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THE LAW OF SURETYSHIP AND GUARANTY. By Darius H. Fingrcy, LI..D. Albany : Matthew Bender. 1901. (320 pp.) An examination of the contents of the book shows that the author has succeeded in a large measure in accomplishing the task which he set himself of presenting " a systematic and concise treatise on the subject of Suretyship and Guar anty." The law relating to suretyship is first treated, and occupies three-fourths of the book, approximately. The arrangement is good, and the indexing is such that the student or practi tioner readily finds the statement of the law for which he is looking. This is no small compli ment to pay any law book. In logical order are treated the nature and effect of a contract of suretyship, the execution of it, scope of the surety's liability, what will discharge him, the rights and remedies of the surety as to the creditor, the principal and his co-sureties. Then follows a discussion of the law relating to sureties upon bonds in legal pro ceedings and upon bonds of persons acting under judicial sanction. The chapters relating to bonds of private and public officers and agents are especially well and accurately stated, — from a Massachusetts standpoint, certainly. This statement, however, should not be taken to imply that the book is written or intended for Massachusetts practitioners alone. The author has not attempted, and indeed could not under take, to deal with all of the statutory peculiari ties oï the law in the various States, within the limits which he has set for himself. But the principal changes from the common law in the leading States have been stated by him. Through out, the references have been fairly distributed among the leading cases of the best known courts, and the author is to be commended for his restraint in the use of citations. The book has not been lumbered up with a mass of con flicting citations from various jurisdictions, but accompanying the statement of a principle is to be found at least one citation of a leading case from which as a starting point the student can extend his investigations, or the lawyer prepare his brief. The distinction between a contract of surety ship and one of guaranty is generally a hazy and difficult one to the student, if not to the older men of the law. In the discussion of the differ-
enees between them the author has contented himself with a brief discussion in which is clearly pointed out the general line of demarcation be tween the two. In the succeeding chapters upon the law of guaranty, he has indicated with care and brevity the finer distinctions, and illustrates the slight changes of fact which will throw the case upon either side of the line. In this volume of mod erate size the busy lawyer will find a compen dium of the law on Suretyship and Guaranty which will be of more practical benefit to him in the every-day work of his office than the larger editions of earlier writers.
THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF BANKING IN AUS TRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. Second edition. By Edward В. Hamilton. B.A.; annotated by J. G. Eagleson, B.A.; L.L.B. Melbourne : Charles F. Maxwell. 1900. Cloth, 255. (xxxiv + 399). Naturally the scope of the book, and its style, is not quite the same as if the author had set himself the task of writing a legal text-book and nothing more. Its subject is not only the law of banking, but the practice also. So it is that there is found, for example, a chapter devoted to the Melbourne Clearing House, describing the modus operandi and also giving a short history of the growth of the clearing-house system in London and elsewhere. Then, too, in another place mention is made of the first allusion to a pass-book, which occurs in a letter written in 1715, by a customer to his banker. Things like this, and the local color here and there, as for instance, the reference to the general features of legislation affecting mortgages on sheep and other stock and liens on wool, together with the general style in which the book is written — a style a bit less technical and less heavy than is usually met with in a law book — make the manual rather entertaining reading, without in the least detracting from its solid value. Judge Hamilton points out that " it is surprising how many points of law, not merely of local interest, but of general importance have been de termined in cases which arose in these colonies, and which have been taken home to the Privy Council on appeal." But in some striking par ticulars the Australian system of banking differs
