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THE GREEN BAG

NEW ENGLAND TOWN LAW A DIGEST OF STATUTES AND DECISIONS CONCERNING TOWNS AND TOWN OFFI CERS, BY JAMES S. GARLAND, ESQ., OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAR. THE BOSTON BOOK CO., 1906. 950 pp. $6.50. By Henry Ware 'R. GARLAND'S recent work on " New those jurisdictions, with possibly a decision M1 England Town Law " is a book which of such state throwing some light on his should prove interesting to several classes own duties. of readers. To the student of political While the citation of authorities is not history and institutions, to the town official, so extensive, perhaps, as it might have been and to the practising lawyer, this volume if the volume had dealt with the municipal offers in condensed form a description of the law of only one of the New England states, historical growth and functions of the New it nevertheless covers much of the ground England town, the duties of the various and represents a considerable amount of town officers, and a reference to the more industry on the part of the author. Under important decisions bearing upon such the duties of assessors of taxes, for example, duties. are cited a number of cases on questions of The arrangement of the book is novel, domicile, of what kind of property is exempt but well adapted to the scope of the work. from taxation, and of what constitutes real After a general introduction, Mr. Garland estate, machinery, and the like. Similarly, has taken up each of the six New England under the duties of a town clerk with states separately, and given, under the reference to the recording of mortgages of titles of the various town officers, an account personal property is found a digest of many of the statutes relating to the duties of that of the authorities relating to chattel mort officer. Often the statute is quoted in full, gages in general and to the rights of parties and always with a reference to the official in unrecorded mortgages. volume. Brief statements of decisions are It is this extended citation of authorities inserted under the appropriate statutes. that gives the book one of its chief points of As a handbook for town officials in any usefulness for the practising lawyer. With of the New England states this work ought out overlooking the assistance which a to be" very useful, and there is little doubt lawyer would get from using the book that Mr. Garland will realize the hope merely as an index to the statutes bearing expressed in his preface that the book will on the questions of town law (and when it prove of service to "those excellent public comes to hunting for statutes, an index can servants, whose labors are so poorly paid, seldom be too full), it is probable that a lawyer would find the most use for the book and often so little appreciated." An over seer of the poor, for example, if in doubt as as a collection of authorities. For this to the scope of his duties, could find grouped reason it is somewhat to be regretted that, together under the heading of his particular owing very likely to the limitations which state and office a digest of the statutes made it necessary to produce a compact governing his actions, together with a state volume, the author could not have made it ment of the decisions helping to define more easy for the lawyer to find all the such duties. If he failed to find any learning that is collected between the two decisions of his own state, he could turn to covers of the book. There are many cita the corresponding title under the headings tions which might well go undiscovered, of the other states and there find set out unless the book were read with more care the duties of the overseers of the poor in than a busy man in search of authorities