few years have created a strong impression that professional fitness was not the primary qualification for appointments of this description.

PRIORITY OF SECURITIES AND TOULMIN v. STEERE.

THE recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Manks v. Whiteley (106 L. T. Rep. 490; (1912) 1 Ch. 735) again calls attention to the much criticised case of Toulmin v. Steere (3 Mer. 210).

The facts there were as follows: One Richard Witts had created a first mortgage of £5000, then charged the estate with an annuity of £180, and had finally created a second mortgage for £3000. He subsequently sold the estate to the trustees of a will, to whom the property was in due course conveyed, the owner of the £5000 and £3000 mortgages joining in the conveyance, and these mortgages being discharged out of the purchase money. The purchasers had constructive notice of the annuity through their solicitor. Therefore they could not as against the annuitant rely on the plea of purchase for value without notice. It was held that the purchasers were in no better position than the vendor Witts would have been if he had paid off the mortgages out of his own money. So far, so good (see Otter v. Lord Vaux, 2 K. & J. 650, post), but Sir William Grant, M.R. in his judgment laid down the rule "that one purchasing an equity of redemption cannot set up a prior mortgage of his own, nor consequently a mortgage which he has got in, against subsequent incumbrances of which he had notice."

66

As pointed out in the Laws of England, by the Earl of Halsbury, vol. 21, p. 325, to a certain extent that is clearly wrong, as a purchaser can by actual intention keep alive a charge which he has got in, or which he has paid off, against charges of which he has notice. Toulmin v. Steere has been questioned or disapproved of in the following cases: Watts v. Symes (1 De G. M. & G. 244) and Thorne v. Cann (71 L. T. Rep. 852; (1895) A. C. 11). In the latter case Searle purchased the equity of redemption of some freehold hereditaments from the trustee in bankruptcy of Piller, who had previously mortgaged the land to a Miss Arnold for £1000 and subsequently to Forwood; Miss Arnold wished to be paid off, and accordingly Searle obtained £1000 from his bank and paid her off, taking the deeds and depositing them in his own name at the bank. A month or two afterwards Cann took an assignment of the security thus held by the bank to secure an allowance of £900 made by him to Searle, and it was held that the security had not been merged in the equity of redemption when Searle paid off Miss Arnold. In his judgment Lord Herschell, referring to Toulmin v. Steere, said: That is a case which certainly has not met with universal acceptance: it has been often commented upon and criticised adversely. It appears that an appeal was contemplated, although circumstances rendered it unnecessary, and possibly the decision might be open to reconsideration in your Lordships' House.' Liquidation Estates Purchase Company v. Willoughby (74 L. T. Rep. 228; (1896) 1 Ch. 726) Lord Justice Kay, in differing from the other two Lords Justices, referring to Toulmin v. Steere, said: "This case has been much criticised, and I do not think it would be so decided if the question arose now for the first time." In Stevens v. Mid-Hants Railway Company (29 L. T. Rep. 318; L. Rep. 8 Ch. App. 1069). Lord Justice James, referring to Toulmin v. Steere and the earlier case of Mocatta v. Murgatroyd (1 P. Wms. 393), cited by Sir William Grant in Toulmin v. Steere, said: "Those cases perhaps some day will have to be reconsidered, but it is quite clear that the principle is not to be extended. Probably they are rendered innocuous by thisthat conveyancers exclude their application by putting in three or four lines saying that the original debt is to be considered as subsisting for the benefit of the person who has paid it off." In Manks v. Whiteley, while Toulmin v. Steere was followed by Cozens-Hardy, M.R. and Lord Justice Buckley, Lord Justice Fletcher Moulton gave it as his opinion that Toulmin v. Steere was wrongly decided.

In

hold property in Yorkshire to A. In 1901 O. gave a collateral charge on that property with other property to M. In 1905 0. gave a further charge to A. All these securities were registered in the Yorkshire Registry. A.'s mortgage was paid off out of money provided by F., and the further charge out of money provided by W., who had agreed to buy the property. The transaction was completed by three deeds which were all prepared by the same solicitor-namely, (1) a reconveyance by A. to O. free from A.'s mortgage and further charge; (2) a conveyance by O. to W.; and (3) a mortgage by W. to F. None of the parties except 0. had any knowledge or notice of the existence of M.'s collateral charge.

