effect. Limitations upon the full enjoyment to the legatee of the bequest are also looked upon with disfavour and will be evacuated if possible. Where a beneficiary's right to the fee has vested, the court will always if possible relieve him of any trust management that is cumbrous, unnecessary, or expensive. Perpetuities are illegal in Scotland. Succession either in heritage or moveables cannot be affected for a longer period than the lifetime of the person having the fruits of it, and twenty-one years and the period of gestation thereafter. As already mentioned, the Thellusson and Rutherford Acts prevent the unlimited accumulation of income in Scotland. D. ANDERSON.

Winding up of Companies. See vol. ii. p. 177.

Wine Merchants' Accounts.-The business of a wine. merchant generally includes, in addition to dealing in wines proper, the purchase, blending, and bottling of spirits. The whole of the transactions of a business consisting of these departments can be recorded in a single system of books. The peculiarity of a wine merchant's business, as compared with that of other traders, is that his stock is subject to a heavy duty, and that until the duty is paid the stock is in the charge, not of the merchant himself, but of the Excise authorities. The blending and racking (i.e. the division of casks of a large size into casks of a smaller size, for convenience of selling and removal) takes place within the Excise Bond, and is subject to the supervision of the Excise officers. It is customary in a large business to sell casks of spirits to customers before they actually require to use these, and, except in cases where a transfer order is granted, these casks lie in bond in name of the merchant, although actually belonging to a customer. A complete system of book-keeping should be sufficient to show at any time not only how the merchant stands financially with his customers and creditors, but what stock of spirits and wines lie in his name under bond, and of the latter what casks belong to himself and are to be taken into his stock, and what belong to customers.

The principal books required in such a business are Cash Book, Sales Day Book, Purchase Day Book, Sales and Purchase Ledgers, Private Journal and Ledger, Empties Ledger, Cask Book, Delivery Book, Duty Book, Bin Ledger, Bonding Register, Vatting Book, and Bond Book.

The Cash Book should be ruled on the columnar system, with columns for Sales and Purchase Ledgers, so that these may be balanced independently. The other headings on the received side are for Goods, Bank, and Miscellaneous, and on the paid side for Goods, Duty paid, Bank, Salaries and Wages, Office Expenses, and Miscellaneous. Other headings may be added as may be required for the exigencies of each business. It is assumed in giving the above ruling that the profit on the business generally only is required, and not the profit on the various departments separately. If such is necessary, the goods account on each side would have to be subdivided into the various departments, and the Sales Day Book and Purchase Day Book would be similarly subdivided. The casks and cases may generally be treated as part of the Goods Account, but if separate Ledger Accounts are kept for these, a column would have to be added for such accounts. The totals of each side of the Cash Book at the end of the month are journalised and posted through the Private Journal to the Private Ledger.

The Sales Day Book, in addition to showing the posting to the Cusstomers' Ledgers, should be provided with columns for the folio of the Bin Ledger in cases where the goods are sold out of the duty paid warehouse, and for the Bond Book in cases where the goods are sold under bond. Every item of wine or spirits sold should have a subsidiary posting to one or other of these books. If the profit on various departments has to be shown, or if a cask and case account is kept, columns should be added analysing the various items into the respective headings.

The Purchase Day Book shows the postings of the various items to the Purchase Ledger, and also any transference there may be of goods bought to the Bonding Register, or to the Bond Book. If the goods are purchased lying in any other bond than that of the merchant himself, the folio is of the Bonding Register. If they are purchased under bond, and sent at once to the merchant's own Bond, the folio is that of the Bond Book. The Purchase Day Book should be ruled with columns for goods, charges, and any other headings for which separate accounts are kept in the Private Ledger, such as stable and horse expenses, etc. In the example given the purchase is transferred to the Bonding Register, the entries there being taken in detail from the invoice.

The various Ledgers do not call for any special explanation. The Private Ledger contains all the general accounts necessary for the preparation of the Profit and Loss Account and Balance Sheet.

In some cases the casks and packages in which goods are sent out are charged up to the customers, an allowance being made when these are returned. In other cases no charge is made provided the empties are returned in good order. Books must be kept showing where the various cases and casks are, so that they may be traced, and if not returned may be charged up to the customers. The particulars of the various empties sent out are got from the duplicate of the Delivery Book. When an order comes in a delivery note is sent from the office to the warehouseman giving particulars of the goods required. When the order is despatched the warehouseman enters the number of the cask, case, or jar in the delivery note, and returns it to the office. Two books are kept for such packages, namely, an Empties Ledger, where each customer is charged with the package, and a book in the form of a Ledger Account for each cask, jar, or case. The following is a ruling of the Delivery Book:-

In the case of this order there is no package charged, but by the instructions given one empty cask is removed from the customer's warehouse and brought back to the merchant's. The Empties Ledger shows the customer's name, the size, description, and number of the package, when sent out, its value, and when returned. At stock-taking this Ledger is gone over, and a value put upon the various packages lying with customers.

In a large business separate books may be kept for casks, jars, and cases. Taking the Cask Book as an example, a separate page is used for each, running the numbers consecutively :—

The Duty Book shows the various amounts paid to the customers for duty, with the names of the customers for whom the goods are cleared. The totals for each day as paid are entered in the Cash Book.

The other books of the business are required, not so much for the financial part of the business, as to show the stock purchased and how this is dealt with.

The primary book for stock purposes is the Bonding Register, showing the wines or spirits purchased under bond, but not transferred at once to the merchant's own Bond: