692 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 



A note indorsed in blank the name of the indorser only written is 

 transferable by delivery, the same as if made payable to bearer. 



The time of payment of a note must not depend upon a contingency : the 

 promise must be absolute. 



A bill may be written upon any paper or substitute for it, either with ink 

 or pencil. 



The payee should be distinctly named in the note, unless payable to bearer. 



An indorsee has a right of action against all whose names were on the bill 

 when he received it. 



If the letter containing a protest of non-payment be put in the post-office, 

 any miscarriage does not affect the party giving notice. 



Notice of protest may be sent either to the place of business or of residence 

 of the party notified. 



Any oral agreement must be proved by evidence. A written agreement 

 proves itself. The law prefers written to oral evidence, because of its pre- 

 cision. 



Articles of Agreement. An agreement is a contract, by which a certain 

 person, or persons, agrees or contracts to perform certain duties within a spec- 

 ified time. It is of much importance, in all matters, upon which may arise a 

 difference of opinion, or misunderstanding, that contracts be reduced very 

 explicitly to writing. Agreements should show that they are made for a rea- 

 sonable consideration ; otherwise they are void in law. The contract expires 

 at the end of a year, unless it is expressly stipulated that the agreement is 

 binding for a longer time. A signature should always be written with pen 

 and ink, for safety, although a pencil signature is legal. Misrepresentation, 

 or discovery of fraud, or changing of date by one party to the agreement, 

 renders the contract void. Agreements should state explicitly within what 

 time their conditions are to be complied with. Always duplicate copies of an 

 agreement, that each party may retain a copy. 



Bills of Sale. A written agreement, by which one party transfers to 

 another, for a consideration on delivery, all his right, title, and interest in per- 

 sonal property, is a bill of sale. The ownership of personal property, in law, 

 is not changed until the delivery, and the purchaser takes actual possession of 

 such property; though in some States a bill of sale \s> prima facie evidence of 

 ownership, even against creditors, unless the sale was fraudulently made for 

 the purpose of avoiding the payment of debts. 



Deeds. A deed is an instrument in writing, by which lands and appurte- 

 nances thereon are conveyed from one person to another, signed, sealed, and 

 properly subscribed. A deed may be written or printed on parchment or 

 paper, and must be executed by parties competent to contract. One witness 

 is required in New York, and two in Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode 

 Island, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Indiana. Should the 

 deed be proven by witnesses, two are also required in Tennessee, Delaware, 

 and South Carolina. In the other States, no witnesses are necessary, the 

 deed being acknowledged by a person duly authorized by law. There must 

 be a realty to grant, and a sufficient consideration, to render a deed valid. 



