his owner was entitled to be reimbursed by the State to the extent of one-half of such assessed value! It seems rather inconsistent with this doctrine that where a slave is convicted of a capital offense, his owner is liable for the fee for executing the sen tence. State v. Jones, 2 Devereux (N. C), 48. But then again, where at the time of the sale of a negro slave on execution he had committed a murder, but had not been detected, and subsequently to the sale he was executed, held, that the purchaser who had paid the price was entitled to stand in place of the execution-creditor for the amount of the purchase money. Conner v. Gwyn, Haywood (N. C), 121. Parties who forcibly took from jail a slave charged with rape and murder, and hung him, were held liable to the owner for his value. Polk v. Fanchen, r Head (Tenn.), 336. An overseer who ordered a slave to ride a horse in a race, whereby the slave was killed, was held liable for his value to the owner. Greer v. Emerson, 1 Over ton (Tenn.), 13. A landlord might take the negro slave of a third person found accidentally on the demised premises by distress. Bull v. Horlbeck, 1 Bay (S. C), 301.
The Wife's Mother-in-law. — It is not often that the wife thinks she has "got even" with her mother-in-law, but she must think so in Williams v. Williams, 20 Colo. 51, or else she is a very unrea sonable woman. This was an action for alienating her husband's affections and persuading him to desert her, and she had a verdict for $12,500, which was upheld on appeal. It would strike one that this is a high price for the affections thus alienated, but on looking into the case it appears that something more substantial than affections was alienated, namely, $25,000 in stocks and bonds, which the crafty motherin-law raked in. The excuse the pusillanimous hus band gave her was, " Ma has got all my money and will not give it to me until I do," and he told his wife he would return. The doctrine of this case is now the law of New York, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hamp shire, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa; but is denied in Maine and Minnesota.
The Mortgagee's Live Hand. — An exceedingly interesting question is treated in a very learned and curious manner by Chief-Justice Bleckley in a Georgia case, Green v. Coast Line R. Co., 24 S. E. Rep. 814. The exact point of decision is thus stated: "Mort gages upon a railway, and the income from the same, the mortgagor being left in possession, are, as to the income, whether produced before or after the appoint
ment of a receiver in foreclosure proceedings, subject to be postponed in equity in favor of a claim for dam ages resulting from a tort committed by the mortgagor while and by reason of operating the railway after the execution of the mortgage." The question is thus decided in opposition to the rule deduced from the authorities by Judge Thompson in his great treatise on Corporations, although he expresses no personal opinion on the point. The Court pay him a noteworthy compliment at the close of the opinion. The Court also say : " Every direct authority known to us is against us. Nevertheless, we are right, and these authorities are all wrong, as time and further judicial study of the subject will manifest . The mistake made by courts and judges has been that they treat the problem of pre ferential debts as having but one pole, — the affirma tive pole of benefit, — ignoring the negative pole of burden altogether." There are many striking and effective analogies in the law of damages cited by the Court, but the most curious observation is the follow ing : "Courts which thus reason and decide may possibly be reached by the late discovery of Prof. Roentgen, and, for their benefit and the benefit of the profession generally, we shall close this opinion with appropriate illustrations, based on the new pro cess." This refers to a pair of cuts at the end, each representing "the hand of the mortgagee extended for all" and the " hand of the widow and ex-mother extended for some" first before and secondly after ex posure to the Cathodic Ray. The first pair of hands are substantially similar, but the widow's hand in the latter group is only skin and bone and dark.
A Case without a Name. — The value of nearly every member of the human body has been appraised in actions for damages, and now in Jackson v. Burnham, 20 Colo. 532, an action for malpractice in a case of phimosis, the value of an important member appertaining to the masculine part of the human race is appraised at $5000, which in most instances we should consider a reasonable valuation .
Cheap Disorderly Conduct. — In State p. Sherrard, 117 N. C. 716, the defendant appealed from a fine of one penny for having noisily accused a person, in a restaurant, but only once, of being " a damned highway robber. The judgment was affirmed on the ground that it was disorderly conduct within a town ordinance, although not profanity within the general law. Sherrard was penny foolish in appealing, and probably swore more than once when he footed his own costs.
