Page:Harvard Law Review Volume 32.djvu/223

BOOK REVIEWS 187 home. Half way across the street, the child noticed the horse and turned to scamper back to the sidewalk. But Judge Shaw at once pulled up his horse and, beckoning to the boy to keep on, said: "Cross over, little boy, it is your right." This trifling circumstance shows the character of the man. He was the very embodiment of reverence for the law itself, its rights and duties. When the legislature in 1843 reduced his judicial salary, he would refuse to complain; but he would not, and did not, draw the reduced salary. He waited for the unjust and unconstitutional law to be repealed later, and this was done in the next year. We, college boys, used to smile at his never failing in his speeches at Commencement dinner to refer to the absolute necessity of an "independent judiciary." But time has shown his insistence to be right and wise. The Chief Justice's appearance on the bench was almost stern in its sim- plicity and dignity. The court itself seemed immortal and changeless in the many years during which Shaw, Dewey, Wilde, and Metcalf sat together. The custom of having murder trials always before a full bench, in order then and there to dispose of all legal questions arising in it, lasted until after the Civil War. Doctor Webster's trial in 1850 continued through eleven days before a full bench. The writer, then a Latin-school boy, followed it closely in his school intermissions. Attorney-General Clifford, in his blue coat, brass buttons and buff waistcoat; Dr. Webster, always wearing his black gloves, sittMig in the cage; the Chief Justice and his three associates, in watch- ful, solemn dignity on the bench; the attentive jurors; the crowded room packed within the rail by the bar; and every other seat filled; — made a scene never to be forgotten. It was altogether suited to the temple of justice. The numerous stories about the Chief Justice's peculiarities of manner may serve for the entertainment of later generations, but to the men who tried cases before him they were mere empty talk. Shaw was the impersonation of absolute fairness. No counsel ever feared he would not have his case fairly heard, or that he would fail to get full appreciation of his points or full justice in its trial. The writer, who began practice less than two years after Chief Justice Shaw had retired, is thoroughly familiar with the views and thoughts of the men who then were leaders of the bar. He is able to speak with assur- ance. Their great regard and respect for the Chief Justice and their view of the way in which he performed his duties could hardly be increased. The writer never heard a single word from any of them which did not express pro- found reverence for the great Chief Justice. He was truly a great judge, and he is fortunate now in having so good a biographer at last, after long years of silence. E. H. A. (185s). The Army and the Law. By Garrard Glenn. New York: Coltmibia Uni- versity Press. 1918. pp.197. It is a little surprising that the war has not produced a greater mmiber of books relating to the law governing the army either in its internal government or in its external relations. The ante-bellum literature is composed chiefly of books on military law, like those by General Davis, General Dudley, and Colonel Winthrop, which, with the notable exception of Colonel Winthrop's excellent treatise, are largely compilations of statutes and opinions of the Judge Advocates General; the official Manual for Courts Martial; the official Rules of Land Warfare; Major Birkhimer's well-known work on Military Govern- ment and Martial Law; and the numerous books on international law. With the exception of the books on international law this literature is largely the product of army officers. Professor Glenn's little book, written from the point