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"The Council of State," writes the St. Peters burg correspondent of the London limes, " is now engaged in the consideration of the new Criminal Code, which has been drawn up by an expert committee of jurists. The criminal law at present in force is the old code of 1845, sup plemented by various later enactments, and is 110 longer suited to the requirements of modern Russian life. The committee which is respon sible for the new code has devoted some fifteen years to its task The main feature of the re vised code is that it does not seek, as is the case with the one at present in force, to define every separate crime which may be punished, but relies upon broad general definitions. Instead of the 1.7 11 paragraphs of which the old code con sisted, the revised one contains about a third of that number, in spite of the fact that it deals with a number of crimes which were unknown, or practically unknown, in 1845, such as black mailing, strikes and many others. It is inter esting to note that strikes become criminal under the new code when they are directed against the Government, or when they lead to injuries to persons or damage to property. The old ' stair case of punishments,' to employ a Russian phrase, finds no place in the new code. Ac cording to the old law, the lowest punishment was a ' reprimand,' and all other punishments were reckoned as equivalent to so many repri mands. The penal system was very complex, and included punishments of many kinds and grades, ranging from the reprimand to transpor tation and capital punishment. In the new code all this is done away with, and imprisonment of various degrees of severity becomes practically the only punishment. The committee even recom mends the entire abolition of the death penalty. The new code endeavors to deal in a comprehen sive manner with the difficult question of the es timation of the extent to which it is possible to hold a person responsible for acts committed in particular circumstances or in particular states of mind. This part of the code, which includes the definition of the principles of the responsi bility of minors, is the work of the well-known jurist, Professor TagantzefF, the President of the Department of Criminal Cassation."
LITERARY NOTES. Three classes of the readers of Mr. Kidd's most popular book, " Social Evolution," will be disappointed in the present work,' which is a dis cussion of the principles of Western Civiliza tion; their rise, progress and outcome. First : those who found easy and pleasant sailing in the first work, and shared the stoutly-maintained faith of the author that he was a Columbus dis covering a new world. Second : those who hunted, with a joyous zest, Mr. Kidd's fallacies, that had just enough life in them to make the game worth pursuing. Third : those worthy clergymen who were delighted to find an evolu tionist claiming that there can be no such thing as a " rational religion." The first class will now find themselves in deep waters without a cork to hold them up; the second will not find fallacies so easily un masked; the third will take fright in Mr. Kidd's insistence upon toleration in matters of religious thought. Toleration, the clergyman knows, is the open door through which the devil of doubt enters. The book will be welcomed by all who see in a complacent adjustment to present conditions the enemy of progress. Mr. Kidd's friends will regret the frequent obscurities in style; the fear ful reiteration of ideas and repetitions of phrase. Whatever corner in history one turns, he runs against Mr. Kidd's " Projected Efficiency." The innocent reader pauses before a specimen of Greek art. It is but a veil behind which stands " Projected Efficiency." He delves in Roman law; he sees Moses amid the thunders of Sinai: he pays his homage to the Christ; he reads of Roman persecution of the new faith;
If you don't want to be robbed of your good name, do not have it printed on your umbrella.
1 Western Civilisation. By Benjamin Kidd. New York: Macmillan Company. 1902. Cloth : S2.00. (53S PP-)
"A viva voce examination is popularly sup posed to be a terrifying ordeal," says an English newspaper. " A candidate at a recent bar ex amination apparently did not find it so. When asked by the kindly examiner, who desired to put him completely at his ease, whether he was not the son of a certain eminent lawyer, the young man replied that he was, and added that he hoped he would receive full marks for the answer."
