or three years in the office; and his duties in the office should always be held paramount to any curiosity that When he has time, it is dethe law in the Reporters on comes to his notice. I do may lead him away from it. sirable that he should trace any question of interest that not think it is prudent for students to take notes of law arguments, as it demands more experience and reading than they usually possess to take them with accuracy, or derive any benefit from them. But I am aware there are exceptions to this rule, and when a student is competent, his industry thus applied must be highly creditable to him. It is to be remarked that it is not by a quantity of pages, or a variety of subjects hastily passed over, that real information is ever gained. If that which is perused be not fully comprehended and to a certain extent retained in the memory, the time devoted to reading may be accounted a loss. In law reading it is especially desirable that every thing should be understood and the principles and reasoning remembered. The student, at his outset, should not pass from one chapter to another, until he has thoroughly and distinctly found out the meaning of his author; and (where it is not inconvenient) has traced the chief authorities referred to by the author, as these often elucidate a difficult point or modify a proposition. The advice and instruction of the barrister under whose care he pursues his professional study, are invaluable to the student, and he should ensure them, by his diligence in business entrusted to him, and by the deferential respect due from youth to age and experience.. It is a truth, that should be fully explained to every young person about to enter on the study of law; that it is one which promises neither its profits, nor its honors, ex ་ cept as the reward of much unwearied industry and privation. The state of the profession in this part of the world warrants no expectation that its demands will become less imperious on the assiduity and exertion of its followers. In the race of competition the lover of his own ease must be left far behind-among the numbers who press eagerly forward, he who loiters on the way and wastes the precious moments he should devote to self improvement, cannot expect to bear away a prize. At the same time, the assistance which a student may now obtain in his pursuits is much greater than it was even a very few years ago. The Library of the Bar offers a store of legal reading, almost unlimited, to the student who can avail himself of it by a residence in town, and books and professional as well as literary society are now comparatively easy of access in most parts of this Province. Young persons become sometimes so fond of reading that it induces bodily indolence and consequent ill health. This should be carefully avoided, as the powers of the mind are sure to suffer under such mistaken habits. Regular exercise, the avoiding a close and overheated atmosphere, with occasional journies in the country in the fine weather, will prove powerful auxiliaries in strengthening the bodily and mental faculties, as well as ensuring that robust health, more necessary to a lawyer than many persons suppose. It may be suggested that the student who wishes to make a certain and uninterrupted progress in his profession, should make it a rule never be broken through, to read, on every week day a certain portion at least of some law book of repute. A habit thus established will be found of great efficacy in preventing the disgust young persons occasionally feel for serious reading, and which increases from day to day, if it be indulged. It is astonishing how much may be eventually accomplished by even the attention of a half-hour or a quarter, regularly followed up every day. In fact while the mind is yet unformed, no minute should be lost from some useful or honorable pursuit, as minutes, then well employed, will turn to more account than hours, or perhaps days of after life. Course recommended to Students in Nova-Scotia. Selwyn's Nisi Prius. 2.-Newland's Chancery Practice. Maddox on Chancery. Jones on Bailments. Toller on Executors. Adams on Ejectment. Comyn's Landlord and Tenant. 3.-Doctor and Student. Coke on Littleton, (part of it only.) Saunders' Reports. Roberts on Wills. Sugden on Vendors. 4.-Comyn on Contracts. Roberts on Frauds. Holt on Shipping. Leach's Crown Law. Archbold's Criminal Pleading and Evi dence. Holt's Law of Libel. 5.-Brown's Civil and Admiralty Law. N. B. This list includes about 33 volumes. Some of them merit the closest study. It is desirable that the Student for the first year or so should read with reference to a law dictionary only, for explanation. After that period, he will turn with greater advantage to the leading cases quoted by the author he is reading, which he should consider very attentively. I would recommend a 2d and a 3d reading of Blackstone's Commentaries, at intervals of one or two years, the first time referring to a law dictionary when necessary,-the second time referring to, and reading the chief acts of the province, as they bear upon the subjects in the Commentaries,-the third time reading the leading cases referred to. The foregoing list of books may be much enlarged or curtailed according to the circumstances and the method of study. No course can answer equally well for every individual; and judicious advice should be sought and followed in so important a matter; and when he can obtain the direction of the Barrister with whom he studies, he will find it more beneficial than any course of reading that can be thus framed. The order in which I have placed the books on the list is, such as I should be inclined to recommend generally to our students in Nova-Scotia. It will be of great service to make a written analysis of every book read, on a small scale. SECTION II, Of Laws in General. Law may be defined as a rule of action by which a reasonable and free agent is directed to conduct himself, by a superior authority. The almighty has given to the different parts of his creation, certain impulses, whereby their movements are irresistibly controlled. These are sometimes called laws, and we speak of the law of gravitation and of the law of attraction, but it is by a metaphor, as the natural and proper meaning of the word is a rule the governed being may obey or disobey, and which is enforced by the sanction of punishment or reward. The will of the Almighty is the fountain of natural law, that teaches man justice, innocence and benevolence. This law is originally implanted in the conscience, and reason is given as its interpreter. The perverse inclinations of men have often partially obscured it; but, to counteract this fatal tendency, Providence has, by special revelation of the holy scriptures, brightened and illuminated the pages of the inward monitor, and given additional and more distinct rules of conduct, than reason and conscience unassisted could supply. It has also given a clearer vista |