THE INNS OF COURT.

An applicant for admission to the inns must not be a solicitor or attorney, a parliamentary agent, a notary public, receiver under bankruptcy, clerk to accountant, engineer, or surveyor, and must not be engaged in trade or be an undischarged bankrupt. A certificate of moral character is also required.

All applicants, with certain exceptions, must pass a preliminary examination. Students are exempt from this examination who have passed a public examination at any British university.

The topics for examination are English, Latin, and legal history. This examination is less extensive in scope than that prescribed by the law society. The law society requires mathematics and makes Latin optional, while the council of legal education omits the former and requires the latter. The examination itself is quite elementary, more so than that of the law society, representing somewhat less than the equivalent of the first year in the classical course of a good American high school. Most of the applicants come from the universities or the great public schools like Rugby; so in practice the scope of this examination is of no particular importance.

ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS AT OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE.

General entrance examinations are not held by the universities either at Oxford or Cambridge, admission being in the control of the several colleges, but at both institutions general examinations are given to candidates for a degree, whether for the arts degree or degrees in law. At Oxford this first university examination is known as "responsions," the corresponding examination at Cambridge being the so-called "previous examination." In both of these examinations stress is laid on the Greek and Latin classics. In addition to these topics in the previous examination at Cambridge, papers are set in Paley's evidences, elementary logic, chemistry, geometry, arithmetic, elementary algebra, and an English essay is required. If the student is a candidate for the law tripos, he must pass in one of the three following additional subjects: Mechanics, French, German. In the responsions examination an additional subject selected by the candidate from the following list may be offered: (1) Greek or Latin historical or philosophical authors; (2) French, German, or Italian historical or philosophical authors; (3) Bacon's Novum Organum; (4) Elements of Logic. The Universities of London, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and Liverpool hold a matriculation examination. That at London embraces English, elementary mathematics, Latin or elementary mechanics, physics, botany, chemistry. One other subject must be selected from an established list. The Universities of Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield

have the same matriculation examination administered by a joint board. This examination embraces English language and literature, English history, mathematics, and a choice of three, one of which must be a language, from the following list: (1) Greek, (2) Latin, (3) German, (4) French, (5) mechanics or physics, (6) chemistry, (7) geography, natural history.

The entrance or matriculation examinations of the other English and Welsh universities correspond closely to those given by the joint board just considered.

SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES.

Candidates for the degree of LL. B. and B. L. in Scotland are required to possess much more preliminary training than obtains in England and Wales. Candidates for the LL. B. degree in Glasgow and Edinburgh must hold an arts degree from a recognized university. Candidates for the B. L. degree must pass the preliminary examination for admission to the course for the arts degree, Latin being required.

CONCLUSIONS AS TO THE PRELIMINARY EDUCATION.

It will be noted from the above detailed statement that in the English schools, including the schools of the law society and the inns of court, examinations are required in the English language and literature, mathematics, Latin, except in the schools having a joint matriculation examination, where, however, a foreign language is required. In Scotland a degree in arts is required if the applicant is a candidate for a degree of LL. B.

INTERMEDIATE EXAMINATIONS.

Examinations by the law society and council of legal education for enrollment as solicitors and call to the bar are given in two parts, called the intermediate and final examination. The intermediate examination of the law society is given four times a year. Articled clerks are eligible to take it after 12 months. Exemptions are allowed for all candidates who have taken examinations for the LL. B. degree at the universities of Great Britain or honors examinations at Oxford and Cambridge. The examination is based upon readings from some general text, such as Stephens' Commentaries on the Law of England, and thus constitutes a general elementary survey of the whole field of the law. The nonlegal examination, from which there are no exemptions, covers the subjects of trust accounts and bookkeeping, quite elementary in character. At the examination in 1913, 62 per cent of the applicants passed in the legal examination and 66 per cent in the nonlegal. The general scope of the examination is similar to the examinations in elementary law in American universities usually given as a nonprofessional course.

COUNCIL OF LEGAL EDUCATION.

The intermediate examinations of the council of legal education, which may be taken at any time after admission to the inns, are also held four times each year, papers being set in the following subjects: Roman law, constitutional law and legal history, criminal law and practice, real property or Hindu and Mohammedan law or RomanDutch law.

The only exemption from this examination is in the case of degree holders where Roman law was required, or those who have passed an examination in Roman law at a recognized school. The examination itself is very general in character. In content it is not as broad as that of the law society, except that Roman law is required, but a very elementary knowledge of Roman law is sufficient to pass the examination. The choice between real property and either RomanDutch law or Hindu-Mohammedan law is significant of the varied character of the British Empire and the many systems of law that come under its sway, and also of the fact that many British subjects, Hindus mostly, are students of the inns, who, after their call to the bar, practice in various parts of the Empire.

INTERMEDIATE EXAMINATIONS AT THE UNIVERSITIES.

