Injury to a passenger who, in attempting to have creased. In 1819 it was made the Marine Court, her baggage checked, is knocked down in a pass- and in 1846 the office was made elective. Among ageway leading from the ticket office or waiting those who served on the bench of the court were room to the baggage room, by cabmen who, in A. A. Phillips, Charles C. Birdsall, Arba K. Maysport, are scuffling on the passageway, is held, in nard, Florence McCarthy, A. J. Dittenhoefer, Exton v. Central Railroad Company of New Jer- Michael C. Gross, Henry Alker, Edmund L. sey (N. J. Err. & App. [56 L. R. A. 508]), to ren- Hearne, George M. Curtis, George Shea, Philip J. der the railroad company liable, where the occur- Joachimson, William H. Tracy, Alexander Spauldrence of similar conduct on the part of the cabman ing, David McAdanı, Ernest Hall, Edward F. to the annoyance and injury of passengers was Browne, Granville P. Hawes, James P. Sinnott, known, or should have been known, to the Charles J. Nehrbras and T. P. Hyatt. The name company. of the Marine Court was changed to the City Court in 1882, and its jurisdiction was increased. In 1894 the constitutional convention enacted a provision allowing the General Term of the City Court to remain in existence, and it had the distinction of being the only court in the State that had the right to have appeals from its own judgments and orders reviewed from its own appellate bench. This continued until the passage of the act of 1902, which provides that after the September term all appeals from the City Court shall be heard directly in the first instance by the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, of the First Judicial Department.- New York Times, September 30. Damages for mere mental suffering caused by failure to promptly deliver a telegram are held, in Connelly v. Western Union Teleg. Co. (Va. [56 L. R. A. 663]), not to be recoverable either at common law or under statutes imposing penalties for failure to promptly transmit and deliver telegrams, authorizing the recovery of damages sustained by reason of the violation of the statute, and making telegraph companies liable for special damages occasioned in transmitting or delivering dispatches, in determining the quantum of which, grief and mental anguish may be considered. An application for a charter by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, was refused recently by Judge Arnold, in the Common Pleas Court, Philadelphia. Judge Arnold said, in his opinion: "The charter applied for in this case covers a double purpose a charter and a business. We have power to grant a charter for a church, but we have no authority to grant a charter for a corporation for profit, that is, a business corporation." The court quoted from the text-book of Mary Baker G. Eddy instructing Christian Scientists to sell and circulate the publications of Mrs. Eddy, failure to do which shall be sufficient cause for expulsion from membership in the church. "This shows," says the court, "that the so-called church is a corporation for profit, organized to enforce the sale of Mrs. Eddy's books by its members, which is a matter of business and not of religion. As the courts have no power to charter such a corporation, the application for a charter is refused." The existence of the General Term of the City Court of the city of New York terminated September 30, in accordance with the provisions of an act passed by the last session of the Legislature. When the General Term of the court met re On January 2, 1900, Governor Roosevelt assigned Justice Werner, now the Republican nominee, to the Court of Appeals bench. The occasion for the appointment arose from the overcrowded condition of the Court of Appeals calendar. A constitutional amendment was adopted at the election of 1899, giving the Governor power to assign four justices of the Supreme Court to sit on the Court of Appeals bench to assist the judges of the higher court. The promotion did not create a vacancy in the lower court, as Justice Werner will ultimately return to his former duties if he fails of re-election in November. The new amendment permitted the assignment of four judges, but the Court of Appeals judges informed the Governor that three would be sufficient. The other two judges promoted were Judson S. Landon, of Schenectady, and Edgar M. Cullen, of Brooklyn; the latter was a Democrat. The Court of Appeals is composed of a chief judge and its associate for two years past. All of the judges of the present judges, and there have been nine associate judges court sit for the first two weeks, then three of the associate judges go off the bench for the purpose cently, Judge McCarthy presiding, Max Altmayer of writing opinions and their places are taken by was recognized, and addressed the court at length on its origin and history. It was created, he said, in 1787, and reconstructed in 1797. Again, in 1804, there was a change, the governor being directed to appoint eight members. There was another change in 1807, the powers of