cause. and Oakham being outside the jurisdiction of the magistrates at Clerkenwell, all the acts by Kerr took place outside the jurisdiction of the magistrate of Clerkenwell. Upon these grounds Mr. Smith held he had no jurisdiction. A rule nisi was obtained, and in January the respondents showed Justices Hawkins and Kennedy reserved judgment, and on the 28th March Mr. Justice Hawkins delivered the decision of the court. By sect. 20 of the Act of 1875 it is enacted that, "when the analyst having analysed any article shall have given his certificate of the result, from which it may appear that an offence against some one provision of the Act has been committed, the person causing the analysis to be made may take proceedings for the recovery of the penalty herein imposed for such offence, before any justices in petty sessions assembled having jurisdiction in the place where the article or drug was actually delivered to the purchaser, in a summary manner." Mr. Justice Hawkins remarked that with this section must be read the words "or under sect. 3 of the Act of 1879" after the word "purchaser.". Now, in a number of cases, it has been held a condition precedent, where an article is bought for analysis, that certain sections shall be observed, and by these it is enacted that the analyst of the place shall give his certificate and that the inspector of the place shall take the sample. In this case Kerr, living at Oakham, gives his warranty at Oakham, and sends his milk to Finchley. Up to this point no sample has been taken, no analysis has been made, and Kerr has committed no "such" offence as set out in sect. 20 bringing himself within the jurisdiction of the magistrate of Clerkenwell. Under these circumstances Justices Hawkins and Kennedy held that Kerr's offence of giving a false warranty, if he did give such a one, was not "such an offence" as came within the jurisdiction of Mr. Smith sitting in petty sessions at Clerkenwell. It is clear, therefore, that the Act is not capable of reaching the wholesale dealer, except one of the acts done brings him within the jurisdiction of the magistrate. And even if the summons had been taken out at Oakham, no conviction could have followed, because, before the defendant could have been convicted, the conditions precedent of the certificate must have been fulfilled, and in this case, as no sample was taken before the delivery of the milk to the dairy company, such conditions could not have been complied with. It is to be mentioned that, as a matter of fact, the certificate in question was held by the court to have been bad, Mr. Justice Hawkins remarking that the certificate was wrongly drawn up and was of the same nature as the certificate in Fortune v. Hanson (1896) 1 Q. B. 202). It is of great importance, in view of the gravity of the offence by a wholesale merchant, that the new Act be framed so as to enable the inspector to immediately prosecute the wholesale merchant, wherever he may live, upon the successful pleading of the defence of written warranty by a retail vendor. PROCEEDINGS AFFECTING the PROFESSION. MESSES. G. S. and H. Brandon, of 15, Essex-street, Strand, refer to our report of the case of Harris v. Brandon and another (ante, p. 542), and say that the case should have borne the title Harris v. Brandon and Nicholson," and by so doing avoided any confusion of the defendants with this firm, with which the defendants have no connection." IN Bankruptey, on the 10th inst., before Mr. E. L. Hough, official receiver, the first meeting of creditors was held under the failure of P. M. Leonard, described as of Kerrfield, near Winchester, County Court judge. The Chairman reported that no accounts had been filed, but the debtor estimated his liabilities roughly at £25,000, of which something like £19,000 was due to his daughter. The assets included certain furniture, effects, carriages, horses, and farming stock at Kerrfield, to the value of between £1400 and £1500, and a brood mare with a couple of colts, worth about £30, at an estate in Ireland. The debtor had for the last twenty-one years held the appointment of County Court judge, Circuit 51, the court being held at Winchester, but that appointment had, he understood, been resigned since the receiving order was made. The salary was £1500 a year, exclusive of a quarterly allowance of £60 for travelling and other expenses. The debtor's life was insured in various offices for large sums of money, but the whole of the policies were held by mortgagees. He (debtor) was the owner and occupier of the freehold house at Kerrfield, St. Faith's, together with ten acres of ground, the whole having been acquired some fifteen years ago at a cost of £6500. He was also the owner and occupier of certain building land there that had been bought for £7000. Both of the properties were mortgaged to secure £20,000, and the debtor did not place any value upon the equity. A very large number of judgments had been obtained against the debtor during recent years, and there had been a very large number of bankruptcy petitions filed against him between 1892 and 1895. The debtor was entitled under two ante-nuptial settlements to a life interest in various properties in Ireland. He had mortgaged that interest to the Imperial Life Office (the petitioning creditors), together with a policy to secure £5630, and had given a second mortgage to Mr. R. P. Attenborough, to whom there was due £16,588 on the 5th Dec. 1894, and who held a policy by way of collateral security, in addition to other securities provided by the debtor's daughter. Mr. Attenborough obtained a foreclosure order, and on the 10th Aug. 1895 sold the securities for £19,000 to a sister of Mrs. Leonard. At the present time the debtor had no interest either in the estates or the 'policies. He attributed his failure to the deficiency between the rents of the Irish estates and the interest payable