JONES, EDWARD, Llanelly, fruiterer. Ct. Carmarthen. Dec. 14. LONGMORE, SAMUEL JAMES, Birmingham, looking glass manufacturer. Ct. MCDONALD, GEORGE, Great Grimsby, late grocer. Ct. Great Grimsby. Dec. 15. MARRIOTT, GEORGE, Chesterfield, cycle dealer. Ct. Chesterfield. Dec. 14. MATTHEWS, ARCHIE MARK, Coleford, cycle agent. Ct. Newport, Mon. Dec. 16. MEAD, FREDERICK JOHN, Wendover, late assistant overseer. Ct. Aylesbury. Dec. 14. PARSON, JOHN PENROSE (trading as J. Parson), Minehead, retail jeweller. Ct. Taunton. Dec. 15. ROUS, SAMUEL GEORGE, Mutford, grocer. Ct. Great Yarmouth. Dec. 14. SHEPHERD, ERNEST BENJAMIN, Wetherden, dairyman. Ct. Bury St. Edmunds. Dec. 15. STAPLETON, EMRYS GEORGE, Bargoed, wheelwright. Ct. Merthyr Tydfil. Dec. 14. TEAL, SAMUEL RICHARD. Halifax, licensed victualler. Ct. Halifax. THOMPSON, ARTHUR Stockport, baker. Ct. Stockport. Dec. 14. WILLIAMS, JOSEPH, Ystradgynlais, late carpenter. avon. Dec. 14. WILLIAMS, SAMUEL, Oldham, publican. Ct. Oldham. Dec. 15. GAZETTE, DEC. 22. To surrender at the High Court of Justice, in Bankruptcy. GYBBON-SPILSBURY, MAJOR A., Broad-st-pl, Finsbury-cir, gentleman. Dec. 17. RAUSH, OSCAR JOHN, Russell-chmbrs, Bury-st, Bloomsbury, cinematograph proprietor. Dec. 16. SHEEHY, DAVID, St. George s-rd, Southwark. Dec. 17. SHUTE, WILLIAM OSBORNE, Liverpool-rd, Holloway, pianoforte manufacturer. Dec. 17. STENZEL, WILLIAM FRANZ GEORGE, New Bond-st, ladies tailor. Dec. 17. WORTHINGTON, GEORGE, High-rd, Streatham, motor engineer. Dec. 17. To surrender at their respective District Courts. BAINBRIDGE, THOMAS, Coundon, carting contractor. Ct. Durham. Dec. 18. BENSON, PERCY, Blackpool, painter. Ct. Blackpool and Fleetwood. Dec. 19. BURBIDGE. HENRY, Plymouth, refreshment-house keeper. Ct. Plymouth. Dec. 18. BYROM, ARTHUR (trading as T. Byrom), Leeds, cycle dealer. Ct. Leeds. Dec. 17. COOKE-HILL, JOHN GEORGE (practising as G. and R. Hill), Worcester, solicitor. Ct. Worcester. Dec. 18. EDWARDS, ARTHUR MORLEY, Treharris. builder's ironmonger. Ct. Merthyr Tydfil. Dec. 19. FERGUSON, ARCHIBALD, and FERGUSON, DANIEL (trading as A. Ferguson and Son), Connah's Quay, ship builders Ct. Chester. Dec. 19. GULEY, ANNIE, Bristol, proprietress of a nursing home, widow. Ct. Bristol. Dec. 18. INGS, FREDERICK ARTHUR (late trading as Ings and Co.), Gloucester, grocer. Ct. Gloucester. Dec. 18. JONES, WILLIAM HENRY, Sale, nurseryman. Ct. Manchester. Dec. 17. MARTIN, NICHOLAS JOSEPH (trading as N. J. Martin and Co.), Burnley, paint merchant. Ct. Burnley. Dec. 17. NEDAHL, FREDERICK, Burghill, grocer. Ct. Hereford. Dec. 19. SUMMERS, ALFRED, Ilkeston, baker. Ct. Derby and Long Eaton. TURNER, ALFRED, Rochdale, grocer. Ct. Rochdale. Dec. 17. ORDER RESCINDING ORDER AND DISMISSING PETITION. ASHWIN, ALBERT JOHN, Billiter-st, merchant. Ct. High Court. Dec. 14. ADJUDICATIONS. GAZETTE, DEC. 18. ASHTON, WILLIAM, late Llanidloes, hauling contractor. Ct. Pontypridd, Ystradyfodwg, and Porth. Dec. 16. CHESTER, JOHN, Shipley, greengrocer. Ct. Bradford. Dec. 15. ELLIS, ALFRED EDWIN, late Heswall, builder. Ct. Birkenhead. Dec. 14. GOTT, MATTHEW, Holbeach, threshing machine owner. Ct. King's Lynn. Dec. 14. HALEY, JACOB (trading as William Haley and Son), Bradford, shoeing smith. Ct. Bradford. Dec. 15. HARTREE, HARRY BOUSFIELD PELLARS (trading as H. Pollard), Frome, cycle agent. Ct. Frome. Dec. 14. HULKS, MARTHA JESSIE (trading as Jessie Hulks), Hanover-sq, Court milliner, spinster. Ct. High Court. Dec. 15. JONES, EDWARD, Llanelly, fruiterer. Ct. Carmarthen. Dec. 14 LONGMORE, SAMUEL JAMES. Birmingham, looking glass manufacturer. Ct. MCDONALD, GEORGE, Great Grimsby, late grocer. Ct. Great Grimsby. Dec. 15. MARRIOTT, GEORGE, Chesterfield, cycle dealer. Ct. Chesterfield. Dec. 14. MATTHEWS. ARCHIE MARK, Coleford, cycle agent. Ct. Newport, Mon. Dec. 16. MAYALL, LEONARD, Tunbridge Wells, gentleman. Ct. Tunbridge Wells. Dec. 16 PHILLIPS, ALEXANDER (trading as Phillips and Co.), Leeds, boot manufacturer. Ct. Leeds. Dec. 12. PHILLIPS, THOMAS JOHN, Pembroke, tailor. Ct. Pembroke Dock. ROUS, SAMUEL GEORGE, Mutford, grocer. Ct. Great Yarmouth. Dec. 14. TEAL, SAMUEL RICHARD, Halifax, licensed victualler. Ct. Halifax. Amended notice substituted for that published in Gazette, Dec. 1. AARON, ISRAEL (trading as North East Lancashire Framing and Enlarg ing Company), Blackburn, picture framer. Ct. Blackburn and Darwen. Nov. 26. Amended notice substituted for that published in Gazette, Dec. 8. SEALE, HENRY WILLIAM (late trading as Mitcham Timber Building Supply Company), Mitcham, builder. Ct. Croydon. Dec. 2. BAINBRIDGE, Dec. 18. GAZETTE, DEC. 22. THOMAS, Coundon, carting contractor. Ct. Durham. BURBIDGE, HENRY, Plymouth, refreshment-house