5. Such tables and abstracts of the reports of public service companies as it may deem expedient;

6. Statements of expenses of the Commissioners and of their appointees and employees (Art. VI, Sec. 48).

The act does not apply, except when specifically so provided, to commerce with foreign nations, or among the several states, except as permitted by the Constitution of the United States and the acts of Congress (Art. VI, Sec. 49).

The provisions of the act are severable one from another, and also as to public service companies, and the subject matters dealt with thereby (Art. VI, Sec. 50).

If any provision shall be judicially declared to be unconstitutional, as applicable to any particular company or subject matter, or otherwise, such holding shall not affect the validity of such provision as to other companies, or subject matters dealt with thereby, or the validity of the remaining provisions of the act; it being declared that the said provision or remaining provisions would have been enacted notwithstanding such judicial determination (Art. VI, Sec. 50).

The following acts are repealed, or amended:

The act appointing the Railroad Commission, etc., of May 31, 1907 (P. L. 337);

Sections 1 and 2 of the act of June 4, 1883, (P. L. 72), to enforce the provisions of Article XVII of the Constitution relative. to railroads and canals;

An act to provide the maximum car service charges, etc., approved May 24, 1907 (P. L. 229);

The provisos by Clauses 3 and 7 to Section 34 of the General Corporation Act of April 29th, 1874 (P. L..73).

All acts inconsistent with or supplied by this act (Art. VI, Sec. 51).

The act to promote the safety of travelers, etc., approved June 19, 1911 (P. L. 1053), is amended in Section 9 by naming the Commission in place of the Railroad Commission, and it is to enforce the act (Art. VI, Sec. 53).

The records, etc., of, and pending cases before, the Railroad Commission are to be transferred to the new Commission (Art. VI, Sec. 52).

CONSTITUTION OF COMMISSION.

It is created as an administrative body, to be known as "The Public Service Commission of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl

vania," with an official seal, and is authorized to become a party to legal proceeedings (Art. IV, Sec. 1).

The Commission shall consist of seven members, appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Each Commissioner shall be a resident and qualified elector of the commonwealth, and not less than thirty years of age (Art. IV, Sec. 2).

No Commissioner, or any officer or employee of the Commission, can occupy any official relation to any public service company or hold any other office of the commonwealth or any municipality, nor can they be engaged in any business the duties of which are incompatible with the duties of their offices, nor participate in any hearing in which they have any direct or indirect pecuniary interest, nor may they solicit or recommend to any company the appointment of any individual to office or employment (Art. IV, Sec. 12).

Their terms of office shall be four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten years, respectively, from July 1, 1913, and their successors shall be appointed for a term of ten years (Art. IV, Sec. 2).

One of the members of the Commission, and so to be designated by the Governor, shall be its chairman (Art. IV, Sec. 2).

Vacancies in the Commission shall be filled by the Governor for the residue of the term (Art. IV, Sec. 3).

A quorum shall consist of four members, who, for all purposes, including the making of any order or the ratification of an act done by one or more of the Commissioners, must act unanimously (Art. IV, Sec. 3).

No vacancy shall impair the right of a quorum of the Commissioners to exercise the rights and perform the duties of the Commission (Art. IV, Sec. 3).

The Commission may authorize any one Commissioner to make any investigation or hold a hearing; but no order, etc., made by him, shall become effective until approved by at least a quurom (Art. IV, Sec. 4).

The Commission shall have a Secretary, who shall keep a full record of all the proceedings, determinations, etc., of the Commission, and have the custody of its records, books, etc. Under its direction, he shall be the chief executive officer of the Commission, superintend its business, conduct its correspondence, give notice of its determinations, etc., and prepare papers, etc., for service; he may administer oaths in all proceedings before the

Commission, and may designate a clerk, appointed by the Commission, to perform his duties in his absence (Art. IV, Sec. 5).

The Attorney General shall be, ex-officio, the general counsel of the Commission. He shall appoint two attorneys as counsel and assistant counsel, respectively, for the Commission, one of whom shall attend the hearings before the Commission, conduct the examination of witnesses and represent the Commission in the courts. They shall also assist the Attorney General in conducting mandamus, etc., proceedings for the enforcement of the orders of the Commission, and shall perform such other duties as it may require (Art. IV, Sec. 6).

The Commission may appoint a Marshal, who shall attend its hearings, preserve order, superintend service of subpoenas, etc., (Art. IV, Sec. 7).

The Commission shall appoint an Investigator of Accidents to investigate the cause of any accident in connection with the operation of the property, facilities, etc., of any public service company, where any person shall have been killed or injured, or property destroyed, and make report thereof to the Commission. He shall also report to the Commission if any company has failed to give notice of the happening of accidents, etc., as prescribed by Article II, Section 1 (x) (Art. IV, Sec. 8).

