CONVEYANCER.

The first conviction under the Contagious Dis- REAL PROPERTY LAWYER AND Vict. c. 51), at 5 per cent. as upon a succession eases (Animals) Act took place on Saturday, before the Guildford magistrates. Mr. J. M. Molyneux, a farmer, was fined 51. and costs for turning out a he fer on Rushets Common, while suffering from the foot and mouth disease.

WOMAN SUFFRAGE.-A Sheffield paper states that the burgess list for that town, just issued, contains among the 31,000 names those of between 3000 and 4000 women.

The resolution lately adopted at a public meeting at Mile-end, calling upon the board of guardians not to enforce the Vaccination Act, has been presented to that body The chairman stated that the guardians had never exercised any of the powers conferred by the Act, for they held it to be their duty to do nothing obnoxious to the flings of the ratepayers. The board petitioned against the measure when it was before Parliament, as an "uncalled-for interference with the liberty of the subject."

One of the magistrates of the county Sligo has been dismissed from the commission of the peace by the Lord Chancellor, notice to that effect

NOTES OF NEW DECISIONS. SUCCESSION DUTY BEQUEST OF MONEY TO BE LAID OUT IN PURCHASE OF LANDEQUITABLE CONVERSION-WHAT DUTY PAYABLE A testator by will in 1799 bequeathed 10,000%. Consols to trustees upon trust, to lay out the principal and the interest moneys arising therefrom in the purchase of real estate, to be settled and assured to the use of his eldest son, Charles, for life, with remainder to the first and other sons of Charles successively in tail male; and, in default of such issue, to the use of testator's son James for life, with remainder to the first and other sons of James successively in tail male; and in default of such issue, then to his own right heirs for ever. Testator died in 1800, leaving his two sons, Charles and James, Charles being the eldest and the heir-at-law. Charles died in 1840, and

from "Susan" as the "predecessor," and not under the Legacy Duty Act. And, per Bramwell, B., that sect. 19 of 36 Geo. 3 was not applicable, and that whether under the one Act or the other, the duty payable on the fund was properly assessed at the rate of 5 per cent. Held also, by Bramwell, Channell, and Cleasby, BB., that the practice laid down by the court in The Marquis of Chandos v. The Commissioners of Inland Revenue, 6 Ex. 461; 20 L. J. 269, Ex., and followed in subsequent cases, should be adhered begin. Kelly, C. B. expressing his opinion that to, and that the counsel for the appellant should the more convenient course would be that, in every case where the Crown desires or seeks to

impose a tax, the counsel for the Crown should begin : (Re De Lancey's Succession, 21 L. T. Rep. N. S. 58. Ex.)

ELEMENTARY PRECEDENTS IN CON

VEYANCING. (a)

having been served on him on Saturday by the James in 1857, each of them dying a bachelor, A Collection of practical Forms designed for pro

clerk of the Crown. A correspondent of Saunders's News Letter says that the gentleman so deprived is Mr. Robert Faussett, of Union Lodge, Colloney. The cause of his removal is his having, at a meeting of the town and harbour commissioners of Sligo, of which body he was a life-elected member. given a sort of challenge to fight a duel to a brother magistrate; and having called another member of the bench a "low chap." The corporation, as a public body, brought his conduct under the notice of the Lord Chancellor, and the result is that he has been superseded.

fessional Use, and suited to the Emergencies of actual Practice, with Notes.

(Continued from page 356.)
RELEASES. (b)

of composition by administrator.

