A will made in ignorance of the existence of a living child, held not revoked even at common law, by the discovery of its existence. Marsh v. Gilbert, p. 465. An advancement made to a child, in stocks, at an estimated value, held no advancement, when the stocks were at the time worthless. The reporting is carefully done, and the book is well printed and bound.

COMYNS' ABSTRACTS OF TITLE.

A Handy Book of Exercises on a Series of Abstracts of Title to Freehold, Copyhold and Leasehold Estates and Personalty, with observations and requisitions on each title, arranged as exercises for the use of law students and articled clerks; including the Real Property Limitation Act, 1874, the Real Property (Vendor and Purchaser) Act, and observations thereon. By W. H. Comyns. Third edition. London: Reeves & Turner, 1877.

The vendors and purchasers of real estate in America have, thanks to the recording acts so generally adopted, very little of the expense and trouble which meet Englishmen who undertake to enter upon similar transactions. Here, in nine cases out of ten, a short examination of the books of the proper clerk or register will inform an ordinarily intelligent man of all that he needs to know about the title of any given piece of land. In England, however, solicitors must be employed, and a careful investigation, surrounded by formalities and requiring much skill and knowledge, continued through many days, before it will be safe to decide upon a purchase. The consequence is, that the examination of titles forms an important branch of the law, and the book before us is designed to practically acquaint students with the leading principles of that law. Its value is, therefore, chiefly to English law students and others interested in real estate transactions there. It will, however, be found useful in aiding in the preparation of the less elaborate abstracts required here, as it will suggest many points in which such abstracts are liable to be deficient.

SUPPLEMENT TO ABBOTT'S FORMS.

A Collection of Forms of Practice and Pleading in Actions, whether for Legal or Equitable Relief, prepared with reference to the Code of Civil Procedure of the State of New York. With Notes and Authorities. By Austin Abbott, New York: Baker, Voorhis & Co., 1877. The most extensive collection of forms of practical value adapted to practice under the old Code of Procedure, was that made by Mr. Abbott, and the forms in that collection are, with very little change, useful under the new law of practice; in fact, most of them will answer without any alteration whatever. But as changes are sometimes required and, in some instances, new forms, this work has been prepared. It comes very opportunely, as the profession are as yet not entirely familiar with the new Code, and even the most skillful among them cannot, without examination and the expenditure of considerable time, draw a pleading, a motion paper or an order with a certainty that he is right. It is among some thought an indication that the attorney is not familiar with his work, for him to consult a form book, but this is not so. In the drawing up of papers, that he prepares every day, an experienced man can safely trust his memory, but in those that he needs to write but occasionally, even if careful, he may forget something, and it is no mark of ignorance for him to consult a collection of precedents any more than it is for a scholar to consult a dictionary. The forms given here are arranged in the order of the sections of the new Code, which will enable the practitioner called upon to draw any paper required under the provisions of any section, to readily refer to this book and find what he wants. The

forms appear to have been carefully prepared, and, we believe, they will be found thoroughly reliable. Each form, where it is deemed necessary, is accompanied by notes giving a reason for its adoption, or explaining the use of the terms contained therein. The volume is well printed and bound, and will, we are confident, find its way into the library of every practitioner in the State.

STANTON'S KENTUCKY DIGEST.

A new Digest of the Decisions of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, embracing all the reported cases from the organization of the court in 1792 to 1876. By Richard H. Stanton. 2 Vols. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 1877.

The author of this work gives the following account of his labor in the preface: "Every reported opinion, from the first organization of the Court of Appeals in 1792 to the last volume of Bush, published in 1876, has been carefully examined and the principles settled or recognized and approved given in the syllabus, in most cases as nearly in the language of the court as possible, with due regard to brevity; care, too, has been taken to make the references, both to the book and the page, entirely reliable and accurate." He further says, and the statement is an importaut one in estimating the value of a Digest: "I have in no case relied upon the abstract of the decision by the reporter, without first giving the case a patient and careful examination."