keeper. Ct. Plymouth. Dec. 18. DE WINTON, CECIL, London-wall-bldge, company promoter. Ct. High Court. Dec. 17. DUNGEY, CHARLES ALFRED, late Hoxton-st, Hoxton, victualler. Ct. High Court. Dec. 18. FERGUSON, ARCHIBALD, and FERGUSON, DANIEL (trading as A. Ferguson and Son), Connah's Quay, ship builders. Ct. Chester. Dec. 19. GRIFFIN, ALICE LOUISA, Cropley-st, Hoxton, baker. Ct. High Court. Dec. 17. HALSTED, WALTER FRANCIS, late Walbrook, stockbroker. Ct. High Court. Dec. 19. HOLIDAY, ALBERT E., late Bicester, solicitor. Ct. High Court. Dec. 18. INGS, FREDERICK ARTHUR (late trading as Ings and Co.), Gloucester, grocer. Ct, Gloucester. Dec. 18. JOHNSTONE, EDWARD HENDERSON, Shoe-la. Ct. High Court. Dec. 18. JONES, WILLIAM HENRY, Sale, nurseryman. Ct. Manchester. Dec. 17. MARTIN, NICHOLAS JOSEPH (trading as N. J. Martin and Co.), Burnley, paint_merchant. Ct. Burnley. Dec. 17. NEDAHL, FREDERICK, Burghill, grocer. Ct. Hereford. Dec. 19. PARK, THOMAS GEORGE, Argyle-pl, Cromer-st, surveyor. Ct. High Court. BIRTH. FARADAY. On the 8th inst., at Fountain-hill, Budleigh Salterton, Devon, the wife of W. Barnard Faraday, Barrister-at-law, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. TISSEVERASINGHE SASTRIGAL.-On the 21st Oct., at the Roman Catholic Church, St. Xavier, Bangalore, F. A. Tisseverasinghe, Barrister-atlaw, to Sophie Casini, daughter of the late P. T. Swaminath Sastrigal. WYNYARD WAKELY.-On the 12th inst., at Holy Trinity Church, Dover, Captain Damer Wynyard, 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment, to Olive, youngest daughter of His Honour Judge Wakely, K.C., D.L. DEATH. JONES. On the 11th inst., at 221, Newport-rd, Cardiff, Mary, wife of William Jones, Solicitor. The Corporation also insures risks in connection with FIRE, CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS, BURGLARY, WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION, FIDELITY GUARANTEE, THIRD PARTY, &c., under a perfected Profit-sharing System. War Legislation Supplement TO The Laws of England. The passing of so much Emergency Legislation has provided the publishers of THE LAWS OF ENGLAND with a further opportunity of demonstrating to the Legal Profession the manner in which THE LAWS OF ENGLAND can be kept completely up to date. 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Post-Office Orders payable to the FIELD & QJEEN (HORACE COX) La Vol. 138.-No. 3744. CONTENTS.. REPORTS. 732 SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE. COURT OF APPEAL. SHELDON . NEEDHAM.-Employer and workman-Injury by accident -Compensation- Workman" MORTIMER . WISKER. - Employer and workman - Death caused by accident-Compensation..... THOMPSON v. RICHARD JOHNSON AND NEPHEW LIMITED. - Employer and workman-Injury by accident ..... CUE v. PORT OF LONDON AUTHORITY. -Employer and workman-Injury by accident-Compensation Re BRANSON; Ex parte MOORE.Bankruptcy Voluntary settlement-Uncle and nephew MASH (app.) v. DARLEY (resp.).Bastardy-Evidence Re HILDESHEIM. — - Solicitor and client-Bill of costs-Letter accompanying bill-Taxation of costs... NOTES OF RECENT DECISIONS NOT YET REPORTED .............................. 209 COUNTY COURTS.- Sittings of the Courts 209 734 CRIMINAL LAW AND THE JURISDIOTION OF MAGISTRATES. Quarter Sessions..... 210 736 OCCASIONAL NOTES .............. 210 PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE AND 741 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.-Topics...... 210 HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE. CHANCERY DIVISION. ENGLISH v. CLIFF. Perpetuity Trust for sale at the expiration a term of twenty-one years ... of " KING'S BENCH DIVISION. GODMAN (app) v. CROFTON (resp.) (No. 2).-Justices Case stated... 754 UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC RAILWAYS COMPANY OF LONDON LIMITED AND OTHERS (apps.) v. COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE (resps.).Revenue-Stamp duty-Trust deed 759 MAPLES (app.) _v. COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND REVENUE resps ).Revenue-Stamp duty..... 764 LEGAL OBITUARY.- Second Lieut. Ernest Haddon Owen Mr.. Maurice Powell - Mr. William Poole Mr. Henry Cross - Mr. Atherstone Damant 216 trars-Circuit of the Judges......... 216 THE GAZETTES..... 217 BIRTHS, MAREIAGES, And Deaths 218 ... The Law and the Lawyers. 