BILL 6* EXCHANGE. 
3° 
any or all of thefe branches of remittances, but in the name 
and for the account of the perfon who authorifed him. 
A promiffory note, in its original form of a promife 
from one man to pay a fum of money to another, bears no 
refemblance to a bill of exchange. When it is indorfed, 
the firft refemblance begins, for then it is an order by the 
indorfer to the maker of the note, who by his promife is 
his debtor, to pay the money to the indorfee. The in¬ 
dorfer of the note correfponds to the drawer of the bill ; 
the maker to the drawee or acceptor ; and the indorfee to 
the payee. When this point of refemblance is once fixed, 
the law is fully fettled to be exadtly the fame in bills of 
exchange and promilfory notes: and, whenever the law is 
reported to have been fettled with refpedt to the acceptor 
of a bill, it is to be confidered as applicable to the drawer, 
or maker of a note ; when with refpedt to the drawer of a 
bill, then to the firft indorfer of a note ; the fubfequent in- 
dorfers and indorfees bear an exadf refemblance to one 
another. 2 Burr. 676. Both bills and notes are in two 
different fprms, being fometimes made payable to fuch a 
man or his order, or to the order of fuch a man ; fome- 
times to fuch a man or bearer, or fimply to bearer. The 
firft kind have always been held to be negotiable ; but, 
where they were made payable to the order of fuch a man, 
exception has been taken to an adlion brought by that man 
himfelf, on the ground that he had only authority to in- 
dorfe ; but the exception was not allowed. And it is now 
decided law, that bills and notes payable to bearer are 
equally transferable as thofe payable to order; and the 
transfer in both cafes equally confers the right of adlion on 
the bond fide holder. 1 Black. Rep. 485. 3 Burr. 1516. flat. 
3 and 4 Anne, c.9. 1 Burr. 452. The mode of transfer 
however is different; bills and notes payable to bearer are 
transferred by mere delivery, the others by indorfement. 
The bills and notes mentioned above are confidered 
merely as fecurities for money ; but there is a fpecies of 
each which is confidered as equivalent with money itfelf. 
Thefe are bank-notes, bankers’ cafh-notes, and checks or 
drafts on bankers payable on demand. Bank-notes are 
treated as money or cafh in the ordinary courfe or tranf- 
actionS of bullnefs by common confent, which gives them 
the credit and currency of money to every commercial 
purpofe. Bankers’ cafh-notes and checks are fo far con¬ 
fidered as money among merchants, that they receive them 
in payment as ready cafh; and, if the party receiving them 
do not within a reafonable time demand the money, he muff 
bear the lofs in cafe of the parties’ failure. What fhall be 
conftrued to be a reafonable time has been fubjedt to much 
doubt ; it was formerly confidered as a queftion of fadt 
depending on the circumffances of the cafe, to be deter¬ 
mined by a jury; but it is now eftablifhed as a queffion of 
law to be decided by the court, though the precife time 
is neceflarily undetermined. 1 Black. Rep. 1. See 1 Ld. 
Raym. 744. 1 Stra. 415. 
Bills of exchange, contrary to the general nature of 
chofes in adlion, are by the cuftom of merchants, affignable 
or negotiable without any fidtion, and every perfon to 
whom they are transferred may maintain an adlion in his 
own name againft any one, who has before him in the 
courfe of their negotiation rendered himfelf refponfible by 
indorfement for their payment. The fame privilege is 
conferred on notes by the flatute. But the instrument or 
writing which conftitutes a good bill of exchange accord¬ 
ing to the cuftom, or a good note under the ftatute, mull 
have certain effential qualities. 3 WilJ. 113. One of thefe 
qualities is, that the bill or note fhould be for the pay¬ 
ment of money only ; and not for the payment of money 
and the doing fome other adt ; for thefe inftruments being 
originally adopted for the convenience of remittance, and 
now confidered only as fecurities for the future payment of 
money, mud undertake only for that; and it muft be mo¬ 
ney in fpecie, not in good Eaft-India bonds, or any thing 
elfe which can itfelf be only confidered as a fecurity. Bull. 
N. P. 273. Another requifite quality is, that the inftru- 
ment muft carry with it a perfonal and certain credit, given 
to the drawer or maker, not confined to credit on any par¬ 
ticular fund. But in the application of this principle there 
feems to be a material diftindlion between bills and notes. 