by him on the mortgages thereupon; to premiums payable on the life policies; to his liability on certain bills, the proceeds of which were received by his late brothers; to excessive interest on loans, and to law costs. Tyer (Stanley, Attenborough, and Tyer), on the debtor's behalf, applied for an adjournment, with a view to formulating and submitting an offer to the creditors. After some discussion the meeting was, by consent of all parties, adjourned to 12th May next. IN Bankruptcy, on the 14th inst., before Mr. Registrar Linklater, an application was made for an order of discharge by Septimus Augustus Walker, formerly carrying on business as a solicitor in Chancery-lane. Mr. C. A. Pope attended as assistant official receiver. The evidence and the report of the official receiver showed that the debtor was admitted a solicitor in the year 1884. From that time down to 1890 he was employed as clerk to his brother, who was also a solicitor, and who took him into partnership at the last-mentioned date, without capital, and they practised together at 2, Chancery-lane, under the style of J. E. and S. A. Walker. In Oct. 1893 the partnership was dissolved, the debtor taking over the assets and liabilities of the business. After the dissolution he continued to practise at the same address until September, when the landlord distrained on his office furniture for arrears of rent. He then gave up possession of the premises, and from that time until the date of the receiving order was temporarily employed by a solicitor in the City at a weekly salary. The liabilities were estimated at £2907, and the assets at £433. The debtor ascribed his insolvency to (1) taking over liabilities in connection with his late partnership; (2) loss in reference to financing builders and others; and (3) to loss of clients owing to his having induced them to invest money on securities introduced to him by another solicitor named Woolley (who afterwards committed suicide), which securities, to the extent of £12,000, subsequently proved to be based on forged documents. The debtor admitted that since Oct. 1893 he had not been able to pay his debts as they became due, but he asserted that until a few months before his failure, which occurred in October last, he always regarded the goodwill of his business as of sufficient value to pay his debts, his change of opinion being brought about by the suicide of Mr. Woolley. The only offence alleged by the official receiver was that the debtor's assets were insufficient to pay 10s. in the pound. Powell, for the debtor, submitted that the case was one of misfortune, and that the order of discharge might properly be granted subject to judgment being entered up against the debtor for a small sum of money. His HONOUR adopted this view of the case, and granted an immediate order of discharge, subject to the condition that the debtor consented to judgment for £100. THE affairs of Mr. Samuel Tilley, solicitor and commissioner for oaths, of High-street, Kilburn, and 25, Bedford-row, late clerk of the Hendon Local Board and present clerk of the Willesden Local Board, came before the Official Receiver in Bankruptcy on the 10th inst. It was stated by White, solicitor, that Mr. Tilly's professional behaviour had been the subject of communications to the Incorporated Law Society, and that the council of that body had fixed the 14th May for the investigation of the charges. The meeting had been adjourned for three weeks on the promise of the debtor to make an offer to his creditors. No accounts had been filed by the debtor, and it was stated by a creditor that he was "far away. The Official Receiver stated that inquiry had been made, and it was discovered that he had left Kilburn, and was, at any rate, out of London. Mr. Tilley was then formally adjudged bankrupt, and the Official Receiver said that steps would have to be taken to find Mr. Tilly. PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS. Information intended for publication under the above heading should reach us not later than Thursday morning in each week, as publication is otherwise delayed. Mr. WILLIAM HERBERT GREAVES, Q.C. (Solicitor General), has been appointed Attorney-General for Barbados. Mr. LESLIE PROBYN has been appointed Attorney-General of Grenada. Mr. HENRY ROBERT TAYLER ALEXANDER has been appointed Chief Clerk to Mr. Justice North, in succession to Mr. Rawlinson, who was recently promoted to the office of Taxing Master. Mr. HANS HAMILTON, barrister-at-law, has been appointed Counsel to the Treasury in all offences against Her Majesty's Mint, tried at the Assizes and Quarter Sessions holden for the County of Northumberland, the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and at the Quarter Sessions holden for the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Mr. HARRY J. SMITH, of the firm of Smith and Smith, solicitors, Evesham, and Moreton-in-Marsh, has been appointed a Commissioner for Oaths. Mr. Smith was admitted in Feb. 1885. Mr. GUSTAVUS PHELPS SYMES, B.C.L., of the firm of Bowen and Symes, solicitors, of Weymouth, Portland, and Dorchester, has been appointed Notary Public within the borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, and within a district of ten miles from the limits of the borough. Mr. C. H. GORRINGE, Tooting Graveney, and of the firm of Harold, Smith, and Gorringe, solicitors, 5, Furnival's-inn, Holborn, has been appointed a Commissioner for Oaths. WHARTON'S LEGAL MAXIMS, WITH OBSERVATIONS AND CASES.Comprehending and Explanatory of every Branch of the Law. Particularly adapted for the use of Students. Price 58.-HORACE Cox, "Law Times" Office, Bream's-buildings, E.C.—[ADVT.] Ilkeston, Friday, at 10 6 gollen Yeovil ... Kendal, Monday, at 12 Knighton, Tuesday, at 10 Cockermouth Derby... Coventry Croydon Dewsbury Dorchester Dudley Durham ... Lewes and East Leeds... Leicester Leominster Total for 975 1079 LAW FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY.