cusatory method" of enforcing the criminal laws requires some individual to put himself in the position of an accuser and take upon himself personally the burden of enforcing the laws in behalf of the public. The unfair ness of compelling a( private citizen to assume such a burden, and to subject himself to the annoyance and the personal antagonisms that are likely to result from it, is obvious. Laws that all good citizens wish to have enforced may for a long 'time be practically obsolete in a community if their enforcement can be had only when some private citizen volun teers, solely for the public good, to encoun ter the unpleasant experiences that he must undergo if he becomes the prosecutor. If private citizens, instead of becoming accusers in court, bring pressure to bear upon the po lice, or "those who rule the police," they have certainly done all they ought to be ex pected to do. When such citizens urge the police to enforce the laws, is it proper for a judge to call them meddlers? The wisdom of the statute is a question distinct from that erf the duty of the police to enforce it. Whether wise or not, the idea that the police authorities deserve sharp re buke by a judge for enforcing it is certainly novel. The assumption that the officials are the only persons w-ho wanted the law en forced, and were not urged to its enforce ment by any of the people of the community, does not seem very probable. Tf pressure was in fact brought upon the municipal au thorities by citizens to obtain the enforce ment of the law, that was certainly as legiti mate a method of procedure as it would be for them to make individual complaints, and personally to become accusers of the defend ants. NOT so very long ago, says the Central Law Journal, the Supreme Court of Missouri by an obiter dictum, revived in their own favor that old relic erf monarchical government, the offense of scandalum magnatum, an of fense not differing in principle from that of lèse-majesté, being only an 'extension of the latter offense in order to protect the other
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branches of the government, outside of the executive, from scandalmongers and extrav agant critics. The Supreme Court of Mis souri in the case referred to held, that to scandalize the court and bring upon it the ridicule and contempt of the people (no mat ter how deserved such ridicule might be, or whether it affected a cause pending before the court), constituted the offense of scandalum magnatum, which the court, thus scandal ized, could punish summarily, without trial, as for contempt. State v. Shepard, 76 S. W. ReP- 79, 57 Cent. L. J., 101, 402. It was not to be expected that such a ridic ulous revival of ancient despotism, so con trary to the very spirit and genius of Ameri can institutions, should be permitted to stand unrebuked. The first note of protest, therefore, comes from the court of criminal appeals of the state of Texas, where it is dis tinctly and unequivocally held that no mat ter how defamatory of a court or judge a publication may be, it cannot be regarded as a contempt of court unless it be written and published with reference to a case pending. Ex parte Green, 81 S. W. Rep. 723. IT is imperative, says The Law Times (London), to determine the important ques tion, What is contraband of war? Both these cases, and other instances of Russian seizures, bring into strong relief the important question, which it is imperative should be determined-—namely, What is contraband of war? Naturally, there are many articles which are absolute contraband; but, on the other hand, there are a large number of commodities which only become contraband if destined for use by the armed forces of a belligerent. It is now sought by Russia to define as contraband—absolute and not conditional—all things which might be used for warlike purposes or for the sup port of the armed forces of Japan if con signed to the unblockaded ports of that country. That is to say, that all cargoes of provisions, food stuffs, iron, steel, and rail way material, if consigned to Japan, may be treated by Russia as absolute contraband,
