Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1856-06-24
XorICEs OF LAW BOOKS.
-, uaTFRMAY ON EET TRIALS

,ho . &c of New Triuls in Cases, Civil nm
a Tr,imiaa!-By David Graham. C1nnscllor a itn", r., nj
IT, oJ;,ion G3l ID. Revised and corrected, win n ~
CON- .; IF raci, ciIIau,cr. New York: Banks, Gould .
Co, Al Nassau street. Albany: 1i"nld, hnhKs " w.
iT5 broadway. From A. Morris, hichmohd, !.
Say what we will, it takes at any rate nara oio"'
and hard study to make u lawyer. lhere IL no roy"
path to ernineuce in the profession OF the Bar tire
ouires to be trud for long aud weary, and toilsoh'
wears, before the student reaches event the outer g"les
many more, if he would attain the inner courts oil 'h'
temple. Aud il is we'll that it ID 30. One, who NM
self had experienced somewhat Of the tolls OF earning
a decent amount of legal learning, and who was ias'
ri.iup 70 distinction in the ranks when cut of by pre-
mature death, has truly said: "The law il, and al
WAYS must be, u severe, perplexing, profoundly din'
cul, science, adapted only to great inteliects' III
whose constitution all the faculties have been haPp''
" developed in their fullest force and hhehess' "
principle, circumstances or the power oi pusS.o"s'
because, the subject with which the legal m'ha e"''
is complicated of all the variety OF ear'hiy Wv
rences, the confusion of worldly corJeoture'' Wv
range and ~obliquity Of human interests. ""ie 'n''
is true, to the letter, it is not imposSIO'e II e"0 -.
profession of much of the labor connected WIN IFS
mere incidents, and, accordingly lhe'' 10
here and there some Industrious conquer u o",'H.'
ic aud systematic author who VIII rehue'
and confnrt IN the toll worn advocates OF THO
Such men deserve and usually receive the grettude VI
rbs mora liberal minded of their co-laoorers; Out oc'
r,s;ona,lv they ns condemned and censured win u
ssv.ritv nroportioned TO their success and praclica'
vain. If their labors. We do not know that thls nus
,.-u The case with the work whose title page pretaces
,b.s. remarks, but We should not be surprised II II
--..l N lnrfr. u md rINlv sale. II II
were suffered to lie on the booksellers stalls "nere II
might worlhily serve az a constant companion 10 Inc
lawyer.
The editor devotes nearly seventeen hundred pages
TO new trials. Really, this does appear TO be entirely
too disproportioned to the extent and 'alue u W.
subject: and if these pages were cFdmme" WIN po''
tive dicta of The Judges, each eDunciat'hg d u's''".
principle, the profession would have neeu 10 uespa"
nj the hopeless task OF ever mastering even 'h's s'e"'
h,,ncb of their science. But, fortunately, this Is moi
,ba fact, The work is very far from being OF this
character. Legal principles are announced IN live
mann in MIR. Waternan's part Of it-wiihout any ap'
,er.u, " r.ul regard to the amount of space they &C.
cupy and you may rend over sleepily a half dozen
par.s or more at q time, without feur OF losing any
thing of substantial value, if you have secured the
idea the writer first starts out with. The BOOK Is EN-
plu,ically easy reading, and the student might pro-
iitahIy speud Il week-it would not take him much
lonper-in reading it from beginning to end. by
skipping over the general remarks scattered
through these volumes, passing by the merely vague
disquisltions On general principles they contaln' ah'
by emitting what has been said at least once IN INC
progress of Mr.. Graham's work, but which MIR. wa
terman undertakes to say again with increased ein-
pbasis, but with no finer or fuller effect, the diligcnt
render might reduce his labors at leas: q toIrth-and
the world would not be the loser thereby, nor would
Mr. Waterman. The fact is, in these respects the
work of Mr.. w. is extremely censurable and wh'e
we properly appreciate his labors here, and render
him lust credit for the many excellent editions OF 10
gal ,reatises he has formerly published, widely known
to the profession, our duty requires that We sNou'u
not pass by unnoticed such defects rs these IL Is not
right thus TO cumber a treatise designed tor Use ny
profession, which, more than any other, requires the
Saving Of time" in its studies, and more especially
REQUIRES il in its practice. But, whils we say this, we
wouid not have our readers iufer that Mr.. Waterman's
to the treatise OF Nr. Grshrn ia valueless.
Far from it. 1t is comprehensive and complete. 1t
travels over the whole ground Of new trials, and e1.
hausts the subject to such an extent that we eau
hardly believe that there is a case found in the re
ports which is not either recited Or referred to and
analysed in this work. In this regard, these volumes
are worthy of all praise; and q discriminating bar will
readily pardon the blunder of da"tson which Mr.. w.
has made, when they remember of what solid advan
,age his labors viii prove to them, when, on opening
his book, they find there the principle and decision
needed, at the "opportunc moment without being
REQUIRED to make q weeks search for it in a volumin-
Gus library.
As to Mr.. Graham's part of these volumes COM
the first of the three, it has already occurred
the confidence of the profession. MIR. VS. iaoors
not tend to diminish it. He deserves great credit
an ample pecuuiary return for bis assidulty in
The collection and analysis 0f cases, aud we hope ne
not fail of either.
-poyc 1ja Of Wallsce's Literary Criticisms, ~pdos-acd
bv parry < Mcmillan, and on sale nj Price g. CarioE, -,
nj This c,tr. A charming book, and one which should be
Tcod bv nj vino appreciate just and sound criticism or re,
nyreIl.rcr ii wiring unJ variety and IichnesS oil
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