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 1T6 FIELD to recover for any trespass or misuse of the property prior to his appointment ; and that of a purchaser at a judicial sale is made to relate back to the time of sale, though the title is not to pass until after the expiration of a period allowed for redemption. Several rules are laid down in respect to fictions: 1. The law never adopts them except from necessity and to avoid a wrong. 2. They must not be of a thing impossible. 3. They are never admitted where the truth will work as well. 4. They are not admissible in criminal trials. The fic- tion, for instance, that the title of a purchaser at a judicial sale shall relate back and cover the period allowed for redemption, though ad- missible for the purpose of giving a remedy against a wrong doer, would not be admissible as against the party whose previous title was divested, if by law he was entitled to a benefi- cial use of the property until the time for re- demption expired. Fictions might undoubtedly be all rendered unnecessary by statutory pro- visions, but not many are made use of in the law at this time which create any confusion, or the removal of which could be of any ser- vice beyond giving a little more directness to legal proceedings, or expressing the legal right in language more suited to the comprehension of laymen. FIELD. L David Dudley, an American cler- gyman, born at East Guilford,' Conn., May 20, 1781, died at Stockbridge, Mass., April 15, 1867. He graduated at Yale college in 1802, was minister at Haddam, Conn., from 1804 to 1818, at Stockbridge, Mass., from 1819 to 1837, and again at Haddam from 1837 to 1851, when he returned to Stockbridge. He published "History of Berkshire County" (1829), "His- tory of Middlesex County " (1839), " History of Pittsfield" (1844), "Genealogy of the Brainerd Family" (1857), and several occasional ser- mons. II. David Dudley, an American jurist, eldest son of the preceding, born at Haddam, Conn., Feb. 13, 1805. When he was 14 his father removed to Stockbridge, Mass., and in 1821 he entered Williams college. In 1825 he commenced the study of law, was admitted to practice in 1828, and settled in New York, where he has been conspicuous at the bar for more than 40 years. He is especially known by his labors in the cause of law reform. As early as 1839 he published his first essay on the subject, pointing out the necessity of a recon- struction of the modes of legal procedure. This he followed up by other articles on the same subject in 1842, 1844, 1846, and 1847. In 1847 he was appointed by the legislature of New York a commissioner on practice and plead- ings, and as such took the leading part in the preparation of the code of procedure. Of this w&rk only a part has been enacted into law, and many, if not all, the defects imputed to the code may be fairly attributed to this fact. The radical design of the new system of civil procedure is to obliterate the distinction be- tween the forms of action and between legal and equitable suits, so that all the rights of the parties in relation to the subjects of litiga- tion can be determined in one action, instead of dividing them as heretofore between differ- ent suits, often inconsistent and always per- plexing. This system has been adopted not only in New York, but in Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Oregon, and in several other states, and has materially affected the legislation of Great Britain and her col- onies. In 1857 Mr. Field was appointed by the legislature of New York as the head of a new commission to prepare a political code, a penal code, and a civil code, works designed to con- tain, with the codes of procedure, the whole body of the law. These several codes have been completed and reported, but have not as yet been adopted by that state. Other states have, however, drawn largely from them in their legislation, and in California they have been adopted entire, with only such changes and modifications as its constitution and con- ditions required. In 1866 he brought before the British association for the promotion of social science, at its meeting in Manchester, a proposal for a general revision and reform of the law of nations, similar to that which he had before undertaken in regard to the civil and criminal law. He procured the appointment of a com- mittee consisting of eminent jurists of different countries, charged with preparing and report- ing to the association the outlines of an inter- national code, to be first submitted to their careful revision and amendment, and, when made as complete as possible, to be presented to the attention of the different governments, in the hope of receiving at some time their ap- proval and adoption as the recognized law of nations. As the distinguished jurists compos- ing this committee resided in different countries, it was difficult for them to act in concert, and each was left to act independently. Mr. Field, as the sole American representative, took the whole matter upon himself, and in 1873, after the lapse of seven years, presented to the social science congress his completed work, in a vol- ume of nearly 700 pages, which he styles " Out- lines of an International Code." This work has attracted no little attention from Euro- pean jurists. In the same year he attended a meeting held at Brussels, composed of dele- gates from all parts of Europe to consult upon this subject. This resulted in the formation of an association for the reform and codifica- tion of the laws of nations. The association consists of jurists, economists, legislators, and politicians, with branches in different coun- tries. Its object is to substitute arbitration for war in the settlement of disputes between na- tions. Of this association Mr. Field was elect- ed president. In August, 1873, he left the United States, proposing to make a tour around the world. III. Stephen Johnson, an American jurist, brother of the preceding, born at Had- dam, Conn., Nov. 4, 1816. At the age of 13 he went to the East, and passed nearly three