GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



117 



9um of money for a specific purpose ; as a sub- 

 scription to a charitable institution, a sub- 

 scription for a book, etc. 



2. " The law on the subject of these sub- 

 scription papers," says Parsons, "and of all 

 voluntary promises of contribution, is substan- 

 tially this : No such promises are binding 

 unless something is paid for them, or unless 

 some party for whose benefit they are made 

 (and this party may be one or more of the 

 subscribers), at the request, express or implied, 

 of the promisor, and on the faith of the sub- 

 scription, incurs actual expense or loss, or 

 enters into valid contracts with other parties 

 which will occasion expense or loss. As the 

 objection to these promises, or the doubt about 

 them, comes from the want of consideration, 

 it may be removed by a seal to each name, or 

 by one seal, which is declared in the instru- 

 ment to be the seal of each." 



3. A person subscribing for a book is bound 

 to take it when delivered by the agent, pro- 

 vided it corresponds with the sample copy 

 shown him when the subscription was given. 

 The agent or publisher may recover at law the 

 price of the book should the subscriber refuse 

 to take it when presented to him. 



4. There is no postal law regulating the 

 transactions between publishers and subscrib- 

 ers. The ordinary rules of contract govern 

 all relations between the parties concerned, 

 and the post office has no part except to deliver 

 the article, or return it when ordered to do so. 



5. If the publisher of any paper or periodi- 

 cal sends his paper or magazine, the post- 

 master must deliver it, if the person to whom 

 it is sent will take it. If he will not take it, 

 the postmaster must notify the publisher. 



6. If a person subscribes for a^periodical 

 for a given period, say one year, and the pub- 

 lisher sends it accordingly, the subscriber can- 

 not terminate the contract by stopping his 

 paper at any time during the year. But at 

 the end of the year the subscriber may stop 

 his paper even without paying the subscription 

 due. He is under no legal obligation to take 

 the paper another year. The fact that he has 

 not paid for the expired year's subscription 

 does not bind him to continue taking the 

 paper. He can stop taking it at the end of the 

 year and the publisher can sue for and collect 

 his year's subscription only. 



7. If at the end of the year the publisher 

 continues to send his paper and the subscriber 

 to receive it, the sending is the offer of another 

 year's subscription at the same price, and the 

 receiving of the paper is an acceptance. The 

 implied contract from such action is a renewal 

 of the siibscription ; and the publisher can 

 send the paper for the renewed term of one 



year and collect the subscription price for that 

 year as well as the preceding. 



8. If the publisher advertises terms of sub- 

 scription, all parties taking the paper under 

 these conditions will be held according to the 

 conditions. 



RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF 

 PARENTS AND CHILDREN. 



In ancient domestic life the father ruled as 

 absolute monarch over the family. So it is 

 still in oriental countries. Christian civiliza- 

 tion has greatly modified this and laws have 

 been enacted that set forth the relation of par- 

 ent and child, defining the duties and obliga- 

 tions of each. 



Rights of Parents. 1. As long as a 

 child is under age he is subject to the control 

 of the parents, who have all reasonable au- 

 thority to enforce obedience. As long as a 

 child is properly treated by the parents no one 

 has a right to interfere nor to take away and 

 retain a child against their wishes. 



2. Adopting a Child. When a child is 

 adopted by another family its parents lose 

 their claim* upon it and the adopting persons 

 take their place. A child cannot be adopted 

 without the consent of its parents, but if con- 

 sent is once given it cannot be revoked. 



A child over fourteen must himself consent 

 to the adoption. The Court has in all cases 

 the right to consent to or refuse the adoption. 



Application must therefore be made at the 

 County Court and the Judge will consider it 

 and pass upon it. 



3. Punishment. Parents have a right to 

 punish their minor children providing they are 

 not guilty of cruelty. Brutality is severely 

 punished by law as a crime. The punishment 

 must be reasonable, leaving no bruises nor in- 

 juring the health of the child. 



4. Claims upon Earnings. While the child 

 is a minor parents have a right to all his earn- 

 ings. They can claim them of his employer. 

 Parents, however, may free the child and allow 

 him to collect and use his own wages. When 

 this is once made public the parents cannot 

 thereafter collect the child's wages. 



5. A Runaway Child. A child has no 

 right to leave home without permission of the 

 parents ; if he does he can be brought back by 

 force. Relations or others who would keep 

 him can be forced by law to give him up un- 

 less it can be shown that the father is brutal 

 in his treatment of the child or is not capable 

 because of drunkenness or other causes to 

 properly care for the child. 



Obligations of Parents. Obligation to 

 Support. The law requires that parents shall 

 support their minor children. A child having 