The intermediate examination prevails in all the universities of England and Wales under various names. In the Scottish universities the intermediate and final system does not prevail, though the student is advised to pursue the subjects first that are indicated for the intermediate examinations in the English universities. Roman law is a subject in the intermediate examinations of all the universities; jurisprudence in four; law and customs of the constitution in seven; constitutional history in three; elementary law in one; international law in one. No intermediate examination includes real property or criminal law except that of the inns of court. In the United States all of the first-named subjects would be regarded as nonprofessional subjects, to be taught in the arts department rather than in the professional schools. The course in constitutional law is essentially an historical course, the frame of government of Great Britain excluding such subjects as constitutional limitations, which is an important topic in American law and legal instruction. The intermediate examination is taken after the period of one year in residence, and embraces at Cambridge and Oxford a large number of nonlegal subjects in addition to those already indicated. Thus at Oxford, where the A. B. degree is granted, the student must pass in translations from Latin prose authors, logic, or Bacon's Novum Organum. At the other English universities where the degree of LL. D. is granted, the intermediate usually includes some nonlegal topics, as philosophy or economics, logic or political economy or ancient history (Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, London).

FINAL EXAMINATIONS.

The final examinations which precede the call to the bar or the degree, are usually taken at the end of the third year of residence, although the period may be extended to four or five years at the option of the student. It is possible for a good student to prepare for all the examinations in a year and a half of study in the case of the examinations of the professional societies, and two years at Oxford or Cambridge, possibly less at the other universities, although it is not possible to be called to the bar, to be enrolled as a solicitor, or to secure a degree in less than three years of registration. Thus at the inns of court the final examination may be taken after keeping 6 terms, or 11 years, but a call to the bar requires 12 terms.

The legal subjects offered in the schools of the professional societies and the universities correspond in the main to the subjects found in the curricula of the law schools of the United States. Topics are not so minutely divided for purposes of instruction as in America, equity embracing not only topics that are taught under that name, but the principles of trusts and quasi-contracts as well. Frequently the general title "mercantile law" will embrace bills and notes, sales and contracts. The equitable doctrines peculiar to contracts and torts are usually given as part of those subjects, while in America the opposite practice prevails. An examination of the papers set in legal subjects in England and Scotland gives the impression that the courses in law are much less intensive and thorough than in the best American schools. The lack of division in the topics and the relative shortness of the courses suggest the same conclusion. Such a conclusion, however, can not be based on the latter circumstance alone, owing to the methods of instruction, the formal lecture playing a relatively small part in the law student's education, supplemented as it is by private tuition and individual study. The general character of the final examinations is, however, an accurate index of the preparation expected.

The finals in the honor school of jurisprudence at Oxford and the law tripos at Cambridge are of a high order. It seems to be admitted that the standard of honor examinations in these two universities, from which come the bulk of university men who go to the bar in England, is much higher than that of the professional societies, and an effort has been made by the universities to secure exemption from the societies' examination for their students who have passed the honors examination in the particular subject. Two royal commissions on university education in London, the Gresham commission of 1895, and the commission headed by Lord Haldane, the present Lord Chancellor, reporting in 1913, have indorsed such a plan, but so far it has not met the approval of the professional societies concerned.

The exemption would secure a twofold purpose in the opinion of its advocates, a diminishing of the great number of examinations, and an increase of candidates for the bar who have pursued a university

course.

DEGREES.

The usual baccalaureate degree in law is LL. B. At Cambridge this degree is given to those who successfully pass the law tripos or honors examination in addition to A. B. Those who fail to take honors, but pass the special and general examinations, receive the degree of A. B. merely. Oxford does not grant the LL. B. degree, but graduates in the honors school in jurisprudence receive the A. B. degree.

The first postgraduate degree at Oxford is B. C. L., requiring a year's study beyond the A. B. degree; the reading for this degree comprises a comprehensive course of legal study, recognition for which was asked of the professional societies previously referred to.

D. C. L. is conferred after five years' further study, on the basis of a thesis and examination. Cambridge and Liverpool confer as a second postgraduate degree LL. M. Candidates must be LL. B. of at least one year's standing. London, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, and Cambridge confer the degree of LL. D. The recipient must be a graduate of five years' standing, and the degree is awarded upon the basis of a thesis and examination. The thesis is the essential thing and must indicate distinguished attainment in some branch of legal learning. No course of study is provided for this degree, and it is not strictly a degree in course. The University of Durham, although it does not maintain courses in law, examines for and confers B. C. L. and D. C. L.

The law schools of the professional societies do not confer degrees, although the school of the law society maintains a course preparing students for the LL. B. examination of the University of London. A number of other English universities also maintain courses for the London LL. B.

HONORS.

An extensive system of prizes has been developed by the universities, notably Oxford and Cambridge, for the purpose of encouraging scholarship. The honors school of jurisprudence at Oxford and the law tripos at Cambridge are based upon special attainments, beyond the ordinary pass degree, both in the standard and scope of the examination. In addition there are numerous scholarships and special awards. Both professional societies offer prizes and scholarships. Honor examinations, open to men who have attained a certain standard, are held by the law society after each final. The subjects. covered are the same as in the final, though of a more searching