482 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



or other negotiable paper, to receive indorsements when 

 ithe back of the paper will hold no more. 



Allowance. Abatement, a deduction made for vari- 

 ous reasons. 



Amount. The sum total; the aggregate. Gross 

 amount is the total without deduction. Net amount is 

 'the total less deduction. 



Ambassador. An envoy of the highest rank sent to 

 ; a foreign government. 



Ancestor. The law distinguishes between ancestor 

 and predecessor ; the former is applied to individuals, 

 l the latter to corporations. 



Ancient Demesne. A tenure of lands partaking of 

 'the properties both of copyhold and freehold. 



Annuity. A periodical payment of money, amount- 

 ing to a fixed sum in each year, the moneys so paid 

 being either a gift or in consideration of a gross sum 

 received. 



Anticipate. To take beforehand, or pay before due. 



Antedate. To date beforehand. 



Appeal. The removal of a cause from an inferior 

 into a superior court, for the purpose of impeaching the 

 judgment of the inferior court. 



Appearance to Action. The first formal step b.y a 

 defendant in an action of suit. It is a notice that he in- 

 tends to defend. 



Appellant. The person appealing to a superior from 

 the decision of an inferior court. 



Appraiser. A person who values personal chattels. 



Appropriation. The appropriation of a payment 

 means the applying of it to the discharge of a particu- 

 lar debt, where the creditor to whom it is made has 

 more than one debt due from the same debtor. 



Appraisement. The act of setting a value upon 

 goods or other property. 



Appurtenance. That which appertains or belongs 

 to something else. 



Arbitration. An extrajudicial method of settling 

 matters in difference by referring them to the arbitra- 

 ment or determination of persons appointed by the dis- 

 putants, and termed arbitrators. 



Arraignment. A term of criminal procedure. A 



Erisoner, after having had the indictment read over 

 im, is commanded to state whether or not he is guilty. 

 This proceeding is termed the arraignment. 



Arrest. A legal seizure, capture, or taking of a man's 

 person which is effected by corporeal touching, or 

 something equivalent thereto. In civil cases a man can 

 only be arrested under legal process. The officer cannot 

 break open a man's outer door for the purpose of ar- 

 resting him ; nor can arreston a civilprocess be effected 

 on a Sunday, except after an escape. 



Arrest of Judgment. Where the court stays a judg- 

 ment, alter a verdict on some question of law. 



Arson. Felonious house burning. 



Articles of Peace. A complaint against a person to 

 compel him to find sureties to keep the peace. 



Arbitrating. Operating in the same stock or prod- 

 uct in two different markets to make a profit out ef 

 the difference in price or "spread" between them, as, 

 for instance, buying wheat in St. Paul, and selling it in 

 Chicago. 



Arrear. That which is behind in payment. 



Assault and Battery. An attempt or offer, with 

 force and violence, to do a corporal hurt to another is 

 an assault ; an injury actually done to the person of an- 

 other in an angry, revengeful, or insolent manner, be it 

 ever so small, is a battery. 



Assets. Property, whether real or personal, in the 

 hands of an executor, etc., for the purpose of satisfying 

 debts. 



Assignee. A person to whom any real or personal 

 property is transferred by the act of law, as an executor, 

 an assignee of a bankrupt, etc., or by the act of party, 

 AS a purchaser of a lease. 



Assignment. A transfer of any kind of property 

 from one person to another. 



Assnmpsit. A verbal or parol promise expressed or 

 implied, springing out of a simple contract. The law 

 always implies a promise to do that which a party is 

 legally bound to perform. An action of assumpsit or 

 promise is the remedy for breach of a parol as distin- 

 guished from a written contract. 



Assurance. The securing the payment of a sum of 

 money or other benefit on the happening of a certain 

 event, as, for instance, the death of a person. This is 

 the term now usually applied to life contingencies, as 

 contradistinguished from fires, losses at sea, etc., as to 

 which the term insurance is still used. 



t- 4- C*U Pn the holders of stock or 



policies to pay into the treasury a certain sum in order 

 to pay off debts or effect a reorganization. 



