CHAPTER I. OF THE COMMUNICATION, ACCEPTANCE AND REVOCATION OF PROPOSALS. Communi acceptance and revo 3. The communication of proposals, the acceptance of procation, posals, and the revocation of proposals and acceptances, respectively, are deemed to be made by any act or omission of the party proposing, accepting or revoking, by which he intends to communicate such proposal, acceptance or revocation, or which has the effect of communicating it. cation of proposals. Communi 4. The communication of a proposal is complete when it cation comes to the knowledge of the person to whom it is made. The communication of an acceptance is complete, when com plete. of as against the proposer, when it is put in a course of transmission to him, so as to be out of the power the acceptor; as against the acceptor, when it comes to the knowledge of the proposer1. The communication of a revocation is complete, as against the person who makes it, when it is put into a course of transmission to the person to whom it is made, so as to be out of the power of the person who makes it; as against the person to whom it is made, when it comes to his knowledge. 1 Here, as elsewhere in this Act, the definitions have not been borne in mind. A proposal' when accepted becomes a promise' (sec. 2, cl. b). Every 'promise' is an agreement' (sec. 2, cl. e). All agreements' are 'contracts' if they are made in ao cordance with sec. 10. A 'contract' is enforceable by law (sec. 2, cl. h). Therefore a suit would lie against an 'acceptor' even before his acceptance comes to the knowledge of the proposer which is contrary to the intention of sec. 4. Illustrations. (a) A proposes, by letter, to sell a house to B at a certain price. The communication of the proposal is complete when B receives the letter. (b) B accepts A's proposal by a letter sent by post. The communication of the acceptance is complete, as against A when the letter is posted; as against B, when the letter is received by A. (c) A revokes his proposal by telegram. The revocation is complete as against A when the telegram is despatched. It is complete as against B when B receives it. B revokes his acceptance by telegram. B's revocation is complete as against B when the telegram is despatched, and as against A when it reaches him 1. tion of pro 5. A proposal may be revoked at any time before the com- Revocamunication of its acceptance is complete as against the pro- posals and poser, but not afterwards. An acceptance may be revoked at any time before the communication of the acceptance is complete as against the acceptor, but not afterwards. Illustrations. A proposes, by a letter sent by post, to sell his house to B. A may revoke his proposal at any time before or at the moment when B posts his letter of acceptance, but not afterwards. B may revoke his acceptance at any time before or at the moment when the letter communicating it reaches A, but not afterwards. 6. A proposal is revoked— (1) by the communication of notice of revocation by the proposer to the other party; 1 What of an acceptance that does not arrive at all? The letter of the text seems to lead to the conclusion of Household Fire Insurance Co. v. Grant, 4 Ex. D. 216; but the spirit of Illustration (c) looks the other way, Pollock, 638. It seems to me that text and illustration are here harmonious, and lay down a rule differing from that approved by the majority of the judges in the case cited. The illustrations to secs. 4 and 5 and the beginning of sec. 226 show that it is not necessary that the parties shall be face to face at the time. They may communicate by letter, telegram, messenger or agent; and a person who at the time had no authority to act for another may be retrospectively made his agent by subsequent ratification (see infra, sec. 196). accept ances. Revocation how made. Acceptance (2) by the lapse of the time prescribed in such proposal for its acceptance, or, if no time is so prescribed, by the lapse of a reasonable time, without communication of the acceptance1; (3) by the failure of the acceptor to fulfil a condition precedent to acceptance; or (4) by the death or insanity of the proposer, if the fact of his death or insanity comes to the knowledge of the acceptor before acceptance 2. 