320 HARVARD LAW REVIEW. A Treatise on the Law of Circumstantial Evidence. Illustrated by numerous Cases. By Arthur P. Will, of the Chicago Bar. Phila- delphia : T. & J. W. Johnson & Co. 1896. pp. xvi, 555. The subject of circumstantial evidence does not warrant separate treat- ment at such length. It is not surprising, therefore, to find much in these five hundred odd pages that would naturally be looked for in a general work on evidence. The author devotes considerable space to the subject of confessions, because, he says (p. 112), the rules as to their admissibility "are of great moment in their application to such pardcu- lars of circumstantial evidence as are in the nature of confessional evi- dence." The net result for his purposes seems to be a demonstration at unnecessary length of the unrehability of all evidence of this nature. A feature of the book is the statement of a large number of illustrative cases ; indeed, this is carried so far that it would seem as if it were con- sidered a good substitute for discussion. As an exhaustive collection of the cases is not attempted, the book cannot take the place of a digest, while for the student the full reports are more valuable, unless the state- ment of cases is accompanied with analysis. It is to be noticed, how- ever, that the author has selected for his illustrations many very recent decisions. The failure of this method of treatment is very apparent in the section dealing with " Evidence of Previous Attempts and other Crimes " (p. 57), and again in the chapter on the " Presumption of Innocence." On page 234 it is said, "The presumption of innocence, though not strictly evi- dence, yet has, to the extent it goes, the effect of evidence, — sufficiently so in a doubtful case to turn the scale in his favor and produce his acquittal." It is strange that the cases of Coffin v. U. S., 156 U. S. 432, and Cockran v. U. S., 157 U. S. 286, are not cited here. While one is ready to agree that this so called presumption is not evidence (see 9 Har- vard Law Review, 144), further light on this troublesome question would be welcome. In the unsatisfactory condition of the authorities, that any- thing of value is to be derived from the statement of illustrative cases alone is not to be expected. e. s. The Torrens Law as to Title Registry in Ohio, inchiding Interpre- tation, by Members of -the Commission who drafted said Law for Ohio, as to its Meaning, Application, etc., with Brief History of Land Tide Registry Laws. By Florien Giauque. Cincinnati : The Rob- ert Clarke Co. 1896. pp. 58. This litUe pamphlet contains the full text of the tide registration law adopted in Ohio, which will become operative in January next. Appended are letters from the commissioners who framed the act, explaining briefly the changes made by the legislature in the draft submitted by them, 'i'his act is of interest because a judicial determination of tide is pro- vided for before registry. In this it is a departure from the original Torrens system, which for various reasons, among them delay and ex- pense, the Illinois commissioners were unwilling to adopt. The method of determining tide which they did provide, however, was the feature of the act declared unconstitutional by the Illinois court. e. s.