As to the former, where the fund is fuppofed to be in the 
hands of the drawee, the objection holds in its full force ; 
not only becaufe it may be uncertain whether the fund 
will be produdtive, but becaufe the credit is not given to 
the perfon of the drawer; but where the fund on account 
of which the money is payable, either is in the hands of 
the drawer, or he is accountable for it, the objedtion will 
not hold, becaufe the credit is perfonal to him, and the 
fund is only the confideration of his giving the bill. With 
refpedt to a note, if the drawer promife to pay out of a 
particular fund, then within his power, the note will be 
good under the ftatute : the payment does not depend on 
the circumftance of the fund’s proving unprodudtive or 
not, but there is an obligation on his perfonal credit; the 
bare making of the note being an acknowledgement that 
he has money in his hands. See Jofcelyne v. Laffere, Fort. 
281. 10 Mod. 294. Jenny v. Herle, 1 Stra. 591. 2 Ld. 
Raym. 1361. 8 Mod. 263. Dawkes et ux. v. Deloraine, 
3 Wilf. 207. 2 Black. Rep. 782. On the principle which 
governed thefe cafes an order from an owner of a fhip to 
the freighter to pay money “ on account of freight,” was 
held to be no bill of exchange. 2 Stra. 1211. But fuch 
a bill, from the freighters of a fhip to any other perfon, 
if good in other refpeCts, would certainly not be bad though 
made payable on account of freight; becaufe indifputably 
there is a perfonal credit given to the drawer, the words 
“ on account of freight,” only exprefling the confideration 
for w hich the bill was given. See Pierfon v. Dunlop, 
Doug. 571. And there may be cafes where the inftru- 
ment may appear at firft fight to be payable out of a par¬ 
ticular fund, but in reality be only a diftindlion how the 
drawee is to reimburfe himfelf, or a recital of the parti¬ 
cular fpecies of value received by the maker of a note; 
in which cafes their validity lefts on the perfonal credit 
given to the acceptor of the bill, or drawer of the note. 
2 Ld. Raym. 1481. 2 Stra. 762. Barn. K. B. 12. Another 
effential quality to make a good bill or note is, that it muft 
be abfolutely payable at all events; and not depend on 
any particular circumffances which may or may not hap¬ 
pen in the common courfe of things. In the cafe of notes 
however it is not necelfary that the time of payment fhould 
be abfolutely fixed ; it is fufficient if, from the nature of 
the thing, the time muft certainly arrive, on which their 
payment is to depend ; for here the words of engagement 
make the debt; and it is no diredtion to another perfon ; 
the former part of the note is a promife to pay the money, 
and the reft is only fixing the particular time when it is to 
be paid. It is fufficient if it be certainly and at all events 
payable at that time, whether the maker live till then, or 
die in the interim. And it has been decided that a pro¬ 
mife to pay “within two months after fuch a fhip (hall be 
paid off” will make a good note ; for the paying off the 
fhip is a thing of a public nature and morally certain. 1 
Stra. 24. 1 Wilf. 262, 3. But this indulgence feems to 
have been carried almoft too far; and fuch a latitude feems 
incompatible with the nature and original intention of a 
bill of exchange ; its allowance in favour of promiffory 
notes arifing entirely from a liberal conftrudlion of the 
ftatute on which the negotiability of thofe notes depends. 
The words value received being in general inferted in 
bills and notes, there feems to have been fome doubt, 
whether they were effential ; in one cafe, (Banbury v. 
Liffet, 2 Stra. 1212,) where the want of thefe words was 
objedled, a verdidt was given on that account againft the 
instrument, but that cafe feems a very doubtful authority. 
On feveral occafions it appears to have been faid inciden¬ 
tally by the court, and at the bar, that thefe words are 
unneceftary. Fort. 282. Barn. K. B. 88. 8 Mod. 267. 1 Show. 
5, 497- 3 Ld. Raym. 1556, 1481. Lulw. 889. 1 Mod. Ent. 
310. And the point is now fully fettled that thefe words 
are not neceffary; for, as thefe inftruments are always pre¬ 
fumed to have been made on a valuable confideration, 
words 