1914. THE year which has now passed into its account would have been a memorable one even if the one great outstanding circumstance of the war had not stamped it by itself as one for all time marked out as a turning point in our national history. From whatever point of view it is looked at, the most superficial examination of our back numbers will reveal the manysided interests which have been touched. In general constitutional matters it has shown to us serious dangers alike in our relationships with Ireland, with their grave possibilities of internecine strife, and also in South Africa there was a highly critical period only surmounted by the drastic deportation of certain undesirables from that country without even the ceremony of a trial. Then came, in entirely a different environment, the bitter so-called Kikuyu controversy, which aroused some undesirable feeling in a region of thought where goodwill and charity are so pre-eminently essential. We may also refer to two or three more subjects, again dissimilar, to which our columns have drawn special attention. These were certain disputes raging over Government contracts. In one of these some legal controversy arose as to the position of Sir Stuart Samuel, and another revealed the unsatisfactory methods of working canteens. The Court of Appeal decision, dismissing the appeal of Colonel Whitaker, has drawn attention to these, and it has been full of benefit to the public interests. The same remark may apply to the finding of the House of Lords Committee appointed to investigate the charges made against Lord Murray of Elibank, which, in its whole conduct and tone, contrasted favourably with the procedure followed in the case of the Marconi contract examined by a committee of the House of Commons. These investigations should give new force to a principle of vital necessity to the country-viz., that persons connected with the public service should not enter into speculative transactions in stocks and shares. The appointment of the Lord Chancellor's committee to advise on the investments made by the Public Trustee implies Second Sheet no suggestion that things are not satisfactory in that office, but it is an admission that it is impossible to have too high a standard of caution in a department of work wherein so many interests are involved. Much the same principle in a different setting can be discerned at work in the inquiry which Lord Mersey undertook into the circumstances attending the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. It may be that to this disaster, following upon that which overtook the Titanic, may have in the end to be credited the higher margin of safety in marine navigation. Few who watched with anxiety the failure of the Buckingham Palace Conference and noted the bitterness of the strife regarding Home Rule and Disestablishment could have foreseen that these matters would have fallen into subsidiary importance within the space of some forty-eight hours. The suddenness of the change is curiously shown by a glance at our issue for the 1st Aug., in which the ordinary avocations of the practising lawyer find themselves supreme, whilst the following number appears at a time when these everyday pursuits were rudely disturbed by the outbreak of the greatest war on record. With headlong haste Parliament had to adjust itself to the situation, and Act followed Act to deal with the necessities of the hour. Legislation was introduced, and in a few hours completed, to provide for a moratorium, the restriction of aliens, the unreasonable withholding of supplies of food, insurance, the defence of the realm, the restrictions on the sale of liquor, patents and designs, the courts and emergency powers, bills of exchange, trusts, trading with the enemy, the status of persons holding commissions as regards membership of Parliament, and generally the position of those engaged on active service in relationship to their membership of various local bodies. These and many other items of legislation were all called for under the exceptional circumstances of the time, but, in addition this year has witnessed the passage into law of several other statutes of great general importance. We dealt with these in a review of the legislation passed up to last autumn (see vol. 137, pp. 520 et seq.). Thus, there are Acts dealing with Affiliation Orders; a most complex one on the subject of Finance, involving heavy claims upon the taxpayer; a most timely one amending the confused law on British Nationality and the Status of Aliens, and others relating to (inter alia) Dairies, Merchant Shipping, and Bankruptcy. This last is a consolidating and explanatory Act necessitated by the Act of 1913 on this subject having during the past year come into force. Finally, 1914 is memorable for the final passing of the Home Rule and Disestablishment measures, subject to certain postponing provisions. Amid such pressure the Legislature has not yet had opportunity to deal with the subjects of licensing, education, inebriety, trade disputes, Poor Law