In these days of many reports, he who makes a good Digest best discharges his debt to the profession; and this Judge Stanton has done. His statements of decisions are full and accurate, the arrangement is systematic, the cross references are numerous, and the typographical devices such as to render examination easy. The work is one which the profession of Kentucky will be sure to appreciate.

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE YOUNGEST MURDERER EVER CONVICTED IN
NEW YORK.

To the Editor of the Albany Law Journal:

SIR.- Does any reader of your journal know of a conviction for murder occurring in New York at an earlier age than that presented in the subjoined case? Hale and other writers upon criminal law mention instances of infants under seven proving themselves sufficiently doli capax to justify a conviction for the highest crime known to the law. But we have no similar instances in this State, and the name of John Bowman still remains without a rival on the bad eminence of a convicted murderer, to which he had attained while scarcely nine years of age. Knowing nothing of the facts in his case, I must limit myself to giving the record of them as they appear in chapter 1 of the Laws of 1813, entitled "An act directing the confinement of John Bowman in the State prison, at hard labor for life," passed November 10, 1812.

Whereas John Bowman, at a Court of Oyer and ' Terminer held in and for the county of Herkimer, in the month of September last past, was convicted of the murder of a female child, and sentenced to be executed on the 4th day of December next. And, whereas, from the report of the judge who presided at the trial of the said John Bowman, it appears, that at the time said crime was committed, the said John Bowman was about nine years of age, therefore, in consideration of the extreme youth of the said John Bowman,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York represented in senate and assembly, that, instead of the punishment of death, the said John Bowman shall be, and he is hereby directed to be confined in the State prison at hard labor, for and during the term of his natural life; and that it shall be the duty of the sheriff of the county of Herkimer, on or before the 1st day of December next after the passage of this act, to remove the said John Bowman from the prison in the said county of Herkimer, and him safely deliver to the keeper of the said State prison, and that it shall be the duty of the keeper of the said State prison to receive the said John Bowman into the said State prison, and him to keep at hard labor during his natural life.

For any jury to convict a boy only about and not quite nine years of age of murder, there must have been circumstances of a peculiarly malicious character connected with the crime. What were they? Can any one tell? J. O.

EFFECT OF CORPORATE BY-LAWS UPON STRANGERS.

To the Editor of the Albany Law Journal:

SIR.The New York Common Pleas General Term decided in Westervelt v. Radde (New York Daily Register, Nov. 16, 1877), that the trial judge erred in holding "that the president of a corporation could lawfully bind it in the purchase of goods required in its business, notwithstanding there was a resolution to the contrary on its books, unless the plaintiff had notice of such resolution," and for this alleged error the judgment directed at trial term was reversed. This decision is certainly of great importance, for it requires all persons dealing with a corporation to inform themselves in advance of every by-law and resolution placing restraints upon the apparent authority of its officers.

The decision is also entitled to much respect, because it comes from a learned court and was written by a pains-taking judge, but its importance will justify a brief reference to what seems to be the only reported cases directly in point.

The Supreme Court of North Carolina, in deciding Smith v. N. C. R. R. Co. (68 N. C. 117), said: "The by-laws of the company enact that no contract shall be binding on it unless ratified or approved by the president or board of directors. It is evidenced that this was not intended to apply to the ordinary contracts for freight and passage, which, from their nature and number, could not be so ratified, but only to contracts beyond the usual business of the company. Besides, the by-laws of a corporation are not evidence for it against strangers who deal with it, unless brought home to their knowledge."

In the Royal Bank of India's case (L. R., 4 Ch. 252), the court were of opinion that a certain by-law of the corporation could not affect the rights of a person dealing with the directors in ignorance of such by-law.

In the G. W. R. Co. v. Goodman (11 Eng. L. & Eq. R. 546), it was held that the company could not relieve itself from liability under a by-law unless knowledge of it was brought home to the person sought to be affected thereby.

