New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-07-26

Of LEGAL deyelopmeut on lines that are now
found to be lust the natural lines of investiga-
tion and above all Of scientific investigation IL
is absurd for men to go back TO the schoiasuc
methods Of a fixed code. Suppose England anu
the United States do go In for wholesale COOL
hcation. what will happen? Mr.. Clarke an
swers that II there is q single dubious sentence
in the code. lawyers and judges VIII forthwith
recur 10 cases and presidents. In order to find
out what the sentence means. and the whole
body of case law will be logged back into the
sacred Enclosure Of the code through single
hole In the fence. He points to the Indian Code
as an example Of what has already been zone
In this way. II an ambiguous sentence IL ieit'
as II must be under the French system. TO the
individual opinion Of each Judge. then there Will
simply be a chaos Of interpretations. 10 winch
rev versions will be added continuously. and
the real question will never be solved
Evolution In biology presupposes that It Is
impossible in the nature Of things for any TWO
creatures ever TO be exactly alike. In their
minute differences lie all the potentialities of
species and genera. Mr.. Clarke apparently
holds that this is true also Of cases at law. No
two ever happen to be exactly alike. Under
code only the similarities can be considered.
But the whole burden Of justice and injustice
lies on the minute differences. not on the OBJ
vious nkenesses. The law. as hitherto ex-
pressed relates to past experience So far as
new experience comedies with the past the law
is lust and good. But every new element In
experience must be considered by Itself and the
law to be lust must take cognzance Of the new
discovery in human nature. The inference Is
that law cannot be crystalzed in any fixed
forms until human nature has reached the
boundary Of It's development. When science no
longer advances. and men have nothing more
to learn. law will be perfect and ready for codi-
flcaton. 1t will also be useless.
Sir George Nlchos's work illustrates the DIFF
ficulty OF meeting future possibilities by statute
The author. mon Of vast experience IN MS
chosen field Of philanthropy. evidently looked
forward hopefully to time when the volumi-
nous legislation still operative which began IN
Elizabeth's time and Increased with every cent
ury. could be reduced to a systematic form IN
n single act Of Parliament One who follows
him through the mazes OF these successive laws
must sympathize. They strain mortal endur-
ance and attention to the utmost But after
he had given the activity and study of life
time to the subject in all its phases. his last
despsirng cry was that IL the question OF set
Element were only settled. then harmonius
concise poor law in statutory form would De
possible II that Alp was surmounted. 1t was
only perhaps TO see other Alps on Alps arise
behind IT, for the new edition OF Sir George
Nichols's work Is to be followed as soon as pos
sible by another volume covering the history or
the English Poor Law since the year 49,.
Surely whole large volume would not be
needed now IL statutory perfection were so near
half century ago.