PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

Mr. Alexander's more important notes contain, first, a com-
prehensive analysis of the Statute to which the note is
appended; second, a review of all important English and Mary-
land decisions thereon; and lastly, the changes made in the
Statute by Maryland legislation, with references to Maryland
cases construing the same.

The present editor has tried to continue this work along the
same general lines, omitting, however, as already well done,
any further analysis of the Statutes themselves. To this end,
it seemed best to retain Mr. Alexander's notes without change,
treating them as text and annotating accordingly. Some
twenty-two hundred cases have thus been added, comprising,
it is believed, all Maryland decisions and all important Eng-
lish decisions on the Statutes. In those matters of practice,
however, which are abundantly covered by our own statutes
and decisions, such as costs, amendments, bills of exception
and the like, the English cases have generally not been given.
Mr. Alexander's notes contain few citations of cases in the
Supreme Court of the United States. Many of these have
been referred to by the present editor, but it is uot pretended
that the list is exhaustive.

Mr. Alexander's citations of the Code of 1860 and of sub-
sequent acts have been retained, but corresponding refer-
ences to Bagby's Annotated Code of 1911 and to Article 27 of
the Code of 1904 (not included in Mr. Bagby's excellent -work)
have been added, statutory changes being noted.

Many of Mr. Alexander's notes are long. In the original
edition none of them were broken by black letter head-lines,
that time-saving device for the busy lawyer. These catch lines
have been added in the present edition wherever practicable—
not always an easy matter, in view of the somewhat discursive
method of treatment usually adopted by that learned author.