The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-30
NOTES Of LEGAL EVENTS.

yAraT IN tne Jaw VI COpgTlRDIs u tnd lOTIy
years after its original publication In the At
o,nc Nopthiy was completed. 1t was begun
In the number for November. 1867. aud ended
in the number for October. 1853. The maya
zine was not copyrighted at that time; but Ia
November. 1858. the requisite proceedings
we're taken. under the act Of Congress then In
,,rce, to copyright the volume containing the
collected pa pers which form the best known
york Of Or. oliver Wendell Holmes. Eotwith-
standing this copyright. a person named Hurst
has asserted the right to publish The Auto
crat o, the Breakfast Table without leave
or license from the conservatives OF DIR.
Holiness estate: and the validity OF his claim
hns been finally established by q decision rem
dercl last Mondav by the Supreme Court OF
.hv tinted States. Tho copyright law In
,,rce in 1863 provided that no one should be
entitled to its benefits unless before publica-
tton he complied with its various re1uira-
mei's: AMI the Federal courts all agree that
The nrpearalce OF the work as Il serial in the
rp,opyrlghted Atlantic Monthly was n publi-
cation which deprived the pa pers OF all protec-
ton when subsequently put forth in book form.
The Ease was tried beforo Judge Wheeler Of
the United States District Court for the Dis
trict OF Vermont.
The court Of Appeals on Tuesday rendered
a decision affirming the judgments Of tho SUI
rrene Court at Special Term and In the An
relate Division IN the somewhat celebrated
New Utrecht gas lighting case. 1t involved
the validity OF u contract made In December,
1s~n. between the Board Of Improvement OF
the town OF New Utrecht. in Kings county. and
the Kings County Gas and Illuminating Com
rany for Lighting the entire township for n
perini originally fixed at ten years and subse-
-..,t. 80 .npl,,l - tr-Ant,, A.A
-rought a suit to have the agreement annulled
on the ground Of illegality and fraud; and rar-
'icrlar stress vas laid upon the allegation that
lam1s hal been erected on streets which were
nothing more than country roads. where they
furnished light to little else than potatoes and
cahhaGes. The case was tried before a good
LAWYER and careful Judge. Judge Walter Lloyd
Smith Of Elmira, who concluded that the evil
dence did not establish the charges OF fraud :
and neither he nor the appellate courts found
any legal objection which could be deemed fatal
10 the contract.
The Appellate d vision Of the Supreme
Court in This department has recently re-
versed a large judgment against the 1hird
Avenue Railroad Company in a negligence case
because the trial Judge interfered too active
IL in the conduct OF tha trial. He took the
examination of the witnesses out OF the hands
Of the counsel for the ulaintitf and proceeded
to bring out the plaintiffs case upon points
which had not yet been touched upon by the
examination OF his counsel Again. we are
told that not only did the learned Justice con.
duct to a very considerable extent tho exam
nation OF the plaintiffs witnesses. but many
81 tho questions which were asked by him
we're such as the 'counsel for the plaintiff him
self would not have been permitted to put
In holding that this action must have exertcd
an undue influence on the jury. Mr.. Justice
Rumsey quotes Bacon. where he says: 1T is
no grace to a Judge first to find that which he
might have heard in due time from the bar.
cr to show 1uickness Of conceit in cutting Of
Evidence or counsel too short. or to prevent in
Inrmation by questions. though pertinent.
The parts OF a Judge in hearing are four: To
t.rect the evidence. to moderate length. repe-
tltion or impertinency OF speech: to recapitu-
ate, select and collate the material points OF
that which hath been said. and to give the
rue or sentence"
A question Of considerable Importance re-
loting to the taxing power Of the several
states was decided by the Supreme Court OF
the United States on Monday. in a suit By
the Treasurer OF Arapahoe county. Colorado.
against the American Refrigerator Transit
~ an q A'oA'' viz
power OF the State OF Colorado to impose a tax
upon refriRerator cars employed in the trans
~portaticL OF perishable freight. such as fruits.
vegetables and meat. between points within
the State and points outside its boundaries.
The Colorado Supreme Court hold that the
right OF taxation existed In respect to such
cas-. although they were unquestionably in
strumentalities OF interstate commerce. and
the Supreme Court at Washington is OF this
same opinion. Although it did not appear
that any particular refrigerator cars wore con
tinuously within the State. it Was proved that
forty such cars on an average were always en-
gagged in business there. and this habitual use
Of that number was hold to render them liable
10 State taxation. Under the doctrine OF the
Pullman palace car case the employment oil
the cars in Interstate does not ex-
empt them from taxation by the State. mas.
much as the Stats has not taxed them because
they are SO employed. but because they are
within its territorial limits. u41 United
States Reports. page 49,
A crininal prosecution Of an unusual char
acter against a sea Captain was dismissed by
United States Commissioner Shields in thii
city on Thursday. The defendant was Capt
Zachariah Allen Of the American ship Benz
+. Packard. 1t was alleged against him thai
Oh a voyage from Seattle to Hong Kong hi
failed to take proper means to rescue a sailor
who fell overheard and was drowned. mas
much as he did not bring the head OF the yes
sel to tho wind and thus check her headway
The proof showed. however. that the Captain
was not on deck when tho accident occurred
and that when he reached the deck the los
man was nowhere visible on the surface OF thu
waters. The proceeding appears to have beef
Instituted under section 1914 of the Revisec
Statutes OF the United States. which.provide
that every Captain. engineer. pilot or othel
person employed on any steamboat or vessel
by whose misconduct. negligence or inatten
ton to his duties on such vessel tho life o
any person Is destroyed. shall be deemed gull
tv OF manslaughter and be punishable by i'm
prisonment at hard labor for not more thar
ten years. In Capt, Aliens case the Distric
Attorney admitted that the evidence would
not justify the Government In going on will
the prosecution.
The decision Of Judge Rufus B. Cowing IL
the prosecution fer criminal libel against Prol
Nicholas Murray Butler Of Columbia Universit!
And Mr. HnnTu Hole tln r,,IItahA 80 tLn FL,