REVIEWS. 287 The treatise has, however, both a theoretical and a practical value to us. It is worth while to see how, in Quebec, a respect for precedent as great, apparently, as that of English lawyers affects a system of law based on the modern Civil Law. Continental law restrained by the doc- trine of stare decisis seems to be preferable to Continental law ferae naturae as one finds it in the discordant writings of Savigny, Bouhier, and Pillet. The lawyer advising his client must have a happier life in Montreal than in Paris, since he has a guide in the decisions of the courts. Even in a more practical sense this treatise is valuable to an American lawyer. The decisions of the Quebec courts, while not of authority with us, would on such questions be held in respect. The doctrines here stated are often identical with our own. There are, to be sure, some fundamental differences. Capacity to contract is determined, as in France, by the law of domicile, not as in this country {Saulv. His Cred- itors, 17 Mart. 596) by the lex loci contractus. The French rule, adopted by the Quebec Code, is an unfortunate one, resulting in an utter and hopeless want of unanimity among the authors as to its proper applica- tion. Another remarkable instance of difference is the recognition by the Quebec courts of foreign administrators, guardians, and even receivers. It must be confessed that in this respect the Quebec doctrine is in actual operation more satisfactory than ours. The author's materials are well arranged, his exposition is clear, and his infrequent original suggestions are just and sound. j. h. b. Cases on Constitutional Law. Edited by Carl Evans Boyd. Chicago : Callaghan & Co. 1898. pp. xi, 678. The compiler of this book was right in thinking that a need is felt for a small collection of cases on constitutional law ; but it cannot be said that the book satisfies the demand. The more a work of this nature is limited, the greater becomes the necessity for careful selection, arrange- ment, and annotation. Lacking any one of these requisites, a case-book is a failure. The work of selection, both in matter of the cases chosen and the extracts printed from them, is fairly well done. One omission only of any importance has been made, — in the matter of the power of Congress over the territories. On that subject only a short extract is printed from the American Insurance Co. v. Canter, p. 583, an extract wholly inadequate to suggest the difficult questions involved. This over- sight is the more unfortunate because the authority is small in comparison with the importance of the subject, and could not, if all were printed, seriously increase the bulk of the book. The general scheme of the topics is well conceived, and with some originality ; but little skill is spent upon the arrangement of the cases under the headings. The author mainly follows Thayer's Cases in this regard, as he frankly admits in his preface. Where a change is made, it is generally for the worse. The strict adherence to chronology under Taxation leads to chaotic arrangement. The first case is Hylton v. United States, p. 26, where we try to solve the question of a direct tax. We think we have settled the question, and pass to State taxes on the instru- ments of the federal government and on interstate commerce, federal taxes on instruments of State government, and State tonnage taxes. After this technical question we find buried here the one general case on the broad problems in regard to the legitimate objects of taxation, Loan
