defensible on any sound principle of political policy, violative of the constitutional rights of the property owner, subversive of the existing social polity, and essentially revolution

ary.

The subject of illegal combinations, pools and trusts was discussed, and the power and duty of the State to suppress all combinations seen or found to be injurious to the public welfare, strongly enforced. The proposed socialistic remedy that the State shall intervene and assume the ownership of transportation systems and the leading productive industries, which is obviously the substitution of social industrialism and the surrender to the State of the individual's liberty of action, was declared to be a remedy immeasurably worse than the disease, and one not at all necessary to secure the public welfare, since the State's power to suppress any and every form of combination, whether corporate or individual, which is hurtful to the general good, is adequate to the end to be reached.

A large portion of the address was devoted to a consideration of the needed revision of our

clare that our laws on this subject as they now
exist are open to grave objections, on the
ground that they are in their practical operation
frequently unjust to the heir and tend to pro-
duce those inequalities of fortune which, in a
republican government, should never be en-
couraged or favored by legislation. While op-
posed to any confiscation or appropriation of
his property on the owner's death for the use
of the State, the speaker urged that the laws
should be so changed that in their constant and
unbroken operation they should secure.
equal rights of the children against the ancestor's
present absolute power; should tend more
effectually than at present to keep property in
free circulation and prevent its concentration
in single hands.

The French law of forced heirships and prohibition of trust estates, its policy and practical operation, were considered at length and its principle commended. The fundamental policy of the French law is to maintain the simplicity of estates and different interests in land, to prevent its being kept out of commerce by means of trusts, and to prevent concentrations of propThat this laws relating to inheritance and the power erty in the hands of single owners. of testamentary disposition. This was the policy had been in practical operation in France marked feature of the paper, The position of for a 100 years, with the result that there are certain writers and courts that the right to take to-day in that country 7,500,000 separate proproperty by descent or will is neither a natural prietors of land, of which 5,000,000 are estinor a constitutional right, was criticised and mated to average only six acres of land each. controverted. The position was taken that the This is the direct, foreseen and necessary conparent is under a natural obligation to provide sequence of the principles of the French law for his children, and the contrary position was on this subject, with the result that France is declared to be in conflict with the universal to-day one of the richest and most prosperous The result had been sentiments and convictions of mankind. The countries of the world. existing laws of this country respecting the the same in Louisiana. The speaker was not owner's power of disposition of his property prepared to say that we ought to adopt the during his life and by bequest, are essentially French law bodily, but he did urge that we founded on the feudal and aristocratic notions should introduce into our law such changes as on these subjects which we derived from Eng- will tend, by the constant, continuous and siland. They invest the owner with almost ab- lent operation of the laws, and without interfersolute power to dispose of his property as he ence with the just rights of property, to insure sees fit. He may disinherit his children en- more effectually the free circulation of proptirely, or give his property to them in unequal erty, to prevent its being tied up with trusts and shares; he may tie it up by deed or will in pri- the concentration of vast estates in the hands vate trusts, to be used and enjoyed as he may of single owners. He regretted that this imdirect, for long periods of time after his death, portant subject had not received the attention and for charitable uses without limitation as to of the recent Constitutional Convention in New time. The practical operation of these laws York, and declared that true statesmanship tend to the concentration of wealth in single looked at the future as well as the present, and hands, and the speaker felt constrained to de- I makes its chief concern the shaping of peaceful

policies so that progress may be secured and he was highly respected, and the bench of the revolution avoided.

His address closed with a consideration of the social as distinguished from the legal duties of property. He insisted with emphasis that we must increase our appreciation of the responsibility of society for the welfare of all of its members; that the possessor of a large fortune, no matter how honestly acquired, or however firm and exclusive in legal theory the right of ownership, and how fully he may discharge his legal duties, is yet a debtor to the community, and that his property has, in an important sense, a public as well as a private side, and that he owes to society manifold duties which are entirely beyond the range of legal cognizance. Our rich men, he said, have learned to gain wealth; they must now learn the more difficult lesson how to use it.

on

Sir John Thompson, the Canadian premier, who was on a visit to England, died the 12th day of December, 1894, at Windsor Castle shortly after he had an interview with the Queen and had been sworn in as a member of the Privy Council. The Law Times gives a short sketch of his life which we believe will be

interesting to our readers and which we give herewith. "Sir John Thompson was born in Halifax on the roth of November, 1844. By

Supreme Court was held to have been much
strengthened by his accession to it. By nature
a student, the duty of weighing evidence was
one for which he was peculiarly fitted. Un- ́
flagging industry and an accurate memory en-
abled him to amass a valuable body of legal facts,
and it is related of him that during the three years
while he continued to occupy his position upon
the bench he never failed to devote five hours of
study every day to the theory of his profession.
In 1885 he was already regarded by competent
persons who knew him well as one of the most
accomplished lawyers of the dominion. The
Judicature Act, which became law in 1884, is
among the permanent works which he has left
behind him. In 1885 Sir John MacDonald ap-
pointed him Minister of Justice in a cabinet of
which the brilliant oratorical exercises might,
session was allowed to pass without some legis-
it was felt, be always performed by others.

lation of which he was the author. The active
part which he has taken in urging the settle-
ment of the copyright question is well known.
His amendments to banking laws and his re-
vision of criminal law have been of great value.

