passed before the route of the canal had finally been determined, and which created the Isthmian Canal Commission, General Goethals refers to the treaty with Panama of November 18, 1903 (Hay-Bunan-Varilla treaty), the Act of April 18, 1904, and that (Panama Canal Act) of August 24, 1912, under which the zone is now governed. He says: "But a novel problem in government was presented by the necessity of ruling and preserving order within the Canal Zone. *

* a new situation

existed which had to be solved, and after various changes there was evolved a form of government which was unique, differing from any established methods of administration." The President appointed the Commission March 8, 1904; and in a letter of May 9, 1904, vested in the Commission the governmental power by virtue of the authority given him by the Spooner Act and that of April 28, 1904. From the first organization of government the changes necessitated by experience during the constructive period are traced, and a brief account is given of the final organization for the operation and administration of the Canal as a finished public work. A very interesting part of the book is that treating the embarrassments arising from the commission form of government, which culminated in the issue of the famous Executive Order of January 8, 1908, "which, while not in exact accord with the law, secured the end desired," to quote the author, who goes on to say: "The arrangement resulted in an autocratic form of government for the Canal Zone. * * Beginning with a government which might be termed political, it ended as a government by Executive Order, controlled by one man answerable only to the President of the United States through the Secretary of War." In theory this might be held to be extra-legal; in practice it was the action of strong men to further one thing-the construction of the Canal. The Canal and the Canal Zone are now governed in accordance with law, the Act of August 24, 1912. Owing to the transcendent value of the Canal to the Navy it is most fortunate that the President has seen the wisdom of setting the precedent of appointing an officer of the national military service as the first Governor. The person was very naturally General Goethals himself, who closes his interesting little book with the words "Such an appointment to the position of Governor did not deprive the Canal Zone of a civil government, and in no respect was the form changed when the reorganization was made effective on April 1, 1914; it continued what it had been in effect since April 1, 1905-a government by executive order." H. S. KNAPP.

Outline of International Law. By Arnold Bennett Hall, J. D., Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin. Chicago: La Salle Extension University. 1915.

This little work, as its title indicates and its preface declares, “is intended as a brief, non-technical statement of the underlying principles of international law. It is not written for the specialist, but designed solely for the general student and reader who is interested in the world problems of the day." And again, "In so brief a work detailed questions have been omitted, the author being restricted to the mere statement of underlying principles.”

The text covers but 106 pages, rather loosely printed, with liberal margins. The notes are very limited and confined mainly to works usually acceptable. The statements are clear and seem generally correct in so far as such brief statements, given with such slight qualification, can correctly present laws so intricate and imperfectly crystallized. They are, however, it is submitted, not so often statements of "underlying principles" as dogmatic and greatly condensed statements of rules of law the reasons and principles being eliminated for the sake of brevity.

The result is, by no fault of the learned author, who has in the main done well, but by an inherent defect in the plan, an extremely attenuate statement of rules, with slight or no discussion or explanation. To an experienced student it is hardly informing and to a beginner it must peculiarly lack the vitalizing support of reason, history and derivation.

It is submitted that assimilation of knowledge in such form is peculiarly difficult and information thus got is apt to prove highly evanescent and temporary. The digestive tract can not advantageously operate for long on condensed pellets, neither can the intellect of the student. A certain bulk is useful in food for the mind as for the body.

There are ten appendices to Dr. Hall's book, covering 142 pages, just 36 pages more than the text. They consist of "a classified bibliography," of seven acts or conventions of the Hague Conference, of the ratifications of the acts of the Hague Conference and of the Declaration of London.

Some errors have been observed in the text, due doubtless to a proof reader to whom legal terms and names were unfamiliar. Thus "Whorton" at the foot of page 16, must mean "Wharton," "Gyllenorg's Case" on page 45 must mean "Gyllenborg's Case." "La Nenfa" on

page 65 must mean "La Ninfa." "Annaire" on page 68 seems a misprint for "Annuaire."

On page 78 one old English case is cited as giving the better view that interest can be collected for the period during which debts cannot be paid on account of war. This writer has lately collected and published a large number of far more full and recent cases in our own State and Federal courts which support a contrary conclusion.

The statement at page 89 that the Second Peace Conference agreed upon the prohibition of discharging explosives from balloons for a period extending to the next peace conference, needs to be qualified by the statement that many of the principal nations, including Germany, refused to agree to or ratify this prohibition.

The Declaration of London as printed is also likely to mislead in the absence of a statement that the English Parliament refused to ratify it and that our own government had declined under the circumstances, to consider it as binding.

The reference on page 110 to "2 Carrington & Payre" must be intended for "Carrington & Payne."

