Editorial Committee of the Cambridge Law Journal

Principles of Contract by Frederick PollockReview by: C. J. H.The Cambridge Law Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2 (1937), pp. 276-277Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of Editorial Committee of the Cambridge LawJournalStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4502992 .

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The Cambrtdge Law Journal. The Cambrtdge Law Journal. 276 276

modere economic principles. But the above i8 only one example of the way in whieh the burden on the ta2rpayer has eaused light to be thrown on problems of general interest. The tax eases ean often be used in mally eontexts whieh seem remote from their subject. Mlleh learning ean be displayed on the prineiples whieh we eall the doetrine of Res Judicata. If the title ' Estoppel ' in the seeond edition of Hatsbury be eonsulted (vol. 13, p. 409) the eitation of authorities in the notes will be fonnd to be supplied in reeent years almost entirely by the tax eases. There is a learned and luminous diseussion of the doctrine in the Privy Council judgment delivered by Lord Shaw in Hoystead v. Ta7cats0n Commissioner [1926] A. C. 155. Then again, the exemption of eharitable ineome from taxation is the reason why the bulk of modern diseussions on the natllre and eonstitution of a eharity is eontained in the tax eases. Special Com- tnissioners r. Pemsel [1891] A. C. 531 is the leading ease on the subjeet, and that is but one of the numerous eases whereby the taxpayer has enlightened the equity lawyer in Lineoln's Inn. The method of taxatioll at the source has led to minute diseussions of the nature of an annuity and its distinetion from payment of priee by instalments. The list ean be extended until eveIl the most seeptical will be eonvineed that a praetiee in tax eases ealls for profound learning in all branehes of the law as well as the examination of the eonduet of business in all its branches over the whole world and a full appreciation of the soeial and family organization of this eountry. The pre#ent writer reeently found it neces sary, in diseussing the poliey of a company as to ita reserve funds, to examine and eritieize the housing poliey of the Government, as the eompany's business eonsisted in the holding of small weekly houses.

Nevertheless the subjeet-matter of this book, though it eoneerns the whole eommunity, is primarily the provinee of speeialists. The book is written for them and is used by them with eonfidence. The latest edition mainta.ns and increases the reputation gained by its predeeessors.

Principles of Contract. By the Right HOI1. Sir FREDERICII POLLOCKS Bt. s E. C . , D. C. L . Tenth edition . London: Stevens & Sona, Ltd. 1936. 762 and lsiii pp. (30s.)

Ts profession has recently been mourning the death of Sir Frederick Pollock, who in his ninety-second year continued to flourish with unparal leled vigour. Shortly before his death he brought out this new edition of his treatise on contract which, sixty years after its first publication, entered upon its tenth edition. Though preceded by nine years by the first edition of leake n Contract, it has been since 1876, and now still remains, an indispensable text-book for the intelligent student of that branch of the law.

This is not the place to record the. work of Sir Frederick; but it is fitting to remember that he wa8 perhaps as learned in the law of England as ever man has been, and that he tombined his prodigious leaming with a versatility of talent which did not disdain the composition of verse in languages modern as well as ancient and which without apparent effort, in the midst of legal avocations, produced an excellent treatise on Spinoza. When, in addition to the long-standing success of his work on contract,

