If this book only settled the vexed question of the tariff, it would indeed be a boon of incalculable value. The author, however, has done the next best thing, and given us a most useful work on the tariff as it is, and one which will be a great aid, even if the pres ent laws should be changed, to importers, customs officers, and all lawyers who are called to advise in customs cases. The acts of Congress relating to im ports, even if readily accessible, are difficult of appli cation to particular cases. The chief aim of this book is to show, in a compact form, how the Tariff Acts have been applied to actual cases by a long series of decisions by the Secretary of the Treasury. It contains the published decisions of the Treasury, in the form of abstracts or notes, arranged under the section of the statute, or the paragraph of the schedule to which each applies; and with them are abstracts of all cases decided by the courts and the Attorneys-General since the adoption of the Re vised Statutes of the United States that are deemed to be of advantage and illustrative of the subject. We most heartily commend this book to all who are in any way interested in the matter of customs. Leaves of a Life; being the Reminiscences of Montagu Williams, Q. C. Published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., Boston and New York, 1890. Two volumes. $7.50. "I think I may safely say," says the author, " that I have defended more prisoners than any other living man; " and certainly Mr. Williams is one of the best known of English criminal lawyers. Had he been able to continue in practice, he would undoubtedly have stood at the very head of his profession in this particular branch, but unfortunately a severe disease of the throat obliged him to retire some four years since. The two volumes before us are written in a peculiarly interesting style; and while there is a vein of egotism running through the narratives, it is per haps pardonable in a man who has met with such distinguished success. Associated with him in many of his most important cases was Serjeant Ballantine, a name as familiar in this country as it is in England. Mr. Williams says of him : " The Serjeant was a very extraordinary man. He was the best crossexaminer of his kind that I have ever heard, and the quickest at swallowing facts. It was not necessary for him to read his brief; he had a marvellous faculty for picking up a case as it went along, or learning all the essentials in a hurried colloquy with his junior. There is no point that the Serjeant might not have attained in his profession had he only pos sessed more ballast." Mr. Williams was engaged in some of the most celebrated cases of his time. The first was that of
Catherine Wilson charged with administering sul phuric acid to one Sarah Parnell, with the intent of murdering her. He was counsel in the HattonGarden murder case, which was regarded by him as one of the most remarkable in his career; the Cannon Street murder; the case of De Tourville, accused of murdering bis wife; the defence of one of the parties accused of being concerned in the Clerkenwell explosion; the case of Lefroy, indicted for murdering a Mr. Gold in a railway train. Mr. Williams was also engaged in the trial of Dr. Lamson for the murder of his brother-in-law by the adminis tration of aconitine; and a host of others too numer ous to mention. Anecdotes are scattered through the book, — some more or less old; but there are many good ones which we had never heard before, and which will bear repetition. "A certain Mr. F of the Western Circuit, conducting the defence of a woman charged with causing the death of her child by not giving it proper food, while addressing the jury, said : " Gentlemen, it appears to be impossible that the prisoner can have committed this crime. A mother guilty of such conduct to her own child! Why, it is repugnant to our better feelings; " and then being carried away by his own eloquence, he proceeded; " Gentlemen, the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, suckle their young, and — " But at this point the learned judge interrupted him and said : " Mr. F , if you establish the latter part of your proposition, your client will be acquitted for a certainty." The following story is told of the chairman of the Bench of County Magistrates somewhere in the North. The gentleman in question, who was a large landed proprietor, had among his laborers a very useful man, who was somewhat of a favorite of his. This person had taken a fancy to some of his neigh bor's fowls, was arrested, and sent before his master for trial. Upon the case being called on, the pris oner, in answer to the charge, pleaded " Guilty." The chairman, nevertheless, went on trying the case, just as though the plea had involved a denial of the accu sation. Knowing that the chairman was very deaf, a counsel present jumped up, and as amicus curia, ventured to interpose, and remind his worship that the prisoner had confessed his guilt. Upon this the presiding genius flew into a tremendous passion, begged the learned counsel would not interrupt him, and exclaimed : " Pleaded Guilty! I know he did : but you don't know him as well as I do. He 's one of the biggest liars in the neighborhood, and I would n't believe him on his oath." The trial pro ceeded; and while the result is not given the proba bilities are that the prisoner was acquitted. The book will well repay a perusal, and cannot fail to interest and entertain its readers.
