Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 23.pdf/394

 The Green Bag

362

"The state of Iowa has, to my mind, taken a

very advanced position by passin what is known as the contributory depen ency law, mention of which was made in the second issue of this Journal on page 149. Other states have contributory de ndency and contributory de linquency laws, ut they are, generally, criminal statutes. There is only one other state, so far as I am aware, that has a statute similar to this

one, and that is Kentucky. The proceeding in Iowa is an equity proceeding and not a criminal one. . . . "The Iowa statute provides some ways and means. It does not as yet, however, provide all the instrumentalities that are necessary to

carry out the full intent of the law. The law is, virtually, also a contributory delinquency act, since, generally, the delinquents are also dependents. The Iowa statute covers not only the case of parents who are not properly doing their duty, but also ‘any other person or persons who shall by any act or omission of duty encour age, counsel, or contribute to the neglect of such child.’ ‘Neglect’ and 'dependency' are one and the same thin

under the Iowa statute.

It covers the entire eld of inﬂuence upon a child's life. . . "The Iowa law provides the foundation, but the le islature must furnish a sufficiency of help, a su cient number of paid probation ofﬁcers with such a sala that really competent men and women can a ord to give up their time for the work and do the work in a scientiﬁc manner. More institutions should be created. There should be an adult reformatory for people who have the lazy habit; there should be a psycho logical clinic, homes and hospitals for crip led and otherwise defective children, and for t ose who have contagious and infectious diseases,

etc.

following suggestions are oﬂered regarding a model revision: — "1. The period which the Digest purports to embrace should be, ostensibly, eighty years;

but cases of an earlier date should be admitted with a view to ensure that the Digest contains a complete statement of the law. "2. That the titles of the existing Digests should be revised with a view to obtain compre hensive titles, and the exclusion of redundant matter, while ensuring that each title should

approximate to a text-book upon the subject matter. "3. That competent persons, preferably per sons having experience as reporters, and, if possible, having special knowledge of the par

ticlular subject, should be chosen to prepare the tit es. "4. That the staff should be as small in num bers as is consistent with eﬂiciency and rapidity of output." Legal Education. "Early Law Schools in London." By Hugh H. L. Bellot. 36Law Maga sine and Review 257 (May). Legal History. "Bonds of Manrent." By John Bartholomew. 23 juridical Review 42 (Apr.). "‘There was formerly,’ says Stair, ‘a kind of bondage in Scotland called Manrent whereby free persons became the men or followers of those who were their patrons and defenders (and there fore these were rather in clientela than in bond age); but it is utterly abolished both by Act of Parliament 1457, c. 77, and Parl. 1555, c. 43,

and by our custom.‘" See Corporations, Legal Education.

No doubt all of these thin s will be pro

vided by Iowa in time, and when that time comes Iowa will be able to handle almost any

Liquidated Damages. "Liquidated Dam ages and Estoppel by Contract." By Joseph H.

kind of a problem affecting delinquency and dependency, juvenile or adult."

Drake.

“Procedure in Children's Courts." By Justice Robert I. Wilkin. 25 Bench and Bar 12 (Apr.). "Is not the practice in the criminal proce dures of our states a more simple running and more equitable, just and comprehensive proceed ing than could be built up under any form of civil procedure? If it is,'then is it not possible for the lawyers of the country to frame a practice which would contain pleadings and procedure affecting children, which in themselves would embody all of the protection given to him who is charged with an offense against the law, and at the same time eradicate entirely all of the peculiar criminal processes which would stamp ltlgeyychild as a convicted miscreant in after 1 e Law Writing. "A Digest of English Case Law." By A. E. Randall. 27 Law Quarterly Review 187 (Apr.). The author considers that the time is approach ing when Mews‘ Consolidated Digest, a revision of which in sixteen volumes is now announced, will have to be brought fully up-to-date.

The

9 Michigan Law Review 588 (May).

“We may perhaps conclude then that the new light thrown on the subject of li uidated damages by the two cases cited at the‘beginning of this article [Sun Association v. Moore, 183 L‘. S. 642,

and Clydebank E. 8 5. Co. v. Castaneda, A. C. 6], show us that in case we have to determine the meaning of an agreement in reference to the value of an undeterminable future event, the old canons may be used as of yore to aid in the interpretation of the contract, recognizing that we may have dit‘ﬁculty in each instance in de termining whether our agreement is one to do a single thing of an indeterminable value or to do several things one or more of which has an easily calculable value. In all of these cases the fact that the sum has been redetermined by the parties is not the signi cant element in the decision but the fact that the agreement may be one or the other of those mentioned above. The old canons of interpretation are appealed to for aid in the actual determination of the question of penalty or liquidated damages whether we acknowledge the doctrine of ‘ re ascertainment’ or not, and no more since t an

before the decisions by the United States Supreme Court and the House of Lords can the parties