FINANCE, INDUSTRY, TRANSPORTATION. 



491 



Payee. The party to whom payment is 

 Payor. One who pays or is bound to p 



is to be made, 

 to pay. 



Paper Profits. Profits on contracts not yet closed, 

 and consequently not yet in hand. 



Par of Exchange. Equivalent value of the cur- 

 rency of a country in that of another. 



Partial Payment. Part payment of a debt. 



Partner. An associate in business. 



Passing a Dividend. When the directors of a cor- 

 poration vote against declaring a dividend it is said to 

 be " passed." This is nearly always the cause of great 

 weakness in the stock. 



Penance. An ecclesiastical punishment, varied ac- 

 cording to the nature of the offense, in which the peni- 

 tent is supposed to make satisfaction to the Church for 

 the scandal he has given by his evil example. 



Perjury. The olfense committed by a person who, 

 having been sworn to tell the truth in a matter pending 

 in a court of justice, willfully and deliberately takes a 

 false oath. 



Perpetuity. A rule that land cannot be limited be- 

 yond a life or lives in being and twenty-one years after- 

 wards, and the period of gestation, if it actually exists, 

 is commonly called the rule against perpetuities. 



Personal Estate, or Personalty. Movable things, 

 whether alive or dead, as distinguished from land, or 

 immovables, which are termed real estate. 



Petitioning: Creditor. A creditor who petitions the 

 Court of Bankruptcy to make his debtor a bankrupt. 



Pin Money. An allowance set apart by the husband 

 for the personal expenses of a wife, i. e., for her dress 

 and pocket money. 



Pit Traders. Brokers who are in the pit daily trad- 

 ing for their own account. 



Plaintiff. The complainant in an action or suit. 



Plea. The defendant's answer to the plaintiff's dec- 

 laration. 



Pleader. A lawyer, who draws the pleadings in 

 actions. 



Pleadings. The mutual allegations or statements 

 which are made by the plaintiff and defendant in an 

 action. 



Pledge. A pawn ; a deposit as security. 



Posse Comitatus. The power of the county. This 

 includes the aid and attendance of all men, except 

 ecclesiastics and inferior persons, above the age of fif- 

 teen, within the county ; which force may be used in 

 cases of riot or rebellion, or where any resistance is 

 made to the execution of justice. 



Postea. The verdict of the jury drawn up in due 

 form, and entered on the back of the record. 



Pound Breach. The indictable offense of breaking 

 open a pound for tho purpose of taking cattle therefrom. 



Policy of Insurance. Contract between the insurer 

 and the insured. 



Portage. The price of carrying; cost paid by the 

 captain for running his vessel. 



Point. On stock exchanges "a point." is understood 

 to mean one dollar a share. A decline in Missouri 

 Pacific from twenty-five to twenty-two would be a de- 

 cline of three points. 



Pool. The stock and money contributed by a syndi- 

 cate to control the price of a given surety or commodity. 

 Also refers to the individuals composing the pool. 



Post Date. To date after the real day. 



Pre-emption. The right of first buying. 



Prescription. A title acquired by use and time, and 

 allowed by law. 



Presentment. The notice taken by a grand jury or 

 inquest of any offense, etc., from their own knowledge 

 or observation. 



Primogeniture. The right of the eldest son to in- 

 herit his ancestor's estate, to the exclusion of the younger 

 son, where the ancestor has died intestate. 



Privilege. An exemption from the general rules of 

 law. It is of two kinds rea*, attaching to any place, 

 or personal, attaching to persons, as ambassadors, etc. 



Probate. The copy of a will made out on parchment 

 with a certificate of its having been proved. 



Process. A general term applied to formal judicial 

 proceedings. 



Prohibition. A writ issuing out of the superior 

 courts directing the judge of an inferior court not to 

 proceed further in a suit. 



Promissory Note. A written promise by which one 

 person engages or promises to pay a certain sum of 

 money to another. 



Pro Kata. In proportion. 



Protest. On bills of exchange. A protest means 



the solemn declaration of a public notary of the dis- 

 honor of a bill. 