Under these circumstances Mr. Justice Parker held that A.'s mortgage and further charge had not merged by reason of the transactions of 1907, and that F. had priority over M. In the course of an exhaustive and learned judgment, in referring to Toulmin v. Steere he said that "the whole gist of that decision was that the purchasers were in no better position than the vendor, who could not have set up the mortgages against a subsequent incumbrancer of his own even if he had kept them alive, and that, so far as the mortgagor was concerned, the principle was correctly stated, being that for which the subsequent case of Otter v. Lord Vaux is now generally cited as the leading authority. So far, however, as the purchasers were concerned, it is now quite certain that that principle had no application." And his Lordship thought it somewhat curious that the decision in Toulmin v. Steere came to be regarded as a decision on merger at all, and that, treated as a decision on merger, it had introduced an exception into what otherwise would be a consistent principle, an exception which had always been regarded as anomalous.

On appeal, the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justice Buckley, following Toulmin v. Steere, thought that, on the reconveyance by A. to O., A.'s mortgage and further charge were not kept alive, and that the plaintiff's mortgage became a first charge on the property in priority to those of the defendants F. and W. The Master of the Rolls in the course of his judgment dissented from the view that the test whether a charge is to be kept alive is simply this: Is it for the benefit of the payer that it should be kept alive? It must always be for the benefit of the payer that a charge which might avail against unknown incumbrances should be kept alive, and there would be no place for a presumption depending on the position of the payer. In the course of the How can there be argument Lord Justice Buckley said: presumption of an intention to keep alive the debt where there is no knowledge of the charge against which protection is necessary?

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Lord Justice Fletcher Moulton in the course of a long and intellectual judgment thought that a more unmeritorious claim than the plaintiff's it was impossible to imagine, and that the three deeds which were executed formed part of one transaction, and that if one is seeking to make equities apply to the parties they must be equities arising out of the transaction as a whole, and that it was not open to third parties to treat each one of them as a deed representing a separate and independent transaction for the purpose of claiming rights which would only accrue to them if the transaction represented by the selected deed was operative separately. In other words, that the principles of equity deal with the substance of things, which in such a case is the whole transaction, and not with unrealities such as the hypothetical operation of one of the deeds by itself without the others; and that it was quite clear that in the present case the whole transaction was a substitution of F. for A. as first mortgagee for £200, and of W. for A. as owner of the further charge, and of W. for O. as owner of the equity of redemption, and by such a redistribution of interests the position of the appellant could not be altered in any way either for better or worse. His Lordship agreed with the principle laid down in Otter v. Lord Vaux-namely, that a mortgagor purchasing the interest of the first mortgagee cannot set up the anterior charge so paid off against a second mortgage, but he pointed out that in Toulmin v. Steere a person who was not the original mortgagor purchased the equity of redemption, but that such a case possessed none of the features which justified the rule laid down in Otter v. Lord Vaux. The pur

chaser is not the mortgagor, and the mortgage debts are not obligations incurred by him, and there is no reason why the two properties represented by the interest of the first mortgagee and equity of redemption should not cumulatively exist in one and the same person without merger; and his Lordship could see no ground for extending the doctrine of compulsory merger beyond the class of cases to which the decision in Otter v. Lord Vaux related, for in all other cases it did nothing but work injustice. His Lordship went on to say that, putting aside the decision in Toulmin v. Steere, the current of cases was in favour of the doctrine that, excepting in such cases as were represented by Otter v. Lord Vaux,, the rule is that which is enunciated by Mr. Justice Parker in his judgment in this case, as follows: "If the benefit of a charge on property and the property subject to the charge vest in the same person, then, as a general rule, equity will treat the charge as kept alive or merged according to whether it be of advantage or of no advantage to the person in whom the two interests are vested that the charge should be kept alive. But in either case clear proof of intention to the contrary will displace the general rule." The Lord Justice then proceeded to review the cases, particularly Thorne v. Cann and Liquidation Estates Purchase Company v. Willoughby. He then pointed out that in the case of Manks v. Whiteley merger would operate as a gift to the appellant so far as regards the first charge of £300, and he came to the conclusion that merger was not established and that the decision of Mr. Justice Parker was right on all points.

It may be that the judgments of the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justice Buckley in Manks v. Whiteley are more in line with the rules and practice of conveyancing-at all events, up to a comparatively recent period; but the law as laid down by Lord Justice Fletcher Moulton and Mr. Justice Parker seems more in accordance with the principles of equity. Having regard to this conflict of judicial opinion, it is to be hoped that the case will go to the House of Lords, and that some authoritative decision will be given as to the law as enunciated in Toulmin v. Steere.