reform, real property, public rights of way, and other matters in regard to which there is a growing sense that the country's interests call for the introduction of reforms. When Parliament reassembles next month it will be called upon doubtless to debate subjects of more immediate importance than these. Questions will be likely to aris concerning Egypt and Cyprus in their new relationships to Great Britain, and generally there are all sorts of possibilities arising out of our position as regards the Suez Canal, the Dardanelles, and Turkey, as well as problems relating to the observance of neutrality. A curious and interesting matter for discussion in respect of the sovereignty of the air and the passage of aircraft over neutral territory has already been noted in the Swiss protest concerning one of our airmen's raids upon hostile Zeppelins. It may yet be necessary for the Legislature to confer far more power upon the military and police to check espionage. The Lody case will have revealed some of the perils to which we are exposed unless the system is drastically checked. Again, sooner or later some notice will have to be taken as to the attitude to be observed in regard to the regulations of the Hague Conventions. Meantime, in their personal lives, lawyers, like other members of the whole community, find themselves adrift from all previous moorings. The claims of the recruiting officer have been heard by the willing ears of hundreds of practitioners on both sides of our profession, and our obituary notices show that they have in all too many instances laid down their lives for their country. We can only deplore their loss and reverently honour their memories. It is to be hoped that the scheme suggested for preserving the practices of those who survive the perils of the war may be honourably observed and may prove to be effective in operation. Many men incapacitated in one way or another for active service are giving themselves whole-heartedly to home service or as special constables, while the more senior members are serving on the various war committees which have to carry out the necessary arrangements for safeguarding the interests of those who have gone away from their homes and families. Novel questions come up for solution nowadays in regard to billeting and requisitions of horses and vehicles, and we see with interest a Prize Court sitting in London for the first time since the Crimean War, under the presidency of Sir Samuel Evans, its decisions being duly noted in our columns. The past year has been exceedingly prolific in judicial decisions of a more normal character than those emanating from a Prize Court. So far as regards the cases determined up to the rising of the courts for the Long Vacation we may usefully refer readers to the series of articles appearing in these columns during the vacation, commencing at vol. 137, p. 413 et seq. There will be found garnered in order the chief fruits of judicial labours. Since October, however, there have been several other decisions to which we have only space here to briefly advert. There is the House of Lords case of Stickney v. Keeble (noted vol. 137, p. 160), which shows clearly that in vendor and purchaser contracts the date fixed for completion is just as much a part of the contract as any other clause, and so equity will be disposed to grant relief if a party seeks to make some unfair use of the strict letter of the contract in this respect. Again, in Inland Revenue v. Brooks (noted ante, p. 138) the same tribunal had to deal with a problem relating to the super-tax, where the assessment for income tax under sched. D had been used as a basis, despite the subject's objection on the ground of its being inaccurate, It is held that such an assessment was not conclusive and binding on the special commissioners, and could not be fairly used when the subject objected to it as inaccurate. The House of Lords in Governing Body of Westminster School v. Reith (noted vol. 137, p. 588) had another very important taxing problem to solve. There certain rooms were used as class rooms and lavatories, &c., but were not internally in communication with a group of buildings known as "college," in which the foundationers resided. These class rooms have, after some judicial hesitation, been now determined not to fall under the category of "offices belonging to and occupied with" the "college," and consequently they were held to be excluded from inhabited house duty. The Court of Appeal in Risdale v. Owners of the Kilmarnock (noted vol. 137, p. 161) had a novel point to decide in a workman's compensation case. A trawler had been mined while traversing, in order to give warning, a