New-York tribune., 1901-01-06

1o,,-id Tudlev Field will be remembered as the
qrast codiaer OF the century. II was the dream M
of his life 70 see the body OF the coilialOh .x.
enacted in statutory form in New th 90 .l,e
:. sSo,SId he accessible TO every member or the
community. His hopes were oooheo 10 20 olSaP sat,
pcintnent and several years oeloTe i',S u SSv;i
tte ereat iurist came 10 realize IL. But ms CtVn
~nds bas IN substance been adopted IN otiet
states and the principle OF eooihcalioh esen -, -
SreTvYorlx has been extended not alone 10 ru,eS
of procedure, but also TO such otanCiles Ia
coraroon law as that relating TO negotiaple
naner The New-York Code OF Froceuu s - e 8
adopted in iS4S has been followed eltner etT, ,e,
Ill ~ in rrinciple by similar statutes IN twenty
tbree states and also by the BRUSH JuulSae JuSa -
oct az 1873 1t is frequently SAID WIN " sr ~
New-York lawyers that the greatest of NO
nodern times has been the simpIhcat@io @ Sa E- T1a
rad,1re IN the courts and the virtual anale a So
tion of law and equity and that II. ~ % ,ror1d
York has led America and America lle
VOTING, BUT VIGOROUS GROWTH.
ei,ce 1874 when a royal commission was ap-
tainted to consider the subject, the siIhplliyihs
oF titles and transfer of land have receiver
o++ent,on in England The English acts OF loo%
.rd 1874 and the New-York Block Indexing act
30 1850 are the main statutory steps taken I'D
this reform, except in some OF the ne" 0t"'eS
os the west where excellent systems nave oeeh
ro,,ov,ea from the beginning of the State govern
ments.
CORPORATION law is almost entirely growth
the century the law of private corporations IN
,te modern sense could scarcely be said 10 exist
II played a small part in the commercial or
business world AT its close. it is estimated that
fo,,r-fftns of the wealth of the country is held
l,v corporations. Despite all the difficulties ana
the variety OF jurisdictions, surprisingly uni
form system OF corporation law has gradually
been worked out
Put great changes constantly occurring
IN meet new conditions. The present struggle ls
on the mart of Legislatures TO repress the COM
hinatiorls formed under the name of trusts" by
CORPORATIONS engaged in similar Industries 10 re-
duce competition among themselves and TO en-
gross the markets for their products. The con-
test is now on, and perhaps will soon be at lts
heie ht Other abuses and evils in corporate man
agencnt are also receiving the repressing atten-
tion of Legislatures and courts. Great as nave
been some OF the reforms in the past, tney
oronaise to be still greater in the near future.
Not least in the splendid achievements of the
century was the securing of constitutional safe
guards for liberty OF speech and OF the press
Alexander Hamilton. in the famous Cross~el
case in 1903 stirred the hearts of the people TO
raalization of the wickedness OF the old maxim,
srte greater the truth the greater the libel, then
still applied 10 cases of criminal libel, and in
this State they put an end TO IL forever by pro-
yidiyp in the Constitution of 1921 that in such
cases the truth and the good purposes of the
publisher might always be given in evidence,
and that the Jury should be judges of the law, as
well as the fact So now the courts OF England
and this country taking another great step
In sholfshine the old barbaric law of libel, and
are permitting the jury 20 learn by evidence the
real Character as well reputation. of the
nIafntiff i'm civil suit, in estimating the damage
he has suffered by defamatory publication.
HENRY w. SACKETT.