-The annual general meeting of the shareholders of the Law Fire Insurance Society will be held at the Society's House, Chancery-lane, on Tuesday, the 5th May next, to elect ten directors in the room of the like number of directors who go out by rotation, to elect four auditors in the room of the like number who retire, and for general purposes. The chair will be taken at one o'clock precisely. The accounts of the society, with the auditors' report upon them, may be inspected by the shareholders for fourteen days previously to the annual meeting, and during one month after it. The directors, in their fiftieth annnal report to the shareholders, state that the accounts of the past year's business show a satisfactory increase in the premium income, which in 1895 amounted to £143,172, showing an increase of £6360 over that in 1894. Tho total amount insured may be estimated at 121 millions. The claims for losses, paid in the past year, amount to £57,044 108. 3d., showing a decrease of £3815. The accounts of the year show a net balance of £56,997 2s. 6d. after transferring £10,000 to the general account. Ipswich, Wednesday and Thursday, at 10 Kettering, Monday, at 10 Lambeth, Tuesday and Thursday, at 10 Langport, Wednesday, at 10 Leeds, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, at 10 Leicester,* Tuesday, Wednesday, and Leominster, Monday, at 10 Wednesday, Stokesley, Friday, at 10.30 Stone,* Monday, at 9.30 Stowmarket, Friday, at 10 Stroud, Tuesday Sudbury, Monday, at 11 Sunderland, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (Bky), at 10 Taunton, Thursday, at 10 Temple Cloud, Saturday, at 10.30 Thorne, Friday, at 11 Tiverton, Saturday, at 10 Tonbridge, Friday, at 10 Torquay, Saturday, at 10.30 Totnes, Monday, at 10 Towcester, Wednesday, at 10.30 Tredegar, Tuesday, at 9.30 Trowbridge, Friday, at 10 Truro, Friday, at 10.30; Saturday, at 11.30 Tunbridge Wells, Wednesday, at 9.30 Uxbridge, Tuesday Wakefield, Tuesday, at 10 Walsall, Wednesday, at 10 Waltham Abbey, Friday, at 11 Wandsworth, Monday Wareham, Tuesday, at 10.30 Wellingborough, Tuesday, at 10 Whitechapel, Monday, Tuesday, Wednes⭑ Wigan, Tuesday, at 9.30 Wolverhampton,* Monday and Friday, at 10 Woolwich, Wednesday, at 10.80 Worksop, Tuesday, at 10 Worthing, Monday Ystrad, Tuesday. *Other sittings are specially fixed if necessary. COMMERCIAL FAILURES AND BILLS OF SALE. According to Stubbs' Weekly Gazette, the number of failures in England and Wales gazetted during the week ending the 11th April was 112. The number in the corresponding week of last year was 179, showing a decrease of 67. The number of bills of sale in England and Wales registered at the Queen's Bench for the week ending the 11th April was 117. The number in the corresponding week of last year was 161. LAW SOCIETIES. GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE BAR. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL STATEMENT. By virtue of Regulation 30 the whole of the elected members of the council went out of office on the 13th July 1895. At the election of members to serve on the council, sixty-five gentlemen were proposed. The council, considering that the Welsh circuits were not adequately represented by the candidates proposed, nominated a Queen's Counsel and a member of the Outer Bar from those circuits under Regulation 11. The following gentlemen were elected :-Messrs. J. P. Murphy, A. G. Marten, Montague Crackanthorpe, M. C. Buszard, H. H. Cozens-Hardy, F. A. Bosanquet, C. M. Warmington, A. M. Channell, F. O. Crump, G. Pitt-Lewis, W. C. Renshaw, H. B. Buckley, E. T. Atkinson, E. W. Byrne, R. A. McCall, Joseph Walton, James F. Oswald, Queen's Counsel; and Messrs. W. W. Knox, George Sills, William Graham, Sir H. Elphinstone, T. T. Methold, L. Yate Lee, W. English Harrison, R. H. Spearman, H. Bargrave Deane, A. J. Ram, C. F. Gill, J. Alderson Foote, E. W. Garrett, H. D. Bonsey, W. A. Meek, Frank Evans, H. F. Manisty, J. G. Butcher, C. A. Russell, J. E. Bankes, T. R. Bridgwater, R. F. Norton, J. E. Hamilton Benn, J. F. P. Rawlinson, A. C. Salter, Hugh Fraser, H. Erle Richards, Lord Robert Cecil, W. B. Lindley, F. W. Pember, T. Dalton Lawrance, of the Quter Bar. Of these gentlemen six were of less than ten years standing at the Bar. The number of voting papers sent in was 1768, of which twenty-four were rejected for various reasons. The fewest number of electors who could have returned a candidate was 108. At the first meeting of the council held after the election, Mr. Cozens-Hardy, Q.C., M.P., was appointed chairman; Mr. Channell, Q.C., vice-chairman; Mr. Wolstenholme, treasurer; and Mr. Lofthouse, hon. secretary. Mr. Wolstenholme was appointed ar additional member under Regulation 4. During the year a vacancy was caused in the elected members of the council by the appointment of Sir Alfred Marten as a County Court judge, and Mr. Charles Swinfen Eady, Q.C., was appointed a member in his place. The masters of the Bench of the four Inns of Court have not nominated any members to serve on the council under Regulation 3. At the adjourned general meeting of the Bar, held on the 27th Nov. 1895, it was resolved: "That this general meeting of the Bar instructs the General Council of the Bar to apply for and accept the sum of £600 a year as offered by the Benchers of the four Inns of Court." The council thereupon applied for and have received the payment referred to in the resolution. The council have taken and furnished chambers at 2, Hare-court, Temple, and these in future will be the offices of the council. They invited members of the Bar to apply for the post of paid secretary. About ninety applications were received, and the council ultimately selected Mr. Henry Campbell Alchorne Bingley, of the Inner Temple and South-Eastern Circuit, as the candidate best qualified for the office, and appointed him