THE PARLIAMENTARY RECORD.
(Continued from p. 474.)

THE Shops Act forms cap. 3. It was introduced in the House of Lords on behalf of the Government as a consolidating measure in order to get within manageable limits a group of legislation extending over nearly twenty years. Time was pressing, for the controversial measure of 1911 was due to come into operation within a few weeks. Both public bodies and private individuals were closely concerned with its provisions, and it was highly desirable that the requirements of the law under the Act of 1911 and under the previous Acts should be brought under consolidation. As no amendments were sought, the progress of the Bill was rapid, and when it reached the House of Commons all the stages from second reading onwards were passed at one sitting, practically without any debate at all, and the Royal Assent followed within two days. Since the publication of this. Act a convenient view of the whole legislation is obtainable. The conditions of employment are grouped together in three sections, and in this group fall the provisions respecting hours of labour and refreshment as regards adults and young persons. As regards female assistants in shops, the provisions affording them seating accommodation in accordance with a ratio to their number may be found. The closing regulations are mainly compressed into one very long section, with sub-sections themselves subdivided. Sect. 5 passes on to the "closing orders" which may be made by local authorities for confirmation by the Secretary of State; the sections immediately subsequent thereto deal with procedure and the local inquiries which are possible to afford information as to the extent to which there is a demand for early closing in any locality. The next group of sections consolidates the law relating to special classes of trade and business, and in this are to be found the regulations giving special, indulgence to barbers, auction sales of private effects in private houses, and to the case of sales of newspapers. Then follow the provisions applicable where a shop conducts several trades, and where again the shop is situate in a holiday resort, in which latter event the local body is empowered to suspend for a period not exceeding four months in the year the obligations imposed by the Act. With the arrangements as to Post Office work this group of sections closes. The remainder of the enactment is concerned with its enforce

Second Sheet

ment, the powers and duties of local bodies, offences, miscellaneous provisions, and the modifications necessary in the case of Scotland and Ireland. The schedules are somewhat long, and are five in number. They detail the intervals for meals, exempted trades and businesses, with two special schedules applicable solely to Irish affairs. The Act came into force on the 1st May.

Cap. 4 is the Metropolitan Police Act, which was originally entitled the Metropolitan Police Rate Bill, a nomenclature drawing attention clearly to its object. Its general purport was to amend sect. 23 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 as regards the limit imposed by it, and varied by later legislation, on the annual provision for constabulary service in the metropolis. Various causes contributed to bring about a deficit in the police receipts, so that the payments for 1912-13 were budgeted to exceed the income by £82,500. There were new demands for the policeman's day of rest, and these entailed a further charge of £30,000. The recruiting of the additional men needed involved another sum of £10,000. In all, without providing for emergencies, there was a deficit estimated for 1912-13 at the sum of £230,000.' This sum represents a rate of 1d. for this year, with an increase in the following two years. The original Bill extended the rate limit from 9d. to 11d., but at a later stage the Home Office was faced with some considerable amount of objection under which there was some possibility of the maximum being fixed at 10d., and so a concession was agreed upon. The Act alters the limit by raising it from 9d. to Ild., but the Secretary of State before approving the issue of warrants whereby the limit will exceed 10d. for the first time must lay before Parliament a minute stating his reasons, and if within twenty days an address is presented against the increase no further proceedings are to be taken in virtue of the minute, without prejudice, however, to the presentation of a new minute. The Bill passed the Lords, but there was some hostility to a rate at so high a figure as 11d., and it was argued that a 1d. rise was sufficient to meet all legitimate expenses.

There have been during recent years some interesting developments in the Army (Annual) Acts, and during the past year this annual enactment (which forms cap. 5) has been accompanied by some heated debate on one or two questions giving rise to some conflict. There was some effort made to throw obloquy on the whole service by reason of its being called in aid of civil forces for the suppression of industrial disorder, and there was, on the other hand, debate on army discipline on the score that it was too severe in penalties, and Colonel Seely had to explain the working of the system whereby the severe punishments possible in theory are in practice mitigated by the intervention of the legal official known as the Judge Advocate-General, whose powers extend to advising the War Office to grant a complete remission. Sir Rufus Isaacs was called upon to give a statement as to what was a soldier's position when called upon to act in some civil commotion. It is now clearly established that a soldier has two duties, a civil and a military duty. He can therefore be called upon, as can any ordinary citizen, to assist in the suppression of riot or in the preservation of peace. That is the paramount duty of the citizen. The soldier has this advantage over the citizen, that he is a trained man and acts under discipline which makes him more useful in an emergency and a safer instrument to employ where the use of weapons is necessary. The Act will perhaps be most noteworthy for its raising by schedule the rates for soldiers' meals to a sum more corresponding with modern requirements.