modere economic principles. But the above i8 only one example of the way in whieh the burden on the ta2rpayer has eaused light to be thrown on problems of general interest. The tax eases ean often be used in mally eontexts whieh seem remote from their subject. Mlleh learning ean be displayed on the prineiples whieh we eall the doetrine of Res Judicata. If the title ' Estoppel ' in the seeond edition of Hatsbury be eonsulted (vol. 13, p. 409) the eitation of authorities in the notes will be fonnd to be supplied in reeent years almost entirely by the tax eases. There is a learned and luminous diseussion of the doctrine in the Privy Council judgment delivered by Lord Shaw in Hoystead v. Ta7cats0n Commissioner [1926] A. C. 155. Then again, the exemption of eharitable ineome from taxation is the reason why the bulk of modern diseussions on the natllre and eonstitution of a eharity is eontained in the tax eases. Special Com- tnissioners r. Pemsel [1891] A. C. 531 is the leading ease on the subjeet, and that is but one of the numerous eases whereby the taxpayer has enlightened the equity lawyer in Lineoln's Inn. The method of taxatioll at the source has led to minute diseussions of the nature of an annuity and its distinetion from payment of priee by instalments. The list ean be extended until eveIl the most seeptical will be eonvineed that a praetiee in tax eases ealls for profound learning in all branehes of the law as well as the examination of the eonduet of business in all its branches over the whole world and a full appreciation of the soeial and family organization of this eountry. The pre#ent writer reeently found it neces sary, in diseussing the poliey of a company as to ita reserve funds, to examine and eritieize the housing poliey of the Government, as the eompany's business eonsisted in the holding of small weekly houses.

Nevertheless the subjeet-matter of this book, though it eoneerns the whole eommunity, is primarily the provinee of speeialists. The book is written for them and is used by them with eonfidence. The latest edition mainta.ns and increases the reputation gained by its predeeessors.

Principles of Contract. By the Right HOI1. Sir FREDERICII POLLOCKS Bt. s E. C . , D. C. L . Tenth edition . London: Stevens & Sona, Ltd. 1936. 762 and lsiii pp. (30s.)

Ts profession has recently been mourning the death of Sir Frederick Pollock, who in his ninety-second year continued to flourish with unparal leled vigour. Shortly before his death he brought out this new edition of his treatise on contract which, sixty years after its first publication, entered upon its tenth edition. Though preceded by nine years by the first edition of leake n Contract, it has been since 1876, and now still remains, an indispensable text-book for the intelligent student of that branch of the law.

This is not the place to record the. work of Sir Frederick; but it is fitting to remember that he wa8 perhaps as learned in the law of England as ever man has been, and that he tombined his prodigious leaming with a versatility of talent which did not disdain the composition of verse in languages modern as well as ancient and which without apparent effort, in the midst of legal avocations, produced an excellent treatise on Spinoza. When, in addition to the long-standing success of his work on contract,

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.25 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:31:05 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Book Reviewe. Book Reviewe. 277 277

account is had of the ezctraordinary eminence of the author, it may well appear not only superfluous but impertinent for a reviewer to attempt any detailed criticism of the tenth edition.

The tenth edition remains what the book (as its suStitle reveals)

always proposed to be, namelJr ' a treatise on the general pnnciples con- cerning the validty of agreements in the law of England', uld not, as is sometimes erroneously supposed, an account of the law of contract in general. Accordingly ' mjunction ' does noF figure in the Indes and Hadle?y s. Baxendczle is absent from the list of cases. On the other hand the topics which are considered are treated in fuller detail and with more system and learning than they have received in any English text-book wkich i8 not merely a monograph on a selected subiect. Theisr were, and are, a contribution to the scientific dearelopment of the English law of contract which might well, by themselves, have established the reputation of any lesser man than Sir Frederick.

The Preface states that 'no great novelty will be found ' in the new edition; and attention is specifically called only to a section of the Srst chapter (pp. 47-51) as being vho]ly re-written. That section, entitled ' Acceptance of conditions annesed by referenoe', i8 mainly concerned with the recent ticket cases and contains the views which Sir Fr derick published in sol. 50 of the liaw Quarterly Revieuv of January 1M4.

A careful collation of the list of cases in the ninth and tenth editions shows that in the tenth there are included one hundred and lifty-seven new cases which for the most part represent Sir Frederick's selection from th¢ cases decided between 1921 (the date of the ninth edition) and 1936. Yet a compari60n of some of those parts of the book where the new cases have been inserted reveals but slight variations in the text, with the exceptions (80 far a8 I have discovered them) of the section on wagers (pp. 3339) and of a discussion of Bell v. leser Bros., ltd., as to which Sir Frederick ' ventures to hope that in the next generation our successors will put it on the shelf as one of those decisions on peculiar facts in which it is unsafe to put one's trust as settling any general principle ?.

