Review: Harris and Wilshere's Criminal Law
| DOI | 10.1177/002201835001400309 |
| Published date | 01 July 1950 |
| Date | 01 July 1950 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Review.
HARRIS AND
WILSJmM'S
CRIMINAl, LAW. By A. M. Wilshere, M.A., Ll.B.,
18th Edition. Sweet and Maxwell, Ltd. Price £1 lOs.
The fact
that
this is
the
eighteenth edition is sufficient testimony to
the
popularity
and
value of this well-known work.
It
is now a standard
text-book for all law students
and
the
new edition has been published
because of
the
changes effected by
the
Criminal Justice Act, 1948.
In
dealing with
the
substantive law
the
book retains all its former
features and can fairly claim to be an accurate, reliable guide to English
Criminal Law. There are, however, too many mistakes or omissions in
other
parts
of
the
book, many of which should have been detected in
proof-reading. At p. 89, for example,
it
is
stated
that
compensation may
be awarded where a probation order is
made;
nothing is said about
the
similar power
that
exists where a person is discharged conditionally or
absolutely. At p. 288, s. 7 of
the
Road Traffic Act, 1930, is unaccount-
ably omitted from a statement of misdemeanours created by
that
Act.
At pp.
608-612
the
learned author has overlooked
the
National Assist-
ance Act, 1948,
and
the
Children Act, 1948, and their effect on bastardy
law,
and
refers to applications made by
the
guardians. The Probation of
Offenders Act, 1907, although repealed, is cited
at
p. 639 in connection
with
the
award of compensation. Section 28 of
the
Criminal Justice Act,
1948, is relegated without comment to a mere tail-piece to a chapter on
procedure, when with advantage
it
could have been dealt with fully
at
the
beginning of
that
chapter. Then, again, jurisdiction in matrimonial
proceedings was extended by
the
Married Women (Maintenance) Act,
1949; there is no reference to this
at
p. 614 which sets
out
only
the
old
law. Also on
that
page, s. 42 of
the
National Assistance Act, 1948, is
quoted as s, 2. The index could be more informative. We feel
it
our
duty
to draw attention to these matters (and there are others) because
accuracy of detail in a
text
book is essential having regard to
the
fact
that
student
readers have
not
the
knowledge to read critically.
To continue reading
Request your trial