Cap. 6 is the Government of India Act. As already indicated, this measure was needed to carry into effect the arrangements mentioned at the Indian Durbar. Various changes were essential as a consequence of appointing a separate Governor of Fort William in Bengal, together with other administrative changes. The debate on the Bill was conducted on the lines that any reversal of the policy proclaimed by His Majesty would entail serious loss of prestige in the East, and its harmony was not taken as indicating a consensus of opinion on both sides of the House. The powers of the Governor of Fort William in Bengal are set out by reference to those of Fort St. George and Bombay. Sect. 2 makes provision for the province of Bihar and Orissa. The creation of legislative councils of chief commissioners is made lawful by proclamation of the Governor-General in Council.

Cap. 7, the Appropriation Act, need not detain us. It applies a sum out of the Consolidated Fund and appropriates the supplies granted. The issue is authorised of rather less than ninety-three millions out of the Consolidated Fund to make good the supply for the service of the year. In the aggregate, more than 152 millions are appropriated in respect of the objects set out in a schedule.

With cap. 8 is reached the Finance Act, a measure of some importance in certain points, but without anything involving sensational changes in our fiscal arrangements. The debates in its course through the Commons raised old quarrels over alleged contraventions of Standing Orders in reference to the disposal of

the surplus, and over the grievance that, as it was argued, reforms of great evils were to be paid for by a limited class of persons instead of spreading the cost over the community as a whole. Questions were raised also as to the drop in the value of gilt-edged securities, and various theories expounded to explain the circumstance. In committee the chief amendments sought unavailingly were reductions of duty in respect of tea grown in the Empire, and a general reduction from 5d. to 3d. in order to raise revenue from all sections of the country. Again, it was sought to add provisions whereby a valuer should value the unimproved site value of land without calculating upon the existence of buildings on adjoining property. The duty on petrol was attacked without success, as was also the present system as to appeal from decisions of the Customs and Excise Commissioners when they determined an annual licence value. It was suggested that Easter offerings should be exempted from income tax, but this proposal also failed. A very important clause, moved by Sir G. Younger, has, however, been accepted. It now appears as sect. 2, andjit provides that where licensed premises are held under a lease made before the passing of the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910 which contains no covenant or agreement that the lessee should obtain his liquors from the lessor, then the lessee is to be entitled to recover, notwithstanding agreement to the contrary, as a debt due from, or deduct from any sum due to, the lessor so much, if any, increase of duty in respect of the licence as may be agreed upon as proportionate to any increased rent or premium payable in respect of the premises being let as licensed premises. In default of agreement the amount is to be settled in manner directed by rules of court by a County Court. Sir G. Younger also managed to carry sect. 3, which adds to No. 3 of the provisions applicable to retailers' on-licences in sched. 1 of the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910 the following words which reduce duty where there are Sunday and early closing licences: "The power to obtain a licence on payment of a reduced amount of duty in the case of a six-day licence or an early closing licence shall apply to any case in which the minimum duty is payable under this provision, but the reduction shall not operate so to make the duty payable less than one-third of the annual licence value of the premises." Concessions are made by sect. 4 as to tobacco grown for agricultural purposes. Authority can be given to responsible persons, duly licensed to grow tobacco in the United Kingdom, to grow it for the sole purpose of obtaining an extract to be used, without payment of duty, for the manufacture of insecticides or sheepwash, or for other purely agricultural or horticultural purpose. In Part 2 are gathered together the income tax provisions. As regards super-tax, it is enacted by sect. 6 that if a person dies liable to super-tax during any year for which super-tax is charged, a part only of the year's supertax is to be payable proportionate to the part of the year which has elapsed before the date of the death. The following section exempts from income tax income derived from the funds or credits of approved societies under the National Insurance Act 1911 and any branch thereof. The exemption in point of form will be claimable and allowable in the same way as in the case of income applicable and applied to charitable purposes, and is to be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other exemption under any other Act. In Part 3, at a later stage, some material concessions were accepted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Sect. 8 deals with the stamping of policies of sea insurance When the premium does not exceed 2s. 6d. per cent. of the sum insured and is subject to an increase in the event of some contingency occurring, the premium for the purposes of the Stamp Act 1891 is to be treated as one not exceeding 2s. 6d. per cent. If the contingency happens which raises the premium, then the policy is to be stamped with the additional sum without penalty within thirty days from the date on which the increased premium was ascertained. Sect. 9 is important. Mr. Wheler moved its provisions. Where a person dies on or after the 30th April 1911 and his estate comprises land on which timber, trees, wood, or underwood are growing, their value is not to be taken into account for estate duty, and estate duty is not to be payable thereon, but shall, at the rate due to the principal value of the estate, be payable on the net moneys (if any), after deducting all necessary outgoings since the deceased's death, which may from time to time be received from the sale of the timber, trees, or wood when felled or cut during the period which may elapse until the land on the death of some other person again becomes liable or would, but for this sub-section, have become liable to estate duty. The owners or trustees are to account for and pay the same as and when the moneys are received with interest at 3 per cent. per annum from the date when received. This is in substitution for par. 1 of sub-sect. 5 of sect. 61 of the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910. That paragraph and sect. 19 of the Finance Act 1911 are therefore abolished. Sect. 2 (3) of the Act of 1910 is amended in another way. It is made to apply to the case of any transfer on sale of the fee simple of the land or of any interest in the land which took place between the 29th April 1909 and the date of the commencement of that Act, or took