The same rule applies to the certification of checks by bank tellers (16 N. Y. 125, 14 id. 623, 19 id. 152). The election of a president by a corporation seems in itself to be a holding out of one clothed with the usual and ordinary powers belonging to the office, and the

Judgment affirmed, with costs-McParlin v. Boynton; Cassedy v. Anthony; Hunter v. American Popular Ins. Co.; Dolan v. The President, Managers, etc.,、 of The Delaware, etc., Canal Co.; Underwood v. Farmers' Joint Stock Ins. Co.; Harrington v. Robertson; King v. Livermore; Burrows v. Whitaker; Gould v. Town of Oneouta; Shand, Ex., etc., v. Handley.Judgment reversed and new trial granted, costs to abide event-Ten Broeck v. Sherrill; Merritt v. The Village of Portchester.. Order of General and Special Term reversed and motion denied, without costs - In re Attorney-General v. Continental Life Ins. Co. (In re Petition Merrill).- - Order reversed and appli cation denied, with costs- In re Marsh.

THE

NOTES.

Fall announcements of Baker, Voorhis & Company include a number of interesting subjects, not least among which is Mr. Abbott's "Trial Evidence," a book which ought to be a vade mecum for every lawyer who tries a cause. Mr. McMaster has completed his Digest of the Law of Railways and it will soon appear. A good digest of the railway cases is needed and will be welcomed. Mr. Bump, whose notes on the bankrupt law have been so popular, is applying the same method to the Constitution of the United States. The same enterprising publishers will shortly issue Sedgwick's Leading Cases in the Law of Damages; Vol. VI of Daly's Common Pleas Reports, and a new edition of Green's Brice's Ultra Vires. They have besides several other works in preparation by Mr. Daniels, Mr. Sedgwick, Mr. Waterman and Mr. Sprague.

- Wm. Gould & Son have nearly ready the Digest to Moak's English Reports, which will cover very completely all the English cases of interest in this country between 1872 and 1877. They will also shortly publish the third volume of Wait's Actions and Defenses, a work which young men will find a very tolerable substitute for a large library. - Callaghan & Company announce as ready the initial volume of a series of Criminal Reports, after the plan of the series undertaken by the late Mr. St. John Green. They have also in press the second volume of Von Holst's Constitutional History, a work of rare merit; Roscher's Political Economy; a treatise on Torts, by Judge Cooley; Lewis on Eminent Domain; Wells on Replevin; Brandt on Suretyship and Guaranty, and Sutherland on Damages.

American Law, and a Digest of the Law of Trademarks. Thompson & Stevenson, the enterprising publishers of the Central Law Journal, though youngest in the field of publishers, display energy and activity that some of their elders might profitably imitate. Besides their numerous and valuable and valuable they certainly are- - Monographs, they announce a new work on Contracts, by Joel Prentice Bishop, who seldom makes a book that is not a very good book; and a treatise on the Law of Notice, by W. P. Wade. — John D. Parsons, Jr., has ready a new treatise on the Law of Corporations, by George W. Field, Esq., the author of a treatise on the Law of Damages. We have examined the advance sheets of Mr. Field's work, and do not hesitate to say that it will be found exhaustive and thorough. That a new work on this subject was needed is evidenced by the fact that a recent catalogue spoke of some three or four different authors as engaged upon it. Mr. Field has covered the ground very satisfactorily. The same publisher will shortly issue a Commentary on the Law of Lunacy, by Prof. John Ordronaux, State Commissioner in Lunacy and professor of medical jurisprudence in Columbia Law School. The author's official experience as well as his training and studies have given him exceptional advantages in reaping this field of jurisprudence. The work will treat of the judicial aspects of insanity, both in their civil and criminal relations, with the medical reasons which can be defended and have been sustained in courts of justice in support of such judicial decisions. The work will not only contain a thorough and exhaustive statement of the law relating to lunacy, including testamentary and testimonial capacity, contracts and criminal responsibility, but it will also form a complete manual of practice.

