60 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



anywhere, whether the time be limited or not, 

 is invalid. An agreement in partial restraint 

 of trade, if confined within reasonable bounds, 

 or to certain persons and given for a sufficient 

 consideration, would be valid. 



A doctor might sell his practice and agree 

 not to practice within a certain number of 

 miles of the place. If given for a valuable 

 coside ration, the contract would be valid. 

 The court would decide the reasonableness of 

 the limitation. 



Contracts in general restraint of marriage are 

 void, because against public policy. A con- 

 tract not to marry a particular person would 

 be valid. A contract not to marry until of a 

 suitable or reasonable age is valid. The con- 

 dition that a widow shall forfeit certain por- 

 tions of her deceased husband's estate if she 

 marry again may be valid, if she accepted it 

 under those conditions. 



Fraud vitiates any contract if the innocent 

 party so wishes, otherwise the other party may 

 be held. A contract that operates as a fraud 

 on third parties is void. Examples : Fraudu- 

 lent assignments ; fraudulent sales ; perversion 

 of insolvent laws. 



' ' Fraud consists in the employment of any 

 kind of cunning, deception, artifice, or con- 

 cealment to cheat, circumvent, or deceive 

 another in a business matter." Tf both par- 

 ties are equally guilty, neither has usually any 

 redress at law. If one party is more innocent, 

 the reverse is true. The innocent party may 

 many times hold the other if he chooses, or 

 himself refuse to be bound by the contract. 

 The guilty party cannot avoid the contract on 

 account of his own fraud if the contract is 

 already executed. 



4. Assent There can be no contract valid 

 and binding, unless the parties assent to the 

 same thing and in the same sense. There 

 must be a proposition by one party and an ac- 

 ceptance by the other. 



If the proposition and acceptance are made 

 by mail, the contract is presumed to be com- 

 pleted as soon as the acceptance is mailed, and 

 even a telegram countermanding it before the 

 letter was received need not necessarily be 

 allowed to avoid it. 



5. Time. Time enters into the contract as 

 an essential element and is either expressed or 

 implied. Something to be done between two 

 certain days is not performed if done on either 

 of those days. If the day for performance falls 

 upon Sunday, the performing party has the 

 privilege of performing on the next secular day. 



Statute of Frauds. By the ' < Statute 

 of Frauds," which has been adopted by most 

 States, certain contracts must be in writing. 

 The following are those adopted by New York 



and most other States : " Every contract for 

 the leasing of a longer period than one year, 

 or for the sale of any lands, or any interest in 

 lands, shall be void, unless the contract or 

 some note or memorandum thereof, expressing 

 the consideration, be in writing and be sub- 

 scribed by the party by whom the lease or sale 

 is made." Annual crops resulting from culti- 

 vation, if the price is less than fifty dollars, do 

 not come within the meaning of the statute ; 

 as corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, etc. 



In the following cases every agreement shall 

 be void unless such agreement, or some note 

 or memorandum thereof, be in writing and 

 subscribed by the party to be charged there- 

 with : 



1. Every agreement that, by its terms, is 

 not to be performed within one year from the 

 making thereof. 



2. Every special promise to answer for the 

 debt, default, or miscarriage of another. 



3. Every agreement, promise, or undertak- 

 ing, made upon consideration of marriage, ex- 

 cept mutual promises to marry. 



4. Every contract for the sale of any chattels, 

 goods, or things in action, for the price of fifty 

 dollars or more shall be void unless, 



" First, A note or memorandum of such 

 contract be made in writing and subscribed by 

 the parties to be charged thereby ; or, 



" Second, Unless the buyer shall accept and 

 receive part of such goods or the evidences, 01 

 some of them, of such things in action ; or, 



" Third, Unless the buyer shall, at the time, 

 pay some part of the purchase money." 



In addition to being written, there must be 

 a consideration in the contracts, as above, 

 either express or implied. 



" A party to a contract is not bound until 

 he yields a full, free, and intelligent assent of 

 its terms." " An offer made may be retracted 

 any time before its acceptance." 



A competent party making contract with a 

 minor cannot hold the minor, except as before 

 noted, but the minor can sue and recover for 

 the nonperformance of the other party. 



Contracts required to be in writing by the 

 "Statute of Frauds," hold only the party 

 signing if but one signs. The other has it at 

 his option. 



Damages " Perform your contract or pay 



damages." The law cannot compel the per- 

 formance of a contract : it only knows a money 

 remedy for nonperformance.. In a contract 

 for personal service which cannot well be filled 

 by another, the sickness of the promising 

 party will excuse nonperformance. 



A court of equity may compel the perform- 

 ance of certain agreements : as the convey- 

 ance of real estate. 



