The Gazette 1967/71

he was not personally guilty of wilful default, and that the words "on behalf of any person" were only satisfied if he had either expressly or im- pliedly authorised the fraud or wilful default of another person or had ratified it. It was held ihat the Crown was entitled to succeed. It was not surprising if Parliament, when it decided to allow assessment, to be re-opened and penalties claimed at any time, if fraud or wilful default was proved, should have wished to cover cases where the fraud or wilful default was committed by an agent, and it could not be proved that the taxpayer was privy to it. On their natural construction the words "on behalf of any person" were perfectly clear, and there was no justification for reading them in the restricted sense suggested by the taxpayer. (Clixby v. Pountney (Inspector of Taxes), The Times, December 12th, 1967). Attestation of Will by Beneficiary The testator made a will leaving the whole of his estate to his two daughters by his first wife. After he had obtained the signature of two strangers as witnesses, he asked his daughters to add their signatures "to make it stronger". They signed in accordance with the wishes of their father. Their application on motion for probate of the will was granted, with the omission of their signatures, notwithstanding the opposition of the widow, the second wife of the deceased, from whom he had been judicially separated. Held, allowing the appeal, that in spite of the testators' intentions the defeat of which would be irrelevant if the contrary provisions of the section were applicable, the evidence was insufficient to rebut the pre sumption that a gift to an attesting witness was void Per Russell L.J. : a change in the law with regard to s. 15 of the Wills Act, 1837 would be welcome. In the Estate of Bravda (1968) 112 SJ. 137. The Times, February 3rd, 1968, C.A.); [1968] 2 All. E.R. p. 217. [Note—A Bill (The Wills Bill 1968) to rectify this position has already passed through all stages in the House of Commons on March 15th, 1968 and the Lords gave the Bill [No. 80] a second reading on 29th April—see also Succession Act 1965, Section 78]. LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS TO 1st APRIL 1968 (1) PURCHASES ABRAHAM (L.A.) and S.C. HAWTREY—A Parliamentary Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1964.

ALL ENGLAND LAW REPORTS Index and Notes—Year 1965. ASPINAL—Reports of Maritime Law cases —(1870-1940). Index Volume 1961. ATIYAH (P.S.)—Vicarious Liability in the Law of Torts, 1967. ATKIN (Lord)—Encyclopaedia of Court Forms in Civil Proceedings, 2nd End. ed. Evershed — Volumes 1 (Actions to Accounts Stated) 2 (Administration Actions), 4 (Affiliation to Animals), 6 (Appearance to Banking), 8 (Bills of Exchange to Carriers), 12 (Compromise to Copyright), 13 (Coroners to County Courts), 16 (Divorce and Matrimonial Causes), 17 (Durham Chancery Court to Easements), 20 (Intoxicating Liquor to Land Registration), 24 (Landlord and Tenant), 25 (Lands Tribunal to Master and Servant), 26 (Mortgage to National Insurance), 29 (Negligence to Ori ginating Summonses), 30 (Parties to Actions to Pawns and Pledges), 34 (Restrictive Cove nants to Sale of Land), 36 (Settlements to Solicitors), 37 (Specific Performance to Third Party Procedure), 38 (Town and Country Planning to Trade Marks), 39 (Transfer and Consolidation—to Trespass to Land)—and 41 (Trusts to Writs of Summons) plus Service Volume. BAILEY (SJ.)—Law of Wills, 6th Edn., 1967 (Two Copies). BOLAND (W) and J. SAYER—Oaths and Affirmations, 2nd Edn., 1961. BROWN (N) and J. F. GARNER—French Administrative Law, 1967. BEATTIE (C.N.)—The Elements of Estate Duty, 5th Edn., 1966. BROWNLIE (lan)—Principles of Public Inter national Law, 1966. BROWNLIE (lan)—Law Relating to Public Order, 1968. CHARLESWORTH (J)—Company Law, 8th Edn, 1965. CROSSLEY-VAINES (J)—Personal Property, 4th Edn, 1967 (Two Copies). CHARLESWORTH (J)—Principles of Mercan tile Law, llth Edn, 1967 (Three copies). CAHN (Edmund)—Confronting Injustice, 1967. CROSS (R)—The Law of Evidence, 3rd Edn, 1967. CROSS (R) and N. Wilkins—Outline of the Law of Evidence, .nd Edn., 1968. CRIMINAL APPEAL REPORTS—Index to Vols. 1-51, 1968. CURZON (T.B.)—Equity, 1967.

CURRENT LAW CITATOR—1947-1966. CURRENT LAW YEARBOOK, 1966. 109