Points of Church Law. By Clement Y. Sturge, M.A. (Macmillan
and Co. 3s. 6d. net.)—We have no intention of reviewing the legal opinions collected in this volume. They originally appeared as answers to correspondents of the Guardian. Some of the questions put are curious. One correspondent wanted to know whether any law or canon had legalised marriages between cousins, which, he alleged, "had been forbidden by the Church for over 1,500 years"! As a matter of fact, such prohibitions as have existed were not absolute. They could be dispensed with for a consideration. This was done to a degree that shocks modern sentiment. An uncle was permitted to marry a niece. Since the book was published Mr. Justice Bray's decision that Easter offerings were not assessable to Income-tax has been reversed. It would be a gracious act if the Government were to exempt them by a clause in the Finance Bill. The taxation has an inequitable look. This volume also contains a record of various legal proceedings, and in an appendix the "Coronation of King Edward VII. and Queen Alexandra."
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