the court being in the new judges. At the end of two weeks more the three more original associate judges go off, they having sat four weeks, and their places are taken by three judges who first went off. At the end of six weeks the court takes a week's recess and this has been followed for last year and this year. In every seven weeks the court sat six weeks and each judge served four weeks on the bench and had three weeks in which to write opinions. Formerly the court remained in session four weeks and then took a recess of three weeks. The new plan will be continued in practice until the end of the year. There were 880 appeals pending before the Court of Appeals when these three temporary designations were made. It is estimated that the enlarged court will be able to clear the calendar at the end of the present year. On Thursday, September 18, 1902, the Governor appointed Norris S. Barratt, Esq., who had already been nominated by both the Republican and Democratic conventions for judge of Court of Common Pleas, No. 2, for the full term, to fill Judge Pennypacker's unexpired term, says the Philadelphia Legal Intelligencer. Mr. Barratt was born August 23, 1862, studied law in the office of Christian Kneass, Esq., and afterwards under Lewis Massey, Esq., and was admitted to the bar in 1883. In 1891 he was appointed one of the assistant city solicitors, a position which he filled with energy and ability, and in which he made many friends by his uniform kindly treatment of all having business with him in the department. He apparently regarded himself as a public servant, and was possessed with a perfectly honest desire to make himself useful, a view of his position which was very keenly appreciated by many of his professional brethren who were brought in contact with him while he remained in the city solicitor's office. In January, 1902, he was appointed first assistant district attorney. Mr. Barratt is well known as a man of high character, energy, large common sense, admirable judicial temperament and decided business capacity, and there would seem to be every reason to believe that his selection will prove eminently satisfactory to the bar, and that he may develop judicial qualities of a high order. English Botes. Mr. Hawkins, the late tipstaff at the Law Courts, when he died from cancer was engaged (says the London correspondent of the Sheffield Daily Telegraph) in writing his reminiscences, with special regard to a number of famous arrests he had made. Mr. Hawkins was the last of the tipstaffs. He had been appointed to supersede a tipstaff who, while enjoying the favor of the judges, had been so careless that he allowed five or six prisoners to escape at different times. The appointment was worth £140 a year, and carried with it a room at the Law Courts. Now that it is abolished, when any person is ordered into custody by the judges one of the silver-capped officials of the court takes him in charge, and carries him off to Holloway. Many strange experiences have been connected with the ancient office of tipstaff and a volume of reminiscences would undoubtedly be interesting. A day or two ago, at the Old Bailey, counsel, who had been prevented by indisposition from being in court when his client was arraigned, but arrived just when the trial was concluded (luckily, to the satisfaction of the defendant), modestly remarked: "Perhaps I have saved my client from conviction by not defending him." This recalls (says the Pall Mall Gazette) the story of a witty barrister, who was asked on returning from circuit how he had got on. "Well," was the reply, "I saved the lives of two or three prisoners." "Then you defended them for murder? 'No," was the rejoinder, "I prosecuted them for it." Although enjoying all the benefits of a written Constitution, the United States possess likewise, similarly to ourselves, numerous unwritten rules on Democrats alike religiously observe, says the Law questions of government which Republicans and Times. As is well known, the precedent set by Washington of refusing to be nominated for a third term as president has been followed ever since, although a half-hearted attempt was made to set it at nought for the special benefit of General Grant. Washington considered it inexpedient and undemocratic that one man should hold the highest office for a lengthened period, and his views on the subject have met with the general approbation of his have taken care to prevent any "divinity" from countrymen. In other ways, too, the Americans hedging their presidents; for example, they have always declined to allow the effigy of their chief magistrate for the time being to appear on their postage stamps. A person who has held the presidential office must have been dead for a decent interval before he attains this posthumous honor. Thus we find that the late President Harrison, whose little book on the Constitution of the United States is an admirable introduction to all that pertains to the government of his country, is only now to reach this dignity, it having