IMPOSSIBLE AGREEMENTS-continued. agreement impossible in law, void, 354 promisor excused when performance becomes impossible by law, performance being impossible in fact, no excuse in absolute contract, impossibility by foreign law, no excuse, 358 effect of accidents subsequent to contract: analogy of contract to exception of accidents not contemplated by contract, 361, sqq. where subject-matter destroyed without fault on either side, 363, state of things at date of agreement not contemplated by parties, construction of covenants in mining leases, 365 express exceptions in commercial contracts, 366 where performance depends on life or health of a person, implied anomalous treatment of contract to marry, 369 impossibility caused by default of promisor, equivalent to breach of by default of promisee, discharges promisor, and he may recover loss alternative contracts where one thing is or becomes impossible, conditional contracts where the condition is or becomes impossible, where condition of bond impossible, obligation is absolute, 377 otherwise where the condition subsequently becomes impossible, alternative conditions in bonds where one is or becomes impossible, Indian Contract Act on impossible agreements, 379 INDIAN CONTRACT ACT: its definitions of agreement, &c., 6 on the communication, acceptance, and revocation of proposals, 18 on quasi-contracts, or contracts implied in law, 30 on proposal and acceptance, 31 on contracts of persons of unsound mind, 83 on discharge of contracts, 164 on parties to contract by agent, 236 on knowledge of agent being knowledge of principal, 225, n. provisions of, as to unlawful agreements, 345 provisions of, as to impossible agreements, 379 INDIAN CONTRACT ACT-continued. does not adopt English rule of market overt, 387, n. on material common mistake avoiding agreement, 425 on time being of essence of contract, 445 abolishes distinction between penalty and liquidated damages, 448, n. on sales by auction, 493 on responsibility of principal for fraud of agent, 503 on inadequacy of consideration, 541 on coercion, undue influence, fraud, misrepresentation and mis- on rescission of voidable contracts, 566 INDICTMENT: may lie against corporation in certain cases, 87 INFANTS: generally cannot bind themselves by contract, 34 general statement of the law, 34 contracts of, voidable at common law: no real authority for holding them in any case void, 35 bonds, 36 trading contracts, 37 contracts of service, 37 leases, 38 sales of land, 38 partnership, 38 marriage, 39 marriage settlements, 40 negotiable instruments and accounts stated, 40 at what time he may avoid his contracts, 42 liable on obligations incident to property; leases and railway shares, liable when contract for his benefit, 47 liable for necessaries, 48 what are necessaries, how ascertained, 49 question of fact, subject to question of law whether the things are prima facie necessary, 49 liability for necessaries on simple contract only, 53 what contracts infant can make by custom or statute, 53, 54 not liable for wrong when the cause of action is substantially on a whether liable on contract implied in law, 55 liable in equity for representing himself as of full age, 56 but not to prejudice of subsequent valid contract, 57 INFANTS' RELIEF ACT: does not make ratification wholly inoperative, 43 INDEX. 619 INFANTS' RELIEF ACT-continued. effect of section 1, 44 effect since the Act of affirming agreement voidable at common law INSURANCE: contract of, liberally construed in favour of true intention, 454 INSURANCE (FIRE) : contract of insurers to reinstate is unconditional after election made, effect of, as between landlord and tenant, 359 implies condition that property is correctly described, 468 INSURANCE (LIFE): no such duty of disclosure as in marine insurance, 467 INSURANCE (MARINE) : must be expressed in policy, 148 seamen's wages not insurable, 305 where voyage illegal to knowledge of owner, void, 321 the "slip" nevertheless recognized for collateral purposes, 586 how far material on question of unlawfulness of agreement, 341 LAND: Statute of Frauds as to sale of interest in, 143 what covenants run with, 219 sale of by auction, employment of puffer at, 493 LANDLORD AND TENANT : covenants running with tenancy or reversion, 218 lessor cannot resume possession actually delivered on discovering un- but may rescind if possession has not been delivered, semble, 321 rent payable though premises accidentally destroyed, 358 lessor is not bound to inform lessee of state of premises, 479 LAW MERCHANT: peculiarities of, as to negotiable instruments, 212 LEASE: of infant at common law, voidable, 38 statutory powers of infants to renew and make, 54 Statute of Frauds as to, 144 of tenements for unlawful purpose, no action on covenants, 320 LEX LOCI: marriage of domiciled British subjects wherever celebrated, governed requirement of stamp, how treated in foreign court, 285 by what local law the lawfulness of an agreement is determined, LIMITATION, STATUTES OF: promise or acknowledgment by married woman cannot revive barred promise to pay debt barred by, 149 debts not extinguished, 570 barred debt cannot be set off, 571 right of action restored by subsequent acknowledgment, 571 otherwise of specialty debt under stat. of William IV., 572 applied according to lex fori, not lex contractus, 573 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES : distinction of from penalty, 447 LONDON: custom of, as to infant apprentice, 48, 54 as to married women trading alone, 62. And see pp. 86, 127, n. LUNATIC: marriage of, void, 76 so found by inquisition, incapable of acts in the law, 76 liable for necessaries, 77 contracts in lucid intervals and contracts prior to lunacy good, 77 contract of (not so found by inquisition), in general voidable not history of different doctrines on the subject, 77-80 statement of the modern rule, 82 contract of, why only voidable though he has no agreeing mind, 406 MAINTENANCE: attempts to oppose equitable assignments on ground of, 239 definition of; it includes champerty, 294 what amounts to, 295, 297, 302 statute of Henry VIII. against buying pretended titles, 300 what dealings are within the statute, 301 no maintenance without unlawful intention, 303 may be justified by kindred or affinity, 303 MAJORITY: abuse of corporate powers by, 108 MALUM PROHIBITUM and malum in se, 260 MARITAL RIGHT: settlements in fraud of, 254 MARKET: sale of horses at, 148 MARRIAGE: of infants, 39 promise of, infant may sue but is not liable on, 40 agreements in consideration of, 143 within prohibited degrees, void, 256 of members of Royal Family, Act regulating, 258 conditions in restraint of, 307 polygamous, not recognised by English Divorce Court, 335 contract to marry not uberrimæ fidei, 481 not rendered invalid by fraud, 493 informal agreements in consideration of, how far made valid by MARRIED WOMEN: at common law cannot contract, 58 acquisition of things in action by, 59 renewed promise by, cannot revive barred debt, 60 exceptions to incapacity: queen consort, 60 wife of person civilly dead, 60 of alien who has never been in England, 61 custom of London as to sole trader, 62 exceptional contracts with husband as to separation, 62 Married Women's Property Act, 63 liability for ante-nuptial debts under, 72 statutory provisions for renewal of leases by, 64 SEPARATE ESTATE (which see), 65 agreement by to execute power, apart from separate use, 76 settlements of, in fraud of marital right, 254 interests of, may be bound by equitable estoppel, 584 MAXIMS: alteri stipulari nemo potest, 152 in pari delicto potior est conditio defendentis, 327 locus regit actum, 340 non videntur qui errant consentire, 384 nulla voluntas errantis est, 389 ignorantia juris haud excusat, 428 mala grammatica non vitiat chartam, 435 expressio unius est exclusio alterius, 437 verba accipiuntur fortius contra proferentem, 476 |