as their secretary. The council have also appointed a clerk. It is hoped that members of the Bar will communicate with the secretary on any matter which may come to their knowledge touching the interests and well being of the Profession. The council have appointed the following standing committees, of which the chairman and vice-chairman were ordered to be ex-officio members. An executive committee, consisting of Mr. Warmington, Q.C., Mr. Joseph Walton, Q.C., Mr. Methold, Mr. Bankes, and Lord Robert Cecil (it was ordered that in the intervals between the meetings of the council the Executive Committee should conduct, so far as should be necessary, the business of the council in matters which the chairman should deem urgent); a committee on the business and procedure of the courts, consisting of Mr. Crackanthorpe, Q.C., Mr. Crump, Q.C., Mr. Pitt-Lewis, Q.C., Mr. Swinfen Eady, Q.C., Mr. English Harrison, Mr. C. A. Russell, and Mr. Lindley; a committee on court buildings, consisting of Mr. Warmington, Q.C., Mr. McCall, Q.C., Mr. Oswald, Q.C., Mr. Knox, Mr. Bargrave Deane, Mr. Bridgwater, and Mr. Hugh Fraser; a committee on matters relating to professional conduct, consisting of Mr. Murphy, Q.C., Mr. Bosanquet, Q.C., Mr. Byrne, Q.C., Mr. Yate Lee, Mr. C. F. Gill, Mr. Bonsey, and Mr. R. F. Norton. The standing committees were empowered to appoint sub-committees, and to ask any member of the Bar to serve thereon. Under Regulation 8 one-half of the elected members shall go out of office at the time appointed for the close of the election in 1896, and the council shall decide who are to be the elected members so to go out of office. The council have decided under this regulation that the following members of the council shall go out of office at the close of the next annual election:-Queen's Counsel: Mr. Mentagu Crackanthorpe, Mr. A. M. Channell, Mr. F. O. Crump, Mr. W. C. Renshaw, Mr. H. B. Buckley, Mr. Edward Tindal Atkinson, Mr. Joseph Walton, and Mr. C. Swinfen Eady. Outer Bar: Mr. George Sills, Mr. T. Tindal Methold, Mr. L. Yate Lee, Mr. R. H. Spearman, Mr. H. Bargrave Deane, Mr. C. F. Gill, Mr. J. Alderson Foote, Mr. Edmund W. Garrett, Mr. W. A. Meek, Mr. Frank Evans, Mr. J. G. Butcher, M.P., Mr. C. A. Russell, Mr. T. Rawling Bridgwater, Mr. A. Clavell Salter, Mr. H. Erle Richards, and Mr. Walter B. Lindley. All the above gentlemen are eligible for re-election as members of the council. Under Regulation 4, Mr. Wolstenholme having been appointed by the council an additional member will go out of office at the close of the next annual election. The election will be held as soon as possible after the annual general meeting, which is fixed for Tuesday the 21st April next (being the second Tuesday in Easter Sittings) in the Old Dining Hall, Lincoln's-inn, at 4.15 o'clock. Under Regulation 10 every candidate for election shall be proposed in writing, signed by at least ten barristers, and sent to the secretary within one week after the annual general meeting of the Bar. Proposal forms may be obtained from the secretary. LEGISLATION. LAND TRANSFER.-The Incorporated Law Society have asked the council to consider a Bill drawn up by the society entitled the "Conveyancing Bill, 1896." The consideration of this Bill, and also of any similar measure which may be introduced into Parliament during the present session has been referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Crackanthorpe, Warmington, and Renshaw, Queen's Counsel, and Sir Howard Elphinstone, Messrs. Manisty, R. F. Norton, and Lindley, of the Outer Bar. LAND CHARGES BILL 1896.-At the request of the Lord Chancellor the council appointed a committee consisting of Sir Howard Elphinstone and Messrs. Methold, Yate Lee, R. F. Norton, and Hamilton Benn, to draw up a report on the draft of this Bill. The suggestions of the committee have been substantially adopted in the Bill now before Parliament. The council have also been in communication with and have reported to the Lord Chancellor on other matters of interest to the Profession. The attention of the council has been directed to the following Bills amongst others :-Summary Jurisdiction (Whipping) Bill, Evidence in Criminal Cases Bill, Publication of Indecent Evidence Bill, Burglary Bill, Court of Criminal Appeal Bill, Judicial Trustee Bill, Liverpool Court of Passage. Bill, Light Railways Bill, Bill for the payment of Jurors, Companies Bill, Benefices Bill, Military Manoeuvres Bill, Lands Valuation and Assessment. Bill, Estates Tail Abolition Bill, Lancashire Sittings Bill. Upon several of the above Bills special committees have been appointed to report. PARISH COUNCILS ACT 1894 (sect. 9, sub-sect. 11). In May 1895 the council, at the request of the Local Government Board, laid their views before the board as to the cases in which counsel should be heard. In June following the board informed the council that they did not yet deem it expedient to prescribe cases in which counsel are to be heard, but that, in connection with any further consideration of the matter, the board would bear in mind the suggestions of the council. The council are not aware that any rules have yet been made, and, as the matter stands, counsel cannot be heard on an inquiry or arbitration referred to in this sub-section, a position of affairs which does not appear satisfactory to the council. COUNTY COURT JUDGES' SONS. In Aug. 1895 a complaint was made to the council with reference to the son of a County Court judge practising before his father, and the council have therefore considered the question of members of the Bar practising before their fathers in local courts. The council find that there have been several cases in which members of the Bar, being sons of County Court judges, have for a time practised habitually in their fathers' courts, but in most of the cases the gentlemen in question, in deference to professional opinion, ceased