portion of waters notified by the Admiralty as unsafe. It was held notwithstanding that the applicant was entitled to compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act 1906. In Tofts v. Pearl Life Assurance Company Limited (noted vol. 137, p. 589) the Court of Appeal had anothe of those regrettable errors of zeal on the part of an agent, who led an insurer to believe that a policy for "mourning expenses" for his parents would be valid. The court held that the insurer was entitled to act on the footing of fraud on the part of the agent. In Abrahams v. Dimmock (noted ante, p. 106) the question before the Court of Appeal was on a moneylending transaction. It is now held that the dispute whether a contract is harsh and unconscionable is one for the determination of the judge, subject to a jury's finding as to facts necessary to enable the judge to arrive at a decision. Wills v. Great Western Railway (noted ante, p. 57) afforded the Court of Appeal an opportunity of considering the position of traders who consign per railway a number of parcels of goods under clauses exempting the company from liability for loss, damage, misdelivery, delay, or detention except for wilful misconduct of its servants. In this case there was a non-delivery of a portion of a consignment, and it was held that non-delivery of a part was included, and that a consignment did not mean the whole consignment as an entity. In Norman v. Great Western Railway (noted ante, p. 34) another railway decision of some importance was delivered. There was an open culvert in a station yard, and a traveller's horse, left unattended, backed his cart into it, whereby damage ensued. The Court of Appeal has held that the facts showed no breach of any duty on the part of the company towards the plaintiff. The same court in Re Maryon-Wilson's Settled Estates (noted vol. 137, p. 543) dealt with a question of importance to trustees. It was whether a charge could be imposed on these estates for (a) sums paid or to be paid for increment value duty and reversion duty, and (b) for costs and expenses, including surveyor's fees for preparing returns under sect. 26 of the Finance (1909-10) Act 1910 and for appeals under sect. 33. It was held as to (a) that a tenant for life could charge the whole settled hereditaments with these duties as an incumbrance, and as to (b), that the expenses incurred in ascertaining these duties were incidental to the exercise of the power and were payable under sect. 21 (10) of the Settled Land Act 1882. Dobson v. Horsley (noted vol. 137, p. 563) was also decided by the Court of Appeal. It is yet another accession to the long line of cases relating to a landlord's liability when premises are let out in separate tenements. The area staircase was defective, but was not under the landlord's control. An accident supervened to a tenant's child, but it was held that the plaintiff could not recover either in contract or in tort. Chappell and Co. v. Columbia Graphophone Company (noted vol. 137, p. 563) shows, also on the authority of the Court of Appeal, that a MS. copy of a song with a special orchestral accompaniment (made for graphophone purposes) constituted an infringement of copyright. Yet another Court of Appeal decision of general professional interest may be recalled in Re Howell; Liggins v. Buckingham (noted ante, p. 11), where the circumstances were illustrated in which an executor holding residue "at his own disposal ' was adjudged to be capable of taking beneficially. The same tribunal has held in Re Wedgwood; Allen v. Wedgwood (noted ante, p. 11) that a trust for the benefit and protection of animals is good and valid. Few recent years have been marked by so many changes as those which have to be recorded as regards legal personalities during the past twelve months under review. Especially among members of the solicitors' branch of the Profession the number of deaths is exceptionally heavy. Amongst well-known practitioners who have entered into their rest are Mr. J. R. T. Robertson, senior partner of King, Wigg, and Co., and two very senior Nottingham solicitorsviz., Mr. Charles Butlin, aged ninety-three, and Mr. R. H. Speed, aged ninety. Mr. W. H. Duignan, aged eighty-nine, was also well known in the Staffordshire area, having practised there for seventy years. Mr. E. H. Cheese, of Hay, was a man greatly respected in Hay for the indomitable pluck with which for so many years he continued to perform all his duties, alike of advocacy and consultation, despite the affliction of blindness. No list of the year's losses would be complete without mention of the death of Mr. Alfred Beyfus, of Lincoln's-inn-fields, and of Sir Charles