place after that commencement in pursuance of any contract made before it, as it applies to the case of a transfer on sale which took place within twenty years before the 30th April 1909. Another portion of sect. 10 of this new Act deals with original site values finally settled before the Act passed. An application can be made under sub-sect. 3 above mentioned, and he Commissioners of Inland Revenue shall alter the original site value so as to give effect to the above amendment, and repayment is to be made to adjust the amount paid to any alteration of value made in pursuance of this provision. Sect. 11 was carried by Sir G. Younger, and under it the amount of rent taken to be the rental value, under the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910, ss. 20 and 21, of a right to work minerals (where the right is the subject of a mining lease) or of a mineral wayleave is, where the lessor is liable under any Act to pay any sum on account of rates, to be the sum which would be payable as rent if the lessee were liable instead of the lessor. Where, to ascertain the rental value of minerals being worked by the proprietor, it is necessary for the commissioners to determine the sum which would have been received as rent by the proprietor if the right to work the minerals had been leased to a working lessee, that rent is to be determined on the basis of the lessee paying all rates in respect of the minerals, notwithstanding that the case might be one in which the proprietor would have been liable to pay the rates or some part thereof.

Cap. 9 is the Isle of Man (Customs) Act, and calls for no comment. It merely continues additional duties on certain commodities, and is of no legal interest to practitioners here.

The Seal Fisheries (North Pacific) Act is cap. 10. This was introduced in the Lords by Lord Herschell in order to give effect to a convention between this country, the United States, Japan, and Russia. It extends the area within which pelagic sealing may be prohibited in the Pacific Ocean. It deals alike with sea otters, and forbids the use of ports in this country for fitting up vessels for seal fishery. The detention of a ship being equipped for this purpose is authorised. The importation of skins is also prohibited when taken in contravention of the above, as is also the importation of the skins of certain species mentioned in sect. 4, unless they were taken under the authority of the respective Powers to which the breeding grounds belonged and had been marked and certified accordingly.

The Public Works Loans Act is represented by cap. 11. It possesses no legal interest. It makes certain grants for public works and provides that certain debts are not to reckoned as assets of the local loans fund, and the same are accordingly written off. A large portion of the Act relates to the remission of arrears of principal and interest in respect of Eyemouth Harbour.

Cap. 12 is the Elementary School Teachers (Superannuation) Act. A committee had been appointed at a date preceding the introduction of the Bill, and the Bill was ordered to be brought in by Mr. Pease and Mr. Trevelyan. The Act amends the similarly entitled measure of 1898 as originally enacted and as applied by any other Act. It makes certain alterations in the rates of contribution and benefits which need not be detailed. There are further provisions as to disablement allowances, which allowances need not now be reconsidered at intervals of not less than three years in jany case where the Treasury so directs.

This completes the legislation thus far available to the Legal Profession. It does not involve much alteration in the existing law which the average practitioner has to consider and apply. Probably the Finance Act 1912 is the measure which will affect him most, and he would be wise to note up its provisions in his books.

