B I L 



402 



B I L 



i to appear that the holder was, at the time of taking it, 

 privy to that illegality. From this rule an exception is madu 

 to bills given lor a gambling debt, w Inch by Salute are 

 even in the hands of an innocent bolder. 



Uftht Partiet to a Hill. Any person, whether trader or 

 not, who is not under a legal incapacity to contract, may 

 become party to, and thereby liable upon, a bill of exchange. 

 Infant* and married women are not personally bound by 

 becoming parties, but the instrument, though inoperative as 

 against them may be available against others whoso names 

 mre upon it. A person may become party to a bill, not only 

 by hi* own act, but by that of his duly authorized agent 

 Th.' agent ought either to sign the name of his principal 

 without anything further, or to add to his own signature 

 the words ' per procuration for A. B.,' or to make it in some 

 way apparent upon the face of the instrument that he acts 

 as agent. Otherwise, though really an agent, he renders 

 himself personally liable by his signature, and exempts his 

 principal. Any one who assumes to draw, accept, or indorse 

 by procuration, knowing that he has no authority to do so, 

 though without any intention of committing a fraud, is, 

 upon default by the person whose authority is assumed, 

 liable, though not upon the bill as a party, yet to a special 

 action for deceit at the suit of a Itvnafide holder. 



Eaoh member of a trading firm has an implied authority 

 to bind his copartners by drawing, accepting, or indorsing 

 bills : but this presumption of authority fails where the 

 holder has covinously colluded with a partner to make the 

 partnership funds or credit available to his own individual 

 purposes. The acceptance of a bankrupt partner in the 

 name of the firm, though after a secret act of bankruptcy 

 committed by that partner, is an available security in the 

 hands of an indorsee for value. 



Of the form and other requisite! of a Ml. A bill of 

 exchange must be in writing, but no precise form of words 

 is essential to its validity. The only requisites ore that it 

 be an order for the payment of money simply, and not for 

 the payment of money and tho performance of some other 

 act, and that it be payable at all events, and not upon a con- 

 tingency, or out of a particular fund. The forms in ordinary 

 use ore as follows : 



Form of a Foreign Bill in tett. 



No, London, 1st Jan. 1835. 



[Stamp] 



Days after sight (or days after date, or at 



usances) pay this my first of exchange, second and 



third of tho same tenor and date not paid, to Messrs. A. B. 



and Co., or order, ten thousand francs valuo received of 



them, and place tho same to account. C. D. 



Mr. E. F., Paris. 



Form of an Inland Bill. 

 [Stamp] 



100. 



London, 1st Jan. 1835. 

 months after date (or 'at sight,' or days 



after date) pay Mr. A. B., or order, one hundred pounds for 

 value received. C. D, 



To Mr. E. F., Castle-ttreet, Liverpool. 

 To take the several parts of this form in their order : 

 All inland bills, and such foreign bills as are drawn in Eng- 

 land, are liable to a duty, and must be made on paper, duly 

 stamped, under a penalty of SO/. Foreign bills not drawn 

 in England are of necessity excluded from the operation of 

 this statute. 



For inland bills and for foreign bills drawn singly the 

 scale is as follows 



NolB.llMlM.lftn IVMd. t 



date, or W .by, tfUr uu> lb, 



For foreign bills drawn in sets the scale U 

 For every bill of each set, if the turn does not 



exceed \00l. 

 Exceeding 100 1. and not exceeding 



200 .'.on 



600 

 1000 

 2000 

 3000 



1000 

 2000 

 3000 



1 6 



3 



4 



6 



7 6 

 10 C 



i a 



A bill altered in any material respect alt 



once issued is in effect a new bill, und lo which ti 



stamp cannot therefore be applied. N 



tainud in any court of law or equity upon a bill not h .. 



the proper stamp as well in denomination as in value. 



A dale, though usual, is not essential to a bill unless 

 drawn for a sum under :>l. When no date is given, the bill 

 is presumed to be dated when drawn. 



A bill in which no time of payment is expressed U con- 

 strued to be payable on demand. 



Bills, as has been said, are ordinarily made pat/obit to 

 some third person, or to tho drawer himself. They may, 

 however, be expressly made payable to bearer, and win u 

 no name, or a fictitious one, is given as payee, the instrument 

 is in legal effect payable to bearer. It must be observed 

 that the inserting a fictitious name as payee and indorsing 

 the bill with that name is a forgery, and punishable as such. 



The words ' or order give to the bill its character of nego- 

 tiability, but the general operation of this expression may 

 be restricted by the payee or any other indorser, who by tho 

 following simple form of indorsement, ' Pay A.B. (or A. B. 

 or order) to my use,' may cast upon the next immediate 

 holder the responsibility of seeing that tho contents are 

 duly applied. 



The sum. should be clearly expressed in the bill, and in 

 such way as to render forgery difficult. But a blank draft 

 or acceptance given to a third person may be filled up by 

 him with any sum which the stamp will cover. 



Value received' upon a bill signifies, in general, valuo 

 received from the payee, and the bill itself without ; 

 words imports so much. A total want of consideration is 

 ground of defence to an action upon the bill as between 

 immediate parties, but is not available as an answer to 

 the claim of a holder for value who has taken the security 

 in tho regular course. 



An alteration in a bill in any material part, as in tho 

 date, sum, or time when payable, will, independently of tho 

 stamp acts, render the bill wholly invalid as against any 

 party not consenting to the alteration, and this although it 

 bo in the hands of an innocent holder. But an alteration 

 in a part not material, or made merely for the purpose of 

 correcting a mistake, in furtherance of the original inten- 

 tion of the parties, though made after the bill is complete, 

 will not invalidate it, either as regards tho stamp laws or 

 otherwise. 



Of the delivery of the bill to the payee. The delivery of 

 a bill of exchange in consideration of an antecedent debt, 

 suspends the right to sue for that debt during the currency 

 of the bill; but if it be dishonoured at maturity, the original 

 debt revives and with it the legal remedy, provide'! that no 

 act be done by the holder to prejudice or impair the claim 

 of the drawer upon the acceptor. In like manner the hiking 

 of a bill of exchange in payment suspends for the time tho 

 lien of a seller upon goods sold and remaining in Ins ]><M- 

 soision ; but if the bill be not paid when due, he is remit:* ! 

 to his right of retaining or stopping the goods before they 

 reach the buyer. 



Of the presentment, acceptance, and non-acceptcw 

 bills. It is usual, as already said, for the payee, or tho 

 first holder who conveniently can do so, to present the bill 

 to tho drawee for acceptance ; and when a bill is drawn pay- 

 able at a certain time after sight, presentment for acceptance 

 is necessary in order to fix the date of payment, and ought 

 to .be made within a reasonable time. A foreign bill so 

 drawn may bo circulated for any length of time before ao- 

 csjitance, and an inland bill may also be put into circulation, 

 though with less latitude as to time; but in either case, if 

 the payee keep the bill in hit possession for a longer time 

 than is customary among merchants, he is guilty of laches, 

 and cannot recover against the drawer. 



The presentment should in all cases be made during tho 

 usual hours of business, and to the drawee himself or his 

 auent, who is bound to return an answer within twenty-four 

 hours, 



