THE PRESIDENT: The next report for consideration is that of the Special Committee on Revision and Unification of Statutes. Has the Committee any further report to make this morning?

CHARLES WETHERILL, JR., Philadelphia: There is nothing further.

CHARLES D. GILLESPIE, Allegheny: As I understand, the Special Committee on Judiciary has not been discharged?

THE PRESIDENT: It has not.

CHARLES D. GILLESPIE, Allegheny: I would like to say this that is, as we all understand, a very important matter, especially with regard to whether the present system of selecting the Judges in the lower Courts be continued, or partly or wholly abandoned, and a return made to the old plan. It appears that the Allegheny County Bar Association has been considering the same matter, with the result that a Special Committee made a report in February of this year, which I have in my hand, and which appears to cover all the various stages of the case, and finally recommends that we go back to the old appointive system. Now, the report of this Committee practically recommends the same thing, but differs from the Allegheny County Bar Association Committee in many minor details. If at our next meeting this Association decides that it would be better to press an amendment to the Constitution and go back partly or wholly to the old system, you will immediately run into this plan of the Allegheny County Committee, and we would come to the Legislature with a divided force. I therefore suggest that our Committee be instructed to confer with the Committee in Allegheny County to see how far they can harmonize their two reports, and I make a motion. to that effect.

Duly seconded, and agreed to.

ALEX. SIMPSON, JR., Philadelphia: I move that the report of the Allegheny Bar Committee be printed in conjunction with the report of our Committee.

Duly seconded, and agreed to.

On motion, adjourned.

SECOND DAY, EVENING SESSION

WEDNESDAY, June 28, 1911.

The Association resumed its sessions at 8 o'clock p. m., President SMITH in the chair.

THE PRESIDENT: The meeting will please come to order. The Hon. ROBERT RALSTON, of Philadelphia, will read to us to-night a paper on "The Delay in the Execution of Murderers."

(For paper on "The Delay in the Execution of Murderers," by Hon. ROBERT RALSTON, see Appendix.)

On motion, adjourned.

THIRD DAY, MORNING SESSION

THURSDAY, June 29, 1911.

The Association reconvened at II o'clock a. m., President SMITH in the chair.

THE PRESIDENT: The first order of business this morning is the reading of a paper by JOHN MARSHALL GEST, Esq., of Philadelphia, on "The Law and Lawyers of Balzac."

JOHN M. GEST, Philadelphia: Mr. President, Gentlemen of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Ladies and Gentlemen: It should be a matter of great regret that the

distinguished member of this Association who was expected to read a paper at this time found himself, by reason of the pressure of his professional engagements, unable to prepare it. Your Executive Committee having invited me to take his place, I have been compelled to make use of material previously collected for another purpose. Had there been time for me to write a paper especially for this meeting, I would have tried to prepare myself upon some technical question of legal interest. As it is, all I can say is that no one here will derive from this paper a single useful or instructive thought.

Let me first clear up an uncertainty which I understand exists among some of you as to where or what Balzac is. There is apparently an impression that Balzac is situated somewhere in Fiat County. This, however, is not correct. Balzac is nowhere in Fiat, nor anywhere, indeed, upon the face of the earth. Balzac is safely under ground, and is likely to stay there.

I should say a word, by way of preface, as to my treatment of the subject. It seems appropriate, in speaking of the law and lawyers as they are recorded in the works of a great novelist, to say something by way of general criticism of the author, in order that his point of view may be ascertained. And here the temptation is to wander among the byways of a vast subject. Balzac's writings fill twenty-six volumes of the French Edition Definitive, and the Saintsbury Edition in English of the novels fills forty fat volumes. So much has been written upon Balzac, and there is so much to be said, that I am only able within reasonable limit to give a condensed and I fear a superficial estimate. And in treating of his law and lawyers, the danger on the one hand is that in the effort to be full and accurate this paper should be lengthy and tedious; on the other, that in trying to be concise it should be dry and technical. What I propose to do, therefore, is first to give a general view of Balzac's writings and his personal connec

tion with the law, then to extract from his voluminous writings a few of his more striking comments upon the law and his description of lawyers, then to show the permeating influence of the law upon his novels, and finally to illustrate that influence in particular.

(For paper on "The Law and Lawyers of Balzac,” by JOHN MARSHALL GEST, ESQ., of Philadelphia, see Appendix.)

THE PRESIDENT: After introducing the speaker, Judge Staake, with that great accuracy for which he is noted, said to me, "You should have introduced him as Judge Gest; he has just been appointed to the Orphans' Court of Philadelphia, and will be ordained on Saturday." Does it not seem, Gentlemen of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and Visitors, that it is almost mistake to take a man who can write as delightful a paper as that and make him a Judge? Is there any discussion of the papers?

THE SECRETARY: On Tuesday afternoon a motion was made that all Committees that had not reported either at this meeting or at the preceding meeting should be considered as discharged. Under that Mr. Meagher's Committee on the Jury System was discharged. This morning I received the following telegram, dated yesterday:

"Greatly to my regret have been unavoidably and most unexpectedly detained here. Had intended in particular on behalf of the Committee on Jury System to explain personally what has been done, and report progress, and to request that the matter lie over until next meeting.

(Signed) THOMAS JAMES MEAGHER."

I thought it my duty to communicate this, so that if it was deemed wise to reconsider the action of Tuesday afternoon it might be done so far as this Committee is concerned.

ALEX. SIMPSON, JR., Philadelphia: I move to reconsider the action taken on Tuesday afternoon with reference to the discharge of the Committee on Jury System.

Duly seconded, and agreed to.

WILLIAM H. STAAKE, Secretary, Philadelphia: I now move that the report of progress by the Committee on Jury System be received and the Committee continued.

Duly seconded, and agreed to.

THE PRESIDENT: Is there any further Unfinished Business? If not, we are ready now for New Business.

GEORGE WENTWORTH CARR, Philadelphia: I desire to offer this resolution:

Resolved, that the Committee on Law Reform be hereby requested to consider whether it is not desirable to add a section or sections to the draft of the act relating to proceedings supplemental to execution approved by this Association yesterday, providing for the immediate granting of an order restraining the debtor from disposing of any property disclosed by the hearing provided for by said act or for the appointment of a receiver to take possession of the same or for both. The said Committee to report its conclusions to the next meeting of the Association.

Duly seconded, and agreed to.

CHARLES D. GILLESPIE, Allegheny: Yesterday I spoke a few words about the report of the Special Committee on the Judiciary, Mr. Brown, Chairman, which has been in existence for two years and has made at this session a rather unsatisfactory report. I think that arises from the fact that the members of the Committee never met to consult personally with one another. There was a resolution passed to that effect, to have them meet, at the last meeting, but the Committee did not meet. I think that the business is important enough for us to have a consensus of some minds who will get together and discuss the question and give us results. I have discovered that the Allegheny County Com