the Poor: Mr Robert Lorimer, Mr A. R. G. M'Millan, Mr W. L. Mitchell, Mr James Keith, Mr J. G. Burns, and Mr Neil A. MacLean. The reports of various Faculty Committees were submitted and approved. The report received by the Faculty from the Curators of the Library contained an interesting list of additions to the Library. The most important of these is a bequest by the late Mr T. L. Kington Oliphant of a large collection of charters and other papers relating to the family of Oliphant of Gask. Beginning with a charter of King William the Lion, the collection includes documents of much value as illustrating both national and family history since the twelfth century. The collection has been inventoried, and the documents have now been transferred from Ardblair Castle, where they have been retained by arrangement since the death of the testator, to the Library which is to be their home. MESSRS L. & J. M'LAREN, W.S., 23 Rutland Street, Edinburgh, intimate that they have assumed as a partner Mr James Stirling, solicitor, of this address. The firm name will remain unaltered. ALEXANDER BLACKLAW, M.A., advocate, and John Alexander Nicol, M.A., B.L., solicitor, intimate that they have entered into partnership, and that the firm name will be Blacklaw & Nicol, advocates, 189 Union Street, Aberdeen. DECISIONS IN THE ENGLISH COURTS. In Re Pool Shipping Co. Ltd. COMPANY-ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION-SHARES -TRANSFER-REGISTRATION-POWER TO MAN LORD SCOTT DICKSON, the Lord JusticeClerk, has been elected an Honorary Bencher of AGERS OF COMPANY TO REFUSE TO REGISTER the Middle Temple. S.S.C. SOCIETY.-At a special general meeting of the Society of Solicitors to the Supreme Courts, held on 20th January 1920-Mr Thomas Liddle, President, in the chair-the following gentlemen were admitted to membership: Mr William Weir Grieve, solicitor, 58 Queen Street, Edinburgh, and Mr Andrew Ferguson Bowie Lawrence, solicitor, 6 Castle Street, Edinburgh. THE LATE MR WILLIAM MORTON, W.S.We regret to announce the death of Mr William Morton, W.S., on 20th inst. He was a wellknown and highly respected member of the legal profession in Edinburgh, where he had been in practice for many years. Born in 1851, the son of the late Mr Alexander Morton, banker, Edinburgh, he was at one time a member of the Society of Solicitors at Law," of which body it is said that only two members now survive. Later, Mr Morton was a member of the S.S.C. Society, and in 1886 he was admitted to the Society of Writers to the Signet. Mr Morton was at his death the senior member of the firm of Cairns, M'Intosh & Morton, W.S., of which he had long been a partner. He was a director of the Reversionary Association Ltd. MESSRS AITKEN & METHUEN, W.S., and Messrs Henderson, Munro & Aikman, W.S., intimate that their businesses of law agents and conveyancers have been conjoined, and will now be carried on under the firm name of Aitken, Methuen & Aikman, W.S., at 37 Queen Street, Edinburgh. TRANSFER-RENUNCIATION BY SHAREHOLDER OF RIGHT TO ALLOTMENT OF NEW SHARES-REFUSAL TO REGISTER NOMINEE.-Held that a power conferred on the managers of a company by its articles to refuse to register any transfer of shares of which they did not approve did not entitle the managers to refuse to place on the register a person in whose favour a shareholder had exercised his right to an allotment of new shares. Chan. Div. (Peterson J.).-7th November 1919. Rex v. Wood Green Profiteering Committee-Ex Parte Boots Cash Chemists (Southern) Ltd.; Rex v. Same-Ex Parte Coulter. WAR-EMERGENCY LEGISLATION-PROFITEER ING ACT 1919 (9 & 10 GEO. V. CAP. 66), SECTION 1 (i) (b)—CHEMIST—DISPENSING PRESCRIPTION -SALE.-Held that where a dispensing chemist made up a prescription for a customer and handed him the medicine in return for a sum of money the transaction constituted a sale of an article within the meaning of section 1, subsection 1(b) of the Profiteering Act 1919.-K.B. Div. (Lord Reading C.J., Coleridge and Sankey JJ.).-8th November 1919. ALLOWING APPEAL - FRESH CERTIFICATE BY CERTIFYING SURGEON SPECIFYING SAME DATE. -A workman obtained a certificate from a certifying surgeon that he was suffering from an industrial disease and that his disablement commenced on 25th March 1918. At the instance of the employers a reference was made to a medical referee who, without stating his reasons, allowed the appeal against the certificate of disablement. Six months later the workman obtained a further certificate from the certifying surgeon in which the date of disablement was again stated to be 25th March 1918. Held that the certificate was invalid in respect that the date of disablement thereby fixed had been finally decided by the medical referee to be inaccurate.-Court of Appeal (Warrington and Atkin L.JJ., and Eve J.).—10th November 1919. J. A. Kirsch & Co. v. Allen, Harding & Co. Ltd. INTERNATIONAL LAW-CONTRACT-BREACH OF CONTRACT MEASURE OF DAMAGES-FOREIGN PLAINTIFF-RATE OF EXCHANGE-Merchants in New York sold a quantity of condensed milk to merchants in England for delivery during 1918. The purchasers committed a breach of the contract. Between the date of the breach of contract and the date of the judgment of the Court the rate of exchange had moved adversely to this country. Held that the measure of damages should be such a sum in sterling as would give the sellers proper compensation in dollars at the rate of exchange prevailing at the date of the Court's judgment. K.B. - K.B. Div. (Roche J.). 