38 B I L 
election of members to ferve in parliament; by violent 
profecutions in the court of King’s Bench ; and caufing 
partial and corrupt jurors to be returned on trials, exceffive 
bail to be taken, exceffive fines to be impofed, and cruel 
punifiunents to be inflifled ; all which were declared to be 
illegal. And the declaration concludes in thefe remark¬ 
able words: “ And they do claim, demand, and infift upon, 
all and lingular the premifes, as their undoubted rights 
and liberties.” And the act of parliament itfelf (iWill. 
and Mary, fiat. 2. c. 2.) recognizes “ all and lingular the 
rights and liberties, alferted and claimed in the faid decla¬ 
ration, to be the true, ancient, indubitable, rights of the 
people of this kingdom.” See the article Liberty, where 
this important aft is fiated at large. 
Bill of Sale, a folernn con trad under feal, whereby 
a man paffies the right of filtered that he hath in goods and 
chattels ; for if a man promifes or gives any chattels with¬ 
out valuable confideration, or without delivering poffief- 
fion, this doth not alter the property, becaufe it is nudum 
paElum , unde non oritur aEiio ; but, if a man fells goods by 
deed under feal duly executed, this alters the property 
between the parties, though there be no confideration, or 
no delivery of pofl'effion; becaufe a man is efiopped to deny 
his own deed, or affirm any thing contrary to the manifeft 
folemnity of contrading. Yelv. 196. Cro. Jac. 270. 1 Brown. 
hi. 6 Co. 18. But what is chiefly to be confidered under 
this head, is the fiatute of 13 Eliz. cap. 5 ; by which it is 
enaffed, “ That all fraudulent conveyances of lands, &c. 
goods and chattels, to avoid the debt or duty of another, 
ffiall (as againft: the party only, whofe debt or duty is fo 
endeavoured to be avoided) be utterly voi'd, except grants 
made bona. Jide, and on a good (which is conftrued a valu¬ 
able) confideration.” A. being indebted toB. in four hun¬ 
dred pounds and to C. in twenty pounds, C. brings debt 
againft him, and, pending the writ, A. being polfelfed of 
goods and chattels to the value of 300I. makes a fecret 
conveyance of them all without exception, to B. in fatis- 
fadion of his debt; but, notwithrtanding, continues in 
polfeffion of them, and fells fome of them ; and others of 
them, being fheep, he fets his mark on : and refolved that 
it was a fraudulent gift and fale within the aforefaid fia¬ 
tute, and fhall not prevent C. of his execution for his juft 
debt; for though fuch fale hath one of the qualifications 
required by the fiatute, being made to a creditor for his 
juft debt, and confequently on a valuable confideration ; 
yet it wants the other ; for the owner’s continuing in pof- 
feflion is a fixed and undoubted character of a fraudulent 
conveyance, becaufe the polfeffion is the only indicium of 
the property of a chattel, and therefore this fale is not 
made bond Jide. 3 Co. 80. Mo. 638. 2 Buljl. 216. 
As the owner’s continuing in polfeffion of goods after his 
bill of fale of them, is an undoubted badge of a fraudulent 
conveyance, becaufe the polfellion is the only indicium of 
the property of a chattel, which is a thing unfixed and tran- 
fitory ; fo there are other marks and characters of fraud ; 
as a general conveyance of them all without any exception; 
for it is hardly to be prefumed, that a man will (trip him- 
felf entirely of all his perfonal property, not excepting 
his bedding and wearing apparel, unlefs there w'ere fome 
fecret correfpondence and good tinderftanding fettled be¬ 
tween him and the vendee, for a private occupancy of 
all or fome part of the goods for his fupport; alfo a fe¬ 
cret manner of tranfafting fuch a bill of fale, and unufual 
claufes in it, as that it is made honeftly, truly, and bond 
Jide, are marks of fraud and collufion ; for fuch an artful 
and forced drefs and appearance give a fufpicion and jea- 
loufy of fome defect varnilhed over with it. 3 Co. 81. Mo. 
638. If goods continue in the polfeffion of the vendor 
after a bill of fale of them, though there is a claufe in the 
bill that he (hall account annually with the vendee for 
them, yet it is a fraud : fince, if fuch colouring were ad¬ 
mitted, it would be the eafieft thing in the world to avoid 
the provifions and cautions of the atorefaid a 61 . Mo. 638. 
