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The Green Bag

secretary, Edwin L. Wilson; treasurer, Charles H. Cragin. Florida. — At the seventh annual meeting of the Florida Bar Association, held at Miami, Fla., Feb. 6-7, Sherman L. Whipple of Boston delivered the annual address, and William Jennings Bryan was the guest of honor at the banquet. Mr. Whipple's subject was "The Duty of Disclosure." He said: "I advocate as a part of the creation of the duty of disclosure the abolition of the privilege of confidential communications to counsel and the kindred privilege of one accused of crime to stand in silence at the bar. The communications which a man makes to his attorney are either harmless or harmful to his case. If harm less, there is no reason why they should not be disclosed; if harmful, the inter ests of justice and principles of fair play demand their disclosure. If the client's purpose be to conceal the truth and thus defeat justice, such purpose itself should be defeated. The existence of the privi lege is an encouragement to dishonest conduct. The rule serves no useful pur pose in the administration of criminal law and its only effect is to make diffi cult the tracing of crime and the punish ment thereof." Kansas. — Walker D. Hines of New York, general counsel of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, delivered the annual address before the Kansas State Bar Association at its annual meeting in Topeka Jan. 27-28. His paper argued the need of the same executive responsibility in the govern ment which is demanded in great busi ness enterprises. Regarding procedural reform Mr. Hines said: "In one re spect a most important reform in the judicial department is feasible, and that is the vesting in the courts of full power

to prescribe and change the rules of pleading and procedure so as to insure the most economical and expeditious administration of justice. At present the responsibility and power in this matter rest, generally speaking, in the Legis lature, which does not come directly in contact with the administration of jus tice, and the courts which do administer justice have not the responsibility or the power to change pleading and procedure so as to accomplish the greatest expedi tion and economy." Papers were also read by President J: D. McFarland of Topeka; Henderson Martin, A. M. Keene, W. H. Russell, W. S. Glass, S. N. Hawkes, Dean William R. Arthur, Earl W. Evans and E. S. McAnany. Maine. — The Maine State Bar Asso ciation held its annual meeting Jan. 8 in Augusta, with Oscar F. Fellows of Bangor presiding. Secretary Norman L. Bassett of Augusta read a paper on Admiralty Law, written by Hon. Ed ward H. Blake of Bangor. Job H. Mont gomery of Camden spoke of the need of a law court distinct from nisi prius. Robert T. Whitehouse of Portland spoke on divorce and Associate Justice Leslie C. Cornish of Augusta upon the law's dispatch in Maine. Mr. Whitehouse recommended the passage of careful and uniform marriage laws throughout all states requiring licenses and declara tions of intention, and prohibiting mar riages before a certain age and when either party is physically defective. The following officers were elected: President, George C. Wing, Auburn; vice-presidents, Fred J. Allen of Sanford, Wallace H. White, Jr., of Lewiston and John Wilson of Bangor; secretarytreasurer, Norman L. Bassett of Augusta. New York City. — William B. Hornblower of the law firm of Hornblower,