10th November 1919. LAW LIBRARY. BOOK NOTICES. The League of Nations. By the Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart. London: Stevens & Sons Ltd. 1920. Price 10s. With the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles there came into actual existence the League of Nations which was an integral part of that great international agreement. This event is likely to prove one of the very greatest landmarks in the development of international law. The prospects which are thereby opened up of organising the nations of the world into a real "society" of nations with an organisation for preserving peace and for many other purposes, offer a fascinating subject to the student of international law. When Sir Frederick Pollock undertakes to write on such a subject the book is sure to be well worth a careful reading. The little volume is, however, unpretentious in scope. It begins with a brief but adequate historical introduction sketching the history of international arbitration; and the main part of the volume is occupied with a commentary, clause by clause, on the text of the Constitution or "Covenant" of the League. The commentary brings out clearly the via media adopted by the framers of the League, who have sought to establish an organisation of the society of nations on the basis of voluntary contractual limitation of its rights by each State without attempting to set up a federal super-state. By a constant reference to history and experience the author attempts to forecast how the scheme of the League is likely to work in practice, and he evidently approves the great elasticity in the machinery which is a notable feature of the framework of the League. It is interesting to notice that the attitude of Sir Frederick Pollock to the scheme is one of temperate optimism. He is sympathetic without being uncritical; he is hopeful, but his hopes are not extravagant. His work may be strongly recommended to everyone interested-and who is not?-in the greatest movement of our time, for the treatment of the subject is always worthy of the theme and of the author. 1920. Kerr on Fraud and Mistake. Fifth Edition. By This important monograph is certainly one of those text-books which preserve their utility by being kept up to date in successive editions; and this new edition will be welcomed by the profession in England. The doctrines of law dealt with have remained in a particularly fluid condition, and their growth and development show no signs of reaching any fixed maturity. What is fraud? is a question as difficult to answer concisely and accurately as it was fifty years ago. Indeed, from some points of view, it may be doubted whether the growth of case law on this topic has not sometimes served rather to confusion than to lucidity. The best, therefore, that could be said of any treatise on such a subject is that it provides the best available clue through the jungle of case law; and that may safely be said of this work. The preparation of the latest edition seems to have been done with the carefulness and accuracy which the high repute of the original work deserved. It may be regrettable to a Scots lawyer that no attempt is made to compare the equivalent doctrines of their own system of law, especially in view of the interesting references which occur to Indian and Colonial decisions; but that is a defect in English text-books to which one has been long accustomed. SHERIFF CAMPBELL LORIMER, K.C. The resignation by Mr Lorimer of the office of Sheriff of Aberdeen removes from the active roll of the profession a familiar and honoured figure; for, to the regret of many friends, his regular attendance at the Courts has been suspended for some time owing to bad health, and in recent years he has seldom been seen in the Parliament House. can The professional career of Sheriff Lorimer carries us back far into last century; for he was admitted to the Bar in 1866, and was in the enjoyment of a large junior practice at an earlier time than most present practitioners remember. His admiration was early fastened on the outstanding legal figure o that time-Lord President Inglis; and throughout his life Mr Lorimer has always held that great judge as the ideal lawyer. methodical leader, apportioned the work among his juniors, and after one such consultation he is said to have turned to Mr Lorimer and said: "I rely on you, Lorimer, for the law of the case." Upon the passing of the Private Legislation Procedure Act 1889 there required to be set up in Scotland a new, ambulatory, and lay tribunal to adjudicate upon applications for Provisional Orders. The Lord Advocate, Mr Graham Murray (now Lord Dunedin), selected Mr Lorimer to be Senior Counsel to the Scottish Office in matters connected with Provisional Orders. It fell to him, in that capacity, to arrange the multifarious details connected with the new tribunal and its procedure, to act as clerk to it, and in effect to act as its legal assessor. There is little doubt that no small share of the credit for the smooth working of the new machinery was due to the tact and the hard work which Mr Lorimer threw into the preparation for the sederunts of the new Court. In so far as a busy counsel with a large and varied practice could be said to specialise, out of the liquidation of the City of Glasgow | Mr Lorimer may be said to have made his mark Bank. Mr Lorimer acted