Assign. To transfer or make over to another, the 

 right one has in any object, as in an estate, especially 

 in trust for the security of creditors. 



Assay. To determine the amount of a particular 

 metal in an ore or metallic compound. 



Assess. To tax, or value for the purpose of taxing. 



Assignor. One who makes a transfer to another. 



Association. A company of persons united for a par- 

 ticular purpose. 



Assume. To take on one's self or become liable for the 

 debts of another. 



Attachment. A process of the courts of law and 

 equity for compelling, by arrest, the performance of an 

 act, which a party is already in contempt for not per- 

 forming. Also an ancient remedy open to creditors in 

 London, and some other cities, to attach the money or 

 goods of their debtor in the hands of a third party 

 within the city. 



Attorney. A person appointed by another by letter 

 or power of attorney to do anything for him in his 

 absence. 



Attorney-at-L,aw. An officer of the superior courts 

 of law, legally authorized to transact the business of 

 other persons termed his clients in those courts. 



Attach. To take by legal authority. 



Attest. To call to witness or give official testimony 

 required in solemn instruments. 



Auditor. A person authorized to examine and adjust 

 accounts. 



Average. A contribution to a general loss. When 

 for the safety of a ship in distress, any destruction of 

 property is incurred, all persons haying goods on board 

 contribute ratably to the loss; this is called average. 



Award. The judgment or decision of an arbitrator. 



Backing a Warrant. The indorsing by a justice of 

 the peace of the county where a warrant (which has been 

 granted by the justice of the peace of another county) 

 is about to be executed, and is a necessary act to be done 

 before a person can be apprehended in a county differ- 

 ent to that in which the warrant was issued. 



Bail. The sureties for the reappearance of a person 

 released from custody. 



Bail-bond. A document under seal, by which a per- 

 son becomes bail. 



Bailee. An individual intrusted with the custody .,f 

 goods ; for instance, a carrier. 



Bailiff. There are various kinds of bailiffs ; the most 

 common being those appointed by the sheriff, cotu- 

 monly called sheriff's officer. 



Bailment. A delivery of a thing in trust for some 

 special object or purpose". 



Bailor. The person who makes a bailment, or de- 

 livers, goods to a bailee. 



Banker. A person who holds the money 'of another, 

 and disposes of it as the other from time to time directs. 



Bank Note. A promise by a banker to pay a speci- 

 fied sum to the holder. 



Barristers. A body of men qualified by admission in 

 one of the Inns of Court, to plead as advocates; such 

 admission is termed, being " called to the bar." 



Battel. A trial by combat, formerly allowed by the 

 law, by which the innocence or guilt of a party was de- 

 cided. 



Balance. The arithmetical difference between the 

 two sides of an account ; the sum necessary to make the 

 two sides of an account equal in amount, spoken of as a 

 debit or credit balance ; (verb) to bring into a state of 

 equality ; to settle by paying what remains due on an 

 Account. 



Balance of Trade. The difference in value between 

 our exports and our imports. 



Bank. An establishment for the custody and issue 

 of money; the office in which the transactions of a 

 banking association are conducted. 



Bankable. Receivable as cash by a bank, such as 

 checks, express orders, money orders, etc. 



Bank Bill. The note of a bank payable on demand, 

 and used as currency ; a bank note. 



Bank Book. The" book kept by a depositor, in which 

 the receiving teller writes the separate deposits, and 

 the bookkeeper of the bank enters the paid checks. 



Bank Clearing. The aggregate amount of the checks 

 and drafts exchanged between banks (members of 

 clearing house association). In large cities less than 

 ten per cent, of the commercial business is done with 

 currency. While the clearings do not represent the sum 

 total of the comrter transactions of banks for any given 



