Willis: Anglo-American Law 
201 
b. Same (2d ed., 1906-1909), published in 15 volumes, with a 
one-volume supplement in 1913 and a one-volume supple- 
ment in 1918. 
c. Halsbury’s Laws of England (1907-1917), published in 31 
volumes, with periodically revised supplement. The form 
of this work is similar to that of the American encyclo- 
pedias. 
cl. Encyclopedia of Forms and Precedents (1902-1909), pub- 
lished in 17 volumes. 
C. Textbooks or Treatises. 
Textbooks and treatises exist in every degree of merit and of use- 
fulness. Some are still, and others in the past have been, considered 
to be practically authoritative expositions of the law as it was when 
they were written. For example, Glanville is commonly accepted as 
conclusive, for the original sources from which he formulated his state- 
ments are largely unavailable. The same is true of much of Bracton. 
Britton and Fleta, drawn largely from Bracton, are not so unreservedly 
accepted. Littleton’s Tenures is still highly esteemed, and the writings 
of Lord Coke, while no longer regarded as the pronouncements of an 
ultimate authority, are generally greatly respected. Indeed, most of 
these treatises are usually accorded almost equal respect with judicial 
precedents. 
Next in order comes a class of books which have had great influ- 
ence on the development of the law, like Blackstone’s Commentaries, 
Kent’s Commentaries, the works of Story, and Cooley’s Constitutional 
Limitations. Contemporary books in the same category are Gray on 
the Rule against Perpetuities, Wigmore on Evidence, and Williston on 
Contracts. In such treatises the writers attempt not only to make a 
clear and intelligible statement of the existing state of judicial opinion, 
but also to examine critically the grounds upon which it rests and to 
formulate their own reasoned conclusions as to what it ought to be. 
These books represent the results of a lifetime of scholarly research 
and real thought, and have more inherent worth than the decisions of 
the vast majority of our too busy courts. Though, under the doctrine 
of stare decisis, they have not the authority of judicial precedent, their 
influence in shaping the law may safely be said to exceed that of the 
reported decisions of very many of our appellate tribunals. 
But unfortunately it must be said that the vast majority of text- 
books are not in this class. The better of them do serve a useful 
purpose similar to that of an article in a standard encyclopedia, but 
many of them are a pure waste of good paper. At best they merely 
give the reader a starting point in his search for authorities with a 
very general survey of the topic in question ; and often they mislead him 
as to the state of the law and delay him in finding the applicable 
precedents. The student should get familiar with the names of the 
better texts and treatises, so as to avoid wasting time and labor on the 
others. 