been determined to print his head on certain denominations of the stamps which in extraordinarily large numbers have just been contracted for by the United States post-office. A congress, under the auspices of the International Literary and Artistic Association, will be held shortly at Naples. The program is long, and many special reports, interesting to men of letters, have been prepared. Of these (writes a correspondent of the Morning Post) the principal deal with the question of copyright in the United States and the printing there of works by foreign authors, and with the much discussed subject of the duration of authors' rights and the rights of the paying public. in regard to these matters there are crying grievances which look for remedy. According to the law of the United States, on the day of publication in the country of its origin two copies of each book must be delivered at the office of the librarian of arranged that experts could not possibly confuse congress in Washington, such copies to be printed the one with the other. Thus, if Sergeant Collins from type set up in the United States, otherwise the had brought to him a finger print which he had book will remain unprotected. Again, in regard to never seen before, he would know at once to what the rights of authorship, the law which permits the division and subdivision it belonged, and could at heirs of a deceased author to enjoy the fruits of his once proceed to a particular pigeon-hole, where he toil for a limited term of years merely is manifestly would be certain to find the identical print if it was unfair. With the law as it is it is only natural that among the records at all. On this evidence mainly writers should prefer the temporal power of hauling the prisoner was convicted. The practice of taking in guineas, to the abiding certainty of working for finger prints for the purpose of identifying habitual guineas in the future which will swell any but the criminals was, we believe, one of the methods introfamily pocket. duced by M. Bertillon and adopted in France, and it was stated at the trial that it had been extensively practiced in India. One does not hear much of the The practice of Judge Shortt, who never hears a solicitor without a gown, will, says the St. James's practical results of section 8 of the Penal Servitude Gazette, call to the legal mind many odd customs Act of 1891, which enables the Secretary of State which still linger at some courts. It is said and to make regulations for the measuring and photoit was certainly the case within the last ten years graphing of all prisoners who may for the time being that the judges attending the Newcastle Assizes are be confined in any prison. In France, for the purstill waited upon by the mayor and corporation at pose of measurement, the criminals are divided into the end of their session and presented with a "piece three classes-short, middle-sized and tall-and of money" to buy a dagger to defend themselves each of these classes is subdivided into three subfrom the Scots who "much and often infest the classes according to the measure of the head, and border country." No Scotsman, so far as one knows, again into sub-classes according to the dimensions of has ever protested against the libellous perpetration | the fore-arm, the length of the left middle finger, the of this relic of medieval custom, but a witty judge who received a coin of James I from the mayor some years ago, took occasion to doubt whether the Scots had been troublesome on the borders lately. whether daggers for the protection of his suite could be purchased in Newcastle, and whether the coins given him were legal tender. One of the little worries of the Newcastle corporation is in the buying up of these "pieces of money." There was a rather interesting case tried at the length of the left foot, and the length of the little finger. It is said that only once in 100,000 cases do two persons correspond in all these dimensions, and then there comes in, in aid of identification, the color of the eyes, which is carefully recorded. Notwithstanding the statements made at the recent trial, this appears to be a somewhat safer method of identifying an habitual criminal than the mere im pression of a thumb. Central Criminal Court on Saturday last, in which the City Press. A certain offender found this out to Judges are not often to be caught by flattery, says finger-prints were given in evidence in order to his cost when appearing before Sir Ralph Littler. connect a prisoner with the crime with which he was charged, says the Solicitor's Journal. A house had been entered by burglars, and some billiard balls stolen. One of the burglars had left imprints of his fingers, and a particularly plain imprint of his left thumb, on the newly-painted window sills. Sergeant Collins, an expert in finger prints, took photographs of the prints, and, on examining them with some prints in the possession of the police of the prisoner's fingers, he came to the conclusion that both were from the same