PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. THE chief object of the present work is to supply the student with a book upon the subject of Common Law (or, in other words, of the Law as usually administered in the Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer Divisions of the High Court of Justice) which, whilst being elementary and readable on the one hand, yet also goes sufficiently into the subject to prepare the student for examination upon it. The present work is indeed written mainly with a view to the Examinations of the Incorporated Law Society, for which the Author has had considerable experience in reading with students; but at the same time he trusts it may be found useful to those who are adopting the other branch of the profession. The Author does not consider that any apology is necessary for presenting this work, it being new in its design as offering to the student a comparatively short volume combining the plain and popular divisions of "Contracts" and "Torts," and keeping as much as possible from all matters of practice and from Criminal Law, and also from all matters of an exceptional nature, and likely neither to be useful in examination nor in practice. In addition to the two main divisions the Author has added another, in which the subjects of "Damages" and "Evidence" are discussed, as no work on the "Common Law" could be complete without. Besides his chief object, the Author has also had another in view, viz. : to produce a book which may-if not always in itself, yet, at any rate, by aid of the extensive references to either textbooks or cases-form a work useful to the practitioner. In many cases it may-from its very size -be useful for this purpose only as an index; and remembering this, the Author has considered that in many places references to larger textbooks would be preferable to cases, and has acted accordingly; and here he would acknowledge the obligations he is under to the learned authors and editors of the various works he has in the following pages referred to. With these few words the Author sends his work forth to speak for itself and be judged on its merits, assuring his readers that no pains have been spared on his part to insure accuracy, and trusting that his labours may meet with approbation. J. I. 22 CHANCERY LANE, W.C. August, 1876. I. OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONTRACTS; THEIR BREACH AND THE RULES FOR THEIR CON- II. OF SIMPLE CONTRACTS, AND PARTICULARLY OF CASES IN WHICH WRITING IS REQUIRED FOR V. OF MERCANTILE CONTRACTS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE, PROMISSORY NOTES, AND VI. OF SOME PARTICULAR CONTRACTS, IRRESPECTIVE |