The California Supreme Court has been occupied for a year or more, with a case against a little woman, fifty-five years old, named Crowel, alias Galiusky, the matter involved being about $30,000 worth of property. A decision was reached a few days ago, and the little old lady gets the benefit of it. She had sold all her jewelry and spare clothing to raise money for the payment of her counsel, and for some time before the decision was rendered, was actually obliged to beg for bread. Her good fortune was announced to her upon the street, as she was on her way to borrow money to buy bread for the next few days, and the intelligence overcame her to such a degree that she fainted. From the return of the Chief Registrar for Ireland, it appears that in that country, in 1874, there were 324 bankruptcies, with debts to the amount of £1,012,000; in 1879, 324 bankruptcies, and £598,147 debts; in 1876. 285 bankruptcies, and £1,030,000 debts. In 1874, there were 288 arranging traders, with £1,333,000 debts; in 1875, 310 arranging traders, with £1,638,000 debts; in 1876, 309 arranging traders, with £2,835,000 debts. In the three years there were more than eight millions sterling lost by the solvent.

Montaigne relates a curious story illustrative of the horrible pedantry of the bench in his day. A man was condemned to death. His innocence was afterward proved by the confession of the real criminals. Yet the judges met and decided that execution must take place, for it was better to sacrifice an innocent man than endanger respect to law. The man was accordingly hanged.- A librarian, at the recent conference

of librarians, in England, communicated the singular fact that the best customers for novels are the lawyers.- It is stated that the German chancellor has proposed to the Federal council the establishment of twelve maritime courts for inquiry into accidents at sea, to sit respectively at Koenigsberg, Danzig, Stettin, Straulsund, Rostock, Lubeck, Flensburg, Tonning, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Brake, and Emden. Each of these courts will have jurisdiction over a certain defined portion of the German coast.

A quaint civic custom, annually observed on Allhallows' Eve, was gone through, on October 31, at the office of Sir Frederick Pollock, the Queen's Remembrancer, in Chancery Lane. It referred to the appearance of the late sheriffs to account, and as to rent services due to the Crown to be rendered on behalf of the corporation of London. The secondary (Mr. De Jersey), the city solicitor (Mr. T. J. Nelson), and Mr. Farrar, the late under-sheriff, attended on behalf of the city. The warrants having been filed and recorded, this proclamation was made; "Tenants and occupiers of a piece of waste ground called 'The Moors, in the county of Salop, come forth and do your service." The city solicitor then came forward and cut one fagot with a hatchet and another with a billhook. Then came another proclamation: "Tenants and occupiers of a certain tenement called 'The Forge,' in the parish of St. Clement's Dames, in the county of Middlesex, come forth and do your service." The city solicitor upon that advanced and counted six horseshoes and sixty-one nails, the Queen's remembrancer saying, when he had finished, "Good number." With this the ceremony came to a close. This is one of the three remaining " tenures by grand serjeantry," the other two being a flag to the Queen from the Duke of Marlborough on the anniversary of the battle of Blenheim, and the other from the Duke of Wellington for Strathfieldsaye on the anniversary of Waterloo.

Human nature is much the same the world over, as the following bit from Punch will serve to show: "The jury then retired to consider their verdict. Foreman-Well, gentlemen, what shall it be? For the defendant or the plaintiff? I say for the plaintiff, damages £1,000. Number Two-Nonsense; you mean the defendant. He was in the right, and nothing shall make me give in, if I stay here all night. Number Three-Don't say that; because I have a dinnerparty at seven. Number Four - And I promised my wife to be back by six. Number Five-I say ditto to Mr. Foreman. Only make it a farthing damages. Nothing shall move me from that. Number Six — Which was the plaintiff? Number Seven-Why, the one who refused to pay the bill, don't you know? Number Eight-Lor' bless me, I thought he was the defendant. Number Nine-Come, gentlemen, it's getting late. Make up your minds. I don't care which you give it for, in fact, I thought both sides in the wrong. Number Ten - Did you! I thought both sides in the right. Number Eleven-It's no use talking. I tell you I mean to stick to the defendant. Number Twelve- And I to the plaintiff. Damages £1,000. Not a penny, mind you, not a penny less. ForemanI see, gentlemen, we must decide it in the usual way. I will toss the shilling, if you will be good enough to cry heads or tails. * * *The jury returned after a few minutes' absence. Verdict for the plaintiff damages forty shillings.