in many of these particularly in company law. In 1884 he numerous and complicated suits. The volume of work was immense, and the junior counsel "burnt the midnight oil" over it to an extent which is called for by few practices in these days. In 1886, and again from 1892 to 1895, Mr Lorimer was one of the Advocates-Depute in the Liberal Government of that day. As such he was employed as a junior counsel for the prosecution in the famous Monson trial for murder. Under the presidency of SolicitorGeneral Asher, who conducted the prosecution, long and anxious consultations were held before and during the long trial. Mr Asher, the published a small volume on "The Law of d In 1908 Mr Lorimer, who had taken silk in 1903, was appointed Sheriff of Ayrshire, and three years later he was transferred to the Sheriffdom of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and Banff, which he has just resigned. During this long judicial career he has shown on the Bench the same painstaking care and the same sound knowledge of law which marked all his pleading at the Bar. The many friends who now miss his familiar figure from the Parliament House will wish him the fullest measure of health and happiness in his retirement. JUDICIAL PROMOTIONS AND It is announced that Mr A. L M'Clure, K.C., Sheriff of Argyll, has been appointed Sheriff of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and Banff in place of Sheriff Lorimer, resigned. Mr A. H. B. Constable, K.C., Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney, and Zetland, has been appointed Sheriff of Argyll in succession to Sheriff M'Clure. Mr J. C. Pitman, advocate, has been appointed Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney, and Zetland in succession to Sheriff Constable. Mr C. P. Boswell, Sheriff-Substitute of Inverness, Elgin, and Nairn at Portree, has been appointed Sheriff-Substitute of Perthshire at Perth in place of Sheriff J. D. Sym, resigned. Mr G. D. Valentine, advocate, has been appointed Sheriff-Substitute of Inverness, Elgin, and Nairn at Portree. Mr J. Campbell Lorimer, who has resigned the Sheriffdom of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and Bute, was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1866, and became King's Counsel in 1903. He held the office of Sheriff of Ayrshire from 1908 to 1911. In the latter year he became Sheriff of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and Banff. Mr Lorimer is a noted legal writer and a recognised authority on company law. Mr A. H. B. Constable was born in 1865, and after graduating in Arts and Law in Edinburgh University was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1889. On the passing of the Private Legislation Procedure Act 1899, Mr Constable published an important volume on Provisional Orders, which has been the standing aid to the profession in dealing with that class of business ever since. He has been retained in many important Provisional Order and private bill enquiries. Mr Constable's practice was interrupted during the war by his acceptance of a commission in the army for recruiting duties. Since 1917 he has been Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney, and Zetland. Mr James C. Pitman, advocate, who becomes Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney, and Zetland, was called to the Bar in 1889. He has acted as counsel for various Government departments. Sheriff Boswell was educated at the University of Edinburgh and was called to the Bar in 1889. He became Sheriff Substitute at Portree in 1912. His grandfather was a Senator of the College of Justice with the title of Lord Balmuto. Mr Valentine was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1903 after an exceptionally distinguished academic career in the Universities of Glasgow and Cambridge. He has acted as interim Sheriff-Substitute in various parts of Scotland, and has always earned a high reputation as a sound lawyer and a courteous judge. PUNCTUATION IN DEEDS. [CONTRIBUTED.] The remarks in the House of Lords on this subject, to which Lord Cullen called attention the other day, have come as a mild surprise to the conveyancer in this country. The conveyancer, shut up in his closet, gets such surprises from time to time. His business is of a solitary nature: it is the expression on paper of the thoughts of others; and the method of this expression is sedulously communicated from master to apprentice. It is wrapped in phrases which are almost immutable, bearing an esoteric meaning, clear only to the initiated. Thus the mystics rear up "wordy cairns, on which each conveyancer of eminence throws a new word till the whole becomes a huge heap of unintelligibility." Occasionally conveyancers startled by a trumpet-call from the Bench announcing a new gospel which is not theirs. They had such an awakening recently by the series of decisions regarding duplicands; and now the highest tribunal in the land gives them another rude shock in trampling under foot their views with regard to the use of punctuation in deeds. are The remarks to which Lord Cullen made reference were those of the Lord Chancellor in the recent case of Turnbull's Trs. v. Lord Advocate (1918 S.C. (H.L.) at p. 91). His Lordship is thus reported : "The authorities as to the effect to be given to punctuation in a will are not quite uniform. In Sandford v. Raikes (1816, 1 Mer. 646 at p. 651) Sir W. Grant says, that it is from the words, and from the context, not from the punctuation, that the sense must be collected'; and in Gordon v. Gordon (1871, L.R., 5 H.L. 254 at p. 276) Lord Westbury said obiter that he concurred in the opinion so expressed by Sir W. Grant. But there are opinions the other way. Wood V.