so to practise. The council find that on the 22nd June 1891 the Bar Committee passed a resolution, of which the following is a copy: 'That, it having been represented to the Bar Committee that cases exist: in which the sons of County Court judges are in the habit of practising before their fathers, the Bar Committee desire to record their opinion that such a system should be, as far as possible, discouraged, and that. copies of this resolution should be sent to the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney-General." In consequence of that resolution a barrister requested the advice of Sir Richard Webster, the Attorney-General, as to his practising in his father's courts, and, in deference to the advice of the Attorney-General, the barrister discontinued such practice. The council entirely agree with the course thus taken. They are of opinion that, whilst it is unobjectionable for a barrister in the ordinary course of a general practice to accept a brief in a court of which his father or other near relative is a judge, it is not right for such a barrister specially to devote himself to practice in that court. It is almost inevitable that partiality will be suspected, even although there may be no real ground for such suspicion. The practice might even lead to briefs being delivered to the barrister because it was believed that his client would have an unfair advantage over his opponent. To deal with the matter practically, the council are of opinion that in future it should be recognised as a rule of the Profession that no barrister should habitually practise in any County Court of which his father or any near relative is the judge. The council are unable to say that hitherto this has been recognised as the rule, and therefore do not recommend any action as to cases already existing. The only precedents on the subject are the cases of the gentlemen who, in deference to professional opinion, have ceased so to practise, and an analogous case some years ago in the Chancery Courts in which a Queen's Counsel, having at first selected as the court in which he would practise the court of which his father-in-law was judge, afterwards. changed his court in deference to the opinion of the Bar. As regards quarter sessions and other local courts of criminal jurisdiction, the objection to sons practising before their fathers or other near relations is not so serious, and, in the opinion of the council, need not be dealt with. BUSINESS IN LONDON. At a meeting of the council held on the 26th Nov. 1895 it was unanimously resolved that a communication should be made to the Lord Chancellor on the subject of the inconvenience caused to London business under present arrangements when judges were absent, owing to illness or other cause, and to recommend a more frequent exercise of the power of appointing commissioners on circuit, so as to keep a sufficient number of judges in London to carry on the business of the courts there. It was also resolved to recommend the passing of an Act of Parliament enabling Her Majesty to make adequate provision for the despatch of the business of the courts in London by the appointment of an additional judge. His Lordship subsequently received a deputation of the council consisting of the Attorney-General, the chairman, the vice-chairman, Mr. Joseph Walton, Q.C., Mr. English Harrison, and Mr. Bonsey, when the Lord Chief Justice and S.r Francis Jeune were present, and the Lord Chancellor promised favourably to consider the suggestions of the council. Shortly afterwards two commissioners of assize were appointed, and the absence of two more judges from London was thereby obviated. TELEPHONES. A representation has been made to the Benchers of the Inner and Middle. Temples, that it would be a great convenience to the members of the Bar, if the Benchers made arrangements for the establishment of a Telephone Call Station in the Temple. TREASURY BRIEFS. The opinion of the council was asked whether in a case where after a barrister had advised and appeared on several occasions before a metropolitan magistrate, and the case was taken up by the Public Prosecutor, and the Public Prosecutor instructed other counsel, the barrister in question was also entitled to a brief, The practice for many years has been for the Treasury to employ standing counsel in criminal cases in London, and such counsel are entitled by the terms of their appointment to hold briefs not only at the Old Bailey, but on the preliminary inquiries before the magistrates, and the Treasury has always claimed and exercised the right to intervene at any stage in the course of a prosecution. It appeared to the council that that is a practice which in the interests of the public should not be interfered with, and that so long as it is considered advisable that a Government Department should have the right to intervene and undertake prosecutions involving difficulty and expense, or of great public interest, it would be unwise by any rule of the Profession to compel it to employ any counsel who may in the first instance have been instructed by a private solicitor. Rule 20 of the retainer rules does not by its term refer to or include criminal cases, nor, as far as the council are aware, is there any rule precluding counsel, who have been displaced by the intervention of the Treasury, from subsequently accepting a brief for the defence. COUNSEL (TAXATION OF COSTS). It having been represented to the council that it was the nearly uniform practice that the costs of only one counsel should be allowed on taxation in cases before the official and other referees, although such references were often in fact the trial of important cases involving much detail, and that the like practice was followed in taxing the cost of arbitrations, and of cases in the Crown Paper, the council expressed their opinion that there should be no arbitrary rule on the