the favorable reception accorded to the "prisoner at the bar," not only in the united states but in england, and the fact that it has won a place in several colleges and law schools as a reference book, and in some instances as a sort of elementary text-book upon criminal procedure, have resulted in a demand for a new edition. when the book was written the author's sole intention was to present in readable form a popular account of the administration of criminal justice. upon its publication he discovered to his surprise that it was the only book of its exact character in the english language or perhaps in any other. reviewers pointed out that whereas there were annotated text-books of criminal procedure and isolated articles on special topics, most of them relating to the jury system, there was in existence no other sketch of criminal justice as a whole, from arrest to conviction, based upon either actual experience or hearsay.

this new edition has been indexed and is supplied with cross-references to other works on allied subjects. a chapter has been added upon "insanity and the law," and such statistics as the book contains have been brought down to date. it is satisfactory to add that these show a greatly increased efficiency in the jury system in criminal cases in new york county, and that the tabulations of an eight years' experience as a prosecutor only serve to confirm the conclusions set forth in the first edition.

the author desires to express his thanks to prof. john h. wigmore, of the northwestern university law school, for his many kind suggestions and flattering references to this book in his masterly work upon the law of evidence; to augustin derby, esq., of the new york bar, who most unselfishly gave much time to the examination of references, and voluntarily undertook the ungrateful task of compiling the index; and to those many others who, by comment or appreciation, have made a second edition necessary.

bar harbor, me.,

sept. 1, 1908.