hand. The jury were shown enlarged photographs of the three prints — that taken some years ago and preserved amongst the records at Scotland Yard; that taken from the window-sill of the house which was broken into, and that taken in prison on the 30th of August. It was stated that no two individuals ever had the same finger marks; that the corrugations on the human digits never altered from youth to old age; and that they were to be found after death, and even thousands of years after death, if decay had been prevented, as in the case of the Egyptian mummies. For facilitating reference, the finger prints of criminals were divided and subdivided into various classes and sub-classes, each known by a separate name, and so When the case against him had closed, and he was asked whether he had any defence to make, he responded by handing in a lengthy statement, in the course of which he expressed gratification at the honor conferred on Sir Ralph by his majesty, and delicately alluded to the fact that in the good old days it was the practice for the recipients of the tributing largesse. A lenient sentence, he added, he King's favor to show their gratification by diswould regard as an equivalent in the present case. Sir Ralph, unfortunately for the accused, did not appreciate the subtlety of the argument, and promptly passed a sentence characterized rather by severity than by the lenience so artfully pleaded. Bumorous Side of the Law. "Never cross-examine an Irishman," advised a prominent lawyer. "Yes; I'm speaking from experience," he continued. "The only witness who ever made me throw up my hands and leave the court room was a green Irishman. A shunter had been killed by an express train, and the widow was suing for damages. I was engaged by the railway com pany, and had a good case, but made the mistake of State in a case of larceny, in which Mr. Howe's trying to turn the main witness inside out. "In his quaint way he had given a graphic description of the fatality, occasionally shedding tears and calling on the saints. Among other things, he swore positively that the locomotive whistle was not sounded until after the whole train had passed over his departed friend. Then I thought I had him. "See here, McGinnis,' said I. 'You admit that the whistle blew?' "Yis, sorr; it blew, sorr.' "Now, if that whistle sounded in time to give Michael warning, the fact would be in favor of the company, would it not?' client entered a plea of mistaken identity. It took three days to try the case, and notwithstanding this fact the jury had been deliberating upon their verdict less than five minutes when they returned to the court room. The unusual rapidity with which the jury returned to the court room in a case which had taken several days to try astounded the lawyers, and Blumenthal good-naturedly wagered a box of cigars with Howe that the verdict would be in favor of defendant. Just then the presiding judge asked of the jury the formal question: Gentlemen of the jury, have you agreed upon "Yis, sorr; and Mike would be testifyn' here this a verdict?" Upon which the foreman of the jury "I phresume thot the whistle wor for the nixt defendant is not guilty, and we remand the defendman on the thrack, sorr.' It was several years ago, while Assemblyman James T. Rogers was a struggling young attorney at the Broome county bar, that he was engaged to defend an Irishman who was indicted on the charge of murder. That was before the young lawyer ever dreamed of sitting in the Albany "House of Commons" or had aspirations for the speakership of the assembly. He accordingly took the Irishman's case on payment of a retainer of $100 and the understanding that $200 more was to be paid if the fellow was acquitted. The young attorney secured an acquittal on the ground of temporary insanity at the time the crime was committed. It was several months before he saw his client again. Meeting the Irishman on the street one day he stopped him, when the following conversation followed: "Well, Pat, isn't it about time you paid me that cther $200?" "Faith, an' what two hoonderd is thot?" ant to the mercy of the court." Amid the laughter and consternation in the courtroom that followed this announcement the court ordered the jury back to redeliberate, but after four hours they reported their inability to "change the verdict," and they were then discharged.— N. Y. Times. During a severe rain storm, the six-year-old son of an Albany lawyer heard his mother express fear that the heavy hailstones beating against the window panes would break them. The youngster earnestly said to her: "Don't worry, mamma; God does it, and if He breaks the windows you can sue Him for damages." The above is an actual fact.