subject, but the taxing masters should in such cases exercise the same discretion as in an action tried before a judge of the High Court. The council communicated their opinion to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice, and the former promised to bring the matter before the Rule Committee. ROYAL COURTS COMMITTEE. This committee, which from the 7th Aug. 1895 to the 28th Feb. 1896 consisted of Sir Alfred Marten, Q.C., Mr. W. W. Knox, Mr. English Harrison, Mr. Bargrave Deane, and Mr. Lindley, has since the 28th Feb. 1896 consisted of Mr. Warmington, Q.C., Mr. McCall, Q.C., Mr. Oswald, Q.C., M.P., Mr. W. W. Knox, Mr. Bargrave Deane, Mr. Hugh Fraser, and Mr. Bridgwater. Since the date of the last report representations and suggestions have been made by the committtee upon the following, amongst other points: (1) The ventilation of the courts; (2) The sanitary arrangements in the building; (3) The extension and regulation of the electric and other lighting; (4) The condition, furniture, and fittings of the courts, robing rooms, and lavatories; and (5) The provision of a room in the building for the use of the members of the Bar frequenting the Royal Courts, who are about 1200 in number. These suggestions have in many instances been carried out, and in particular the committee have the satisfaction of stating that additional windows have been opened in Court of Appeal No. 2, and in the court of Mr. Justice Kekewich. In almost all other instances the committee have been informed that their suggestions will be attended to as soon as possible. As to No. 5 the committee have reported as follows:-A large room on the east side of Carey-street Entrance, was designed and built as a room for the use of the Bar frequenting the Royal Courts of Justice. But, as the number of courts required was under-estimated, this room was turned into Court of Appeal No. 1. Yet no other room has ever been provided for the use of the Bar, although several have been set apart for the use of solicitors, and there is not in the whole building a single room in which a barrrister can either read or write, with the exception of the courts themselves and the library, neither of which are available or suitable for such a purpose. Representations have for many years been made by the committee upon the point, but hitherto without success. Connected by a passage with the Bar library is a large room, No. 719, better adapted for the purpose than any other in the building; and the committee have in the past made frequent applications for the use of this room. This committee at their last meeting passed unanimously the following resolution: "That it is most desirable that there should be set apart for the use of the Bar a room in the Royal Courts of Justice as a reading and writing room. There is a room, No. 719, which would be convenient for the purpose, and this committee request the council to urge upon the authorities the grant of such room for the use of the Bar." There is not sufficient space in the Bar library itself for the books it possesses, and many of them have now to be heaped up in the passage. The committee understand that the library committee appointed by the four Inns of Court have recently applied for this room, No. 719, as an addition to the library, and the committee suggest that the General Council of the Bar should now make a fresh application for this room as a reading and writing room. If this application were acceded to additional wall space could be placed at the disposal of the library committee without interfering with the convenience of the reading and writing room. This room has occasionally been used as a court, and more frequently as an arbitration room. Its unfitness as a court was recognised as far back as 1891; and it has not once been used as such for more than a year and a half. It has never been used as an arbitration room more than twenty or thirty The council cannot conclude this report without calling special attention to the great services rendered by Mr. Lofthouse, as hon. secretary, from the formation of the Bar Committee in 1884 to the present time. Even since the appointment of Mr. Bingley as secretary, he has continued to give to the council the benefit of his experience; and although he will no longer act as hon. secretary, the council venture to hope that they may retain the advantage of his presence and assistance as a colleague. The council suggest that a resolution should be passed testifying the feeling of the Bar towards Mr. Lofthouse. April 1896. INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY-SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING. THE following circular has been addressed to the members of the Incorporated Law Society by the secretary, Mr. E. W. Williamson : In pursuance of the resolution passed at the adjourned annual general meeting held the 15th July 1881, to the effect that meetings of the society should be held in January and April, I am directed to inform you that a special general meeting of the members of the society will be held in the hall of the society on Friday, the 24th April next, at two o'clock precisely, to consider the subjects hereinafter mentioned, and of which notice has been duly given : : THE LONG VACATION. The President will call the attention of the meeting to the fact that the council, after full consideration, did not deem it expedient to adopt the following resolution passed at the special general meeting held on the 31st Jan. last, viz.: "That the rescission of Order LXIV., rr. 4 and 5, of the Rules of the Supreme Court is desirable, and the council be requested to bring this resolution to the notice of the Rule Committee." NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. Mr. Harvey Clifton will move: "That twenty-eight days' direct notice be given to members of the date of the annual general meeting of the society, that such