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The British Guiana Ordinance.-In a little book by a learned Judge of the Supreme Court of British Guiana is supplied a serviceable guide to the Civil Law of British Guiana Ordinance, 1916, which came into force on January 1, 1917. It contains, besides the text of the Ordinance (as amended up to date), the several English statutes which have been incorporated with, or adapted to, the Ordinance, together with some useful notes and comments. The nature and purpose of the Ordinance, as well as the events that led up to its enactment, have been dealt with in an earlier issue of this Journal (New Series, no. xxxix, p. 210 et seq.). The publication of the present work seems an appropriate occasion for a few supplementary remarks on the subject.

Writing on August 15th, 1921 (i.e. some three and a half years after the coming into force of the Ordinance) the learned author, in his preface, says: "Perplexities and difficulties have arisen, and doubtless will in future arise, both in the interpretation of the Ordinance itself, and as a result of the change in the Common Law. Some few," he adds, "have been dealt with by statutory amendments. Others still remain." For reasons which sufficiently appear from the Article above cited there is no occasion for surprise at this statement. An enactment so comprehensive and drastic, and comprising so many heterogeneous provisions as this Ordinance, was bound to leave many openings for doubts and difficulties. These difficulties are, as the learned author intimates, partly matters of construction, and partly matters incidental to the practical working of the Ordinance. Of the former kind are the difficulties occasioned by the extreme generality of the terms in which some of the Sections are couched. The author accordingly, in commenting on the Sub-section saving existing rights (Section 2, Sub-section 3) observes, with good reason, that it is "not easy of elucidation, so general, on first reading" (and, indeed, on second reading too) “do its terms appear," and he invokes the aid of the ejusdem generis doctrine in order to find some practicable limitation for the sweeping words "or of any other right." The same observation might be made with regard to other provisions of the Ordinance, e.g. Section 2, Sub-section 2; Section 3, Sub-section I, and others. The majority of the difficulties, however, are not ordinary matters of construction, but are questions incidental to the carrying out of the most important provision of the Ordinance (Section 3, Sub-section 2), which substitutes the English Common Law (with certain exceptions) for the old Roman-Dutch Common Law. A great many such questions are carefully discussed in the present volume." Here it will suffice to advert briefly to two of them as examples. On p. 34 et seq. the point is con

1 The Civil Law of British Guiana, by LI. C. Dalton, M.A., Cantab., of Gray's Inn. Barrister-at-law, Advocate of the Supreme Court, South Africa, Puisne Judge British Guiana, 1921.

It is interesting to note that the learned author, when discussing points of Roman-Dutch law, frequently calls in aid the decisions of the South African and Ceylon Courts, thus testifying to the essential unity of the Roman-Dutch system (or what is left of it) in three widely separated parts of the Empire,

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sidered whether the principle of acknowledgment of a debt (whereby the latter is taken out of the Statute of Limitations) is part and parcel of the Common Law of the Colony. If the principle is part of the existing Common Law of England, the answer is yes; if it, however, rests on English Statute Law, the answer is, without more, no. The British Guiana Court would therefore in such a case be called upon to give a decision as to the contents of the English Common Law. (The learned author comes to the conclusion that the question should be answered in the affirmative.)

On page 131 the author in commenting on one of the English statutes adapted" by the Ordinance (Lunacy Act 1890) calls attention to a difficulty which attaches to the incorporation or adaptation of any English Statute. "It must be noted," he says, "that the introduction of the English statute law into British Guiana has, by this section (i.e. Section 20) of the Ordinance, been partial. In applying the section therefore care must be taken first of all definitely to ascertain, in any particular case that may arise, how far that introduction has proceeded. It is highly probable that questions may arise both in the case of this statute and the other English statutes which have been adapted and incorporated by this Civil Law Ordinance, as to the extent of the adaptation or incorporation, and in many cases it is obvious that the questions will not be easy to answer, without very careful consideration of the section of the Ordinance providing for such adaptation or incorporation." This is a useful note of warning.

The above are specimens of the "perplexities and difficulties mentioned by the author in his preface. They will, when they arise, have to be dealt with, like any other legal perplexities, in the light of practical experience and with patience. In the meanwhile books like the one before us will supply a valuable help towards the removal of doubts.

J. C L.

Maintenance. The Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act, 1920, provides for the enforcement in England and Ireland of maintenance orders made by Courts in any part of His Majesty's Dominions outside the United Kingdom to which the Act extends. The Legislatures of the undermentioned State, Colonies, and Protectorates, having made reciprocal provision for the enforcement therein of maintenance. orders made by Courts in England and Ireland, an Order in Council was issued on March 2, 1922, extending the Act to Queensland, the Falkland Islands, Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Northern Rhodesia, Swaziland, and Zanzibar Protectorate. Further Orders in Council were issued on May 19, 1922, extending the Act to Tasmania and Western Australia; on June 28, 1922, to the Dominion of New Zealand, Bermuda and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, and on October 27, 1922, to Fiji, Seychelles and British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

