before his end he told his secretary that he thought he would devote his old age to writing a book on this subject.

Startling as was the suddenness of his death, the post-mortem examination revealed the fact that he was not the strong man he was generally believed to be in fact, he was worn out. : For some years I had noticed a change which convinced me that his incessant hard work was telling even upon him. I first observed this during his last term of office as Lord Chancellor, in the winter of 1894, when he began to complain of weariness, and from that time I perceived in him an excitability, not to say at times an irritability, which was quite foreign to his old self.

It would be rash to speculate upon the question whether, had he lived without accident, he would have been able for any length of time to have continued active work; but one who is in a position to know best entertains "little doubt that he would not," and, while hesitating to express any opinion as to the time during which he would have retained his health, feels certain that there would have been a breakdown, though not necessarily of so sudden a kind.

For his own sake, therefore, all has probably been for the best. Grievous as has been the loss of him to all his private friends who loved him, and to the public whom he served so well, to him it would have been still more grievous to have found himself compelled to live the life of an invalid, and we may pronounce him felix opportunitate mortis.

[Contributed by THE HON. MR. JUSTICE BREWER.]

I MAY be permitted to add, a brief expression of my personal respect for the late Lord Herschell, and also to testify to the strong hold which he acquired upon those with whom he was thrown in contact in his recent visit to America. Of course nothing that I say can add to his high reputation; his own works and achievements have made and will perpetuate that.

He was a most genial, companionable man; frank, unaffected, full of pleasant, instructive talk, and even in the brief time he was with us drew to himself many warm friends. I saw him only a few hours before his death, and, little thinking that the end was so near, we had a delightful conversation concerning the approaching work of the British Venezuelan arbitration tribunal, in which he took the greatest interest and in whose success he expressed the greatest confidence. Contrasting his present work with it, he said, "Here we negotiate, there we are judges and decide; and we shall see that justice is done only justice."

The admiration and confidence I had learned to feel for and in him was shared by all who here met him. Frequent was the remark both before and after his death that England was fortunate in having one so wise, tactful,

and just to represent her in the settlement of the difficult questions presented to that international commission, of which he was the honoured president.

Surely in the coming days, when men of peace are given their just recognition, Lord Herschell will be regarded as one of England's greatest. men, one whose life and work were along the highest lines.

[Contributed by THE HON. SENATOR FAIRBANKS.] THE appointment of Lord Herschell as a member of the United States and British Joint High Commission, by Her Britannic Majesty, to aid in adjusting the several questions in dispute between the two powers, was received with favour by the Administration in Washington. He was well known to be a jurist of repute, a statesman of eminence, and withal to have a friendly and cordial feeling for the United States. Moreover, it was well understood that he entertained a sincere desire to co-operate in removing the questions which had so long vexed and divided the two countries, in order that good neighbourhood might be firmly established. His desire to see the two great English-speaking nations on terms of amity was profound and undisguised.

Lord Herschell had visited the United States some years prior to the assembling of the Commission at Quebec, and had formed the acquaintance of many of our influential statesmen, jurists, and lawyers, who entertained for him sentiments of high personal esteem. His appointment upon the Commission, from whose deliberations so much was desired and expected, gave to them particular satisfaction. He did not come as an entire stranger.

He

The members of the Joint High Commission were early and favourably impressed with Lord Herschell's generous and friendly purposes. brought to the difficult work committed to the discretion of the Commission ability of a high order, the well trained intellect of a great jurist, and the faculty of mastering detail which made him a most useful member. He addressed himself to the questions before the Commission with seriousness and great vigour, and with a very just sense of the respective rights and duties of the obligations and responsibilities of the two countries. His bearing was always cordial and dignified, in full keeping with the important commission which he bore.

He was sought by commercial bodies and leading statesmen and jurists in both Canada and the United States, who desired to do him honour. He was the guest at many notable gatherings in both countries, where he left a most favourable impression. The New York Chamber of Commerce, the leading commercial organisation of the United States, tendered him a dinner where were gathered some of the most conspicuous men of commercial affairs in the country. The famous Lotus Club of the same city entertained him as its guest. There were present some of the most distinguished statesmen, orators, and writers to do him honour. Upon all occasions he impressed

those who met him, not only with his wit and learning, but with his unselfish and exalted purpose.

A notable distinction was shown him by the Supreme Court of the United States, when he was invited to a seat upon the bench-an honour similarly bestowed but once previously, and that was when Lord Chief Justice Coleridge visited the court.

He

I shall ever remember with great interest my last visit to Lord Herschell it was but two evenings prior to his death. I had called, as was my wont, to break the monotony of his irksome confinement. He lay upon his cot, to all appearances in the full enjoyment of his customary health. was in his usual good spirits and was obviously pleased with my informal call. About him in profusion were the leading British and American papers of the day-books and magazines sent him by admiring friends for his entertainment. He was in a reminiscent mood, and talked entertainingly of his experience at the English Bar; of his parliamentary service; of his membership of the Gladstone ministry; of Mr. Gladstone's characteristics, of his pre-eminent qualities, and of his absolute ability to promptly meet every exigency; of the British colonial system, and of the relations between Great Britain and the United States ;-topics which gave to the evening great and charming interest. He was gratified with the kindly messages sent him by the President and leading statesmen and citizens at the Capitol upon learning of his injury, and from day to day thereafter.

I several times sought to go, fearing that he might over-tax himself, but he insisted that I should stay beyond my allotted time. I finally took leave of him against his wish, and with no thought that it was a final leave-taking.

He bore his severe injury with a stoic's fortitude; no word of complaint escaped his lips. He looked forward cheerfully to the time when his surgeons would permit his return to England. Although everything which science could suggest or kindness could do was done for his comfort, he hoped in a short month to be able to journey home, and in the fall to return and resume the uncompleted work of the Commission which he had so much at heart.

Within a comparatively few hours after my leave-taking Lord Herschell died. His untimely death profoundly touched his colleagues upon the Commission and the people of the United States; it caused uncommon sorrow throughout the nation. The press was full of praise of the virtues of the deceased, and many commercial, literary and other bodies made suitable minutes of his demise.

His death occurred during the last days of the Fifty-fifth Congress. Business of urgent moment was upon the calendar, but the United States Senate paused to receive announcement of his decease and to adopt suitable resolutions for transmission to Her Britannic Majesty. In moving the resolutions, tributes were paid by senators to his high personal attainments, his conspicuous civic services, and his marked and agreeable personality.

The President tendered a gunboat to convey his remains to his native land; but the British Government had arranged to convey them in a manof-war, or the courtesy of the President, so gladly extended, would doubtless have been accepted.

The funeral services in the city of Washington were marked with unusual solemnity. There were in attendance the President, the Vice-President, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, representatives of the Government of the Dominion of Canada, American members of the Joint High Commission, senators, representatives, foreign ambassadors and ministers, representatives of the Army and Navy, and distinguished private citizens of the national capitol.

The memory of Lord Herschell will long abide among our countrymen; and the members of the United States and British Joint High Commission will forever hold in grateful remembrance their able, genial, and kindly co-worker.

[Contributed by W. M. HARRISON, ESQ. Barrister-at-Law.]

THE usury laws of the civilised world, as they at present exist, are the result of two different, and to a certain extent contradictory, movements. The progress of these movements will, it is hoped, be gathered from the details which follow in reference to each country; but it may be useful at the outset to indicate very briefly the main outlines of their course.

At the beginning of the present century there was scarcely any country which allowed contracting parties to stipulate for more than a definite rate of interest. At the present day we find that, to a very considerable extent, no legal limits on the rate of interest are in existence; while, on the other hand, a new and wider conception of usury has been evolved, which has found expression in the laws of several nations. The first of these movements, which, like the second, has not yet attained to its full results, is connected chiefly with the names of Bentham and of Turgot. The influence of both writers was felt beyond the limits of their own countries: the Defence of Usury appeared in a German translation as early as 1788, the Mémoire sur le Prêt à Intérèt in 1790. By the beginning of the fourth quarter of the present century, all Europe practically, with the exception of France and Russia, had adopted the principle of freedom of contract between individuals, so far, at any rate, as was involved in the abolition of the old usury laws-that is to say, laws prescribing a maximum rate, above which parties might not stipulate for the payment of interest. South America and Australasia were for the most part permanently freed from the usury laws at an earlier date than most European countries; North America has, on the contrary, to a considerable extent remained, and for the present appears likely to remain, untouched by the movement.

Notwithstanding certain isolated instances to the contrary-one as recent as 1898-there are no indications of any general return to, or any wide demand for, laws limiting the rate of conventional interest.

But even before the advocates of commercial freedom had won their most important victories, the counter movement had started on its way. Between 1840 and 1850 several German states-Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, Baden, and Saxony-adopted a new principle: henceforward the usurer was to be treated as a criminal (this in itself was nothing new); but, further,