No doubt the principles of the validity of contracts have not altered much in the last fifteen years; and the almo6t negligible extent of the sariations in the text is a tribute to the soundness of Sir Frederick's original views, which indeed have been an important factor in shaping the course of the law. Nevertheless the reader i8 left with the impression that he has 108t the full benefit of the author's fresh opinion upon those topics which since the war have most come to the forefront; and he will more feelingly appreciate the magnitude of that 108S when he agas pesses Sir Frederick's existing text with an increasing admiration of the author's judgment and wisdom.

C. J. H.

Records of the Vtce-Admiralty C'ourt of Rhode Island, 1716- 1759. Edited by DOROTI{Y S. TO\5TLE. lVith an Introduc- tion by CHARLES M. ANDRE\\ S. WN a8hington, D.C.: The Anserican Historical Association. 1936. 595 pp.

THraD of the publications known as America)l I,egat Records, which are edited for the American Historical Association, this volume, devoted to

account is had of the ezctraordinary eminence of the author, it may well appear not only superfluous but impertinent for a reviewer to attempt any detailed criticism of the tenth edition.

The tenth edition remains what the book (as its suStitle reveals)

always proposed to be, namelJr ' a treatise on the general pnnciples con- cerning the validty of agreements in the law of England', uld not, as is sometimes erroneously supposed, an account of the law of contract in general. Accordingly ' mjunction ' does noF figure in the Indes and Hadle?y s. Baxendczle is absent from the list of cases. On the other hand the topics which are considered are treated in fuller detail and with more system and learning than they have received in any English text-book wkich i8 not merely a monograph on a selected subiect. Theisr were, and are, a contribution to the scientific dearelopment of the English law of contract which might well, by themselves, have established the reputation of any lesser man than Sir Frederick.

The Preface states that 'no great novelty will be found ' in the new edition; and attention is specifically called only to a section of the Srst chapter (pp. 47-51) as being vho]ly re-written. That section, entitled ' Acceptance of conditions annesed by referenoe', i8 mainly concerned with the recent ticket cases and contains the views which Sir Fr derick published in sol. 50 of the liaw Quarterly Revieuv of January 1M4.

A careful collation of the list of cases in the ninth and tenth editions shows that in the tenth there are included one hundred and lifty-seven new cases which for the most part represent Sir Frederick's selection from th¢ cases decided between 1921 (the date of the ninth edition) and 1936. Yet a compari60n of some of those parts of the book where the new cases have been inserted reveals but slight variations in the text, with the exceptions (80 far a8 I have discovered them) of the section on wagers (pp. 3339) and of a discussion of Bell v. leser Bros., ltd., as to which Sir Frederick ' ventures to hope that in the next generation our successors will put it on the shelf as one of those decisions on peculiar facts in which it is unsafe to put one's trust as settling any general principle ?.

No doubt the principles of the validity of contracts have not altered much in the last fifteen years; and the almo6t negligible extent of the sariations in the text is a tribute to the soundness of Sir Frederick's original views, which indeed have been an important factor in shaping the course of the law. Nevertheless the reader i8 left with the impression that he has 108t the full benefit of the author's fresh opinion upon those topics which since the war have most come to the forefront; and he will more feelingly appreciate the magnitude of that 108S when he agas pesses Sir Frederick's existing text with an increasing admiration of the author's judgment and wisdom.

C. J. H.

Records of the Vtce-Admiralty C'ourt of Rhode Island, 1716- 1759. Edited by DOROTI{Y S. TO\5TLE. lVith an Introduc- tion by CHARLES M. ANDRE\\ S. WN a8hington, D.C.: The Anserican Historical Association. 1936. 595 pp.

THraD of the publications known as America)l I,egat Records, which are edited for the American Historical Association, this volume, devoted to

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.25 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:31:05 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions