GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



57 



Notice. 1. Notice should be given by the 

 holder or some suitable person authorized to 

 act for him. The notary may do this. 



2 . Notices must be served on all whom the 

 holder wishes to make responsible for the pay- 

 ment. He may notify all prior parties, or 

 only the immediate indorser, as he may wish. 

 Each indorser should protect his own interests 

 by notifying all parties responsible to him. 

 Indorsers are liable, in order of their respective 

 indorsements, to each subsequent indorser. 



3. Due diligence must be exercised in giving 

 the notice. It is best to give it the same day, 

 but if the dishonor occurs Saturday or immedi- 

 ately preceding a holiday, it will be in time if 

 given the succeeding secular day. Certain ob- 

 stacles, as war, prevalence of a contagious dis- 

 ease, floods, or act of Providence, will be ac- 

 cepted as legal excuses for want of notice. 



4. Any place will do,' if given personally. 

 Notice in writing may be left at the place of 

 business or at the house of the person to be 

 notified. When the person resides at a dis- 

 tance he may be notified by a letter properly 

 addressed and mailed to the office where he re- 

 ceive j his letters. 



5. The notice may be either verbal or 

 written, and any form that clearly conveys the 

 idea intended will be sufficient. The note 

 should be clearly described. It is well de- 

 scribed when its maker, payee, date, amount, 

 and time and place of payment are named. 



Personal notice must be given when the 

 holder and person to be notified live in the 

 same place, unless the laws of the State do not 

 require it. In New York and many other 

 States written notice properly addressed and 

 mailed is sufficient 

 Notice of Protest. 



$587.00. 

 SECOND NATIONAL BANK, Utica, N. Y., 



June 23, 1894. 



Take notice that the promissory note made 

 by C. M. Taylor for $587 and interest, dated 

 October 2, 1893, payable to your order at 

 this bank, payable this day and indorsed by 

 you, is protested for nonpayment, and the 

 holder, J. B. Morrow, looks to you for the 

 payment thereof, payment of the same having 

 this day been demanded and refused. 

 Respectfully yours, 



H. K. LONG, 



Notary Public. 



To J. L. BROWNE. 



The indorser may waive demand of pay- 

 ment, notice of protest, etc., at the time of 

 the indorsement, or even at any time before 

 maturity. The following is the usual form : 

 " I hereby waive demand, protest, and notice 

 of dishonor." (Signed) 



Guaranty. Guaranties are of two kinds, 

 guaranty of payment and guaranty of collection . 



1 . Guaranty of payment absolutely guaran- 

 tees that the note shall be paid at maturity 



2. Guaranty of collection holds the guaran- 

 tor after the holder has failed to collect of the 

 maker. 



The general rule is that the guarantor is not 

 entitled to demand and notice of protest. The 

 following is the usual form. "For value re- 

 ceived I hereby guaranty the payment (or col- 

 lection) of the within note. (Signed) 



JOHN F. HERRICK. 



Defenses. 1. Want of consideration, if 

 total, is a perfect defense. If it is only a par- 

 tial failure it will defeat recovery only to that 

 extent. 



2. Obtained through fear or compulsion. 

 The threats and duress must be such as would 

 cause a person of ordinary firmness of mind to 

 apprehend danger to himself, reputation, or 

 property. 



3. Fraud. Fraud vitiates all contracts. 



4. Obtained by finding or theft. This is 

 no defense against a bona fde and innocent 

 purchaser who obtains the note before maturity 

 and gives a valuable consideration for it. 



5. Illegal consideration. A note illegal on 

 its face gives warning to all. A note showing 

 on its face that it called for more than the 

 legal rate of interest would be subject to such 

 defense. 



Notes given for " debts of honor " are void 

 between original parties, but if indorsed and 

 negotiated, the first indorser would be holden. 



Presumptions. 1. The law presumes that 

 the negotiable paper was given for a consider- 

 ation, whether expressed or not. The con- 

 trary must be proven to constitute a defense. 



2. The holder is presumed to be the owner. 



3. Indorsements and transfers are presumed 

 to be made before the paper became due. 



4. The law presumes the holder to have ac- 

 quired the paper in the usual course of busi- 

 ness 



5. It is conclusively presumed that the 

 paper means precisely what it says and parol 

 evidence will not be allowed to offset it. 



A note given by a lunatic, an intoxicated 

 person or a minor, is void. 



A note given by one who cannot write 

 should be witnessed by an uninterested person . 



A person receiving a note, knowing it to be 

 defective, has no better title than the person 

 from whom he purchased. 



A note as a gift, being without considera- 

 tion, is voidable. 



If the holder of a note extends the time of 

 payment to the maker, his action releases all 

 persons conditionally liable. 



