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question involved in Craigdallie i Aikman, may soon again engage the attention of the Scotch Courts. The Free Kirk of Scotland and the United Presbyterians (or "U. P's"), both dissentient bodies from the Establish ment, and until recently separate, last year buried the hatchet of difference and were

CHAPTERS

FROM

formally amalgamated. A small section of the Free Kirk maintains that this is a de parture from the principles of the original secession, and claims the property of the body, and an appeal has once more, it seems, been lodged with Cœsar to adjudicate on the claim.

THE

BIBLICAL

LAW.

BY DAVID WERNER AMRAM.

THE COVENANT OF JACOB AND LABAN. THE Biblical story of the sojourn of Jacob with his father-in-law, Laban, contains much interesting information illustrative of life in patriarchal society. Although we hear of no positive law, frequent mention is made of customs which in that state of society had all the force of law. Toward the end of Jacob's stay with Laban, after he had mar ried and had acquired a great deal of prop erty in cattle and slaves, the sons of Laban showed jealousy of Jacob's increasing wealth, and charged him with having gotten his property out of that which was their father's. Jacob concluded that, inasmuch as he had been with Laban for twenty years and had suffered a great deal at his hands, and more especially because he was no longer persona grata on account of his great accumulation of property, the time had come for him to return to his father's house. He secretly told this to Leah and Rachel, his wives, who answered him saying, "Is there yet any portion or inherit ance for us in the house of our father? Are we not counted of him strangers; for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured our money; for all the riches which God hath taken from our father is ours and our children's." The position of the daughter in the patriarchal family was one of legal subjection. Laban had sold his daughters to Jacob for the price

of seven years' labor for each of them. By this act, they, apparently, were no longer legally considered members of their father's family, but entered the manus of their hus band; hence their complaint that there was no longer any portion or inheritance for them in the house of their father, that they were now strangers to him because he had sold them, and they looked upon all the wealth which Jacob had acquired while in their father's employ as so much riches taken by God from their father in order to be preserved for them and their children; hence they were quite willing to go with Jacob. Jacob, taking advantage of Laban's ab sence from home, while shearing his sheep, gathered his family and his cattle and his property and left for Palestine. Rachel stole her father's household gods and carried them off with her under the saddle of her camel. As soon as Laban heard of the flight, he, accompanied by his household, pursued Jacob and over took him after a seven days' journey. There was a great deal of bluster about Laban at their meeting, and he assigned as a reason for his pursuit of Jacob the fact that some one of Jacob's family had stolen his household gods. Jacob bluntly told Laban that the reason for his flight was that he was afraid that Laban would take his daughters