G. Boxall, K.C.B., of the of the firm of Boxall and Boxall. During 1914 we have also to record the deaths of Mr. Bischoff; Mr. Galloway, of Manchester; Mr. Knight, of Stoke; Mr. C. W. Powell, of Newport Pagnell; and of Mr. Richardson, of Liverpool, all of whom were men widely known in their own localities. Another notable death is that of Sir John Gray Hill, a much-respected ex-president of the Law Society, and one to whom the whole Profession owes a great deal. To this already long list we can add the names of Mr. Winterbotham, of Cheltenham; Mr. Henry Collins, of Reading; Mr. Craston, of Leigh; Mr. Francis Fearon, who practised for over fifty years in Westminster; Mr. Henry Roscoe, of Field, Roscoe, and Co.; Mr. Hooper, of Torquay; and Mr. Horne, the well-known Swansea registrar. Geare the Profession loses probably the last survivor of those who took a legal part in the great Tichborne trial, and probably (although this is nearly always a risky statement) he was the senior member of the Profession, being aged ninety-five years. In Mr. The losses of the Bar are not nearly as numerous. Among silks we miss Sir A. G. Steel, Mr. Francis Williams, the Right Hon. Arthur Cohen, Mr. Fischer, Mr. Noble, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Danckwerts, and Mr. Houston. Two very aged members of the Bar passed away in the persons of Mr. Henry Griffith, the senior Bencher of Gray's-inn, after ninety-eight years of busy life, and Mr. Lawrance Counsel, at the age of ninety-two. We must also refer to the deaths of Mr. Charles Horbrow Stanton, of the Charity Commission; Mr. Davenport, Mr. Colt Williams, Mr. George Borthwick, Sir J. F. Leese, and Mr. Andrew, the joint author of Cony beare and Andrew on the Married Women's Property Acts. Master Wilberforce and Master Walton have also during the past year passed away. Among magistrates we have to record the death of Mr. R. O. B. Lane; Mr. Makinson, who was for thirty-three years the stipendiary of Salford; and Mr. A. C. Plowden. The County Court Bench has lost His Honour Judge Sir Thomas Snagge, Judge Wightman Wood, Judge Gates, Judge Austin, and Judge Longstaffe. Among other very well-known men whose lives have been connected with one or another branch of the Legal Profession we must include Sir Douglas Straight, Sir William Anson, and Sir William Markby. The latter two men made for themselves a splendid reputation in Oxford, whilst the former compelled in a great measure the respectful hearing of the House of Commons in regard to education. Viscount Cross, who was Treasurer of the Inner Temple in 1895, was also an experienced Parliamentary hand and was twice Home Secretary; while Lord Knutsford, who died during the past few months, had been Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and had drafted the Common Law Procedure Acts. Both Scotland and Ireland have each lost a very wellknown judge in the persons respectively of Lord Adam and Lord O'Brien, who had been Chief Justice for a quarter of a century. In the person of Lord de Villiers England loses a great asset, for his impartiality as Chief Justice of the Union of South Africa assisted materially in dissipating many of the suspicions consequent upon the conquest of the Boer Republics. No obituary notice would be complete without a reverent notice of those young lives, whose names will be found recorded in our columns since August, which have been so willingly given for their country from among those who had reason to look forward to careers of prosperity and repute in the pursuit of their legal ambitions. Although the Profession has not lost through death any of His Majesty's judges, several well-known personalities have disappeared from the courts through resignations. Lord Justice Vaughan Williams has retired after a long occupancy of the Bench, and we also miss the cheery personality of Sir Thomas Bucknill. Mr. Justice Channell is another judge to whom we can wish a long and happy period of rest. The retirement of Sir Edward Clarke, K.C., after fifty years of strenuous life in the courts and House of Commons was an event recorded in every organ of the Press in this country. Although circumstances robbed him of some of the most conspicuous prizes offered by the Profession, he won for himself a guerdon of far greater worth in the almost unexampled affection and respect with which he was rightly regarded by everyone whose privilege it was to work with or under him. With so many changes incidental to this long list of deaths and resignations there are corresponding appointments to recall. Mr. Justice Pickford was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal, and the vacant places on the Bench were filled by the appointments of Mr. Montagu Shearman, K.C., and Mr. John Sankey, K.C. The County Court Bench welcomed the additions made to it in the persons of Mr. Atherley-Jones, K.C., Mr. F. R. Y. Radcliffe, K.C., Mr. Moore Cann, Mr. Gurner, and Mr. McCarthy. Mr. Cave, K.C., succeeded Lord Parmoor as Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales, and Sir F. Pollock, K.C., became the judge of the Admiralty Court of the Cinque Ports. Among minor appointments we have to record those of Mr. B. L. Cherry and Mr. Charles Sweet as conveyancing counsel of the High Court, and, in addition, many recorderships and lesser posts had to be filled. Despite these changes, the stream of promotion has not run as strongly during the past year as in many other years previous thereto. Among the legal honours we note the well-deserved peerage conferred on Sir H. Cozens-Hardy, the viscounty given to Mr. James Bryce, and the peerages of Sir Rufus Isaacs and Sir C. A. Cripps, K.C. The following were sworn of His Majesty's Privy Council: Sir Thomas Bucknill and Sir A. Channell, on their retirement from the Bench, and, in addition, Lord St. Davids and Mr. Ellis Griffith, K.C. A considerable number of knighthoods were conferred on various persons connected in one or another manner with the law and its administration. Finally we may record that the honour of silk was conferred upon the following practitioners: Mr. H. CourthopeMunroe, Mr. J. W. Gordon, Mr. W. W. Mackenzie, Mr. J. Rolt, Mr. D. M. Kerly, Mr. R. J. Drake, Mr. B. A. Cohen, Mr. B. Lailey, Mr. F. Newbolt, Mr. A. H. Parsons, Mr. R. M. Montgomery, Mr. A. H. Chaytor, Mr. F. D. MacKinnon, Mr. T. W. H. Inskip, and Mr. W. Finlay. With these observations we bring this review to its close. To every thoughtful mind it is apparent that the great outstanding struggle now being fought out stands for something which appeals to the lawyer, quá lawyer, in a special degree. Just as between man and man in a civilised community it is essential that the sanctity of contract and the protection of life and property should be respected and enforced or in default society will fly into anarchy, so now, as between nation and nation, the lawyer sees a plain and unequivocal challenge to the corresponding principle. This country and its legal practitioners, as some of its most valuable members, intend that this challenge should not be unaccepted, but that for all time it should be understood that every moral and material force will be thrown into a struggle which shall once and for all decide that the obligations of treaty are to be respected and that the lives, liberties, and property of small nationalities are things to honour and protect, even though they do not conveniently harmonise with the aspirations of strong and ambitious neighbours. Unless all history and all morality have spoken in vain during the past ages, the issue of this challenge can only go one way, however long deferred the final settlement may be. DECISIONS ON WAR SUBJECTS. WE propose to give the reader a brief statement with regard to the effect of the reported judicial decisions on matters arising out of the war. The cases with which we intend to deal are essentially cases which would not have arisen except for the war. It will be convenient to present these decisions in a codified form. In the first place we shall deal with cases arising in respect of the moratorium. The moratorium is, of course, a thing of the past, but the law on the subject remains of importance. Rights of persons in many instances still continue to be affected by the fact that the moratorium did, in fact, exist for the first few months of the war. We shall deal in the second place with cases on the working of the Courts (Emergency Powers) Act 1914. In the third place we shall review the decisions on the law against trading with the enemy. While dealing with this third subject we shall deal also with the cases where the provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act 1914 have either been applied or considered. In the fourth and last place we shall deal with certain miscellaneous decisions arising out of circumstances connected with the war. We shall not set out or refer to, at any length, the several Acts of Parliament, proclamations, and rules with which many of these decisions deal, but shall assume that they are known to the reader, or that he has the text of these measures at hand. We do not propose to deal with recent decisions on prize law. While the latter are, of course, essentially cases relating to the war, we think the subject too narrow to be properly embraced within the scope of these articles. 