22 



CONTRACTS CONCERNING HORSES, ETC. 



Who may be 

 an agent. 



How consti- 

 tuted. 



Need not be 

 authorized in 

 "writing. 



Auctioneer. 



Auctioneer's 

 clerk. 



agent thereunto laiofully mithorized, leaving us to the rules 

 of coinmon law as to the mode in which the agent is to re- 

 ceive his authority. Now, in all other cases a subsequent 

 sanction is considered the same thing in effect as assent at 

 the time. Omnis ratihahitio retrotrahitiir, et mcnuMo ceqiii- 

 paratur ; and the subsequent sanction of a contract, signed 

 by an agent, takes it out of the operation of the statute 

 more satisfactorily than an authority given beforehand. 

 Where the authority is given beforehand, the party must 

 trust to his agent ; if it be given subsequently to the con- 

 tract, the party knows that all has been done according to 

 his wishes {g). 



An agent must be a third person, and not the other con- 

 tracting party {h). 



An infant or married woman may be an agent, their acts 

 in that capacity not being affected by their disabilities of 

 infancy and coverture respectively (z). 



An agent may be constituted either by express appoint- 

 ment or by implication of law arising from the circumstance 

 in which parties are placed {k). 



The authority of the agent to sell for his principal 

 may be conferred by word of mouth (/) ; for it is now 

 clearly settled that the agent need not be authorized in 

 writing (in). 



In general an auctioneer may be considered as the agent 

 and witness of both parties ; but a difficulty arises in the 

 case where the auctioneer sues as one of the contracting 

 parties. The case of Wright v. Dannah (n), seems to be in 

 point ; namely, that the agent contemplated by the legis- 

 lature, who is to bind a defendant by his signature, must 

 be some third person, and not the other contracting party 

 upon the record (o). 



An entry made in the sale book by the auctioneer's 

 clerk who attends the sale, and as each lot is knocked down 



Doc!c Co., L. E., 2 Q. B. D. 314 ; 

 46 L. J., Q. B. 219; 32 L. T., 

 N. S. 347. 



{g) Per Best, C. J., Maclean v. 

 Diinu, 4 Bing. 727. 



(h) Sharman v. Brandt, L. R., 6 

 Q. B. 720; 40 L. J., Q. B. 312; 

 TFright v. Dannah, 2 Camp. 203 ; 

 11 R. R. 693 ; Fareirother v. Sim- 

 mons, 6 B. & Aid. 333. 



(j) Paley's Principal and Agent, 

 2 ; Prestiviclc T. Marshall, 7 Bing. 

 565 ; Frince T. Brunette, 1 Bing. 



N. C. 438. 



{k) 2 Steph. Com. 117. 



it) Acebal v. levy, 10 Bing. 378. 



()«) Per Lord Eldou, Ooles v. 

 Trecothick, 9 Vesey, 249 a ; 7 R. R. 

 167 ; Emmerson y. Seelis, 2 Taunt. 

 48; 11 R. R. 520. 



(«) Wright v. Dannah, 2 Camp. 

 203; 11 E. R. 693. 



(o) Fareirotha- t. Simmons, 5 B. 

 & Aid. 335 ; Sharman y. Brandt, 

 L. E., 6 Q. B. 720. 



