Analytical Index to the Laws of Texas, 1823-1905 . By Cadwell Walton Raines (Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones Company. 1906. Pp. viii, 559.)

This volume is a long-needed index to the ten-volume reprint of the laws of Texas known as Gammel's Laws of Texas, and includes as well the laws passed since that reprint. Though intended primarily for use by attorneys and state officials, it renders much more conveniently accessible to students the considerable body of hsitorical material embodied, since 1823, in the laws of Coahuila and Texas, and in those of the Provisional government and the Republic, as well as those of the state. Judge Raines' long experience as state librarian and his reputation as a painstaking student of Texas history are sufficient guaranty of the workmanship of this, his last book.

The entries are usually full enough to constitute brief summaries of the laws, and at their shortest they clearly indicate the subjects. The subject headings are arranged in one alphabet, and are set off by heavy-faced type, making the book, in this respect, easy to consult; under each heading the entries are arranged chronologically. One could wish, however, that the chronological arrangement had been abandoned in the entries under such a heading as “Relief Acts,” covering nineteen pages of matter, chiefly proper names, which would be more usefully arranged in alphabetical order.

P. L. W.

How to cite:
"Analytical Index to the Laws of Texas, 1823-1905", Volume 010, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 280 - 281. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v010/n3/review_6.html
[Accessed Mon Nov 23 11:03:34 CST 2009]