THE

ALBANY, DECEMBER 8, 1877.

CURRENT TOPICS.

President's Message refers to but a single matter of special interest to the profession, namely, the suggestions made by the AttorneyGeneral in his report in respect to the condition of business in the various Federal courts. The President says that the "pressure of business in the Supreme Court and in certain Circuit Courts of the United States is now such that serious delays, to the great injury and even oppression of suitors, occur, and a remedy should be sought for this condition of affairs. Whether it will be found in the plan briefly sketched in the report, of increasing the number of the judges of the Circuit Courts, and by means of this addition to the judicial force, of creating an intermediate court of errors and appeals, or whether some other mode can be devised for obviating the difficulties which now exist," he leaves to the consideration of Congress. It is probable, considering the general appreciation of the necessity of a thorough change in the Federal judiciary system, that either the bill prepared by Senator Davis, of Illinois, or some other embracing like provisions, will become a law. It would be well if, at the same time, the system of procedure in the Federal courts could be simplified and brought into harmony with modern ideas on the subject, but of that we have little hope. If the courts are properly reorganized it will be as much as we can expect from the present Congress.

In the reports of the heads of departments other than that of Justice, we note only these matters: The Secretary of the Treasury suggests legislation for the benefit of those having small savings which now go into savings banks. He does not recommend national savings banks, but the issue of certificates for small deposits by the government, directly, such certificates to be convertible into four per cent bonds; in other words, a modified form of a government savings bank. The Secretary of the Interior recommends legislation in respect to government timber lands, and seems satisfied with the operation of the existing laws upon other subjects. The Postmaster-General, as is usual, suggests extensive changes in postal legislation, some of which are plainly necessary.

VOL. 16.- No. 23.

The bankrupt law was not repealed at the special session, and we hardly expected that it would be, although the majority of the members of both houses favored a repeal. There is, however, plenty of time for a careful consideration of the matter at the present session, and we are confident that such consideration will be given. If, after hearing all the arguments which can be advanced both for and against repeal, the two houses determine to retain the law as it is, or in an amended form, we will be satisfied, but we know that if the whole subject is fairly understood by representatives and senators, ried out, that law is substantially nothing but a the bankrupt law is doomed. As it is usually carlegalized plan for plunder, and no modifications or amendments can deprive it of this character, though they may, in some degree, diminish its power for harm.

The last number of the New York Evangelist contains an extended account of proceedings in a Chinese criminal court, witnessed by the editor of that paper, with a description of criminal procedure in China, which presents that system in a light somewhat different from that in which people here have been accustomed to regard it. We have always believed that Chinese justice was blind, unreasonable and cruel, and that, while an upright and virtuous citizen would probably not fall under the ban of the law, there were no certain safeguards such as exist here making it sure that he would not do so. But, according to the editor of the Evangelist, Chinese trials, while conducted in a manner foreign to our ideas of propriety, are formal trials, the purpose of which is to ascertain truly whether the accused is guilty of the crime charged. Witnesses are, as a rule, not examined, and the proceeding is principally between the judge and the accused. The accused has no counsel, and the judge determines both the law and the facts of the case. There is no unkindness of manner toward the prisoner, but what he has to say is heard patiently and respectfully. He is, however, presumed guilty of the offense charged instead of innocent, as with us. In this, however, the law of China does not differ from the rule prevailing in practice in the courts of France. Torture is used to extort confessions, but this seems to be confined to capital cases, where punishment cannot be inflicted until the accused admits that he is guilty. We should infer, however, that torture is not resorted to until the court is satisfied from other sources that the prisoner is guilty. Indeed, the interview between the prisoner and judge is in every case probably only a single event in the trial, the rest of which has been conducted in the absence of the prisoner. The use of torture is believed, even by Europeans familiar with China, to be necessary, as there is no dependence to be placed on the testimony of witnesses. The results of the Chinese

system are said to be satisfactory, life and property being as safe in the cities there as in London or New York.