1. DECISIONS ON THE MORATORIUM. (a) The moratorium did not apply to contracts made after the 4th Aug. 1914.-This was decided in Softlaw v. Morgan (noted 138 L. T. Jour. 34). The plaintiff's action was for money due from the defendants under certain contracts made after the 4th Aug. 1914. The Court of Appeal held that there was nothing in the moratorium proclamation of the 3rd Sept. to alter the class of contracts, payment in respect of which was to be affected by the moratorium, and consequently the moratorium was not extended by that proclamation so as to apply to contracts made after the 4th Aug. (b) A liability not exceeding £5.—In the case of Anster Limited v. London Motor Coach Works Limited (noted 137 L. T. Jour. 589) the writ in the action was specially indorsed with a claim for £61 9s. 8d., the price of goods sold and delivered. The writ was served on the 10th Sept., and the defendants took out a summons to have the writ set aside and all further proceedings stayed, on the ground that the plaintiffs' claim was not due until the expiration of the moratorium. The master made an order in the terms of the summons, and this order was affirmed by Mr. Justice Sankey, and the plaintiffs appealed. It will be remembered that the proclamation of the 6th Aug. expressly stated that it did not apply to any payment in respect of a liability which when incurred did not exceed £5 in amount. The proclamation of the 3rd Sept. provided that that of the 6th Aug. should have effect as if the 4th Oct. were substituted therein for the 4th Sept., and as if two calendar months were substituted therein for one calendar month. We gather that in this case the items of the claim were for amounts less than £5 each, although the aggregate of the claim amounted to the £61 9s. 8d. mentioned above. The Court of Appeal held that the case was within the £5 exception, and that consequently there were no grounds for setting aside the writ or staying further proceedings. The appeal was therefore allowed. (c) Rent and right of re-entry-Expiration of moratorium before hearing of action.-In Durrell v. Gread (noted 137 L. T. Jour. 565; (1914) W. N. 382) the plaintiff claimed payment of arrears of rent, and possession of the premises due. in respect of which the rent was The defendant was tenant under a lease which contained the usual proviso for re-entry in the event of the rent being in arrear for twenty-one days. On the June quarter day there was due to the plaintiff four quarters' rent. On the 25th Aug., after the moratorium proclamation had come into effect, the plaintiff commenced his action for the recovery of the rent in arrear at Midsummer, and for recovery of possession under the proviso for re-entry contained in the lease. When the action came on for hearing-viz., on the 16th Oct.-the moratorium had expired. Mr. Justice Scrutton held that, as the writ had been issued after the commencement of the moratorium, neither the rent nor the possession of the premises could be recovered. First, as regards the rent, the payment of which was postponed by the proclamation, his Lordship considered it analogous to the case of an action for the price of goods commenced before the credit on which they had been sold had expired. Secondly, as regards the claim for possession, his Lordship held that the authorities showed that the proviso for re-entry was merely a security for the rent; and in his Lordship's view the Legislature could not have intended, while suspending the principal remedy, to have left the ancillary remedy unfettered. Thirdly, his Lordship held that the expiration of the moratorium before the hearing of the action made no difference. Judgment was therefore given in favour of the defendant. (d) Call on shares in a company-Forfeiture of shares restrained.In Burgess v. G. H. N. Gases (noted 138 L T. Jour. 58; (1914) W. N. 422) the plaintiff had subscribed for and been allotted certain shares in the defendant company. Prior to July 1914 he had paid certain sums in respect of calls on these shares A few days prior to the commencement of the moratorium the directors made further calls for the balance, such further calls being payable, as to part, towards the end of August, and as to the remainder, towards the end of October. The articles of association of the company contained the usual provision for forfeiture of the shares, if calls were not paid, and provided that the shares so forfeited should be deemed the property of the company, and might be disposed of in such manner as the directors should think fit. Owing to the war, the plaintiff was unable to pay the calls either by realising securities or by obtaining an advance from his bankers. Although this |