If A. makes a bill of fale of all his goods, in confideration 
of blood and natural affedion, to his fon, or one of his re- 
B I L 
Iations, it is a void conveyance in refpect of creditors; for 
the confiderations of blood, &c. which are made the mo¬ 
tives of this gift, are efteemed in their nature inferior to 
valuable confiderations, which are necelfarily required in 
fuch fales, by 13 Eliz. c. 5. If A. makes a bill of fale to 
B. a creditor, and afterwards to C. another creditor, and 
delivers polTeffion at the time of fale to neither; afterwards 
C. gets polfeffion of them, and B. takes them out of his 
polTeffion, C. cannot maintain trefpafs, becaufe though 
the firft bill of fale is fraudulent againft creditors, and fo 
is the fecond, yet they both bind A. As therefore B’s is 
the elder title, the naked polfeffion of C. ought not to 
prevail againft it. 
Bill of Store, a licence granted at the cuftom-houfe 
to merchants, by which they have liberty to carry, cullom 
free, all fuch (lores and provifions as they may have occa- 
fion to ufe during their voyage. 
Bill of Sufferance, alicence granted to a merchant, 
at the cuftom-houfe, fullering him to trade coaftwife, i. e. 
from one Englifti port to another, w ithout paying cuftom. 
Bank Bill,/. A note or obligation ligned on behalf of 
the governor and company of the bank, by one of their ca- 
ffiiers, for value received. See Bank of England. 
Lombard Bills, are inftruments ufed in Italy and Flan¬ 
ders, confiding of a piece of parchment, cut to an acute 
angle, chiefly given where private perfons are concerned 
in fitting out a (hip on any long voyage. The manner is 
thus: The party, who is defirous to be concerned in the 
cargo or venture, carries his money to the merchant, who 
fits out the (hip, where it is entered down in a regifter : at 
the fame time the merchant w rites down on a piece-of parch¬ 
ment, the name of the lender and the firm lent ; which 
being cut diagonal-wife, or from corner to corner, each 
party retains his half. On the return of the veflel, the 
lender brings this bill or check to the merchant; which 
being compared with the other, he receives his dividend 
accordingly. Much the fame is practifed in Holland by 
thofe who lend money on pledges; the name of the bor¬ 
rower and the fum are written on a like flip of parchment, 
which is cut in two, and half given to the borrower, and 
the other half ditched to the pledge ; that, upon compar¬ 
ing them together again, the borrower may receive his 
goods on paying the money ftipulated. 
To BILL, v. n. [from bill, a beak.] To carefs, as doves, 
by joining bills ; to be fond : 
Still amorous, and fond, and billing, 
Like Philip and Mary on a (hilling. Hudibras. 
To BILL, v. a. [from bill, a writing.] To publifh by 
an advertifement : a cant word. —His mafterpiece was a 
compofition that he billed about under the name of a love- 
reign antidote. L'EJlrange. 
BIL'LAKCOURT, a townof France : fourmiles fouth- 
weft of Paris. „ 
BILLAU', a river of Silefia, which runs’into the Neyfs, 
near the town of Neyfs. 
BILLAUT' (Adam), known under the name of Maitre 
Adam, a joiner at Nevers about the dole of the reign of 
Louis XIII. He w’as called by the poets of his time, le 
Virgile au Rabot. He made verfes amidft his tools and his 
bottles. Cardinal Richelieu and the duke of Orleans fet¬ 
tled penfions on him. His Chevilles, 1644, 4to. his Ville- 
berquen, 1663; his Rabot, in 121110. &c. had a great run. 
Among a confiderable number of frivolities we meet with 
fome happy lines. His famous fong, 
Auffitot qu,e la lumiere 
Vient redorer nos coteaux, 
Je commence ma carriere 
Par vifiter mes tonneaux, &c. 
is full of poetry and fpirit. He died in 1662 at Nevers. 
He had a juft notion of greatnefs, and was capable of feel¬ 
ing and infpiring the charms of friendfhip. An epicurean 
without libertinifm, and a ftoic Without fuperftition, he 
fo aflociated thofe two feels as to have it faid, that if Epi¬ 
curus 