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estates and recover and enjoy the same as they might have done before the making of the said Act." If letters of administration to the wife were granted to one of her next of kin, the administrator of the wife was held to be a trustee for the legal personal representative of the husband: (see Humphrey v. Bullen, 1 Atk. 459). The Married Women's Property Act 1882, s. 1, sub-s. 1, provides that "a married woman shall in accordance with the provisions of this Act be capable of acquiring, holding, and disposing by will or otherwise of any real or personal property as her separate property in the same manner as if she were a feme sole without the intervention of any trustee." But the Act does not deal with the devolution of property undisposed of by her. With regard to her real estate,lit was decided in Hope v. Hope (66 L. T. Rep. 522; (1892) 2 Ch. 336), on the same principle, that, notwithstanding the provisions of the Married Women's Property Act 1882, a husband is still entitled on the death of his wife to an estate by the curtesy in her undisposed-of real estate.

identical with the statute of the United Kingdom, the Workmen's Compensation Act 1897 (60 & 61 Vict. c. 37). And the respective provisions of sect. 1 of the first schedule and of sect. 8 of the second schedule to that Act, upon which the question turned, are re-enacted, with slight additions and modifications, in the Act of 1906. The decision of the Privy Council will govern, therefore, any like case brought before the courts in this country. In Maxwell on the Interpretation of Statutes (4th edit., pp. 212, 213), it is stated that, in the absence of an intention clearly expressed or to be inferred, "the presumption is that Parliament does not design its statutes to operate beyond the territorial limits of the United Kingdom." Among other authorities for that proposition is the decision of the House of Lords in Jeffries v. Boosey (4 H. of L. Cas. 815). There it was laid down as a general rule that statutes are not to be construed as extending to persons resident abroad, in the absence of special words. And in Tomalin F. S. Pearson and Son Limited (100 L. T. Rep. 685; (1909) 2 K. B. 61), effect was given to the statement in Maxwell by the decision of the Court of Appeal that the Workmen's Compensation Act 1906 has not any extra-territorial force and is not -operative outside the confines of the United Kingdom. Similarly, in Schwartz v. India Rubber, Gutta Percha, and Telegraph Works Limited (106 L. T. Rep. 706; (1912) 2 K. B. 299), the Court of Appeal held that a British ship on the high seas was not within the territorial limits of the United Kingdom to which the Act applies. Although it is to be gathered that the decision in Tomalin's case (ubi sup.) met with the entire approval of the learned Lords before whom Krzus' case (ubi sup.) was argued, the latter case was, in their opinion, capable of being readily distinguished from the former, having regard to the circumstances thereof. Residence outside the confines of the Province of British Columbia, and not the fact that the dependant of the deceased workman was an alien, was urged as the ground of the belongs objection to her receiving compensation. But the employment of the deceased workman was carried on in the Province of British Columbia. It was not, therefore, as in Tomalin's case (ubi sup.), beyond the territorial limits of the country to which the statute applied. In the view taken by the Privy Council, it required to be expressly enacted or able to be clearly implied that a dependant of the deceased workman should be deprived of -compensation because she happened to be a non-resident alien. This appears to us too sound a conclusion to be open to criticism, notwithstanding the very excellent reasons for excluding foreign dependants which were advanced by the court below. Moreover, it harmonises with the view expressed in Scotland in the case of Baird and Co. v. Birsztan (8 Fraser, 438), which is distinctly advantageous.

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THE CONVEYANCER.

Devolution of a Married Woman's Separate Estate on her Death Intestate.

THERE seems still to be a misapprehension in the minds of some practitioners as to the devolution of a wife's choses in action if she dies intestate in her husband's lifetime-particularly if he dies afterwards without having obtained letters of administration to her estate. It is submitted, however, that the law on the point was settled by Re Lambert's Estate; Stanton v. Lambert (59 L. T. Rep. 429; 39 Ch. Div. 626), in which it was decided that the Married Women's Property Act 1882 has not altered the devolution of the undisposed-of separate personalty of a married women, and that accordingly on the death of a married woman without disposing of her separate personalty the quality of separate property ceases, and the right of the husband to such undisposed of personalty accrues as if the separate use had never existed. It is true that a wife's choses in action could only be recovered by the legal personal representatives of the wife, but they were not in any way subject to the provisions of the Statute of Distributions (22 & 23 Car. 2, c. 10), it being expressly provided by sect. 25 of the Statute of Frauds (29 Car. c. 3) that the Statute of Distributions "shall not extend to the estates of feme coverts who shall die intestate, but that their husbands may demand and have administration of their rights, credits, and other personal

WHEREAS the parties hereto of the second part are the owners of the land abutting upon a road 40ft. wide and known road situate at in the parish of aforeAND WHEREAS the said road was formed some years ago but has never been properly made sewered or completed or taken over by the council or other public authority.

