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The Green Bag

The rule allowing the incumbent of an office without legal right to recover the salary of the office, even in the absence of another claimant, is not based upon the de facto doctrine, this writer considers, except in the minds of judges who have misunderstood the term "de facto officer," this term being applied, not to the officer because of the manner of his appointment, but to the legal character of his acts for the purpose of validating them. Questioned Documents. See Expert Testi mony. Real Property. "The Running with the Land of Agreements to Pay for a Portion of the Cost of Party-Walls." By Ralph W. Aigler. 10 Michigan Law Review 187 (Jan.). A thorough discussion, covering the subjects by states, the author concluding that "in by far the greater number of states it is held that the covenants may properly be classed as running covenants." See Conveyances, Torrens System. Religious Freedom. "The Law is the United States in its Relation to Religion." By Edwin C. Goddard. 10 Michigan Law Review 161 Gan.). "It has, in some of the states, been held that Christianity is part of our common law. We have already said enough to make it clear that in many ways our common law presupposes Christianity, but it must be clearly obvious that it is only in a very limited sense that Christianity can be said to be a part of our common law. "It was doubtless the common law of England, but it is not a part of the English law which we have brought over and adopted as our own. Not to Christianity alone, but to Mohammed anism, Brahmanism, Confucianism as well, liberty of religious opinion and of worship are guaranteed. Upon this one limitation must be noted. It is only opinions that by the Constitu tion are placed wholly beyond legislative control. As Chief Justice Waite in a leading case [Rey nolds v. U. S., 98 U. S. 162] expressed it: 'Congress was deprived of all legislative power over mere opinion, but was left free to reach actions which were in violation of social duties or subversive of good order."" Roman Law. See Legal History. Torrens System. "The Land Transfer Report." II. By Eustace J. Harvey. 28 Law Quarterly Review 26 (Jan.). "In preference, then, to the Commissioners' programme, certain measures are here recom mended, most of which could be effected without legislation. The first thing is to put possessory, or non-guaranteed, registration on a sound basis. . . . The next requisite is to definitely settle what is to be the form of the register and how the subsequent dealings are to be effected." "The Report of the Land Transfer Com-

missioners." By Charles Sweet. 28 Law Quar terly Review 6 (Jan.). "The most valuable part of the Land Trans fer Report, in the humble opinion of the present writer, is that in which the Commissioners recognize the advantage of a proper system of registration of deeds, coupled with the simplifi cation of the law of real property, as a reform which might be introduced at once, and applied to the whole of England." See Conveyances. Torts. "Principles of Liability for Inter ference with Trade, Profession, or Calling. III." By Sarat Chandra Basak. 28 Law Quarterly Review 52 (Jan.). "Shortly stated, the view of Professor Ames is to establish a general proposition that willfully to damage another by a positive act and from a spirit of malevolence' is a ground of action. But just as Lords Watson and Herschell, who be long to the opposite school, were obliged in Allen v. Flood [A. C. 1, 1898] to allow exceptions in the cases of malicious prosecution and libel on privileged occasions, so does Professor Ames pray in aid a variety of rules, namely, the doc trine of public policy and theory of absolute legal right, to explain away those cases where the inefficacy of wrongful motive in the formation of liability has been finally established in courts. . . . We venture to think, however, with all respect to the great English judges on the one hand, and Professor Ames and those who main tain similar views with him on the other, that there is a more satisfactory point from which the effect of malice in the popular sense may be viewed in determining the grounds of liability. 'Waters. "Stream-Water Rights in Illinois." By Elmer M. Liessmann. 6 Illinois Law Review 382 (Jan.). Examining the rights of riparian owners and the legal rules governing the uses of the water of streams. Wills. "Rights of Life Tenants and Remain dermen in Corporate Distributions." By Hon. Alexander W. Smith. 21 Yale Law Journal 181 (Jan.). "Whatever of confusion is noticeable in the decisions of the courts may be traced to their failure always to bear in mind that the stock holder has no title to the assets of his corpora tion. The corporation, as a separate entity and a legally living person, not only owns its assets, but, within the bounds of good faith and in the exercise of business discretion ascertained and expressed through the media of its charter and by-laws, has absolute power to dictate whether they shall be permanently capitalized or periodi cally distributed. If a minority only short of a majority is without power to control such action, much less can a single stockholder through the instrumentality of his will effect such a result." See Gifts.