1833.] Sketch of the State of Legislation in Germany. 237

other codes. The Code of Punishment of 1803 is likewise simple and mild, it is true, but not answering to the demands of the time. The Code of Civil Procedure which originated in the times of the Emperor Joseph, is certainly directed to the shortening of proceedings, but it does not give satisfaction. The labors of the Law Commission are now directed to a Code of Commerce and to the Codes of Civil Procedure and of Punishment. The projects have appeared. Professors Jenull and Wagner have had a considerable share in them.

In Prussia, a code remarkable for its completeness- for its object was to anticipate all possible cases-is in force, under the name of Landrecht, in which also a code of commerce and a code of punishment are comprised. The necessity of simplification is felt, and a revision of the code of punishment is in progress, the provisions of which are extremely harsh. Peculiarly deserving of attention is the Prussian rule of Court-distinguishing the Prussian procedure from all others—that the judge shall establish the truth and instruct the parties, as in criminal procedure; from which, it is clear, the Prussian legislators wished to banish the advocates as much as possible, by making the judge the counsellor of the litigants. Against the practicableness of this plan, many voices have been raised, even in Prussia itself, and many projects are in agitation for the alteration of the procedure. In criminal procedure, the criminal ordinance of 1805 is in force. The complaints against it are, that it ordains an entirely secret mode of proceeding, and permits the judges to prescribe an extraordinary punishment, when they hold the guilt of the accused not for certain but probable. Through the connexion of Old Prussia with the Rhenish provinces, where the French procedure still prevails, a large party has become powerful, which declares for publicity and jury trial. A new project of a criminal ordinance has been prepared, but has not yet been made public.

The kingdoms of Saxony and Hanover form an intervening class in respect of the state of legislation. In both States, men cling much to the old institutions, and fear to meddle with the law. Their progress is consequently slow; but even in Saxony and Hanover, the public cry for reform has gained strength, and legislative improvements are called for. The kingdom of Saxony first received a constitution in 1830, and it is known that a constitutional existence takes some time to mature. Of new laws in

1 We see from the German papers that the introduction of the French system of Civil Procedure has been warmly advocated of late. EDIT. 30

VOL. IX.NO. XVII.

Saxony, the most important are, a new regulation of the States of 1832, and a law (1832) on the abolition of the feudal tributes (corvées) of the peasantry.1 In Hanover, where a new constitution has just been proposed, the project of a criminal code, founded on the model of the Bavarian Code, but containing many improvements, has been laid before the States. Every where a great legislative activity is excited, but the will is not uniformly good, and a certain fear of novelty prevents radical reform from being made. (Signed) MITTERMAIER.

(Law Professor at Heidelberg, member of the Second Chamber of Baden, and author of a great number of highly esteemed juridcial works. EDIT.)

Stevens on Average, and Benecke on Indemnity in Insurance. Lilly, Wait, & Co. have in the press, and propose soon to publish, an edition of the work of Mr. Stevens on Average and Mr. Benecke on the Principles of Indemnity in Insurance, in one volume, with one index to both works; with the omission of those parts which are not particularly useful either to lawyers or insurers in the United States, especially the theoretical and speculative part of Mr. Benecke's work; with the abridgment of some parts of both works, in which the discussion is drawn out to a greater length than is now necessary upon points that are perfectly well settled; and also with notes of the decisions and practice in the United States. The publication is prepared and superintended by Mr. Willard Phillips. That no injustice may be done to the original authors, it will appear in the edition what is omitted, abridged, or added.

No American edition of Benecke's work has been published, and that of Stevens is now out of print. Some portion of Mr. Benecke's work consists of theoretical speculations, of no immediate practical utility, and this is probably the reason that it has never been reprinted in the United States, though his practical rules and examples for adjustments are very correct, and his work is in some respects an important supplement to that of Stevens. The two works embrace all the material rules and examples for the adjustment of general and particular averages, as far as they are supplied by the English and other foreign laws. And they are by far the most satisfactory treatises on the subject, and in

1 The codification controversy has recently been revived in Saxony.

deed afford the only means of obtaining an adequate knowledge of the correct mode of settling marine losses.

Revision of the Laws of Massachusetts. Provision was made at the last session of the Massachusetts Legislature, for the revision of the laws of Massachusetts. Under the resolve for this purpose, Hon. Charles Jackson, of Boston, Hon. Asahel Stearns and Professor John H. Ashmun, of Cambridge, were appointed commissioners.

