frank P. Norbury, M.D.; "Dying Declarations," by Clark Bell; The Albany Law Journal-Jan. 28, Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18, 1893.-These four issues of Irving Browne's clever paper contain the following valuable papers read before the New York State Bar Association at its last annual meeting: "A Phase of Law Reform," by Judge Alton B. Parker; "Address" of J. Newton Fiero, President of the Association; "Address," by Mr. Justice Brewer; "Relief of the Court of Appeals," by Hon. George F. Danforth; "Relief of the Court of Appeals," by Mr. F. R. Coudert. Another publication of interest is the Report of Counsel Appointed by the Governor to Revise the Tax Laws of the State. The University Magazine - January, 1893. "English in American Colleges," by Prof. Felix E. Schelling; "College Days, A Secret Society in 1840," by Albert Matthews; "Oxford University As It Is," Cecil O. Ovington; "Systematic Physical Training," by Prof. C. P. Linhart; "The Place and Work of the College," by Prof. G. R. Pinkham; "The Passing of Baeda," by S. Scoville, Jr.; Columbia, by Ruford Franklin; "The University Extension Move ment," by President D. B. Purinton; "Manliness," by President Thomas S. Hastings; "A Study of Buddhism," by James E. Homans; "Silver in 1892," by T. Mitchell Tyng; "The College of the City of New York," by R. R. Bowker. * Columbia Literary Monthly-February, 1893. "A Glimpse of a Swabian University," by Prof. E. D. Perry; "Service," by Selden L. Whitcomb; "Henry Fielding," by R. A. Ashworth; "Comites Usque," by Herbert Muller Hopkins ; "His Right Hand Neighbor," by Albert Payson Terhune; "Some Contemporary Humorists," by Sidney Hubbell Treat; "A Woman's Heart," by Guy Wetmore Carryl; "The Dramatic and the Shakespearean Conceptions of Rosalind," by Charles Louis Pollard ; "The Legend of the Old Powder Mill," by Arthur Valiant Ellery. This table of contents is a proof of the contention of the "Lit's" Editors that there is among Columbia students much genuine literary ability. We congratulate the "Lit" on its auspicious beginning and wish it much success for the future. College Pins. Flags, Buttons, Fraternity Badges, Rings, and Jewelry of every description, introducing the College Colors and Society Emblems. CORRESPONDENCE INVITED. TIFFANY & CO., UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK. PUBLISHERS' COLUMN. We present in this number of the LAW TIMES the first of a series of articles on "Methods of Study in American Law Schools," The first to be considered is that of the University of the City of New York, which has come into unusual prominence within the last two years, by reason of the work done by its Dean, Austin Abbott, in reorganizing and improving the Law School. We regret that this series could not have been inaugurated by a consideration of the system employed in the Columbia College Law School, and a general comparison of the advantages of the opposing methods of study, the "case" and the "text-book." These articles were laid over to the March number on account of lack of space. Mr. Thompson, of the New York Bar, who writes on the University, is a graduate of that Law School, and is intimately acquainted with the methods of work there employed. * We take great pleasure in presenting in this number the portrait and life of Professor John W. Burgess, Dean of the School of Political Science. We are glad to recognize, in so far as we are able, the important part he has played in the advancement of Columbia as a University, his authority in the field of Political Science, and Constitutional Law, and his wonderful success as a lecturer. Mr. Victor Rosewater, who writes on "British Electric Lighting Legislation," is a Fellow in the School of Political Science, taking his degree of Doctor of Philosophy this coming June. In the course of his literary work for both Eastern and West |