In 1887 he accompanied Sir Charles Tupper to Washington, and during the negotiation of the Chamberlain-Bayard Fishery treaty he acted as legal adviser of the British plenipotentiaries. He has also given advice and prepared reports, always valuable for the array of facts which they contain, upon other interIn acknowledgment of national questions.

birth, by early education, and by subsequent training he was a true Canadian, although the origin of his father's family was Irish. His period of public service in the Dominion Parliament has been relatively short. He was called to Ottawa and intrusted with his first portfolio as minister of justice by Sir John Macdonald in 1885. Beginning life, in common with many of the colleagues with whom he afterward had to work, in a lawyer's office, he made his first acquaintance with parliamentary procedure as an official reporter in the Provincial House of Assembly. At the age of twentyfour he had reached the position as reporter-inchief and held it for four years, although he had in the meantime been called to the bar and entered early upon successful practice. In 1882 he withdrew altogether from politics and accepted the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. He had shown himself under all circumstances upright, laborious, able, and energetic, rather than brilliant. As a jurist A writer in the Halifax Herald, in speaking

his services at Washington he was made a K.
C. M. G. He has since been called to the
Privy Council, and it was for the purpose of
taking the oath as Privy Councillor that he
determined to take the journey which brought
him on this last sad occasion to this country.
He became premier on the resignation of Mr.
Abbott in November, 1892. In the two years
during which he has held office he has added
to the high regard in which his reputation was
already held, and the position of Canada under
his guidance has been affirmed and strength-
Sir John
ened in the eyes of the world.
Thompson married, in 1871, Miss Annie
Affleck, daughter of Captain Affleck.
leaves several children."

He

policies so that progress may be secured and he was highly respected, and the bench of the revolution avoided.

His address closed with a consideration of the social as distinguished from the legal duties of property. He insisted with emphasis that we must increase our appreciation of the responsibility of society for the welfare of all of its members; that the possessor of a large fortune, no matter how honestly acquired, or however firm and exclusive in legal theory the right of ownership, and how fully he may discharge his legal duties, is yet a debtor to the community, and that his property has, in an important sense, a public as well as a private side, and that he owes to society manifold duties which are entirely beyond the range of legal cognizance. Our rich men, he said, have learned to gain wealth; they must now learn the more difficult lesson how to use it.

Sir John Thompson, the Canadian premier, who was on a visit to England, died on the 12th day of December, 1894, at Windsor Castle shortly after he had an interview with the Queen and had been sworn in as a member of the Privy Council. The Law Times gives a short sketch of his life which we believe will be

interesting to our readers and which we give herewith. "Sir John Thompson was born in Halifax on the 10th of November, 1844. By birth, by early education, and by subsequent training he was a true Canadian, although the origin of his father's family was Irish. His period of public service in the Dominion Parliament has been relatively short. He was called to Ottawa and intrusted with his first portfolio as minister of justice by Sir John Macdonald in 1885. Beginning life, in common with many of the colleagues with whom he afterward had to work, in a lawyer's office, he made his first acquaintance with parliamentary procedure as an official reporter in the Provincial House of Assembly. At the age of twentyfour he had reached the position as reporter-inchief and held it for four years, although he had in the meantime been called to the bar and entered early upon successful practice. In 1882 he withdrew altogether from politics and accepted the position of judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. He had shown himself under all circumstances upright, laborious, able, and energetic, rather than brilliant. As a jurist

Supreme Court was held to have been much
strengthened by his accession to it. By nature
a student, the duty of weighing evidence was
one for which he was peculiarly fitted. Un-
flagging industry and an accurate memory en-
abled him to amass a valuable body of legal facts,
and it is related of him that during the three years
while he continued to occupy his position upon
the bench he never failed to devote five hours of
study every day to the theory of his profession.
In 1885 he was already regarded by competent
persons who knew him well as one of the most
accomplished lawyers of the dominion. The
Judicature Act, which became law in 1884, is
among the permanent works which he has left
behind him. In 1885 Sir John MacDonald ap-
pointed him Minister of Justice in a cabinet of
which the brilliant oratorical exercises might,
it was felt, be always performed by others. No
session was allowed to pass without some legis-

lation of which he was the author. The active

part which he has taken in urging the settlement of the copyright question is well known. His amendments to banking laws and his revision of criminal law have been of great value.