Such reports, etc., of accidents shall not be open for public inspection, except by order of the Commission, and shall not be armitted in evidence for any purpose in any suit for damages growing out of the accident (Art. IV, Sec. 8).

The Commission has power to employ other officers, experts, statisticians, inspectors, etc., necessary to carry out the provisions of the act (Art. IV, Sec. 9).

The act fixes the salaries of the Commissioners, Sceretary, Counsel, Marshal and Investigator of Accidents, and provides for their expenses in the performance of their duties, and for their audit and allowance (Art. IV, Secs. 10 and 11).

No company, its officers, etc., may offer to any member of the Commission, its officers or employees, any office or position, or give them any free passes or transportation, or any reduction in fares, to which the public is not entitled, or any present, etc. (Art. IV, Sec. 13).

If the Secretary, Marshal, Investigator of Accidents, or any employee of the Commission shall violate any of the provisions of this act, the Commission shall forthwith remove him from office; and the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, may

remove any Commissioner, or any of the counsel to the Commission, for inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in office, upon giving him a statement of such charges, and affording him a trial (Art. IV, Secs. 14 and 15).

Each Commissioner, the Secretary, Attorneys, Marshal, etc., shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by Article VII of the Constitution (Art. IV, Sec. 16).

The principal office of the Commission shall be in Harrisburg, in rooms designated by the Board of Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings (Art. IV, Sec. 17).

The Commission, or a quorum thereof, shall hold meetings at least twice a month during the year at its principal office, and may hold meetings at any time, and at any place within the State (Art. IV, Sec. 18).

The act makes provision for supplying the Commission with books, stationery, furniture, printing, etc. (Art. IV, Sec. 19).

The office of the Commission at Harrisburg shall be open for business between 9 A. M. and 5 P. M. every business day in the year, and attended by one or more responsible persons designated by the Commission, or by its Secretary (Art. IV, Sec. 20).

WHEN THIS ACT GOES INTO EFFECT.

The act does not go into effect until January 1st, 1914, except that after October 1, 1913, every public service company must post its schedule of rates, and its rules and regulations, and, when required, file them with the Commission; and it is also provided that any contract between a public service company and a municipality made after the date of the approval of the act, July 26th, 1913, must be filed with the Commission to become valid (Art. VI, Sec. 54; Art. III, Sec. 11).

Its pro

It can be said that this statute is fair and reasonable. visions are far from being intemperate or tyrannical, and any company in Pennsylvania giving reasonable service at fair prices, and obeying the orders of the Commission, need fear no prosecution or attack thereunder. The Commissioners appointed under the statute are gentlemen of high standing and ability, and the Commonwealth is to be congratulated that the Governor has made such wise selections. After all, it is the Commissioners themselves with whom lies the fair adjudication of the statute, and the people of Pennsylvania, as well as the public service corporations, can be assured that their findings will be just and equitable. C. LaRue Munson.

Williamsport, Pa.

THE FRENCH BAR

II.

I have spoken of the Parlement of Blois which endeavored to impose upon the bar the obligation to give receipts for their fees, and a few words may not be out of place with reference to the constitution and attributes of the ancient court of which the conseillers at Blois formed a part.

The Parlement was originally a "Curia Regis"—a King's Court or a King's Council-and as such had no permanent situs, but followed the King throughout the kingdom wherever he went to administer justice, and to hear such appeals as were then allowed from inferior tribunals, which were little more than petitions to the King for ultimate redress. In the course of time the Court of Parlement was evolved, leaving the King's Council largely as an administrative court, treating only of affairs between the state and individuals or municipalities.

By an ordinance of 1581 a special and privileged bar was appointed for this administrative court on payment of a license fee and approval by the chancellor. This court still survives under the name of the Council of State,"Conseil d'Etat," and the privileged bar for that court still survives, the lawyers practicing before it, however, cumulating the functions of both solicitor and barrister.

It was not until the reign of Louis IX at the end of the thirteenth century that the Court of Parliament of Paris was so designated, and given a permanent location in the King's palace, with power to hear formal appeals, then allowed as of right. These powers were confirmed by Philip the Fair and appeals became so numerous that the calendars were encumbered, requiring an enlargement of the court and the appointment of men learned in the law, chosen for the first time from other classes than from the high nobility, which until then had been its only members; an enlargement followed later by the establishment of Provincial Parlements throughout the kingdom. This enlargement of its judicial powers involved its separation from the King's Council proper, which remained in charge of political and administrative matters, while the Parlement became essentially a Court of Justice, retaining, however, the jurisdiction to register royal edicts