7. In order to convert a proposal into a promise the acceptabsolute. ance must must be Acceptance by performing (1) be absolute and unqualified 3; (2) be expressed in some usual and reasonable manner, unless the proposal prescribes the manner in which it is to be accepted. If the proposal prescribes a manner in which it is to be accepted, and the acceptance is not made in such manner, the proposer may, within a reasonable time after the acceptance is communicated to him, insist that his proposal shall be accepted in the prescribed manner, and not otherwise; but, if he fails to do so, he accepts the acceptance *. 8. Performance of the conditions of a proposal, or the acceptance of any consideration for a reciprocal promise conditions, which may be offered with a proposal, is an acceptance of the considera- proposal. or receiving tion. 1 This seems intended, notwithstanding the unqualified language of sec. 5, to cover the case of an acceptance sent by post being lost or seriously delayed, Pollock, 639. 2 The words or insanity,' and 'if the fact of his death or insanity comes to the knowledge of the acceptor before acceptance,' do not represent English law, Pollock, 639. A proposal is revoked, fifthly, by 3 for unless and until there is such V. 9. In so far as the proposal or acceptance of any promise is Promises, made in words 1, the promise is said to be express. In so far express and implied. as such proposal or acceptance is made otherwise than in words1, the promise is said to be implied 2. 1 or signs? 2 The meaning probably is that where (or so far as) a proposal or acceptance is inferred from a course of conduct, the promise is said to be : What agreements are con tracts. Who are CHAPTER II. OF CONTRACTS, VOIDABLE CONTRACTS, AND VOID AGREEMENTS. 10. All agreements are contracts if they are made by the free consent of parties competent to contract, for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and are not hereby expressly declared to be void. Nothing herein contained shall affect any law in force in British India, and not hereby expressly repealed, by which any contract is required to be made in writing1 or in the presence of witnesses, or any law relating to the registration of documents 2. 11. Every person is competent to contract who is of the age to contract. of majority according to the law to which he is subject, and competent See the enactments relating to the following subjects : Apprenticeship-contracts, Act XIX of 1850, secs. 8, 11, 12, 19; Arbitration, reference to, VI of 1882, sec. 96: XIV of 1882, sec. 523: Mad. Regs. IV of 1816, sec. 27: V of 1816, sec. 4; Canal-water Companies, VIII of 1873, secs. 31, 32: Ben. Act III of 1876, secs. 74, 75; VI of 1882, secs. 6, 67; Copyright, 5 & 6 Vic. c. 45, sec. 13, and Act XX of 1847, sec. 5; Decrees, assignments of, XIV of 1882, sec. 232; Emigration, XXI of 1883, sec. 35: I of 1882, sec. 9; Immovable property, IV of 1882, secs. 54, 59, 107, 123: XVII of 1879, sec. 70; Landlord and tenant, VIII of 1885, sec. 25, cl. (a), 43, 46: XIX of 1868, secs. 4, 32, 36, 48: XXVIII of 1868, sec. 2: XII of 1881, sec. 12: Mad. Act VIII of 1865, sec. 7, and other local enactments; Merchant seamen, I of 1859, secs. 22, 23: IV of 1875, secs. 24-27; Municipalities, Ben. Act IV of 1876, sec. 54, and other local municipal Acts; Negotiable Instruments, XXVI of 1881; Port-Commissioners and trustees, Ben. Act V of 1870, sec. 37, and other local Acts; Presidency banks, XI of 1876, sec. 9; Railway Companies, IV of 1879, sec. 10; Se poys, XI of 1841, sec. 9. See besides, in the Indian Contract Act, sec. 25 (1), agreements on ac count of natural affection, 25 (3), agree ments to pay time-barred debts, and sec. 28, expl. (2). 3 2 See Act III of 1877, secs. 49, 50. i. e. his own personal law, 7 All. 500. As to persons domiciled in British India, see Act IX of 1875, which declares that minority lasts until the completion of the eighteenth year, except in the case of persons who have guardians appointed for them by a Court, or are under the charge of the Court of Wards; in their case majority not attained until the completion of the twenty-first year. See as to this Act 3 Mad. 11; I Cal. 388; and 3 All. 598. |