The Meeting of the New York State Bar Association attempts at personal persuasion and logrolling be frowned upon as an act of gross impropriety. Fourth—That we recommend to the Legislature the establishment of a permanent position, to be known as the Legislative Counsel, with largeand com prehensive powers in the formulation, criticism and review of all bills, either pending or prospective. Fifth—The designation by this Association of some suitable person as an Examiner of Legislation, whose duties and prerogatives shall be of the character and scope hereinbefore outlined. After the report was offered, the meeting unanimously adopted all the Committee's recommendations, together with that that the Legislature be requested to provide for an investigation of the present Code of Civil Procedure, and a resolution that the Legisla ture make a consolidation of the special statutes upon the same lines as those adopted with reference to the general laws. THE GENERAL STATUTES OF NEW YORK The importance of this work of statute consolidation was signalized in the remarks of Mr. John G. Milburn at the banquet:— There has been brought together and consolidated every section of the living statute law of the state, and all this within the compass of five or six volumes. For over a hundred years they had been piling up, some repealed, some gone to their death without repeal, covering scores and scores of volumes. Every one of these statutes has been examined, collated and sub mitted to the Legislature. The day after the Legis lature acts on this measure all the statute law of the state, which governs our conduct, which regulates our affairs, will be found in these volumes. In thus rescuing our statute law, in bringing order out of chaos, the State Bar Association, whose child this In a sense is, has rendered an enormous public service, and associated itself with one of the most considerable achievements in all jurisprudence. [Applause.] CORPORATION MATTERS Corporation subjects also received some attention. The Committee on Corporation Law, of which Mr. Stetson is chairman, re ported that it had prepared and caused to be submitted to the Legislature amendments to the corporation laws permitting the forma tion of companies having capital stock divided into shares without assignment thereto of any value in money, and the issue of stock certi ficates representing merely proportionate in terests in the entire capital stock without the indication of any nominal or par value. "The abolition of the money denomination of shares," the report said, "would, we be lieve, deprive those who promote corpora tions of the advantages, real or seeming, of that exaggerated capitalization which un doubtedly is possible under existing laws, and at the same time it would compel in vestors to fix their attention upon actual value." Former Senator Spooner in his address on the corporation question said:— The idea that one government may create a state corporation and another government may regulate
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the issue of its stocks and bonds would be amusing if it were not repellent. It has always been within the recognized power of the state which creates a corporation to determine what corporate powers it shall possess. It is an astounding proposition that while a state may create a stock corporation, another government shall regulate the issue of its stock and bonds. The election of officers resulted: — President—Adelbert Moot, Buffalo. Vice-Presidents —First District, Lewis Delafield; Second District, William C DeWitt; Third District. Charles J. Bucha nan: Fourth District, Edward C. Whitmyer; Fifth District, William Nottingham; Sixth District, Harvey D. Hinman; Seventh District, Eugene Van Voorhis; Eighth District, Lewis L. Babcock; Ninth District, James M. Hunt. Secretary—Frederick E. Wadhams, Albany. Treasurer— Robert Hessberg, Albany. Other business transacted included the adoption of a new article of the constitution providing for a committee consisting of three members from each judicial district to pre vent the nomination of incompetent candi dates for the bench, the unanimous passage of a resolution favoring the increase in salaries of federal judges proposed by a bill that had passed the United States Senate, and the appointment of a committee of five to investigate the administration of the Bankruptcy Act. Rochester was selected as the place of meeting for next year. THE NEW PRESIDENT Adelbert Moot of Buffalo, the newly elected president, was born in Allen, Allegany County, New York, Nov. 22, 1854, the son of Charles D. and Mary Rutherford Moot. He was educated in the common, high, and State Normal schools, and attended the Albany Law School 1875-6. He married C. A. Van Ness at Cuba, N. Y., July 22, 1882. He has prac ticed law in Nunda, N. Y., and in Buffalo since 1879. He has been a member of the board of Commissioners of Statutory Con solidation engaged in examining and con solidating all general statutes of New York since 1777, and has also served as president of the Unitarian Conference for the Middle States and Canada. He is an independent Republican in politics. Mr. Moot, like Mr. Stetson, has engaged in corporation practice on an extensive scale. His clients have included prominent railroad and industrial interests, and the Buffalo law firm of Moot, Sprague, Brownell & Marcy, of which he is the head, has handled many im portant cases in both federal and state courts. Mr. Moot is a deep student of the law and an able advocate, and his leadership at the bar, earned by hard work and fidelity to the highest standards, has easily and naturally led to his election as president of the New York State Bar Association. ^
