be said. He expanded this into a still more interesting statement at the Hardwicke dinner-into a contrast between the law and diplomacy. Rather wonderful that an English judge should be an authority on both-though not so remarkable in an American lawyer, who is often diplomatist too. When he returned and donned the ermine again, he said, he had to relearn some of the precepts he had set himself before he left for America. In diplomacy and politics the difficulty was to know when all the facts were before you for coming to a conclusion. On the bench the judge could get all the facts, but the difficulty was that, when he thought he knew what the decision should be, he must still sit and hear all that was to be said before he gave a decision. In administration it was different; you could give instructions for carrying out a decision as soon as it was arrived at.

The judicial objection to treat the Scotsman as a foreigner, as above mentioned, is characteristic of the English legal profession generally. There is little limit to their fraternity and hospitality. Not only honorary admissions to the English bar are frequent, but all inhabitants of all regions-Greek and barbarian, Scythian and Parthian, without distinction of nationality or empire, are admitted to practice and to the honours of the profession. An American barrister, Mr. Newton Crane, was the other day made a bencher of the Middle Temple. He is an English barrister too, but the honour was really a recognition of his position as legal adviser at the American Embassy. A letter appeared recently in a legal journal, signed "Pierre Gide, Avocat à la Cour d'Appel de Paris, and of "Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-law." A similar phenomenon in France would not be possible. An Englishman could not be admitted avocat on account of his nationality.

We have many men at the English bar who are not of British nationality. The letter is a plea for reciprocity. The writer says that the French avocat can be called to the bar and enjoy the same advantages and prerogatives as his English confrères, and appear before all the jurisdictions from Police Court to House of Lords and Privy Council. A few years before the war, at a meeting of barristers, one of them said, referring to the presence of a member of the French bar, "Cannot we express to him our "desire that the hospitality which our bar offers to him should "be returned to us?" The war should have made this hospitality and reciprocity more natural and reasonable to return.

Several times I have mentioned the name of Mr. Rentoul, the judge of the City of London Court, partly because I thought the name Rentoul was well known as that of a notable Presby

terian Churchman, the father of the judge, and partly because I thought there might be points of interest about his Court and about the nature of the quarrel which had arisen between him and the City. Last month I referred to the long quarrel being arranged by his retirement on a pension only about a fourth less than his full salary. This month I have again to mention him to say that since then he has died.

The questions in issue between him and the City were personal, but the real cause of his retirement was the criticism of High Court judges on his judicial decisions at the City of London Court and the Old Bailey. It is a most difficult matter arranging the retirement of a judge who has begun to show signs of unfitness or less competence for his work, either from mental inability or the physical disability of old age. A bill now before Parliament fixes the retirement of County Court judges at seventy-two. This is about the age that has generally been considered suitable for a High Court judge to retire. But I really do not think I ever knew a case of a High Court judge being unfit for his work merely because he had got over seventytwo. In several cases there has been great difficulty in getting a High Court judge to retire; the unfitness, however, was not strictly to be called senility, but some specific mental breakdown before seventy-two. The difficulty about fixing an age both for High Court and County Court arises from the fact that Nature has not decreed that a man shall inevitably become incompetent on his seventy-second birthday. It has often been said that many judges have been at their best after that age. Many advocates have given their experience to this effect. The new bill, which only relates to County Court judges, enables the Lord Chancellor to extend the age to seventy-five if he considers that the judge's further services would be desirable in the public interest. For the first time the County Court judges are given a right to pensions on service of the full term, or on incapacity of mind or body, the scale being according to varied contingencies. Normally the pension is to be two-thirds of the salary, which is now £1500.

NOTES OF ENGLISH CASES.

THE following notes are of English cases decided since our last issue, which have a bearing upon Scots law, or are otherwise of general interest. They are taken from the Times newspaper reports, and the full report of any case may be found there under the date given in these notes. Cases repeated in the

Times Law Reports have the reference added.

240. Increase of Rent, &c. (War Restrictions) Acts, 1915-19. Rent

including landlord's taxes. Held that these taxes could not be deducted so as to bring the tenant within the protection of the Acts in a question of removal. Westminster Properties Company, Limited, and Biggs v. Simmons, K.B.D. 21st July. 35 T.R. 669.

241. Excess profits duty. A company of naval architects registered under the Companies Acts is not entitled to exemption as carrying on a profession. Esplen, Son, & Swainstone, Limited v. Inland Revenue Commissioners, K.B.D. 22nd July. 35 T.R. 670.

242. National Insurance Acts, 1911, sec. 8 (e), and 1913, sec. 14. A woman is entitled to maternity benefit for a child born in adultery. Scott v. Northumberland Miners, &c., Approved Society, K.B.D. 25th July. 35 T.R. 693.

243. Costs against the Crown-Appeal allowed against assessment to income tax of legacy to Dr. Barnardo's Homes. Costs given against the special commissioners. Rex v. Special Commissioners for Income Tax, K.B.D. 25th July. 35 T.R. 684.

244. Company. Executor's right to vote on shares held by deceased. Articles in form of Palmer's Company precedents. Held that the company, having recognised the executor as holder of the shares, was estopped from disallowing his vote. Marks v. Financial News, Limited, Ch.D. 23rd July. 35 T.R. 681.

245. Increase of Rent, &c., Act, 1915, sec. 1 (3). Held (following Stovin v. Farebrass, No. 231, supra) that the premises must be wanted for one of the three persons named in the subsection. Price v. Pritchard, K.B.D. 23rd July. 35 T.R. 672.