In the main this reviewer would not wish to criticise the work of the learned author, except in these minor details. He has complied with his publishers' "restrictions." This reviewer would, however, express, with deference, the gravest doubt as to the value of such abbreviated statements of a great, varied and not yet perfected department of Law. CHARLES NOBLE GREGORY

German Legislation for the Occupied Territories of Belgium. Official Texts. Edited by Charles H. Huberich, J. U. D., D. C. L., LL. D., and A. Nicol-Speyer, J. U. D. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 1915. pp. 108. Cloth 3/- net.

This little volume, containing the legislation enacted by a belligerent in respect of enemy territory under military occupation, needs no detailed description other than that contained in the title. Although the title is given in English, which would naturally lead the reader to suppose that the book is printed in English, the texts given are the original German with French and Flemish official translations from the Gesetzund Verordnungsblatt für die okkupierten Gebeite Belgiens, Nos. 1 to 25, inclusive, bearing irregular dates from September 5 to December 26, 1914. No English translation accompanies these texts, but an introduction in that language by the authors gives an interesting summary of

the situation in Belgium with reference to German legislation, which has taken the form of ordinances, proclamations and notifications, extending or modifying existing Belgian laws or containing new provisions designed to carry out the policies of the occupying state. Legislative power in Belgium is vested in a Governor-General, who also exercises the powers vested in the King of Belgium. All legislation requiring the sanction of the provincial governors or the King is now required to be sanctioned by the military governors or the Governor-General, respectively. The authors make special mention of the ordinance of November 19, 1914, declaring that Germany, Austria and Turkey are not to be considered as foreign Powers or as enemies within the meaning of the Belgian Penal Code nor of the law of August, 1914, concerning offences against the security of the state. Special mention is also made of the ordinance of December 12, 1914, abrogating the Belgian laws and ordinances relating to the militia and civil guard.

The appearance of these documents is not only of peculiar interest at the present time, but by making them permanently available in book form the authors have given easy access to documents of much importance in the study and development of international law. As pointed out by the authors, the subject has already occupied the attention of the International Conferences at The Hague. The conventions adopted by the Hague Conferences in 1899 and 1907 respecting the laws and customs of war on land contain sections on the exercise of military authority over occupied territory, and both Belgium and Germany signed the convention which is at present in force.

GEO. A. FINCH.

Conventions and Declarations Between the Powers Concerning War, Arbitration and Neutrality (English, French and German). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 1915.

This is a publication by the well-known Dutch publisher Nijhoff, containing the Declaration of Paris of 1856, the Declaration of St. Petersburg of 1868, the Hague Declarations of 1899 concerning asphyxiating gases and expanding bullets, the Geneva Convention of 1906, the Hague Declaration of 1907 concerning the discharge of projectiles and explosives from balloons, the Hague Conventions of 1907, and the Declaration of London of 1909. These texts are printed in English, French and German in separate sections of the book in the order indicated. At the end of the French text there appears a table of signa

tures, ratifications and adhesions to the conventions, declaration and Final Act of the Second Hague Peace Conference, followed by a list of the reservations. An impracticable feature of the publication is the omission of numbers from the pages. Each of the three sections which divide the book into three languages has its own table of contents, but the documents are referred to by numbers instead of by pages. No introduction, preface or foreword accompanies the documents in explanation of their publication in this form, but the publisher, no doubt, intended to make available in the languages of the countries most prominently concerned in the European War the international conventions and declarations bearing upon the war. These documents are already available in a number of other publications, but which are for the most part bulky and not quite so handy as the little book under comment. It is not believed that the English, French and German texts of these documents will be found anywhere else under the same cover except in Mr. Nijhoff's timely publication.

GEO. A. FINCH.

Guide to the Law and Legal Literature of Spain. Prepared under the direction of Edwin M. Borchard, Law Librarian of the Library of Congress, by Thomas W. Palmer, Jr., of the Birmingham, Ala., Bar, Sheldon Fellow, Harvard University, 1913-1914, Washington: Government Printing Office. 1915. 174 pages. 50 cents.

This volume is the third in a series of guides which are being published by the Library of Congress with the three-fold aim of "first, to furnish the lawyer and the student of comparative law with information as to the private and public law of the country; secondly, to acquaint the legislator with the recent development of legislation, particularly that designed to meet the social and economic problems of the day; and, thirdly, to furnish the jurist and historian with a guide to the contributions to the history, theory and the philosophy of law." The present volume was preceded by the Bibliography of International Law and Continental Law (1913), reviewed in these columns in April, 1915 (Vol. 9, p. 572), and the Guide to the Law and Legal Literature of Germany (1912). This guide to the law of Spain is uniform in arrangement with its predecessor on the law of Germany. The first section contains a bibliography, which is followed by sections of a general nature, such as Legislation, Court Reports, General Works, Legal Education, Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law, and Legal History. These are followed