-C. (in Oppenheim v. Henry, Jan. 18, 1853, as reported in a note to Walker v. Tipping, 1852, 9 Hare 800 at p. 803), Sir John Romilly M.R. (in Gauntlett v. Carter, 1853, 17 Beav. 586 at pp. 589 and 590), and Knight Bruce L.J. (see the note to Manning v. Purcell, 1855, 24 L.J. Ch. 522 at p. 523) expressed the opinion that the punctuation in the original will might be looked at for the purpose of helping in its construction." Lord Shaw of Dunfermline was the only other judge in that appeal who referred to the matter. He said (p. 95): "Punctuation is a rational part of English composition and is sometimes quite significantly employed. I see no reason for depriving legal documents of such significance as attaches to punctuation in other writings." While the practitioners in England appear not to have been of one mind in regard to the matter, the conveyancers of this country were generally of opinion that punctuation in probative writings falls to be ignored, and consequently their astonishment was great when the judges in the House of Lords in disposing of a Scots appeal ran counter to their recognised practice without even adverting for a moment to the reasons which lay at the basis of that practice. A reason for this divergence of views between the judge and the conveyancer is not difficult to find; it arises from the difference of the functions which each exercises. The conveyancer, occupied with the task of fixing upon paper his client's thoughts, strives, in the first place, to express them in terms so free from dubiety that the symbols of punctuation are unnecessary; nay more, that the meaning would remain clear despite the punctuating vagaries of an engrossing clerk. The judge, on the other hand, to whom falls the often onerous task of interpreting the thoughts of the granters of a deed, naturally seizes every aid to the elucidation of the meaning of the document, and consequently does not disdain the assistance given by the symbols of punctuation. The conveyancer cannot exercise any restraint over the judge in this course. Lord Cullen does not appear to note that the judges in the House of Lords have as yet contented themselves with making use of the assistance of punctuation in the construction only of testamentary writings; or perhaps he sees too clearly that they cannot stop there, but must extend the application of its use to every form of deed. The conveyancer, doubtless, would prefer to see the judge confine this aid to interpretation to the case of holograph writings; and indeed most authorities referred to by the Lord Chancellor seem to relate to wills in the testator's handwriting which were examined "with a view to see whether anything there appearing -as, for instance, the mode in which it was written, how dashed and stopped '-could guide them in the true construction to be put | upon it." In such circumstances it is an easy assumption that the insertion of the symbols have been the considered act of the writer, but in formal engrossments their presence more often "depends upon the taste and fancy" of some clerk, whose fantastic distribution of commas and stops the granter adopts by subscribing the deed. In this connection it should not be overlooked that when reliance is placed upon punctuation in the interpretation of documents a weapon is forged for those who would deliberately set out to alter their meaning. Already the Courts have, much to the grief of the conveyancer, made the task of such wrongdoers more easy by relaxing the rules as to the authentication of deletions in testamentary settlements. The duty of the conveyancer, however, seems clear, and that is so to frame deeds that the symbols of punctuation are not only unnecessary to their interpretation, but so that their interpolation, by whomsoever made, cannot affect their meaning. Mr J. B. Young, advocate, for the Army Department, for the Ministries of Pensions, Labour, and Food, and for the Scottish Office, and Scottish Prison Commissioners. Mr A. R. Brown, advocate, for the Treasury, the Woods and Forests Commissioners, the Commissioners of Works, the King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, and the Accountant of Court. Mr A. Maitland, advocate, for the Crown as Ultimus Hares. Mr A. C. Black, advocate, for the Admiralty. Mr J. M. Hunter, advocate, for the Board of Trade. Mr A. N. Skelton, advocate, for the Post Office. COURT OF SESSION.-The customary adjournment of the Court in the month of February will be from Saturday, 7th February, to Saturday, 14th February, conform to a resolution of the Lords of Council and Session under authority of section 4 of the Court of Session Act 1868. HOUSE OF LORDS.-The latest list of causes standing for hearing in the House of Lords, issued 23rd January 1920, contains the following five appeals from Scotland: Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. v. Penney; Kemp v. Corporation of Glasgow; Coltness Iron Co. Ltd. v. Dobbie; Brown and Others v. Gregson and Others; Campbell or Robertson v. Woodilee Coal and Coke Co. Ltd. Among the cases of general interest appears The Attorney-General (on behalf of His Majesty) v. De Keyser's Royal Hotel Ltd. |