A Treatise on the Locus Standi of Petitioners against Private
Bills in Parliament. By James Mellor Smethurst. Second Edition. (Stevens and Haynes.)—This is rather too much like modern law books in collect- ing cases instead of referring them to a principle, but the practice of Parliamentary Committees hes not even that amount of certainty which attaches to judicial decisions. As Mr. Smethurst states in his preface, It is of considerable importance to the opponents of a private bill to know if they will be heard against it in the Parliamentary Committee, in other words, if they will be allowed a locus standi. This volume will be of some use in answering that question, and in the expense of Parliamentary proceedings the sooner it is answered the better. We are sorry to see that Mr. Smethurst has studied the language of Parlia- ment so minutely that he uses the word predicate instead of predict, and except instead of unless. Slipshod English is common enough in public speaking, but it should be corrected when it appears in print.
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