246. Income Tax Act, 1842-Schedule D, 3rd case. A financial company bought treasury bills, sold some and held others until maturity. Held that the difference between the amount paid on purchase and that received on realization must be treated as a profit on a discount within case 3. National Provident Institution v. Brown (Surveyor of Taxes). Provident Mutual Life Assurance Association v. Ogston (Surveyor of Taxes), K.B.D. 24th July. 35 T.R. 690.

247. Finance (new duties) Act, 1916, sec. 1-Entertainments Tax. The duty is exigible on tickets for chairs to hear a band in an enclosure on a pier. Rex v. Cordiner-re Bingham, K.B. D. 24th July. 35 T.R. 689.

Held that the bonus

248. Supertax-Bonus shares. A company declared a bonus out of its profits and issued new shares in payment. shares were not to be included in the computation of supertax. Inland Revenue Commissioners v. Blott-the same v. Greenwood, K.B.D. 24th July. 35 T.R. 687.

249. Income Tax Act, 1842, section 88, 3rd rule of Schedule C, and section 105-Exemption of charities. A testator left his residue to a charity. Two years elapsed before it was paid over. Held that the intermediate income belonged to the charity and was free of income tax. Rex v. Special Commissioners of Income Tax-ex parte Barnardo's Homes, K.B.D. 24th July. 35 T.R. 684.

250. Finance (No. 2) Act, 1915, sec. 39-Excess profits duty-Declaration action. Plaintiff, an advising engineer, claimed a declaration that he was under no obligation to make a return on the form served on him. Declaration refused, leaving plaintiff to his ordinary remedies under the Act. Smeeton v. Attorney General, Ch.D. 28th July. 35 T.R. 706.

251. Damages for false imprisonment - Malice-Probable cause. (a) A private person has no right to detain on suspicion of a felony; (b) Verdict of jury sustained affirming malice and want of probable cause, and finding damages due. Meering v. Grahame- White Aviation Company, Limited, C.A. 29th July.

252. No. 54, vol. xxxiv., 34 T.R. 245 and 553, affirmed. Carriers Act, 1830, secs. 1 and 2. Fur coats consigned to a railway company for carriage from Belfast to London, exceeding the value of £10 and not declared, were lost in transit. No evidence as to whether loss occurred on land or sea. Held that the Carriers Act afforded no protection at sea, and that the onus lay on the defenders, which they had not discharged. London and North-Western Railway Company v. Ashton & Company, H.L. 29th July. 35 T.R. 708.

APPEAL CASES UNDER WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION ACT, 1906.

253. "In the course of and out of the employment." An employee was injured in a street accident while crossing the public street from the work to the employer's canteen for food. Held that she was not within the Act. Bell v. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Limited,

C.A. 7th May. 35 T.R. 479.

254. "In the course of and out of the employment." An employee was injured in descending the staircase from the canteen in connection with the works. Held that she was within the Act. Redford v. Armstrong, Whitworth & Company, Limited, C.A. 15th May. 34 T.R. 508.

255. The Court may make a declaration of liability against an employer where there is no present incapacity and no present loss of earnings, but a possibility. of future incapacity. King v. Port of London Authority, H.L. 1st July. 35 T.R. 622,

256. Schedule 2, par. 4: (a) Appeal is competent against a refusal of the County Court judge to make an order to pay a lump sum in lieu of a weekly payment under agreement; (b) an infant workman has a right to payment out of such a sum when he attains majority. Johnson v. Liston, C.A. 9th July. 35 T.R. 656.

257. Schedule 1, clauses 1 (1) (b) and 3. Measure of incapacity. A cook became a munition worker, and met with an accident, which incapacitated her for munition work. She took a situation as cook. Held that compensation was to be measured, not by her previous earnings as cook, but by her greater earnings as munition worker. Ling v. De Dion Bouton, C.A. 9th July. 35 T.R. 640.

Appointments, Business Changes, &c.

GLASGOW. Mr. James Mackenzie, LL.D., Writer, Glasgow, has attained his jubilee as a partner of the firm of Messrs. Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie, he having joined that firm on 1st September, 1869.

FALKIRK.-Mr. Thomas Middleton has retired from the firm of Messrs. James Wilson & Sons, to join his brother in business in Montrose. The business of Mr. Hugh P. Black has been amalgamated with that of Messrs. James Wilson & Sons.

ADVOCATES of Scottish Home Rule who are anxious to procure a few fresh arguments with which to garnish their appeals for emancipation from the tyranny of Whitehall would be well advised to turn their attention to the business methods of H.M. Stationery Office and the King's Printer.

It has been impossible to open a newspaper at any time within the last six months without being reminded in some way of the heavy obligations which the local authorities of Scotland have to discharge under the new housing legislation "within "three months after the passing of the Act." How they have wriggled in their endeavours to evade the full burden of their responsibilities, or at least to secure a partial reprieve in the shape of an extended time limit! And how ready they have been to seize upon any legitimate excuse which might postpone the evil day! If ever there was an enterprise of which time was of the essence, and of which it could be said that even the proverbial schoolboy appreciated its urgency, surely it is just this housing question. Even the illustrated papers are tiring of the topic as a subject for comic cartoons.

But the deep calm which broods over the Stationery Office has never been ruffled by any breath of urgency in regard to this question. The Scottish Bill, when printed for presentation to the House of Lords, consisted of bare 36 pages in large type, and the Lords' amendments could have been set up by an average compositor in ten minutes. The whole thing only represents a column and a half of a daily newspaper; and had the matter been handled in Printing House Square, every local authority in Scotland would have had their copy of the Act set on the morning of the 20th August, the day after the measure received the Royal assent.