Page:Harvard Law Review Volume 5.djvu/115

REVIEWS. 99 A Treatise on the Law of Roads and Streets. By Byron K. Elliott and William F. Elliott. Indianapolis : The Bowen-Merrill Co., 1890. 8vo. pp. Ixxvi and 742. This work appears to fill very satisfactorily the growing want of a treatise on this special topic. It certainly will not lessen the favor which the authors won from the profession by their earlier book on " The Work of the Advocate." It is more than a mere digest of cases, as too many of our modern text- books are apt to be ; there is a distinct effort to reduce the law on this subject to something like a well-ordered and scientific whole, in which inconsistencies are exposed and erroneous decisions boldly attacked. The references — nearly eight thousand cases are cited — are accurate and, to date, the topics are thoroughly indexed, and the me- chanical execution of the book is better than the average. At the same time, the progressiveness of the subject probably will not allow the book, at least this edition, a very long lease of life. W. B. The Law of Expert Testimony. By Henry Wade Rogers. Second edition, rewritten and enlarged. St. Louis, Mo. : Central Law Journal Co., 1891. pp. xlvii and 542. President Rogers rendered a distinct service to the profession when, some years ago, he published the first edition of "The Law of Expert Testimony." This work supplements the general treatise on the law of evidence, and furnishes a convenient and useful book for the practising lawyer. The edition before us has been entirely rewritten and improved in many ways, particularly in arrangement, the citation of many recent cases, and the addition of a new chapter. In this chapter is collected the law on the much-discussed question of the weight to be given by the jury to the testimony of experts. The ease of getting, in the words of Mr. Justice Miller, " any amount of them on either side " is forcibly brought out ; and the different views as to the proper instructions to be given to the jury are set forth and briefly discussed. This chapter is a valuable addition to the work. The book is well arranged, has good tables of con- tents and of cases cited, and an excellent index. The author states things clearly and compactly, and aims to give the law as it is in the different jurisdictions. He quotes freely, and usually with good judgment, from the opinions of many courts. One frequently regrets, however, that he has not stated the gist of the decision in his own words. In the few in- stances in which he has ventured to compare conflicting decisions and state his own opinion, he has made so distinct an addition to his book that it is to be regretted that he has not expressed his views much more freely. J. A. B., Jr.