PREFACE. THE student who attempts to obtain some knowledge of the law relating to wills from a book designed for the practitioner will find himself confronted with this difficulty, that the practitioner does not require the basis of a doctrine to be pointed out, its broad principles to be considered or its practical effect to be noted. All this he already knows by experience. What he does require is to be able to find as quickly as possible those cases which in point of language are the nearest to the concrete case which he is considering, so that he may judge whether or not the actual language with which he is concerned is sufficient to attract the application of a doctrine with the scope and effect of which he is familiar. a consequence of this the inquiring student will find therein such a mass of discussion upon small distinctions between various forms of words which have in the past been held to exclude or to attract the application of some particular principle that he may have some difficulty in obtaining a clear idea of what is involved in the principle itself. An attempt is here made to set out as concisely as possible the legislative enactments and special principles |