notice contain an intimation of the vacancies on the council, and a notice that nominations of members to fill such vacancies must be sent to the office of the society fourteen clear days before the date of the meeting, and that the bye-laws be altered accordingly." LEGAL EDUCATION. Mr. Charles Ford will ask whether the latest method of education offered by the society to articled clerks is proving, or is likely to prove, less of a failure than the system which it superseded? UNQUALIFIED PRACTITIONERS. Mr. Charles Ford will ask whether the council will inquire into the truth of an alleged practice by which Treasury clerks, who are not solicitors, are in the habit of instructing counsel, and also of conducting cases before. magistrates ? QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION. Mr. Barry Cohen will move: "That, in the opinion of this society, a reform is desirable in the administration and arrangements existing in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice." GRAY'S-INN MOOT SOCIETY. A MOOT will be held in Gray's-inn Hall, on Monday, the 20th inst., at 8 p.m., before Mr. Montague Crackanthorpe, Q.C. Question: "A Queen's Counsel, whilst reading a brief on behalf of a co-respondent to a divorce petition, discovers that his client is the man who is engaged to be married to his wife's sister, a young widow of large fortune, then staying in his house, and whose trustee he is. The 'Observations' set out a copy of a letter from the co-respondent to his solicitor practically admitting his guilt, and they state that he absolutely declines to go into the witness-box. The only defence which they suggest is a preliminary objection of a highly technical and doubtful character. The marriage has been fixed for the end of the week, and some hundred guests have already been invited. On the evening of the day that the copy of the letter is read by the Q.C. he imparts its contents to his wife. She repeats them to her sister, who breaks off the engagement and goes abroad. A month later the petition is heard, and is dismissed on the preliminary objection, the merits not being gone into. The client then brings an action for slander against the Q.C. and his wife, and claims £1000 damages. The defendants plead privilege, but do not justify. Ought the action to succeed to any and what extent ? " All members of each of the other Inns of Court are invited to attend, and can become members by sending in their names and addresses for enrolment. UNION SOCIETY OF LONDON. THE Society met at the Inner Temple Lecture Hall on Wednesday evening, the 15th inst., at eight o'clock; Mr. W. R. Willson, vicepresident, in the chair. After the reading of the minutes, and the disposal of private business, Mr. A. W. Donald brought forward the motion on the agenda paper, viz., “That the attidude of the Legislature towards the regulation of vice requires reconsideration." Speakers: For the motion, Messrs. Donald, Nisbet, Hayter, and Schöller; against the motion, Mr. Kinipple. The motion was carried.-The society will meet at the Inner Temple Lecture-hall, 3 (North) King's Bench-walk, on Wednesday evenings, the 22nd and 29th inst., at eight o'clock. Subjects for debate :-For Wednesday, the 22nd April: "That in the interests of peace and the safety of the Empire this country should withdraw from the Mediterranean; opener, Mr. Sidney W. Clarke. For Wednesday, the 29th April: "That this House is of opinion that England is in honour bound to restore to Athens the (so-called) Elgin Marbles; opener, Mr. F. W. Sherwood. On the 22nd April, Mr. Latham will move, "That the following words be added to Rule V.: 'No member shall be elected after the 1st Nov. 1896 except as a life member." On the 29th April, the election of auditors will take place. The hon. secretary will be obliged if members will enter subjects for debate in the book provided for that purpose. Members of the Oxford and Cambridge Unions, the Juridical Society of London, the Historical Society of Dublin, and the Speculative Society of Edinburgh are elected without ballot. The hon. secretary calls the attention of members to the fact that the annual meeting and dinner will take place in May, of which due notice will be given. Nominations under Rule X. can be sent in now or up to within fourteen days of the annual meeting. GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. A LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BAR NOTHING can be of greater interest to young practitioners than a study of the qualities by which the leading lawyers of the day have attained to their position. In this connection it may be of some interest to refer to an article in the Easter number of the Munsey Magazine, entitled "A Leader of the American Bar," on Mr. Joseph H. Choate, a lawyer of New York, and a cousin of Rufus Choate, who with Daniel Webster "shared the honour of being the two foremost lawyers of their time." "But," as the article goes on to say, "if Rufus Choate could come back and at his best meet 'Joe' in the arena, he would probably have to acknowledge that in his young cousin he had at last found an antagonist with whom he could not cope." The reason of this is explained to be that Rufus Choate "never had to strike the pace that a lawyer must strike to-day to hold first place in the Metropolis. There are vastly more skilful fighters now to measure swords with than in the days of the elder Choate. The demands upon one are incalculably greater. The practice of the law is reduced to a finer science. It calls for wider reading, a better knowledge of affairs, and a more subtle reasoning. Millions are now the stake for battle. Money without stint is thrown into the balance. Every word the advocate utters is measured, every advance he makes is noted, every expression, gesture, attitude is recorded. A false move, and the opposing counsel would pounce upon him like a pack of wolves, and