AND WHEREAS the said road is in a very bad state of repair and it is desirable in the interests of the parties hereto and of the inhabitants of the district of aforesaid that the said road should be properly made sewered and completed and should become and be a public highway for all kinds of traffic.

NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED between and by the parties hereto as follows::

1. The council shall at the cost of the owners as hereinafter provided forthwith make and form the said road into a road properly metalled and kerbed and fit for traffic of all kinds and with sewers or drains under the whole length of the same proper and also with paved footpaths on each side 8ft. wide and shall finish and complete the same before the day of 191.

2. The cost of the said works shall not exceed the sum of £x (which shall include the cost of labour and of all materials and other things required for the purposes of or incidental to the said works) and which shall be found and provided by the owners in shares proportionate to the length of their respective frontages to the said road.

3. The said sum of £x (or other the cost not exceeding that sum) of the said works shall be paid by the owners to the council or their clerk or treasurer in sums amounting to the value of the works as the same shall proceed and not being less than £y at each payment which sums shall be ascertained by the surveyor for the time being of the council and shall be paid upon his certificate of the same being produced to the owners. Provided always that the last or final payment in respect of the said sums may be less than £y.

4. When and as soon as the said road shall have been made as hereinbefore mentioned the council shall accept and adopt the same as a public highway for all purposes and the owners shall (if necessary) at the request and cost of the council do all such acts as the council shall reasonably require for the purpose of giving effect to this clause.

5. The council shall indemnify the owners against all actions or proceedings which may be brought or taken against the owners or any of them caused by the council in the performance of this contract.

6. As far as practicable the owners and all persons authorised by them shall be at liberty to use the said road as heretofore during the progress of the work and until the same shall be adopted as a public highway.

7. The costs of all parties of and incidental to the preparation and execution of this agreement shall be borne by the owners in equal shares. As WITNESS &c.

LAW LIBRARY.

The French Law Relating to Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, and Cheques. By A. WILLIAMSON. Stevens and Sons Limited.

MR. WILLIAMSON has utilised his spare time while he held the appointment of Legal Adviser and Crown Prosecutor in the colony of Seychelles in compiling a book which should prove of great use not only to members of the legal and banking professions, but to those of the business community who have commercial relations with France. An English text-book on the subject saves the necessity of consulting the various French authorities dealing with French commercial law, and Mr. Williamson's work is one of distinct value.

In The Law of Repairs and Dilapidations (Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons) Mr. T. Cato Worsfold has prepared a handy volume which should be of considerable assistance to that large part of the community-namely, landlords and tenants. As he truly points out, doubts as to the extent of liability for dilapidations often exist, and he has endeavoured to remove them by setting out those principles embodied in statutes that apply, which have been developed by innumerable decisions.

pared originally by Mr. Andrew Wright.

The ninth edition

was corrected and enlarged by Mr. Charles Trice Martin, and some new plates added. This edition is again edited by Mr. Martin, who has thoroughly revised the explanations of the plates and added to and corrected the glossaries which form the appendix.

A second and revised edition of Mr. H. C. Emery's book on Company Management has just been brought out by The notes have been in many cases Effingham Wilson. amplified, while points of general practice have been fully dealt with. The book is a useful one for the legal practitioner, and for directors, secretaries, and others connected with the management of public or private companies.

Company Transfer Work, by J. A. White (Effingham Wilson), is a practical guide to share registration and transfer work. It forms a useful supplement to the existing handbooks on the Companies Act which cannot give such detailed considerations to one point only out of the many subjects with which they have to deal. Company officials especially will find the information given of considerable assistance.

Dactylography is a scientific study of finger-prints by Henry Faulds, brought out by Milner and Co., Halifax, in their Twentieth Century Science Series. The literature on this subject is not very extensive, and is largely contained in scientific magazines. Such a handbook is all the more welcome to those interested..

The Colliery Guardian Company Limited have published a collection of the awards issued under the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act 1912 under the title Minimum Wage Act 1912 Awards. The text of the Act is also given, and there is an introduction intended as an impartial guide to the reader of the

texts.

NEW EDITIONS.