the acts and deeds of the others or other of us, but

and intestate. The 10,000l. was never laid out in the purchase of real estate, but the dividends arising therefrom were paid to Charles and James successively during their respective lives. At James's death the testator's only lineal decendant was his daughter and only surviving child, 155. Releaie by creditors of an intestate on payment Susan, who then became his heir-at-law, and died in 1866, a spinster and intestate, having always refused to receive either dividends or We the undersigned, being respectively creditors of A.B., late of &c., deceased, to the amount of principal of the 10,000. left under her father's the several sums of money placed opposite to our (the testator's) will. Shortly after her death the respective names or firms in the second column principal and interest moneys representing the hereunder written, and paid to us respectively by Lord Stanley presided at the annual general ses- real estate fund were paid into the Court of C.D., of &c., administrator of the said A.B., on sion of the magistrates of Lancashire, held at Chancery, and a suit was instituted for adminPreston. Mr. Aspland submitted a report from istering the same, in which suit the following after the rate of our respectively executing these presents, being in the pound upon the the Standing Reformatory Schools Committee, and said that during the past year the increase of facts were found: That at testator's death his amount of our respective debts mentioned in the adult crime in the country had been 9 per cent., heir-at-law was his eldest son Charles; that said first column, and in full satisfaction of such while in the county of Lancaster the increase had the person now such heir-at-law, and entitled debts, except as is hereinafter provided, do hereby been 29 per cent. In England and Wales there had to any real estate of which the testator might for ourselves respectively, and for our respective heirs, executors, administrators, and partnership been an advance of 46 in juvenile crime, while in heve died intestate, was Edward F. De L., a Lancashire the advance had been 20-7. There was grandson of the testator's brother. That at firms, and not one of us for the other of us, or for a very extraordinary difference between Lancashire Charles's death his heir-at-law was his brother each and every of us doth hereby for himself and for and the rest of England, and it perhaps might be James; and that at James's death his heir-at-his own acts, heirs, executors, administrators, and explained by the want of reformatory accommoda- law was his sister Susan; and that at Susan's partnership firms only, covenant with and declare tion which now existed. A considerable number death her heir-at-law was the said Edward F. to the said C.D., his executors and administrators, of children had been sent to reformatories. Lan- De L., who was the heir-at-law of the said that this present covenant shall operate and enure, cashire paid only 20 per cent. of the maintenance as compared with other counties paying 24. In Charles, James, and Susan respectively, and the and may be pleaded in bar as a good and effectual Lancashire there were some 24 per cent. of chil- person entitled to any real estate of which they release and discharge of all and all manner of actions, suits, bills, bonds, writings, obligatory debts, dues, dren sent to reformatories who never reached them respectively might have died intestate. It was -irstly, through want of accommodation; and also found that "none of the persons for the accounts, trusts, claims, and demands whatsoever, next through the unacquaintance of magistrates time being entitled to any real estate of which the both at law and in equity or otherwise howsoever, with the provisions of the Act of Parliament and testator had died intestate did, while so entitled, which we or any of us, or our or any of our heirs, executors, and administrators, now have or hath, requirements of reformatory managers. Lord any act with reference to the money so directed Stanley said there coull be no or hereafter shall or may have, challenge, claim, doubt as to to be laid out in the purchase of land amounting or demand against the estate or effects of the said the increase of crime, and it certainly was to or having the effect of an election to take it A. B., deceased, or against the said C. D. as such the duty of the magistrates to consider the report when it was printed. as money or land, or as might have the effect of administrator as aforesaid, his executors or adThe report was ordered to be printed and circulated. constituting such person or persons a new root ministrators, or his or their estate or effects, or The Rev. J. Shepherd Birley, as chairman of the Finance or roots of descent with regard to such money." any of them, for or by reason or on account of all Committee, made a very serious charge against The Commissioners of Inland Revenue having and every or any of the debts to us or to any of us, or our partnership firms respectively, due or owing some members of the legal profession. In pro- assessed the said Edward F. de L. in succession posing that the table of fees to magistrates' clerks duty at the rate of 5 per cent. on the principal from the estate of the said A. B., deceased, be revised by a committee of the court, he said the and interest moneys constituting the above menas aforesaid, or of any interest or commission due or demandable for the same, or for or by reason or reason for the revision was that on looking over tioned real estate fund on the ground of its being the returns of fines and penalties due to the county a "succession to him derived from Susan the whatsoever in respect of the said several debts. on account of any other matter, cause, or thing (which are sent into the treasurer's office by the predecessor (of a brother of the father of whom Provided always, and it is hereby declared, that magistrates' clerks), the Finance Committee found he was a descendant)," he appealed against such the aforesaid release or anything herein contained tat the gr a est discrepancies existed in the way in which those gentlemen chose to interpret the duty and not succession duty was payable b assessment on the grounds, first, that legacy shall not in anywise prejudice or affect the rights or claims of us the said creditors, or any of us, scale of fees, which was intended to be uniform him thereon as a descendant of a brother of the against any person or persons other than the said throughout the county. In one petty sessional A. B., deceased, who are or may be or have rendivision the charges on drunken cases, besides deceased testator at the rate of 24 per cent. the ordinary fine of 5s., ranged from 4s. 6d. under 36 Geo. 3, c. 52; or, secondly, that if suc-dered themselves jointly liable with the said A. B., to 8s. 6d.; but in another division the very cession duty was payable thereon, it was payable deceased, for the amount of our respective debt or lowest charge was 11s., and sometimes it was by him as the descendant of a brother of the as high as 27s. In beerhouse cases, in one testator, under the Succession Duty Act, at the division, the charges ranged from 10s. to 25s.; rate of 3 per cent. only as being a succession in another from 4s. 6d. to 12s. 6d.; and in derived by him (not from the said Susan but) another the lowest charge was 15s. 6d., and the from the said testator the predecessor, and highest 37s. The magistrates would be surprised on a case stated for the opinion of the Court of to learn that in certain petty sessional divisions 2s. was charged on every drunken conviction. In Exchequer, it was held, by Kelly, C. B. and one case he had been at the trouble to inquire having been laid out in land, was liable to legacy Channell, B., that the fund in question, not whether those convictions for which 2s. was charged were ever filed, and he found that during duty under sect. 19 of the Legacy Duty Act the last quarter there were 34 such convictions, (36 Geo. 3, c. 52), and therefore that sucyet that magistrates' clerk had never filed a con- cession duty did not attach. And, per Kelly, viction since Jan. 1868. He would give no names, C. B., the principle or equitable fiction on but expressed a strong belief that a very small which courts of equity have so long held that proportion only of these convictions were ever filed; and he would warn those magistrates' money to be laid out in land is for certain purelerks who received charges on convictions without poses to be treated as land, is inapplicable to the fing them that they had better mind what the interpretation of the statute imposing duties were about, because these very bills were all sent up upon personal estate. Also, per Kelly, C.B., that undersigned creditors of A. B. of, &c., send greetto the Treasury, and if they were found out it was if the case were governed by the Succession pretty well known how they would be dealt with. Duty Act, the daughter Susan and not the tesIt was a very great scandal upon the court which tator must be deemed the "predecessor" of the had sanctioned the present table of fees; and that petitioner. But, contra, by Bramwell and scandal ought to be at once removed. The propo- Cleasby, BB., that duty was payable upon the sition was at once agreed to. fund under the Succession Duty Act (16 & 17

debts

In witness, &c.

Creditors'
signa- Seals.
tures.

First column.

Amount of
debt
released.

Second column.

Amount of
compo-

Signed, sealed, and delivered

in the

sition paid. presence of.

£ 8. d. 出 8. d.

156. Release by creditors to an agent acting under a power of attorney of their debts against his principal on payment of a composition.