millions might be swept away. It is in scenes like this that Joe' Choate has won his greatest laurels." The question of interest is, how has he won them? A portrait accompanies the article, and is a good index to the character of the man. A striking face, clean-shaven, with high forehead, large frank eyes, long straight nose, thin firm-set lips, and heavy but beautifully-rounded chin. Such is the portrait of this successful lawyer, who at sixty-four looks ten years younger-chiefly owing to his glossy and wavy head of hair, which helps to increase the fascination which this picture naturally exercises. "Choate," says the writer, "fixes on the salient point of a case, and makes that the basis of his argument. He thinks that cases should not be decided on insignificant details. The common sense of the thing, sustained by good law, is his telling weapon. He makes far less use of citations than other lawyers. He is a student of people and affairs, as well as of Blackstone. His inimitable humour, the keenness of his satire, the blandness of his voice, the charm of his smile, and his matchless mastery of himself and of his theme, make him the peerless advocate of the Bar. There are more profound students of the law than Choate, but they are not the verdict-winners. Choate "gets there "; he has the habit of being in at the finish, and the man who is in at the finish is the man on whom we are wont to bank. This is why Choate has the largest income from the legitimate practice of law of any member of the American Bar." The magazine goes on to give a more detailed account of Mr. J. H.' Choate's life and political prospects, but these are of no special interest here. Let young advocates study the means by which he has achieved success, and they will find that a determination to succeed, if perseveringly maintained, has no small share in the result. The only quality that Choate has, and that cannot be acquired by practice, is his inimitable humour. But this is by no means an essential feature in a great advocate, though, no doubt, it may be employed with excellent results where it exists. As to what the Munsey says on there being greater demands made on a present-day advocate than in the past, the truth of the statement cannot be denied, though in the above quotation the subject is worked out in a truly American and somewhat exaggerated manner. Indeed, the whole account of the man has a distinctly American piquancy about it, which gives it considerable interest. 1. The newly elected parish councillors come into office on the 15th April, and the annual meeting of the parish council is required to be held on or within seven days after that day. The attention of the newly elected councillors should be directed to rule (1) of part 2 of the first schedule to the Local Government Act 1894, which provides that each parish councillor shall, at the first meeting after his election, or if the council at the first meeting so permit, then at a later meeting fixed by the council, make a declaration of acceptance of office. The Local Government Board consider that this declaration must be made by each elected councillor, whether he held office as a councillor previous to the last election or not. The rule does not require any particular form to be used for the declaration. 2. The retiring parish councillors continue in office until the 15th April, but they go out of office then, and cannot meet on that day for the transaction of business. 3. Notice of the annual meeting of the parish council and of the business to be transacted thereat is directed by rule (5) of part 2 of the first schedule to the Local Government Act 1894 to be given to every member of the parish council elected at the recent election, and it seems to the Local Government Board that this notice should be given either by the retiring chairman, or, under the circumstances provided for in the preceding rule (4), by two members of the retiring council. If, however, notice of the annual meeting is for any reason not given until the 15th April or afterwards, it would appear that, should the retiring chairman make default in convening the meeting, it would be for two of the newly elected councillors to take action under rule (4) for the purpose of convening the meeting. 4. The first business to be transacted at the annual meeting will be the election of the chairman of the parish council for the ensuing year. 5. The chairman must be elected either from the parish council or from other persons qualified to be councillors of the parish, i.e., from among parochial electors of the parish, or persons qualified by residence in the parish or within three miles of it. The retiring chairman, if still qualified, is eligible for re-election. 6. The retiring chairman of the parish council, whether he was elected from within or without the council, unless he resigns or ceases to be qualified or becomes disqualified, appears to be continued in office by sect. 3 (8) of the Act, until his successor is elected at the annual meeting of the council. 7. The Local Government Board have no jurisdiction to decide the question whether the retiring chairman of the parish council will be empowered to preside at the commencement of the annual meeting if he is a candidate for re-election as chairman, but they think that the proper course is for the chairman not to preside under such circumstances. If there is a vice-chairman, and he has been re-elected as a councillor and is present, he should preside, but otherwise the parish council may elect one of their number to preside temporarily. 8. The succeeding chairman, as soon as he is appointed, will be entitled to take the chair if he is present. 9. When the chairman of the parish council has been elected, the next business will be the appointment of the overseers. The board refer the parish council to the "Memorandum as to the appointment of overseers |