We understand that the commissioners have commenced and made great progress in the work committed to them. They are proceeding upon the plan of making a thorough revision of the laws, analogous to that of the New York Revised Statutes.

Analytical Abridgment of American Reports. Lilly, Wait, & Co. have made arrangements for publishing an analytical abridgment of all the American Reports, upon a plan analogous to that of Petersdorf. The work will be issued in volumes of not less than 500 pages each-price five dollars a volume.

APPOINTMENTS.

Benjamin Johnson, of the Territory of Arkansas, to be Judge of the United States, in and for said Territory.

Alexander M. Clayton, of Tennessee, to be Judge of the United States, in and for the Territory of Arkansas, in the place of Charles S. Bibb, deceased.

Samuel W. Dickson, of Mississippi, to be Marshal of the United States, for the District of Mississippi, vice Anthony Campbell, removed.

An article giving a bibliographical account of American law books, was expected for our present number, but we are disappointed of it for the present.

QUARTERLY LIST OF LAW PUBLICATIONS.

AMERICAN.

Report of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Judicature, and in the Court for the Trial of Impeachment and the Correction of Errors, of the State of New York. Vol. 8. Albany. W. & A. Gould & Co. New York. Gould, Banks & Co

A practical Treatise, on the Trustee Process, or Foreign Attachment of the Laws of Massachusetts and Maine. With an Appendix Containing the Statutes of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, on that subject. By L. S. Cushing. Cambridge. Brown, Shattuck, & Co.

The Equity Draftsman being a selection of forms of pleadings in suits in Equity-originally compiled by F. M. Van Hythuysen, Esq. Barrister at Law, revised and enlarged with numerous additional forms and notes. By Edward Hughes Esq. 8vo. pp. 952. New York. O. Halsted. Reprint.

Select Speeches of John Sargeant, of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. Carey & Hart. Evo. pp. 367.

Reports of Cases argued and determined in the Supreme Judicial Court of the State of Maine. By Simon Greenleaf, Counsellor at Law. Vol. 7.

Journal of a Convention for Framing a Constitution of Government for the State of Massachusetts Bay. From the commencement of their first session, Sept. 1, 1779, to the close of their last session, June 10, 1780. Including a list of the members. Published by order of the Legislature. Boston. Dutton & Wentworth. 8vo. pp. 264.

Report of the Trial of James H. Peck, Judge of the United States District Court, for the District of Missouri, before the Senate of the United States, on an Impeachment preferred by the House of Representatives against him for high misdemeanors in office. By Arthur J. Stansbury. Boston. Hilliard, Gray, & Co. 8vo. pp. 591.

ENGLISH, REPUBLISHED.

Volume 21, of English Common Law Reports-by Sergeant & Lowber. Philadelphia. Nicklin & Johnson.

A Treatise on the Law of Executors and Administrators. By Edw. V. Williams, Esq. of Lincolns Inn, Barrister at Law. With Notes and References to the Decisions of the Courts of this Country. By Francis J. Troubat. Philadelphia. R. H. Small. 1832.

An Analytical Digested Index of the Common Law Reports, from Henry 3 to George 3. By S. Hughes. Philadelphia. R. H. Small. 8 vo. pp. 248.

A treatise on the Law of Insurance, in 3 parts. By David Hughes, Esq. of the Middle Temple. First American edition. New York. O. Halsted. 8vo. pp. 471.

AMERICAN JURIST.

NO. XVIII.

APRIL, 1833.

ART. I.-STORY'S COMMENTARIES-VOL. I.

Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, with a Preliminary Review of the Constitutional History of the Colonies and States before the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. By JOSEPH STORY, LL. D. Dane Professor of Law in Harvard University In 3 volumes. 8vo. Boston. Hilliard, Gray, & Co.

A well constructed frame of government is the most stupendous work of human genius and wisdom. It should combine the fruits of all past experience; those who set about its construction must explore the great magazine of history for materials, nor can they work these into even the rudiments of a system of civil polity without a thorough knowledge of the character and condition of the people to be governed—and with all the possible qualifications and advantages for the undertaking, they can, after all, at the best, but sketch an outline, the filling up and finishing of which must be the work of many years, perhaps centuries. To adapt a constitution to the exigencies of a nation, a prescience of the future is no less essential than a knowledge of the past. Indeed the task is too mighty for any other than gigantic minds acting in the most propitious circumstances. It will be apparent that we are not speaking of those ephemeral organizations, of which so many have been so hastily made and so soon broken up, during the past fifty years; and of which at one time the