A DICTIONARY OF LAW. By Henry Campbell Black, M.A., author of treatises on "Judgments," "Tax Titles," etc. West Publishing Company, St. Paul, Minn. One vol.

Of law

No law library, whether possessing few or many volumes, can be of practical value unless it contains a law dictionary-that is, a concise and yet comprehensive book of definitions of the terms, phrases, and maxims in American and English law; maxims necessary to be understood by the working lawyer and judge, as well as those important to the student of legal history. dictionaries and lexicons there are many, but of the many few there are indeed deserving of merit. Many writers of such a work mistake or lose sight of the object of a dictionary by invading the province of the text-book, thus creating a digest, while others touch upon the field of the English dictionary, thus preventing any degree of conciseness.

One of the chief requirements, second in importance to comprehensiveness, from a practical and labor-saving point of view, is conciseness, and by conciseness we mean not brevity, but the exclusion of everything that is foreign to the true function of a lexicon and of everything that is not the recognized legitimate matter of a dictionary.

These requirements Mr. Black has recognized in the production of his work, and the result has been a law dictionary worthy of the highest commendation and practical appreciation of every student and lawyer. The information contained in its pages is so well classified, and its definitions and deductions, based upon a scholarly and thorough investigation, so accurate, that it becomes at once a standard and will, without a doubt, supersede all other American law dictionaries.

THE CORPORATION PROBLEM. By William W. Cook, of the New York Bar, author of "A Treatise on Stock, Stockholders, and General Corporation Law." One vol., 261 pages. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1891.

The "Corporation Problem," the problem embracing the uses, abuses, benefits, dangers, wealth, and powers of corporations, is one of general interest to the community and of special interest to the profession. In the preparation of that well-known work, "A Treatise on Stock, Stockholders, and General Corporation Law," its author, Mr. William W. Cook, became familiar with many facts and principles relative to corporations, which, however, did not come within the scope of a work on law. The law of corporations is a subject distinct from that of the public plans and business methods of corporations, so accordingly the author separated the two, and, having completed a treatise on the former, he now presents a book on the latter. This work shows evidence of much labor and study of its subject, so much so that the result has been a treatise which will prove of great interest and value to lawyers and economists. The following are a few of the titles contained in this work: "Various Controversies to which Corporations have Given Rise," "Remedies of the Railroad Problem," "Corporations as the Owners of Natural Monopolies," "Trusts," "Corporations and the Republic." It is useless to comment upon the author's statements and conclusions, as Mr. Cook stands so high as an authority upon this subject.

A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF PERSONAL PROPERTY. By Joseph J. Darlington, LL.D. Philadelphia: T. & J. W. Johnson & Co., 1891.

This treatise by Professor Darlington, of the Georgetown College of Law, is founded upon that celebrated English work by Joshua Williams, Esq. While Mr. Williams' treatise upon this important subject became a useful and standard text-book in England, it did not, however, attain in the United States equal eminence. This was due to the fact that a large proportion of the work was devoted to summarizing modern English statutory provisions, and the decisions under them, both being of little, if any, value or interest here. To adapt, therefore, this valuable book to American students, Professor Darlington has eliminated entirely from the original so much of its text as is inapplicable in the United States, and has added instead a further presentation upon the latest authorities, English and American, of the law of the subjects treated of in the retained text. In addition to this matter, excellent chapters on sundry subjects have been introduced.

Morris F. Morris, LL.D., treats of ships, while those chapters on patents, trademarks, and copyright are written by Robt. G. Dyrenfirth, LL.D., late Acting Commissioner of Patents.

Of the retained parts of Joshua Williams' treatise, it can only be said, that they are unequalled in their concise comprehensiveness, clearness, and accuracy, while the notes of Professor Darlington give evidence of a careful, thorough study and mastery of the adjudicated American cases.

NEGLIGENCE OF IMPOSED DUTIES, PER-
SONAL. By Charles A. Ray, LL.D., Ex-
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
Indiana.
The Lawyers' Co-operative
Publishing Company, Rochester, N. Y.,
1891.

This work is the first volume of a series of text-books upon a subject over which

the greatest amount of most hotly contested litigation is constantly increasing with the development of invention and civilization. Its author, Judge Ray, shows throughout the pages his eminent fitness for an exceedingly discriminating work of this kind, and a glance at any page will prove that the analytical mind of its author, trained by the writing of more than one thousand opinions, has produced a work not of a novice, but one worthy to become one of the legal classics. Every proposition enunciated is fortified with the fullest citation of authorities on the point, including the decisions from all the States, upward of nine thousand cases being cited. This treatise, in which are enumerated the various imposed duties, the law imposing them, and the consequence of their neglect, should indeed be a welcomed convenience to the legal profession.

DIOSSY'S HANDY POCKET EDITION OF THE N. Y. CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE. The Diossy Law-Book Company, New York, 1891.

This edition deserves more than a mere passing notice, not only for the careful annotations of Morris Cooper, but for the care and pains taken in its production. Its type is a clear, legible one, its binding handsome, and for adoption for ready use in court and office it stands, we venture to say, unequalled. This edition contains a correct transcript of the statutes with all the amendments to date; careful annotations of all important cases; prints very conveniently, directly opposite the sections. construed, the latest and best citations, omitting rightly all those obsolete and trivial;

references to all the various sections of the New York Consolidation Act bearing upon the code; and a well-arranged and com

plete index. Mr. Cooper deserves thanks for the thoroughness exhibited in his annotations, and Diossy Law-Book Co. for the carefulness in publishing it.

THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. By Thomas M. Cooley. Second edition by Alexis C. Angell, of the Detroit bar. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1891.

To attempt to review a work of Judge Cooley's on the Federal Constitution would be presumption; to praise and recommend it would be superfluous. The words on the title-page, "by Thomas M. Cooley" carries greater commendation than all the praises. of editors and reviewers. The American Constitution is a subject to which this eminent jurist has devoted a life's study. In this neat, handy volume of 390 pages, the general principles of the Constitution are systematically treated. After dealing with the peculiar functions of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments, the civil rights and political privileges of the American citizen are admirably handled. Though this volume is intended as a manual of the Constitution and not as a digest, it contains citations of many recent leading cases involving constitutional questions. For a convenient and reliable textbook on the American Constitution this work cannot be excelled.

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