— Albany Argus. A New Hampshire judge has in his possession the following letter sent to him by an old farmer who had been notified that he had been drawn as a juror for a certain term of court: Deer Jedge. I got your letter tellin' me to come to manchester an' do dooty on the joory an' i rite "Why, the $200 that you promised to pay me for you these fue lines to let you know that you'll have saving your worthless neck." "Sure, an' did Oi promise thot; Oi don't ramimber?" "Why, Pat, you know you promised it." Pat scratched his head in perplexity for a minute. then looked up with a beaming smile as he outlawed the claim with the explanation: to git some one else for it ain't so that I kin leave home now. I got to do some butcherin' an' sort over a lot of apples just about the time the joory will be settin' in your court. Si Jackman of this town says that he would soon as not go, fer he ain't nothin' else to do jest now, so you better send fer him. I hate the worst way not to oblidge you, but it ain't so I kin at present. Ennyhow I ain't much on the law, never havin' been a jooryman 'ceptin' when old Bud Stiles got killed by the cars here some Among the many stories that are going around years ago when I was one that sat on the boddy with about the late William F. Howe is one that relates koroner. So you better send for Si Jackman, for he to an experience that he had with Maurice B. has got some kin in manchesster he wants to vissit Blumenthal when the latter was assistant district anyhow, and he'd be willin' to go fer his car fare attorney in this county. The two lawyers had there and back. Ancer back if you want Si.appeared respectively for the defendant and the Lippincott's. "Oh, well, but ye know Oi was crazy thin.". N. Y. Times. Albany Law The Albany A Monthly Record of the Law and the Lawyers. Published by THE ALBANY LAW JOURNAL COMPANY, Albany, N. Y. Contributions, items of news about courts, judges and lawyers queries or comments, criticisms on various law questions, addresses solicited from members of the bar and those interested in legal on legal topics, or discussions on questions of timely interest, are proceedings. [All communications intended for the Editor should be addressed simply to the Editor of THE ALBANY LAW JOURNAL. All letters should be addressed to THE ALBANY LAW JOURNAL COMPANY.] relating to advertisements, subscriptions or other business matters Subscription price, Three Dollars per aunum, in advance. Single number, Twenty-five Cents. ALBANY, N. Y., NOVEMBER, 1902. Current Topics. Elsewhere in this issue we embrace the last ciple of an elective judiciary have been and partisanship of the bench is more important than their own partisanship, do their duty, this wholesome and exemplary result can be achieved. If it is not achieved, it will be because the lawyers do not take enough interest in the political impartiality of the bench." This is plain talk which exactly fits the case. Let the lawyers of New York unite to rebuke this impudent attempt to inject more politics into the highest court of the State. opportunity before the coming election to give some additional reasons why Judge John Clinton Gray should be re-elected to the bench of the Court of Appeals of this State. While it is true that the action of the Republican State convention in violating all precedent by refusing a renomination to Judge Gray, has not received the attention it deserves from the bar and the public, there are signs that an organized and effective protest is to be entere:1. That the people of the State firmly believe in an untrammeled judiciary and will not tolerate any undermining of its independence, has been clearly indicated, and we hope they will show it on the 4th of this month when they enter the voting booths to perform their duties as freemen. No less influential a paper than the New York Times does not stop at censure of Senator Platt, the Republican "boss," for this very grave violation of a wholesome precedent, but even thinks that Judge Werner, the Republican opponent of Judge Gray, is himself highly blameable for allowing himself to be made a candidate at this time, in violation of a rule "which every respectable lawyer recognizes, and which Judge Werner, in his capacity of lawyer, and when such ability and worth are recognized in his capacity of judge, was especially bound by those outside of the city of Albany. to help have enforced. The rule, of course, is Mr. McCall was born in this city on the the rule than an acceptable judge, especially 6th day of January, 1863, and received his of the highest court, whose efficiency has been tested and increased by experience, should be the nominee of both parties when his term ex Edward Everett McCall, of this city, has been nominated for justice of the Supreme Court in the First Judicial District by the Democratic party. It is with great pleasure that we are able to add our modicum of praise to the good judgment which prompted the Democratic party to nominate Mr. McCall for this prominent position on the bench of New York city. It is always a matter of congratulation to Albanians to find that one of their number has been recognized as possessing ability and worth and this is true to a greater extent early education in the public schools and later in the Albany High School, where he was graduated in the class of 1880. This |