In 1887 he accompanied Sir Charles Tupper

to Washington, and during the negotiation of the Chamberlain-Bayard Fishery treaty he acted as legal adviser of the British plenipotentiaries. He has also given advice and prepared reports, always valuable for the array of facts which they contain, upon other international questions.

In acknowledgment of

his services at Washington he was made a K.
C. M. G. He has since been called to the
Privy Council, and it was for the purpose of
taking the oath as Privy Councillor that he
determined to take the journey which brought
him on this last sad occasion to this country.
He became premier on the resignation of Mr.
Abbott in November, 1892. In the two years
during which he has held office he has added
to the high regard in which his reputation was
already held, and the position of Canada under
his guidance has been affirmed and strength-
ened in the eyes of the world. Sir John
Thompson married, in 1871, Miss Annie
Affleck, daughter of Captain Affleck.
leaves several children."

He

A writer in the Halifax Herald, in speaking

But

career, in the palace of the Guelphs and
at the foot of his sovereign. Had there
been a choice to him, he would have pre-
ferred death in the hut of the humblest
settler on the banks of the Saskatchewan.
to him there had come that day 'Get thee up
into this mountain,' and it found him not chas-
ing the bubbles of power and wealth, but doing
his Master's business. No truer man ever died
in Windsor Castle, and perhaps it is fitting that
he who more than any other stood for the man-
hood of Canada, should have spent his last
moments in the home of such a sovereign as

Victoria."

The special counsel for the grand jury which is to investigate the police frauds in New York city have been appointed in the persons of exSurrogate Daniel G. Rollins and Austin G. Fox, Esq., who was recently appointed one of the members of the State board to examine applicants for admission to the bar. With the aid of Assistant District Attorney McIntyre, whose work was so admirable in the recent investigation, the inquisition of the grand jury will be conducted in a most honorable, thorough and

of the dead Premier, gives an interesting sketch, part of which is as follows: "As to his works -well is it for Canada that since 1885 a great series of international law questions have been taken up and disposed of, any one of which cost him more time and labor than half the law suits he ever tried in his life. I do not pretend to say that others, too, have not rendered great service in settling those matters, but upon the minister, for the time being holding the portfolio of justice, fell the chief responsibility. The fishery dispute, the copyright question and the Behring Sea case, have all been won for Canada, while his wonderful abilities were at the service of the State. Then the completion and passage of the Criminal Code marks a new era in criminal legislation and penal reform, not only for Canada, but for the world as well. It is as true as a proposition in Euclid, that the criminal law of Canada is above that of any nation or State on the face of the earth. It embodies most of the suggestion of Bentham, Becarri, Livingston, Mackintosh and Romily, and hundreds of others which never occurred to them, and is the first attempt on a national scale to make criminal law synonymous with justice, and sub-competent manner. All of the persons who stitutes for barbarism civilization and Christianity. But, perhaps, after all these are the least of his labors; to govern seven provinces and as many territories, extending from ocean to ocean, to maintain a high discipline in the public service, purify institutions, and penetrate the life of the people with his spirit and aim, to do for all and to provide for all and to trample under foot all the seducements of wealth and power are labors 'with which the perils of war are but the sports of children.' How this man worked for Canada need not be further referred to, for the seal of the nation's approval is set on most of his deeds. None of us knew him while he was here — we are all too much like the hired man who visited Olympus, but fell asleep after dinner and did not hear the conversation of the gods. We are all open to the charge of an immense frivolity, and our thoughts are tinged with our mental habits. There is something inexpressibly tragic in his death that he, who was the most modest and humble of all her subjects, the man who of all others, shrank most from display, should have died in the culminating hour of his

have been engaged in the unlawful and disgraceful pursuits should be indicted, without relation to race, color or previous condition of servitude. Let the drag-net execute its work thoroughly, and let all assist in whatever way they can, not as dilletante reformers, but as citizens of one country and State.

The Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion delivered by Mr. Justice Brown, in deciding the case of Christopher C. Campbell v. City of Haverhill, has decided that the statute of limitations runs against claims growing out of alleged infringement of patents, as well as against claims arising from other transactions. The plaintiff sued the city of Haverhill for an infringement of the Phillips patent for the improvement of pumps. The trial judge held that the statute of limitations was a good defense to the claim. Justice Brown, in his opinion, holds that the question has been determined both ways by the Circuit Courts, and that in the absence of any Federal statute on the subject, the statute of limitations of the various States should apply.