To all to whom these presents shall come the

(a) By THOMAS WILKINSON, Esq., Liverpool. (b) A parol contract before breach may be released by See also, as to release after breach, Dobson v. Espie, 26 L. J. 240, Ex.) But a contract under seal can be released only by an instrument under seal: Brooks v. Stuart, 9 A. & E. 8 54 Littler v. Holland, 3 T. R. 590.)

parol: (Goss v. Lord Nugent, 5 B. & Ad. 58.

ing. Whereas, &c. [recital of power of attorney],
And whereas the said C. D. [agent] has done and
performed various acts and things under and in
pursuance of the said power and authority con-
ferred upon him by the said recited deed-poll.
And whereas a meeting of the creditors of the
said A. B. was held on the
day of
18

ac

at which meeting the said C. D. was also present, and a resolution was then passed to the effect that the said C. D. should instruct Mr. countant, to realise the estate and effects of the said A. B. to the best advantage, and that the assets.thereof (after payment thereout of all expenses in any manner incidental to the said realisation of the said estate and effects, and the distribution of the said assets and all expenses incurred in and about the said meeting of creditors, and the carrying that resolution into effect) should be equally distributed among the creditors of the said A.B., and that the said creditors should thereupon execute to the said A.B. and C.D., as such attorney as aforesaid, such release as is hereinafter contained. And whereas, in pursuance of the said resolution, the said accountant has realised to the best advantage the estate and effects of the said A.B., and (after allowing and deducting such expenses as aforesaid) the sum of £ amounting to a composition of in the pound on the amount of the respective debts of the creditors of the said A.B., remains in the hands of the said accountant for distribution among the said creditors as aforesaid. Now these presents witness that, in consideration of the premises and of the payment to us the undersigned creditors of the said A.B., at the time of our respectively signing and executing these resents, of the several sums of money placed opposite our respective names in the second column hereunder written, the receipt of which said sums respectively we the undersigned creditors of the said A. B. do hereby acknowledge and therefrom do absolutely acquit, release, and discharge the said A. B., his heirs, executors, and administrators, and also the said C. D., as such attorney as aforesaid, his heirs, executors, and administrators, we do by these presents remise, release, discharge, and for ever quit claim, unto the said A. B., his heirs, executors, and adminis. trators, and the said C. D., as such attorney as aforesaid, his heirs, executors, and administrators, and their respective estates and effects, all and all manner of actions, suits, causes of action and suit, debts, duties, sum and sums of money, accounts, reckonings, claims, and demands whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which we the said creditors of the said A. B., or our or any of our partners respectively, or any other person or persons whom we or any of us can bind by these presents, now have, or which we or any of us, our or any of our heirs, executors, or administrators, but for these presents could, would, or might at any time or times hereafter have upon or against the said A. B. and C. D., as such attorney as aforesaid, their or his heirs, executors, or administrators, or their or his estate or effects, or any of them, for or by reason or on account of any matter, cause, or thing whatsoever up to and inclusive of the day of the date of these presents. In witness, &c.

157. Release from debt owing by a firm. To A. B., of, &c. [debtor]. In consideration of your dissolving the partnership heretofore existing between yourself and my son, D. D, upon the terms agreed to between you on the day of inst., I hereby discharge you, and also the partnership firm of A. B. and Co.," from the debt of £ , or whatever the amount may be, now due and owing by you or that firm to me, and from all claims and demands on account thereof. And I undertake to execute and deliver to you, upon request, any more formal release or discharge from the said debt that you day of

may require.

Dated the

18

C. D. [creditor]. 158. Release from agreement by purchaser and vendor.

house at

18 so far as it remains

JOURNAL.

ment of accounts in respect of that property, and JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES' LAW
of interest at £ per cent. per annum on all
moneys paid by you from the date of payment, in-
cluding all legal charges, surveyor's fees, and
other expenses, such conveyance, and all other
charges incidental thereto, to be at my expense,
and you having some time since finished and com-
pleted the said premises accordingly, I now find,
after investigating the accounts, that I am totally
unable to purchase the property from you, or to
pay the price thereof. I therefore request you to
release and discharge me from the said agreement
of the day of
to be performed on my part, and in consideration
of your so doing I undertake and agree that, should
you become the purchaser of the said property,
you shall hold the same discharged from your said
agreement with me, and from every term, condi-
tion, or stipulation therein contained, in like man-
ner as if the same had never been entered into,
and I hereby discharge the same accordingly, and
declare that I have no further claim whatever to,
or in respect of, the said property, or any part
thereof.
Dated the
day of
C. D. [purchaser].
I agree to the terms above proposed, and hereby
release and discharge the said C. D. from the said
agreement.
A. B. [vendor].

18

158*. Release to a mortgagee of the equity of redemp-
tion in freeholds by the parties entitled under the
will of a deceased mortgagor (indorsed on mort-
gage).

This indenture, made, &c., between E. F., of
wife, J. K., of, &c., and L. M., of, &c. [releasers] of
&c., and M. his wife, G. H., of &c., and N. his
the one part, and the within-named C. D. [mort-
gagee] of the other part. Whereas the within-
named A. B. [mortgagor] duly made and executed
his last will, dated, &c., and thereby, after directing
the payment of his just debts, funeral and testa-
mentary expenses, gave and bequeathed the here-
ditaments comprised in the within-written inden-
ture to the said M. F., N. H., J. K., and L. M.
equally between them, share and share alike, and
appointed W. X. and Y. Z. executors of his said
will. And whereas the within-named A. B. died
on the
day of 18 without having re-
voked or altered his said will. And whereas the
said will of the within-named A. B. was on the
day of 18 duly proved by the said
W. X. alone in the registry of Her Majesty's
Court of Probate, the said Y. Z. having first
duly renounced probate thereof. And whereas
the said M. F. (being then M. B., spinster) in the
year 18 intermarried with, and became and still
is the wife of, the said E. F. And whereas the
said N. H. (being then N. B., spinster) in the year
18 intermarried with and became, and still is
the wife of, the said G. H. And whereas the sum
of £ is now due and owing to the said C. D.
for principal and interest in respect of the within-
written indenture of mortgage (as the said E. F.
and M. his wife, G. H. and N. his wife, J. K., and
L. M. hereby severally admit). And whereas the
said C. D. has lately applied to the said E. F. and
M., his wife, G. H. and N., his wife, J. K. and
L. M., for payment of the amount so due to him for
principal and interest as aforesaid, and has in-
timated his intention, unless be the same paid to
him, of instituting proceedings in the High Court
of Chancery for the foreclosure of the equity of
redemption to which the said E. F. and M., his
wife, G. H. and N. his wife, J. K., and L. M.
are entitled in respect of the within-mortgaged
hereditaments. And whereas the said E. F.
and M. his wife, G. H. and N. his wife, J. K.,
and L. M., being unable to comply with such
request, and in order to avoid the expense of such
proceedings, have agreed and determined to exe-
cute such release of their respective interests in
the said hereditaments and premises under the
herein before in part recited will as is hereinafter
in pursuance of such determination and agreement,
contained. Now this indenture witnesseth that,
and in consideration of the premises, they, the
said E. F. and M. his wife, G. H. and N. his wife,
J. K., and L. M. do, and each of them doth, hereby
remise, release, and quit claim unto the said C. D.
and his heirs, all and every the parts, shares, and
interest to which they the said E. F. and M. his
wife, G. H. and N. his wife, J. K., and L. M., or
by virtue of the said will of the said A. B., of and
any of them, are, is, or may be entitled under or
in the hereditaments and premises comprised in
the within written indenture, and of and in the
rents and profits thereof respectively. To the
intent that the same may be henceforth held by the
said C. D., and his heirs, to the use of the said
suits, proceedings, claims, and demands of the
C. D., his heirs and assigns, free from all actions,
parties hereto of the first part, or any of them, in
respect of the said hereditaments and premises, or
any part thereof (a). In witness, &c.
(To be continued.)

