EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Vol. III. reporting the electric and street railway decisions in the state and federal courts of the United States, in furtherance of the common plan of the series, collects the law decided since the publication of Vol. II concerning the whole question and arranges it by states, reporting at length all the more important decisions and giving a digest of those of lesser importance, with full footnotes in juxtaposition summarizing the holdings in other jurisdictions, together with references to similar cases in the present and two pre ceding volumes. Vol. Ill, like Vols. I and II, contains a workable index, and with the system of cross-references and footnotes will be found an encyclopedia for the occasional practitioner in street railway law and a neces sity for the regular one. Charles M. Davenport. RAILWAYS (see Constitutional Law). SALES (Chattel Mortgages). Samuel Williston in the June Harvard Laiv Review (V. xix, p. 557) analyzes the cases relating to " Trans fers of After Acquired Personal Property." The old English doctrine abolished by the Sale of Goods act that such a transfer gives a legal title good against all the world to the property, when it comes into existence has been followed to its logical limits in few of our states but except against purchasers for value an agreement to mortgage such prop erty is generally held to be enforceable. The grounds for the doctrine are not clearly stated, but it is generally regarded as dependent on rules of equity such as specific performance. It should be noted, however, that under the doctrine of appropriation it is perfectly easy to draw an agreement so that the legal title to future chattel property will pass except so far as invalidated by the recording acts. The author submits that the only question re garding the propriety of the equitable relief is whether public policy should set any limits to the power of a man to bargain away not only all that he has but all that he ever may have. There are, however, several doctrines which may be infringed by the allowance of these equitable liens. "i. Recording acts require chattel mort
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gages to be recorded or the possession of the chattels to be transferred. "2. Chattel property which is transferred but of which possession is retained by the seller, in many jurisdictions even apart from the provisions of recording acts, may be seized by the seller's creditors. "3. It is often held to make a mortgage fraudulent, if the mortgagor is allowed by the terms of the mortgage or by the agreement of the parties to withdraw from the mortgage the property covered by it, at his pleasure, and sell the property as his own. "4. The Bankruptcy Act forbids prefer ences, and the policy of the act is to secure equality of distribution among the bankrupt's creditors." The author then shows how the enforce ment of the doctrine may conflict with these. It is the law of bankruptcy, however, which he believes most clearly shows the error of basing an equitable lien on the insolvency of the vendor. Insolvency is the very circum stance which makes it impossible for the seller to carry out his contract. "Every creditor of a bankrupt estate has parted with his money in return for a promise which has not been kept. All are alike in suffering this injustice, and the fact that what one creditor gave or was to receive is capable of identification seems no reason in natural justice why he should be preferred over others whose money has gone perhaps to swell the estate but who cannot trace what they gave or identify what they were promised in return. "The whole subject is in so confused a state upon the authorities and its proper solu tion depends so much on rules of policy that a statute regulating the rights of the parties offers the best solution of the difficulties. If a uniform law could be passed in a number of states the gain would be greater." STATUTES. " A Point in the Interpreta tion of Statutes," by H. B. Higgins, The Com monwealth Law Review (V. iii, p. 155). TORTS. " Statutory Torts in Massachu setts," by Waterman L. Williams, zd edition, $3 net. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. 1906. This work is devoted chiefly to the liability of cities and towns, etc., under the highway