We are glad to welcome another edition-the twelfth-of Harris' Principles of the Criminal Law (Stevens and Haynes), edited by Mr. Charles L. Attenborough. Since the last edition in 1908 no less than eight important statutes in connection with the criminal law have been enacted by Parliament, as well as others of minor importance. These are dealt with in this edition. The book is a concise exposition of the nature of crime, the various offences punishable by the English law, the law of criminal procedure, and the law of summary convictions, and takes a place in the front rank of students' text-books.

A tenth edition of that admirable work for the law student, Gibson and Weldon's Student's Practice of the Courts, has been issued from Law Notes publishing offices with the collaboration of Mr. R. L. Mosse. The alterations in the present edition consist chiefly in the changes in procedure effected by the Rules of Court from Oct. 1909 to May 1912, while the Judicature Act 1910 and the provisions of the Lunacy Act 1911 as to vesting orders have been incorporated. As a guide to chamber work and litigation in the High Court the present book would be difficult to beat.

A second edition of Mr. R. L. Mosse's Town Practice for the Tyro has been called for and is issued from Law Notes publishing offices. It is a supplement to Gibson and Weldon's Student's Practice of the Courts-with which it should be read-and consists of a series of articles which originally appeared in Law Notes, explaining in a simple way some of the more common details of procedure in actions proceeding in the King's Bench and Chancery Divisions respectively.

Messrs. Stevens and Haynes have sent us the third edition of Mr. John W. Salmond's Law of Torts, which is an excellent treatise on the English law of liability for civil injuries. The most important development of the law since the last edition appeared in 1910. is that which is due to the passing of the Maritime Conventions Act 1911, and accordingly the section dealing with liability for collisions at sea has been rewritten. The section relating to the liability of bodies corporate has also been rewritten, while the author recants his opinion that there is no such liability for torts committed in the course of any business or undertaking which is ultra vires of the corporation, accepting American decisions as authoritative.

Messrs. Stevens and Sons Limited have published a new edition-the tenth-of Court-Hand Restored, that useful assistant in reading old deeds, charters, records, &c., pre

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Council of Legal Education Calendar 1912-13. Offices of the Council, 15, Old-square, Lincoln's-inn, W.C. Crew on Procedure at Public and Company Meetings. Second Edition. Jordan and Sons Limited, 116 and 117, Chancery-lane, W.C. Price 2s. 6d. net.

Chitty on Contracts. Sixteenth Edition. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane. Price 358.

Clerk and Lindsell on Torts. Sixth Edition. Sweet and Marwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane. Price 358. Together with Chitty on Contracts, 50s. net.

White and Tudor's Leading Cases in Equity. Eighth Edition. Vol. 2. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane. Price £3 15s. Complete in two vols.

Annual Practice 1913. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane; Stevens and Sons Limited, 119 and 120, Chancerylane. Price 25s. net.

Stringer's A.B.C. Guide to Practice 1913. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane; Stevens and Sons Limited, 119 and 120, Chancery-lane. Price 5s. net.

Chitty's Statutes of Practical Utility. Sixth Edition. Vol. 9. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane; Stevens and Sons Limited, 119 and 120, Chancery-lane. Price 21s. net.

Kitchin's History of Divorce. Chapman and Hall Limited, 11, Henrietta-street, Covent Garden, W.C. Price 7s. 6d. net. Chitty's King's Bench Forms. Fourteenth Edition. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane; Stevens and Sons Limited, 119 and 120, Chancery-lane. Price 42s.

Kerr on Receivers. Sixth Edition. Sweet and Maxwell Limited, 3, Chancery-lane. Price 10s. 6d.

FIXED INCOMES.-Houses and Residential Flats can now be Furnished on a new system of Deferred Payments especially adapted for those with fixed incomes who do not wish to disturb investments. Selection from the largest stock in the world. Everything legibly marked in plain figures. Maple and Co. Ltd., Tottenham Court-road, London, W.-[ADVT.]

SANITARY ASSURANCE.-Before renting or purchasing a house it is advisable to obtain an independent report on the condition of the Drains, Sanitary Fittings, and Water Supply. Moderate fees for Sanitary Inspections on application to the Sanitary Engineering Company, 115, Victoria-street, Westminster. 'Phone, 4316 Victoria. Telegrams: Sanitation," London.-[ADVT.]

POOLING INSURANCE.-The Licenses Insurance Corporation and Guarantee Fund Limited has established an entirely

new scheme

of Insurance for Fire, Burglary, Workmen's Compensation, &c., by which the profits accrue to the insured. (See p. 532).-ADVT. |