Proviso. A condition inserted in a deed, on the per- 

 formance whereof the validity of the deed frequently 

 depends. 



Premises. Things previously mentioned; houses, 

 lands, etc. 



Premium. The sum paid for insurance ; the excess 

 of value above par. 



Price. Value set or demanded ; current value. 



Price Current. A table of the current price of mer- 

 chandise, stocks, bills of exchange, etc. 



Prima Facie. On the first view of the matter. 



Primage. A charge imposed in addition to the 

 freight. 



Principal. An employer; the head of a commercial 

 house; the sum loaned, upon which interest is paid. 



Preferred Stock. Shares of a corporation having 

 preference over ordinary shares, but not over bonded or 

 mortgaged indebtedness. Preferred stock is usually 

 issued for borrowed capital. Earnings, if any are left 

 after paying interest on the bonded debt, go next to pay 

 a dividend on the preferred stock, and only what then 

 remains is applied to the common stock. 



Privileges. " Puts " and " Calls." A " put " is the 

 privilege or option, which a person purchases, of " put- 

 ting," i. e., delivering, property or contracts for prop- 

 erty to the seller of such privilege, at a named price 

 within a stipulated time one or more days, weeks, or 

 months. " Puts " are good (from the buyer's stand- 

 point) when the market declines below the " put " price 

 within the time covered by the privilege contract. The 

 buyer can then buy the property at the cheaper figure 

 and " put " it to the person who sold him the risk, his 

 profit being the difference between the " put " price and 

 the quotation at which the property is bought with 

 which to make the delivery. A " call " is the reverse of 

 a " put,"the purchaser of a " call " acquiring the right 

 to " call " upon the seller of the privilege for property, 

 or contracts for property, at a named price within a 

 stipulated time. "Calls" are good when the market 

 advances above the call price, and the buyer of such 

 privilege is enabled to sell at a profit the property 

 " called " from the seller of the privilege. The seller of 

 privileges occupies, in a sense, the position of an in- 

 surance or guaranty company. He sells market risks as 

 an insurance company sells fire, life, or accident risks. 

 Trading in privileges is illegal in some states, notably 

 in Illinois. Prices paid for privileges are usually $1.00 

 per thousand bushels for a single day, $ 1.25 for a week 

 or ten days, and from $2.50 to $7.50 for a month or dur- 

 ing the life of a distant option. 



Promoters' Shares. Those issued by corporations 

 in payment of the services of promoters in the organi- 

 zation of companies. 



Pyramiding. Enlarging one's operations by the 

 use of profits which one has made. For instance, if 

 one buys 5,000 bushels and the market advances 2 cents, 

 he sells, realizes $100 profit, and with this in addition to 

 his additional margin he buys 10,000 bushels of wheat, 

 which he closes on a further advance and makes a still 

 larger investment. On steadily advancing markets with 

 moderate reactions this plan makes large profits, but 

 must not be followed too far and liberal margins should 

 be kept. 



Quarantine. Signifies 40 days. It is applied to the 

 period which persons coming from infected countries 

 are obliged to wait onboard ship before they are allowed 

 to land. But in law it more strictly applies to the 

 similar period during which a widow, entitled to dower, 

 is permitted to remain in her husband's capital man- 

 sion after his death, whilst she awaits the assignment 

 of her dower. 



Quash, lo annul or cancel. 



Quasi Contract. An implied contract. 



Quid Pro Quo. Giving one thing for another, being 

 the mutual consideration in contracts. 



Quo Warranto. An ancient writ still in use, 

 directed against any person or corporation, who usurps 

 any office, franchise, or liberty, calling upon them to 

 show by what authority they support their claim. 



Quotations. A statement of tne prices of articles of 

 merchandise, given for the information of correspond- 

 ents. 



Kape. The carnal knowledge of a female who is 

 above the age of ten years, against her will; or of a 

 girl under the age of ten years, although with her per- 

 mission. The age of consent varies. 



Rate. The proportion or standard. 



