the result of the ballot, commented on the fact that Miss Jeffrey was the first lady to join the Faculty. Mr Warren (the present Dean) presented the Faculty with a chain of office, to be worn by Deans on official occasions. Dr David Murray, of Messrs Maclay, Murray & Spens, moved a vote of thanks and chained the Dean.

COMPLIMENTARY DINNER TO MR W. D. SMART, I.S.O.-On the occasion of the retirement of Mr Smart, owing to the age limit, from the position of Chief Clerk in the Crown Office which he has long occupied, there was a general feeling among those who had been brought into intimate contact with him that there ought to be some expression of the esteem and regard in which Mr Smart is held. This feeling culminated in a complimentary dinner, to which Mr Smart was invited, and which took place in the North British Station Hotel on the evening of 20th November. The Lord Advocate occupied the chair, and the croupiers were Lord Kinross and Mr Maitland, AdvocateDepute. Only those who have or have had intimate official connection with the Crown Office were invited. In addition to the guest of the evening there were present, among others: the Lord Justice-General, the Lord Justice-Clerk, Lords Mackenzie, Sands, Hunter, Anderson, Blackburn, Morison, and Constable, the Solicitor-General, Mr H. P. Macmillan, late Lord Advocate, Professor Harvey Littlejohn, the Vice-Dean of Faculty, and a large number of those of the senior and junior Bar who are or have been Crown counsel. A letter was read from Mr John Lamb, Under-Secretary for Scotland, expressing his own warm concurrence and that of the staff of the Scottish Office in the sentiments which evoked the demonstration of esteem for Mr Smart. In proposing the toast of the evening, the Lord Advocate gave fitting expression to his own sense, and that of those for whom he spoke, of the devotion to duty, and the unsparing pains and high intelligence and courtesy exhibited by Mr Smart over a long term of years in facilitating the discharge of their duties by the law officers of the Crown, and in contributing to the efficiency of Scottish criminal administration. Mr Smart returned thanks in an extremely felicitous speech. Mr Macmillan proposed and the Lord JusticeGeneral replied to the toast of the Court of Justiciary-in speeches in which there was an

THE funeral took place on the 5th to the Glasgow Necropolis of Mr William B. Paterson, one of the oldest practitioners in Glasgow. Mr Paterson, who had been in practice in the city as a notary public and solicitor since 1865, was highly respected in the profession and among a large circle of friends. His funeral was attended by a number of friends, among whom were three of his former apprentices-exTreasurer Barrie, Mr Alexander Walker, City Assessor, and Mr William Armour, solicitor. Mr Paterson for many years took an active part in the work of Adelaide Place Baptist Church. At one time he was much interested in Masonry, and was the oldest Past-Master of Lodge Glasgow St Mungo, No. 27. He was also a member of the Incorporation of Bakers, the Incorporation of Bonnetmakers and Dyers, and the Old Glasgow Club. He is survived by his wife.

FOLLOWING upon an operation in a nursinghome in Edinburgh a fortnight ago, the death has taken place of Mr Hector Munro Mackay, solicitor and Town-Clerk of Dornoch.

Mr Mackay, who was a native of Dornoch, was sixty-two years of age and unmarried. After serving an apprenticeship with the firm of Messrs Scott, Moncrieff & Trail, W.S., Edinburgh, he started practice in his native town, and shortly after was appointed Town-Clerk, a post he held for thirty-four years.

As a solicitor he earned a high reputation, and in the Sheriff Court of Dornoch on Tuesday Sheriff J. W. Forbes paid a tribute to his sterling character and talents, a tribute which was endorsed by Mr Alfred N. Macaulay, agent for the Duke of Sutherland, who now becomes senior member of the local Bar. Mr Mackay held various important offices in Sutherland; amongst them, lands valuation assessor and registration officer for the county; auditor for the Education Authority of Sutherland; auditor for the Parish Councils of Sutherland; secretary for the Dornoch Railway Company, now merged in the L.M.S. Railway, and other minor appointments. He was a deputylieutenant of the county, and several years ago was captain of the local volunteer company, and afterwards a member of the Territorial Association.

As an author he produced two highly interesting volumes: Ancient Tolbooths of Dornoch," and "Old Dornoch: Its Traditions and Legends."

REGISTERED IN FOREIGN STATE.-A ship which was registered in Odessa was lying at Dartmouth when a French company brought an action in which they claimed, as owners of the ship, decree for possession. The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, which had been recognised by the Crown as the Government of the territory in which Odessa is situated, appeared and maintained that the ship was their property, and that as they were a foreign independent state the Court had no jurisdiction. Held that the Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the action or to try the question whether the ship was or was not the property of the Soviet Government. Decision of Hill J. affirmed. Court of Appeal (Bankes, Scrutton, and Atkin L.JJ.).-17th July 1924.

LAW LIBRARY.

BOOK NOTICES.

The Conveyancing Guide, being Explanations and Forms relative to Practice under the Conveyancing (Scotland) Act, 1924. By John Burns, W.S. 1924. Edinburgh: W. Green & Son Ltd. Price 12s.

The practitioner who finds himself struggling with the syncopated conveyancing which is sought to be introduced by the new Act, and the notices of title" and other abbreviated deeds there prescribed, will inevitably be on the outlook for assistance wherever it may be obtained. Mr Burns is early in the field with a valuable collection of explanations and forms suitable for all forms of property transactions. For every common form of deed he has devised a style in compliance with the provisions of the Act, and we congratulate him on producing in this small and handy volume a style book of the highest utility to the profession.

The Law of Landlord and Tenant, including the Practice in Ejectment and Rent Restrictions. By Joseph Haworth Redman, Barrister-atLaw. Eighth Edition. 1924. London: Butterworth & Co. Price 50s. net.

The new edition of Mr Redman's well-known work on the English law of landlord and tenant has brought down to date a text-book on which English lawyers have long learned to rely. But this edition has also a value for the Scots lawyer from the full treatment given to the

vexed and litigious topic of the Rent Restriction Acts.

Inter Alia, a Scottish Calendar of Crime, and other Historical Essays. By the Rt. Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart. 1924. Glasgow: MacLehose, Jackson & Co. Price 15s. net. A new volume of historical studies from the pen of Sir Herbert Maxwell will be sure of a welcome. We confess to having read the book from cover to cover with great enjoyment. The Scottish studies which form the larger part are, indeed, not all marked by originality of topic. Apparently no writer on Scottish history can long refrain from giving the world his views on those hackneyed themes-the Casket letters and the Gowry conspiracy; though it is extraordinary that the intimate connection between those two historical problems has never, so far as we know, been grasped by the historians. Sir Herbert Maxwell, however, has fresher material than this to give us, and the leading study, from which the volume takes its name, contains a collection of interesting glimpses into the social life of Scotland derived from the earliest criminal trials. Among the essays in which the author finds his theme outside of Scotland we specially commend The Last Great Roman," in which will be found a spirited vindication of the character of Stilicho against the aspersions of Professor Bury.

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Law relating to Electric Lighting, Power, and
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Dalton, A.M.I.E.E., Barrister-at-Law. Butter-
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Journal of Comparative Legislation and International

Law. Edited by Sir Lynden Macassey, K.B.E.,
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