NOTES OF NEW DECISIONS. WINDING-UP-DISCHARGE OF SOLICITORCOSTS UNPAID-LIEN.-Where an official liquidator is appointed by the court in a winding-up, the 58th rule of the General Order of the 11th Nov. 1862, which requires that the file of proceedings shall be kept by him, or otherwise as the judge may, from time to time direct," must be considered part of his appointment, and a solicitor acting for him must be taken to know the extent of his powers over such file. And no official liquidator can by contract or otherwise give any lien upon documents which come within that rule. Where, therefore, a solicitor was discharged by the official liquidator, he was ordered to deliver up all the documents mentioned in the 58th rule, notwithstanding that there was due to him a considerable amount of costs incurred in the winding-up: (Re The Union Cement and Brick Company (Limited), 21 L. T. Rep. N. S. 46. L.J. G.)

RAILWAY-EXHAUSTION OF CAPITAL.-MONEY ADVANCED ON BONDS. A railway company having expended its capital and exhausted its borrowing powers and given bills of exchange shareholder, who advanced money by means of on its tradesmen, issued bonds to a director and which it was completed. A special Act was ment having been carried out, and every liability passed to wind-up the company and sell the railway to another company, and that arrangedischarged, except the bonds, they were held to be recoverable in equity, and the claim was allowed: (Re The Cork and Youghal Railway, 21 L. T. Rep. N. S. 47. V.C. M.)

ROLLS COURT (IRELAND).
May 24 and June 5.
THE BELFAST AND COUNTY DOWN RAILWAY
COMPANY V. THE BELFAST, HOLYWOOD, AND
BANGOR RAILWAY COMPANY.

Railway company-Receiver-Allowances for out.
goings out of income-Remuneration of directors.
By the 28 & 29 Vict. c. 198 (Loc. and P.), the
Holywood branch of the Belfast and County Down
Railway Company was transferred to the Belfast,
Holywood, and Bangor Railway Company, in con-
sideration of 50,000l. cash, and an annual rent of
5000l., which was by the Act declared to be a first
and permanent charge on the Holywood branch,
and upon the tolls, &c., thereof, and upon the pro-
perty of the Belfast, Holywood, and Bangor Rail
way Company, next after the moneys borrowed or
which might be borrowed by the Belfast, Holy.
wood, and Bangor Railway Company on mortgage
rent of 50001. having fallen in arrear, a cause peti
or bond under the Acts so authorising them. The
tion was filed by the Belfast and County Down
Railway Company to recover the arrears. The
matter was referred to Master Fitzgibbon under
the 15th section of the Chancery Regulation Act,
and on the 8th Feb. 1867 he made an order declar-
ing the rent a charge on the railway of the respon
dents, the Belfast, Holywood, and Bangor Railway
Company, and appointing a receiver. The order
made no express provision for paying the expenses
of management of the undertaking, but
strained the respondents from paying away or
otherwise disposing of any part of the money
arising from the undertaking, or the incomings or
receipts therefrom coming to their hands, beyond
and except the necessary outgoings for servants'
wages and current working expenses.

re

The directors of the Belfast, Holywood, and Bangor Company, or their manager, Mr. Dodd, continued to manage the line and receive the what represented the net balance to the receiver. income of it, paying outgoings, and handing over The receiver filed a statement of facts, raising questions as to certain deductions made by Mr. Dodd. The master, by an order of the 12th Jan. 1869, disallowed the following payments: First, salaries or remuneration to the directors, the same not being necessary outgoings for servants' wages, or for current working expenses. Secondly, a sum or additions to the permanent way or other works, of 6221. 2s. 10d. for improvements, alterations in, or the rolling stock of the railway. The order also directed the respondents to account for and by them since the 20th Feb. 1867, for wire fencing, pay over to the receiver all sums paid or retained gasfitting, and gates, new storehouse, brick flooralteration of carriages. The respondents appealed ing at Holywood, alteration of Bangor station, and from that order.

To A. B., of, &c. [vendor]. Referring to your agreement with me, dated, &c., whereby you agreed that in the event of your becoming the purchaser of the land and dwellingthen building by you under conPalles, Q.C. and Dames, for the appeal. tract with me that you would finish and complete the same according to the contract, and would Law, Q.C. and Andrews. for the petitioners. convey the property to me on payment to you of The MASTER of the ROLLS reversed the Master's the amount that should be due on a final adjust-women: (See 3 & 4 Will. 4, c. 74, s. 77.) (a) This deed must be acknowledged by the married order as to the salaries of the directors, which he allowed credit for. As to the 6221. 2s. 10d., and

the sums paid for wire-fencing, &c., His Honour, being of opinion that the expenditure was made by the respondents in bona fide exercise of their judgment in the management of the line, allowed them as proper charges against the income of the company; and reversed the Master's order, except as to a portion of the 6221. 28. 10d., which was the estimated value of materials already paid for out of the capital of the company, and which had been applied in completing alterations or renewals of the permanent way. As to that he left it open to the plaintiffs to investigate the claim further if they desired to do so.

