The Gazette 1973

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ing Exemption and Reliefs. In considering Tax avoid-
ance, we can but agree in the Russell L.J. in Rallis
Settlements (1963) that "it is not right to level some-
thing a "device" and then strain to see that it fails".
And in Weston's Trusts (1908), the Court refused to
sanction a scheme of Tax avoidance on the ground
that the family were going to live in Jersey.
Mr. Esson has compiled this intricate material with
lucidity and learning, and students of this intricate
subject have cause to be most grateful to him.
Cheshire (G.C.) and C.H.S. Fifoot. Cases on the Law
of Contract. Sixth Edition; 8vo; Pp. xxvi, 514; London,
Butterworth, 1973; Casebound £6.75; Paperback
£5.80.
Smith (John C. and J.A.C. Thomas)—A Casebook on
Contract. Fifth Edition; 8vo.; Pp. xxvii, 592; London,
Sweet & Maxwell, 1973; Cloth, £5.75; Paperback,
£3.75.
The fact that the second Casebook on the interesting
but at times complicated subject of Contract has under-
gone no less than five editions between 1957 and 1973
has undoubtedly shown how successfully Professor
Smith and Professor Thomas have undertaken this
venture, inasmuchas Cheshire and Fifoot in the sixth
edition of their Contract Cases published also in 1973
have listed the actual cases under headings, they would
seem easier to find. But Professor Smith and Professor
Thomas have listed the cases in capitals in the list of
Cases and provided us with an Index, which Dr.
Cheshire has omitted.
Smith and Thomas have divided their work into
five sections as follows :
(1) The Formation of a Contract, including offer,
acceptance and terms.
(2) Consideration and Priority.
(3) Obligations arising from the Contract—such as
questions of misrepresentative implied terms, mis-
take and frustrations.
(4) Rights and Remedies of the Injured Party including
Rescission, Damages, Specific Performance and
Rectification.
(5) Vitiating Factors—such as, Incapacity, unenfore-
able Contracts, and Void and Illegal Contracts.
While we must admire the erudition and scientific
legal learning displayed by the learned authors, it may
be stressed that the work could have been shortened if
some early 19th century and earlier decisions, which may
have been important in their day, but which hardly
ALLIED IRISH BANKS
A member submitted to the Society for consideration
the undermentioned form of undertaking which he was
asked to sign by the Allied Irish Banks Ltd.
"Received from the Allied Irish Banks Limited the
documents hereunder specified which I/we undertake
to return on demand. I/we promise to hold the said
documents in trust for the said bank and not to do any
act which would enable the property dealt with by them
to be mortgaged or assigned without the bank's consent
or their lien thereon to be in any way postponed or
prejudiced. In default I/we further undertake to be
accountable to the bank for the proceeds of any sale or
mortgage transaction which may have been concluded
and for the full amount of the claim against the said
relate to modern conditions, could have been omitted.
Messrs Cheshire and Fifoot are to be highly com-
mended for having precisely achieved this aim of Con-
centration upon modern cases. While Smith and
Thomas have managed to give us extracts from no
less than 218 judgments, Cheshire and Fifoot appear
to have confined themselves to 100 cases. It might be
useful to select as an example a case which is fully
considered in the two casebooks. Take Oscar Chess Ltd.
v. Williams (1957) 1 All E.R. Smith and Thomas
summarise Denning L.J's Judgment in 3 pages, while
Cheshire and Fifoot take 5 pages, but admittedly the
size of the book is shorter. Morris L.J.'s dissenting
judgment is disposed of in 8 lines in Smith and Thomas,
while Cheshire devotes more than 4 pages to this
judgment. Thus it will ultimately depend on whether
the reader wishes to study the case in detail as in
Cheshire, or to read several cases more briefly on the
same subject in Smith and Thomas. Whichever the
Practitioner chooses, he will find that the learned
authors of the two works have chosen their material
with skill and care, and have occasionally interspersed
the cases with useful comments.
M. Storz, A.A. CC.A., .—The Taxation of
Businesses and Business Transactions. Oyez Publica-
tions; Price £2.50.
The paperback is designed as a short hand guide to
the problems relating to the taxation of companies and
certain business transactions. The work also discusses
further problems of business transactions carried out by
other bodies corporate, partnerships, sole traders and
individuals so, in relation to the latter, individuals, it
deals with Schedule D. Case 1 and 2 and the treatment
of trading.
The treatment of capital expenditure and receipts is
dealt with in Part I I of the book, and Part I I I deals
with such topics as hiring of plant and machinery,
transactions associated with loans and credits, dealings
and transactions in land.
Chapter 20 purports to give the case law relating to
transactions in land but, as in the remainder of the
book no reference is given and the cases which support
the description are not named. It follows that the value
of this to lawyers is strictly limited. But a student of
Accountancy would benefit from the uncomplicated
simple descriptions of various tax problems as an in-
troduction to the subject.
BRIAN D E M P S EY
LTD. UNDERTAKING
documents."
It was pointed out that by signing this undertaking
the solicitor accepts the full liability for the full amount
of his client's indebtedness to the bank even although
it exceeds the proceeds of sale or the value of the
property. The Council took the matter up with the
Allied Irish Bank but the bank was unwilling to alter
the form of the undertaking. It was decided to bring
the matter to the notice of members so that they may
themselves negotiate suitable forms of undertaking when
dealing with the bank and that any member signing
the undertaking in the form mentioned above may be
fully aware of this consequent liability.
170