The English newspapers have been lately indulging in comparisons between the English and French judiciary, the occasion being the more than usual number of appointments to the bench in England and Ireland made during the past few months. In England, as here, the judges of the superior courts are chosen from the bar, while in France they are taken from a separate class. To the lawyers, and probably to the more intelligent among the people generally, the English method of selection would appear to be preferable. The daily business of the advocate renders him not only familiar with the law in its details and application, but it makes known to him the difficulties which surround suitors in bringing the matters in which they are interested before the courts. A judge who has had no experience at the bar knows only half the law, and that the less essential half. Yet it is claimed that the French system has advantages. A judge who has never acted as counsel is not as liable to take sides in a controversy before him, as one who has so acted, and, therefore, his feelings will not control or bias his decision. Being trained from youth with a view to the bench, he acquires habits which peculiarly fit him for the performance of judicial duties, and he knows how to do his work from the beginning. Besides, in the French courts, where the judge exercises the functions of the jury, a larger judicial force is necessary, and it is not thought possible to secure the needed number of competent persons from the bar. There is also this in the French system: A French court of justice, whether it arrives at a decision unanimously or by a majority, never betrays any difference of opinion in its judgments, and its adjudications are not weakened in authority by the egotism or self assertion of non-concurring members. In this respect the French courts are worthy of imitation. Still, with all its imperfections, we would rather trust to the decision of an English court on most questions, and we suspect that the French themselves regard the English judiciary with higher respect than they do their own.

The question whether suicide of itself is evidence of insanity has frequently arisen in actions upon life insurance policies where the defense was, that the insured had died by his own hand, in violation of a condition in the policy, and the defense was sought to be avoided by proof that when the act was committed, the insured was insane, and the act was not his own, and did not come within the condition. In two cases appearing in our abstracts this week, one decided in the New York Court of Appeals (Weed v. Mutual Benefit Life Ins. Co.), and the other in the United States Supreme Court (Charter Oak

Life Ins. Co. v. Rodel), the question is answered in the negative, both courts holding that sanity, and not insanity, is presumable; that the burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show that the deceased was insane, and that the suicidal act alone is not sufficient to establish insanity. This is in accordance with the rule adhered to by the courts in numerous cases (Terry v. Mutual Ins. Co., 1 Dill. 403; Coffee v. Home Life Ins. Co., 35 N. Y. Super. 314, etc., etc.), but such rule seems a severe one. The question of insanity in such instances is one of fact, and could be safely left to the jury.

The nomination of Mr. Harlan as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court was confirmed last week, but a motion to reconsider was made and laid on the table. The termination of the extra session without action on the motion to reconsider resulted in an absolute confirmation. We do not understand that there was any question made as to the ability of Judge Harlan - that was conceded; the hitch was as to the shade of his "Republicanism." The nomination of Mr. Baxter to the Sixth Circuit was not acted upon.

Congress closed the special session just in time to enable it to reconvene for the regular one. The past session will be remembered rather for what it did not do than for what it did. Called chiefly for the purpose of providing funds for carrying on the government, it undertook to legislate about every thing conceivable. It is stated that over eighteen hundred bills were introduced, almost all of which came to naught. It is to be hoped that most of them will never see light again.

NOTES OF CASES.

IN Williar v. Baltimore Butchers' Loan Association,

45 Md. 546, plaintiff, having paid usurious interest, brought action to recover back the same under the provisions of a statute of Maryland which declared that a person guilty of usury shall forfeit all the excess above the principal sum and the legal interest thereon, "which forfeiture shall inure to the benefit of any defendant who shall plead usury and prove the same." Pending the suit, an act was passed by the legislature of Maryland, taking away a right of action for usury where the same has been paid. It was claimed that this act took away plaintiff's right of action, but the court held that the plaintiff had a vested right in such cause of action, and it was beyond the constitutional power of the legislature to take it away. The court say that the excess of interest which might be recovered back was not a forfeiture, but was money belonging to plaintiff, in the hands of defendant, the right of action for which was not conferred by the statute, but