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REVIEWS. 185 Die Kontrolle uber die Gesetzgebung in dem Vereinigten Staa- TEN VON Nord-Amerika und deren Gliedern. Von Dr. Amos S. Hershey. Heidelberg: J. Horning. 1894. 8vo. pp. 71. This little work originated in Professor Jellinek's Seminar of Public Liw at Heidelberg. It treats of the various checks and limitatioi s im- posed on the legislative power, not merely in the Federal Government, but in the individual Stales. The chief restraints noticed are the veto- power, the power of the courts to test the constitutionality of statutes, and the direct participation of the electors in legislation through consti- tutional conventions and the referendum. The author has not merely explained the nature of these restrictions, but has also given a brief his- torical ac( ount of their origin and added some observations on their prac- tical working. He writes with force and clearness, and has arranged his niatcri il admirably. The sections on the referendum, or submission of leijislative questions to the decision of the electors directly, are especially good. While presenting nothing especially new to the American student of constitutional law and politics, the book is well worthy of perusal as a clear and concise statement of the subject. f. b. w. Hand Book of Common-Law Pleading. By Benjamin J. Shipman. St. Paul, Minn : West Publishing Co. 1894. 8vo. pp. xii. 370. Mr. Shipman's work contains, what its title does not suggest, a great deal of general information as well in questions of practice as of plead- ing. The b )ok is written in a clear and simple style, well adapted to a student's needs, and ought to serve its purpose of making students under- stand the common-law procedure. In a book of so much merit of sim- plicity and fulness it is to be regretted that the leading principles in black letter type do not at all show the effect of thorough testing and revision, such as is advisable when an author undertakes the dangerous and dif- ficult task of supplying multum in parvo. For instance, one " leading principle " is " Evidence is relevant to an issue which tends in any de- gree to prove it," and the needless warning is given in " elucidating " commentary on this that relevancy is " a matter oft^n difficult of determi- nation." But these, although not the only serious slips, are, perhaps, not fair samples of the general run of the book, which is on the whole apt for its purpose. r. w. h. A Selection of Authorities on Descent, Wills and Administra- tion. By Nathan Abbott, Professor of Law in Northwestern Uni- versity, Chicago. St. Paul : West Publ. Co. 1894. 8vo. pp.751. This volume differs materially from other works of the same character, both in form and arrangement. The author has made his selection frcm three different sources, and accordingly divided the book into three parts. The first part, called the Text, consists of excerpts from standard text- books, selected with a view to filling up, in some measure, the gaps in the development of a subject by cases alone. Each excerpt is accompanied by references to the relevant cases, and these cases constitute the se( ond part. The third part is made up of a full collection of statutes on the subject. Where so many selections from law treatises and so many statutes are printed, this arrangement is probably the best. The book will be of especial value to students who are reading k,v by themselves without the aid of a teacher. f. b. w.