Administration of Justice Act, 1920.-Part II of this Act provides for the enforcement in England, Scotland and Ireland of judgments obtained in any part of His Majesty's Dominions outside the United Kingdom or in any territories under His Majesty's protection to which the Act extends. The Legislatures of the under-mentioned territories, having made reciprocal provision for the enforcement therein of judgments obtained in the High Court in England, the Court of Session in Scotland, and the High Court in Ireland, Orders in Council were issued on March 2, 1922, extending Part II of the Act to the following State and Colonies: Western Australia, Ceylon, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago. Further Orders in Council were issued to the following Colonies and Protectorates on March 29, 1922, the Straits Settlements and the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, and to the Tanganyika Territory, in respect of which a mandate is being exercised by His Majesty's Government; on April 10, 1922, Hong Kong, Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Swaziland and Weihaiwei; on June 1, 1922, British Guiana, St. Lucia, Seychelles, and the Gold Coast Colony; on June 28, 1922, Northern Rhodesia and the Uganda Protectorate; on July 22, 1922, the Leeward Islands, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate, and the Nyasaland Protectorate; on October 22, 1922, British Honduras and Barbados.

Canadian Bar Association.--The Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Canadian Bar Association (Toronto, The Carswell Company, Limited), tells of the doings and discussions of the Association in September 1921. Interesting as are many of the speeches, papers and reports included in the volume-Legal Ethics, Legal Education and Law Reporting were all dealt with-English readers will probably turn at once to the addresses of the representatives of the English Bar. Sir John Simon, as was to be expected, delivered a thoughtful speech, choosing for his subject, 'The Vocation of an Advocate." He was able to entertain his audience with many stories of bygone heroes of the law; and all will appreciate the passage in which he dwelt upon the importance of repeating an argument in a Court of Appeal at least three times once, so that one of the judges may follow it; a second time to enable the judge to explain the point to his brethren; and a third time, to correct the erroneous impression which the judge has conveyed. And there is a great deal to be said in the view put forward by Sir John that Portia, in reserving her best point till the end of her address, showed herself indeed an amateur.

Sir Malcolm Macnaghten had the pleasure of hearing from Canadian speakers much praise of the late Lord Macnaghten. He singled out, as calling for imitation in England, three peculiarities of the Canadian legal system-the periodical revision of statutes, the "examination for discovery," and the reasoned formal judgment. Those who are doubtful as to the continued stability of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will find in the proceedings nothing to justify their fears.

Mixed Arbitral Tribunals.--Parts 9, 10, II of the Recueil des Décisions des Tribunaux Arbitraux Mixtes 1 report many further cases decided under the peace treaties in different countries, the majority of them arising under Article 297 (e) of the Treaty of Versailles. Five of these cases seem to claim special attention by reason of their importance. In two of them, Macleod Russell & Co. v. Germany (p. 547) and The Owners of s.s. Seaham Harbour v. Germany (p. 550), both decisions of the Anglo-German Tribunal, the question was raised whether compensation for private property requisitioned in Germany ought to be claimed under the Reparation Sections of the Treaty of Versailles or whether the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal had jurisdiction under the Private Property Clauses. The Tribunal decided that it had jurisdiction. In the third case, William Brandt's Sons & Co. v. Ludwig Tillmann (p. 554), also a decision of the Anglo-German Tribunal, it was held that a British secured creditor is entitled to payment through the German Clearing Office of the full amount of his debt without regard to the value of the security, and that the security is caught by Article 297 (6). In the Franco-German case of Georges Maridort v. L. Behrens (p. 581) it was decided that where a contract was abrogated at the outbreak of war and property belonging to one of the parties remained in the hands of the other, the duties of the latter with regard to the property are to be determined by the rules governing the quasi-contractual relationship of 'gestion d'affaires." In the Anglo-German case of Chamberlain and Hookham, Ltd. v. Solar Zahlerwerke G.m.b.h. (p. 723) it was held that, whatever might have been decided as to the nationality of a company incorporated outside Germany but controlled by Germans, a company incorporated in Germany under German law and having its registered office in Germany was a German national for the purposes of Article 296, even if all its shares were held by British subjects.

The American Journal of International Law.--The principal articles in the first issue of the Journal for 1922 deal with American policy and problems in the Far East. Tyler writes of American "Good Offices" in Asia, George A. Finch of American diplomacy and the financing of China, and B. H. Williams of the Protection of American citizens in China. The editorial comment is noteworthy for a review by David Jayne Hill of the proceedings of the second Assembly of the League of Nations. This distinguished member of the Board of Editors there gained the impression that the necessity of radical changes in the Covenant was generally accepted, that the recommendation of the Assembly with regard to the reduction of armaments was felt to offer only a faint hope of results and that the Assembly had no serious control over mandates. He concludes his description of the meeting by a criticism: the Assembly, he feels, "does not venture boldly to lay hold upon the most vital realities of the European situation. It is not fully representative of Europe; and, bound by its Covenant, which

1 Librairie de la Société du Recueil. Paris: Sirey, 1922,

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is an article in a treaty of peace imposed by war, it cannot be. Quite evidently, the League is gradually seceding from the obligations of its Covenant. To become a real association for peace, it must transform itself fundamentally. And this, in my belief, it will continue to do." This issue of The American Journal also reports further awards of the British and American Claims Arbitration Tribunal, and the Supplement of Documents contains the peace treaties between the United States and Germany, Austria and Hungary.