THE ALBERT LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY.A meeting of policy-holders convened by an order of the Vice-Chancellor, was held at the London Tavern on Friday week. Lord William Hay presided. The proceedings were of a very noisy character, and occasionally there was great uproar, a number of persons speaking at the same time, not one of whom could be heard. Out of a number of motions, submitted to the meeting, three were adopted. One was to the effect that the proposition of the provisional official liquidators be rejected, and in lieu thereof a committee of policyholders be appointed to consider and determine, in conjunction with any provincial committees, the best mode of arranging the affairs of the company, and report the result to a meeting of policy. holders; the second, "That the conduct of the proceedings consequent on the insolvency of the company should be entrusted to gentlemen to be nominated by the policy-holders, and not to those appointed by the directors, who had forfeited the confidence of the policy-holders;" and the third, That the committee should have power to test the liability of the shareholders in the twenty-two companies which had amalgamated with the Albert. The following gentlemen were appointed to form the committee: Mr. Bell, representing Indian interests; Mr. Bird, Mr. Cundy, General Cunningham, representing interests of upwards of 100,000l.; Mr. Edlin, Q. C.; Mr. Matthews, of Grindlay and Co.; Mr. Webster, of the Temple; Mr. Ommaney, and Mr. Wyld.

pay the sum lent, with interest, &c., or in case
of loss of the ship or vessel such an average as
by custom shall have become due on the salvage,
or if on the said voyage the said ship or vessel
should be utterly lost, &c.," in consequence of
perils of the seas. On a suit by the bondholders
against the proceeds of the sale: Held (affirm-
ing the judgment of the Admiralty Court), that
the bondholders were entitled to the whole pro-
ceeds of the sale; for, first, the ship was not
"utterly lost," the doctrine of constructive total
loss having no application to bottomry; secondly,
there was no "loss" of the vessel within the
meaning of the bond; and, thirdly, there was
no special provision in the bond qualifying the
general rule that the lender on bottomry is
entitled to the whole of the property saved. if
included in his security: Semble, that the clause
"in case of the loss of the ship, such an average
be construed as intended to secure the payment
as shall have become due on the salvage" must
to the bondholders of something which the ship-
owners might become entitled to receive from
third parties in respect of the ship, and not a
division of what might be saved from a wreck,
or the proceeds of a necessary sale of the ship,
between the bondholders and the shipowners:
(The Great Pacific, 21 L. T. Rep. N. S. 38.
Priv. Co.)

66

DAMAGE-PASSENGER-COMPULSORY PILOT. A collision having occurred between two vessels in the Thames, the owners of the vessel in fault claimed exemption from liability for the damage on the ground that the vessel was in charge of a duly licensed and compulsory pilot at the time of the collision: Held (affirming the judgment of the court below) that the captain's wife and father, who were on board without the privity of the owners, and who had not agreed to pay any fares when they came on board, though such fares were paid after the collision, were not passengers" within the meaning of the 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 379, so as to make the employment of a pilot compulsory. The owners of a ship, in charge of a pilot voluntarily taken on board, are responsible for his default whilst so acting, since 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, by sect. 388, requires that the pilot should be compulsorily employed within the district where the injury occurred in order to exempt the owners from liability. The case of Lucey v. Ingram, 6 M. & W. 302, does not conflict with that of the Stettin, Bro. & Lush. 199, the former case having been decided on 6 Geo. 4, c. 125, s. 55, and the latter on 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 388, and the provisions of the two sections being distinguishable. The meaning of particular words in a statute, in the absence of express definition, "is to be found not so much in a strict etymological propriety of language, nor even in popular use, as in the subject or occasion on which they are used." Per Abbott, C. J. in 1 B. & C. 136, approved: (The Steamship Lion v. The Vessel York Town, 21 L. T. Rep. N. S. 41. Priv. Co.)

first duty of any vessel that by collision injures another is to wait to ascertain the extent of

that injury, and to tender what assistance it may be able to protect life and property: (The Germania, 21 L. T. Rep. N. S. 44. Priv. Co.)

ECCLESIASTICAL LAW.

If the Rev. Charles Voysey should be adjudged guilty of heresy in the trial to which he is to be subjected at the instance of the Archbishop of York, it will not be for want of such aid as can be given by rank and clerical influence. The committee which has been organised for his defence contains a list of names that clergymen would do well to study. Dean Stanley has boldly come forward to shield Mr. Voysey, and he is now joined by such divines as Professor Jowett; the Rev. G. Wheelwright, vicar of Crowhurst; the Rev. Thomas La Touche, vicar of Stokesay. P. Kirkman, rector of Croft; and the Rev. J. D. Scotland sends a clerical ally in the person of the Rev. Lewis Campbell, prefessor of Greek in the University of St. Andrew's. Science is represented by the eminent name of Sir Charles Lyell; nobility by the names of Lord Amberley and Lord Adare. The list is certainly formidable. With Mr. Voysey's opinions by all the members of his committee. we do not deal, and possibly they are not shared In coming forward to furnish him with the means of defence, Dean Stanley and Sir Charles Lyell simply intimate that they wish to see the most complete and authoritative legal answer given to the What limits does the momentous question: Church of England impose upon her clergy when they claim to debate the rightful interpretation of

Scripture?

THE NEW LAW ON THE RESIGNATION OF BISHOPS.-The resignation of the Bishop of Bath and Wells and the expected resignation of the bishop of Winchester, will put in force the statute passed on the 11th Aug. for the relief of archbishops and bishops when "incapacitated by infirmity." As to the resignation of a bishop the act provides that on a representation being made by the archbishop of the province to her Majesty, it shall be lawful for her Majesty, on being satisfied of such incapacity, and that the bishop has canonically resigned, by order in council, to declare such bishopric to be vacant, and thereupon such vacancy may be filled, as if such bishop was dead, with certain exceptions specified :-1. There shall be paid by the year, by half-yearly payeither of the two sums as may be the greater, and ments, one-third of the income, or 2000l. a year— in case of the retirement of a bishop appointed before 1832, the excess of the 2000l. to be paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. 2. Her Majesty may, on special grounds, by order in council, assign any episcopal residence enjoyed by him; and 3. With the exception of his election and consecration, the bishop is not to be required to pay the fees and charges usually payable on accession, until the death of the retiring bishop. The case of the Bishop of Bath and Wells will be the first

under the new law.

Mr. Thos. Cave, M.P., has addressed a letter to the papers in which he explains his connection with the Albert. As long ago as 1853 Mr. Cave became a shareholder of the Anchor, and subsequent a local director. He and other shareholders were disatisfied with the management, and called for an investigation. The result was that a new board of directors and a new chairman came into office, and these gentlemen declined to serve unless Mr. Cave would become managing director. He did become managing director, and succeeded, he says, after three years of most arduous and onerous labour, with the help of a small but loyal staff, and the most generous support of his colleagues on the board, in so far improving the condition of the company that its income had increased nearly threefold, while its gross expenses had fallen from 50 to 15 per cent. What followed is given in Mr. Cave's own words:-" In 1857 proposals were made by the Bank of London Insurance Company for the amalgamation with it of the Anchor Insurance Company. No commission, compensation, or other payment was made to any person whatever in respect of it, but I received an appointment for a term of years, the details of which were unanimously approved by a general meeting of the shareholders of each company. The considerable success I had achieved, and the great sacrifices I had made to ensure it, appeared to me to have fairly won a special engagement. I had not long entered upon my new and wider field of operation, which presented also larger prospective advantages, when it was thought desirable that a proposal for the purchase of the Bank of London Insurance Company by the Albert Company (and not its amalgamation) should be accepted. It was in connection with this arrangement, which involved a surrender of the appointment I had obtained as before stated, that I received the compensation in question, which included also my services towards the disposal of the fire department of the business, and my visiting the two vessels, for, first, the barque was in for dividing services and using different services Canada and Newfoundland in connection therewith. All these engagements I faithfully fulfilled. Thus closed, more than ten years ago, my association with the Albert Company. I had previously no connection with it or any of the companies with which it appears to have amalgamated, except as herein stated, nor have I had any since."

MARITIME LAW.

NOTES OF NEW DECISIONS. BOTTOMRY-DAMAGED SHIP SOLD-UTTER Loss-CONSTRUCTIVE TOTAL LOSS.-Money was borrowed on bottomry of a ship and freight. Afterwards the ship put into an intermediate port in a damaged state, and was then sold as unworthy of repairs. The condition of the bond was, that it should be void if the obligors should

COLLISION-LIghts-Proper RATE OF SPEED
FOR A STEAMER IN THE CHANNEL-LOOK-OUT.-A
collision occurred at night in the English Channel
between two foreign vessels, a steamship and a
barque, by which the former was slightly, and
the latter badly damaged. At the time the
barque was carrying lights, but these were not
seen on board the steamship, till after the col-
lision, because, being placed in the mizzen rig-
ging, from their position and the peculiar form
and rig of the barque, a vessel coming end on
was unable to see them. In a cause of damage
instituted by the owners of the barque against
the owners of the steamship: Held (varying the
judgment of the court below), that the damages,
losses, and costs must be borne equally between

fault in carrying lights not so placed as to com-
ply with the regulations; and, secondly, the
steamship was in fault in going at an improper
rate (eleven knots an hour) on a hazy night in a
crowded channel; and, after the collision, in
pursuing her course without affording or tender-
ing any help to the barque. An inspection,
under the provisions of sect. 18 of the Admiralty
Court Act 1861, to ascertain whether the lights
carried by a ship were such as the regulations
require, ought to be made at night. There
ought to be two look-outs at the bowsprit. A
steamship proceeding at an improper rate in a
channel crowded with ships incurs the respon-
sibility of damage occasioned by her being
unable to obey the direction that, on the risk of
a collision, it is the duty of the steamship to
keep out of the way of the sailing vessel. The

CHURCH REFORMS.-In a speech to the clergy of the rural deanery of West Dartford, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: The Ritual Commission has been sitting long, and the changes which it thinks desirable have now been drawn up and are at present being circulated among the divinity professors of the universities and other dignitaries of the church. They may be summed up as follows; 1. A new Lectionary. Many chapters have been added, as suited to edification; some have been omitted. A greater elasticity has been given to the Lectionary. The principal changes are in the daily lessons. 2. Alterations in the ordinary daily service. Evidently, to men busily engaged the service as it stands at present does not commend itself. Even the City churches which have a daily service are but thinly attended. A shorter service, therefore, will be proposed-shorter, but strictly based upon the existing materials. 3. Every facility

at different times, according to the exigencies of different congregations. 4. In the Burial Service some solution of a difficulty commonly felt will be offered. These are the chief matters dealt with by the Ritual Commissions. Nothing revolutionary need be anticipated. The character of the Prayer Book will be preserved intact. Other matters imperatively demand attention. What a scandal, for instance, to take up a newspaper and find whole columns devoted to the advertisements of sale of livings, and to see the tone and language of some of the advertisements themselves! It may be difficult to deal with this, but an attempt will probably be made. The Bill which has lately passed with referrence to the resignation of bishops is identical in its scope with a plan proposed in Convocation three years ago with reference to the other clergy. It is not unlikely that a similar measure will be proposed for this end. More efficient episcopal supervision is required, although Church.

men may not have made up their minds as to the best means of gaining it. The desirability or nondesirability of a service for children is a matter upon which the clergy will do well to form an opinion. The abolition of church-rates has led to one difficulty not anticipated. The payment of fees by churchwardens can now be more legally demanded than formerly. But the churchwardens themselves have no guarantee that they will be repaid. Might not this lead to parishioners refusing the office? Some information as to whether this had actually occurred was desirable.

BANKRUPTCY LAW.

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY AND INSOL-
VENCY (IRELAND).

(Before MILLER, J.)

Re JOSEPH ANDREW HORNE.

Debts contracted in England-Application to have proceedings taken in Ireland refused with costs. MILLER, J. delivered judgment in this case, which had been argued before him. He said: This case presents a peculiar feature of general importance, as affecting commercial classes in England and Ireland, namely, that while the debts of every cash creditor represented on the schedule of the bankrupt, as amounting altogether to 16.2171. 4s. 3d., had been contracted in England with creditors residing in England, excepting one debt of 1001. 6s. 8d., which, although having something of the appearance of an Irish debt, was for cash advanced by a gentleman not in any trade or business, upon the security of a bill, being one of such exclusively English debts, and which bill formed the larger portion of such apparently Irish debts thus contracted, yet it is sought to have all such debts thereby dealt with in Ireland, there not being, as I shall presently show, one shilling of assets of the bankrupt, even upon the representation of the bankrupt himself, available for administration in Ireland. If such a course can be effectuated under any code of bankruptcy law, commercial men can no longer look to this court for protection, but rather regard it as devised for screening debtors and enabling them to escape from a local and necessarily more proper investigation of their affairs and liabilities. The petition for adjudication was presented in this matter upon the 7th May 1869, by John Thomas Andrew, a creditor residing in England, against the bankrupt, grounded on an act of bankruptcy by reason of the non-appearance of the bankrupt to a trader-debtor summons by that petitioner for the nonpayment of a sum of 631. 3s. 8d., on which the bankrupt was adjudicated as such bankrupt on the 11th May 1869. The affidavit of trading necessary to support that adjudication had been made by a gentleman named Costate, who stated that he had known the bankrupt to carry on the trade or business of a commission agent for the last two years, and for the last five months at No. 125, Upper Abbey-street, in the city of Dublin, and to seek his living by buying and selling building cement, bricks and soap. A schedule was necessarily filed, according to the practice of the court in that matter, on the 2nd July 1869, before the case could be brought on for final examination; and when this case came before the court for final examination on the 13th July 1869, an examination of the bankrupt was had on the part of some of the English creditors, who appeared to oppose the passing of the bankrupt's final examination, when the final examination was necessarily adjourned; and it was not until the 7th Aug. 1869, that a petition was presented on the part of an English creditor named Babb, seeking that the adjudication should be annulled, and the petition of bankruptcy dismissed. Allegations were made impeaching the judgment-debt of the petitioner in respect of which the petition had been presented; but it is enough for me to observe that I will not go behind the judgment upon which such petition is founded, and that, even if I could be induced to enter upon a consideration of the matters suggested by the affidavits in avoidance of that judg. ment, they would go far to impress upon me the necessity of the exercise of a local jurisdiction intead of a jurisdiction foreign to the place where such debts had been contracted. After the full discussion which the question of annulling the commission of bankruptcy under the Act of Parliament at present in force in Ireland, and as to the principle which should guide this court in such considerations has undergone in Day's case, as reported in Ir. Jur. 7, before Judges Berwick and Lynch and the Court of Appeal, I do not propose to enter into any further review of them, but shall confine myself to the consideration of the two questions-first, whether a trading sufficient to maintain the present commission of bankruptcy had existence; secondly, if such a trading had been established, whether the petition as presented was a bona fide proceeding, and the adju

denial of the charge, which must be taken, after such an interval, to stand confessed. It has been suggested as a reason for the presentation of the petition of bankruptcy in Ireland that there would have been a difficulty in proving a residence for six months in England such as would sustain a commission in England. It is sufficient for me to say that any difficulty in the way of having a commission against the bankrupt in England would furnish an argument for having a commission issued against him in Ireland, unless there are the proper materials for having him declared a bankrupt in Ireland, and I have nothing before me beyond a suggestion that any difficulty would exist in ascribing the residence of the bankrupt more readily to England than to any other place. Without further prolonging the examination of the case, I will state that I have as little difficulty in declaring that upon the second ground, as upon the first, that this commission cannot be permitted to stand. The question of costs to be referred to the registrar.

peared in support of the petition to annul the
Seeds, instructed by Oldham and Eaton, ap-
bankruptcy.

M'Govern was solicitor for the assignee, and
Forsyth appeared for the bankrupt.

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE

PROFESSION.

free discussion on all professional topics, the Editor is not responsible for any opinions or statements contained in it.]

through your columns, a question that may be
STUDY OF THE LAW.-May I ask Mr. Hallilay
useful information to many of your readers? In
his Articled Clerks' Handbook, Sect. 2 of the 2nd
edit. he commences,
the candidate has passed his preliminary examina
"We will now suppose that
tion, and has become an articled clerk,' and
wishes to prepare for his intermediate examina
tion." He then states the books, &c., and in
chapter 2 recommends his reader" How to Study."
In this chapter he urges the student to read one
branch of the law at a time, and advises certain
books-indeed, goes through a course of study.
Now, what I would ask Mr. Hallilay is this:
half the five years' articles has expired, does he ex-
Seeing that the intermediate examination is after
pect the student to go through the course of study
how can the student follow out his suggestion to
there set down in two years and a half? If not,
law before he commences another?"
'master not only one book, but one branch of the
There are
books to get up in equity, common law, and con-
veyancing for the intermediate examination. so
that three branches of the law must be studied in
two years and a half; and if the whole of the
time is taken for study, one branch cannot be

dication founded on it such as this court under all
the cirumstances of the case sustained. His
Lordship referred to the bankrupt's schedule, and
said: The schedule of the bankrupt as thus filed
is of little value beyond the fact of its being a
representation under the hand of the bankrupt,
which he should be prepared to verify if permitted
by the court to do so, unless it is afterwards fully
vouched before the official assignee. The duty is
cast on the bankrupt of fully vouching the sche-
dule as filed by him before he can claim at the
hands of the court that his final examination shall
be passed and his certificate granted. His Lord-
ship having alluded to the report of the official
assignee, stating that the bankrupt had no books
to show, nor any means of vouching the state-
ments he put forward in the schedule as to his
alleged trading, continued: The assignee further
reports that there were now no assets of any de-
scription to meet the bankrupt's liabilities of
16,2671. Shares to the nominal amount of 56501.
have been transferred, but the bankrupt repre-
sents them all transferred, or as valueless.
I extended to the bankrupt a further oppor-
tunity of vouching his schedule before the
official assignee, who made his second report
upon the 22nd Aug., which is, if possible, still
more unfavourable to the bankrupt as regards
the question of trading, in which he refers to his
former report, and set out a letter received from
the agent of the bankrupt requiring him to report
that the bankrupt was a commission agent,"
instead of that "he described himself as a com-
mission agent," also requiring him to report "that
the bankrupt was a partner of Harper Twelve- [NOTE.-This department of the LAW TIMES being open to
trees and Company," instead of that 'he was to
have a share on certain conditions," alleging that
the books of the bankrupt show that at the com-
mencement of the agency business he stood
indebted to Harper Twelvetrees in cash overdrawn
on foot of accounts whilst with that firm; and the
official assignee reports then that he sets no value
upon the book which was produced to establish
that the bankrupt was a commission agent, inas-
much as it was produced to vouch a series
of transactions from the 1st May 1867, the gross
profits upon which are represented to be 61. 12s.,
and yet that the first entry in that book was upon
the 1st Jan. 1869, and that he had followed the
description which the bankrupt gave in his sche-
dule of the nature of his trading-that in a book
which had been produced there is an entry, "1869,
Jan. 1st, by amount due to H. H. Twelvetrees in
respect of partnership account, 501.," but that
he had the statement of the bankrupt himself
that no deed of partnership ever was exe-
cuted between himself and the Messrs. Twelve-
trees, and that the condition, "the investment of
capital by him, on which the partnership was to
have been entered into, was not complied with."
The officer further reports that he would not
accept as vouchers the books that were produced
if unsupported, as, according to his experience,
they did not bear the traces and evidence of ordi-
nary daily-kept trade books, and that there was
an evident sameness about them that was strangely
suggestive of the idea that they were written up,
not as a record of a trading, but for a special
purpose. After an inspection of the books thus
referred to, I have only to express my opinion
that the officer is fully warranted in finding that
no sufficient evidence was produced before him to
make him report either that the bankrupt was a
commission agent, or that he was a partner of
Harper Twelvetrees and Company. There is one
other representation on the face of the schedule of
importance as regards the consideration of this
alleged trading, namely, that there is not one
good debt, nor one bad debt returned as arising
out of the alleged trading, while there is
one "doubtful" debt of 150l. returned. But
that is described in the schedule, as the amount
of bills included in the salary of the bankrupt
from Horner, Marsh, and Company, but not
met, and the bankrupt in his evidence stated
that he had paid all that 150l. away to
private creditor of his own, and that, of course, if
that bill was paid by Horner, Marsh, and Com-
pany, his debts would be so much less. Upon the
facts before me I have no difficulty in declaring
that the bankrupt has not carried on any such
trading as would properly support the commis-
sion, and that the commission cannot be permitted
to proceed. I might end with that declaration,
but in order that the Court of Appeal might per-
ceive that I have dealt with the whole question, I
will express my opinion on the second point,
namely, whether this commission has been issued
for purposes connected with the legitimate objects
of a commission. The petition for annulling this
commission was filed so far back as the 7th Aug.
1869, and it contains the specific charge that the
proceedings in this matter have been instituted
fraudulently and in collusion with the bankrupt,
and for his benefit alone, and not for the purpose
f distributing any estate amongst the bankrupt's
reditors generally, or for any purpose useful
or beneficial to them. Although I have had four
affidavits to oppose the petition, there is no

a

66

mastered before another.

S. R. G.

THE FUNCTIONS OF MAGISTRATES.-Will any of your readers inform me if the chairman of magistrates sitting in petty sessions can alone conduct the examination of the witnesses for the prosecution, and put direct leading questions to

them ?

TEMPLAR.

ADVERTISING SOLICITORS.-I think it right to send you the annexed advertisement which I have cut from the Daily Telegraph. Surely something might be done, either by the Profession or by the legal press, to put a stop to this system of adver tising, which must necessarily lower the status of the Profession, and which is now daily increasing. I think if all respectable solicitors would decline holding any communication with those who stoop to advertising, it would go a good way towards stopping the practice.

ALFRED WALLETT DEACON. Ventnor, Isle of Wight, Sept. 11. BANKRUPTCY LAW.-To all in Debt.-Immediate protection obtained for the person and property in all cases without imprisonment. The Plain Guide gratis on application.--Messrs. Wimburn and Co., Solicitors,

78, Myddelton-street, Clerkenwell, E.C. Divorce cases, actions for compensation, &c. Loans and mortgages.

Charges moderate.

ARTICLED CLERKS.-I should be glad if some correspondent would inform me whether, prior to the 22 & 23 Vict. c. 127, an articled clerk was per mitted to hold any office in addition to his clerkship? I think less stringency in this particular was then exacted than now; it is within my own knowledge that a gentleman admitted in 1860, while under articles was secretary to two public companies, the duties of one of which necessitated his keeping an assistant for their performance. There cannot, however, be any doubt that this additional occupation materially interfered with the articled clerk's professional employment.

LEX.