ances, damages, extents, executions, claims and demands whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which against the said

his

the said now hath or ever had, on account of their said mutual dealings, or for or by reason of any other cause, matter, or thing whatsoever, from the beginning of the world to the day of the date of these presents.

And the said (the other party) (for the consideration abovesaid, and to prevent all future disputes) for himself, his executors, and administrators, doth remise, release, and forever quitclaim unto the said (the first party), his executors and administrators, all and all manner of action and actions, cause and causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sum and sums of money, accounts, reckonings, bonds, specialties, covenants, contracts, controversies, agreements, promises, damages, extents, executions, claims, and demands whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which against the said his executors and administrators, the said now hath or ever had, on account of their said mutual dealings, or for or by reason of any other cause, matter, or thing whatsoever, from the beginning of the world to the day of the date of these presents.

In Witness Whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this day of

in the year

In Presence of

(72.)

(Signatures.) (Seals.)

had certain claims and demands, each against the other, which claims and demands have been adjusted and settled, so that now neither of said parties has any claim or demands against the other.

Now be it Known that, in consideration of the premises, each of said parties, for himself and his heirs, executors and administrators, doth hereby release and discharge the other of said parties, his heirs, executors and administrators from all claims, demands and causes of action of every kind and nature whatsoever both at law and in equity to the date of these presents.

In Witness Whereof, The said parties have hereunto and to a duplicate hereof set their hands and seals this day of 19_. (Signatures.) (Seals.)

Executed in presence of

CHAPTER XV.

NOTES OF HAND AND BILLS OF EXCHANGE, DRAFTS AND CHECKS.

SECTION I.

THE PURPOSE OF, AND THE PARTIES TO, SUCH PAPERS. THESE instruments are usually negotiable. By negotiable paper is meant evidence of debt which may be transferred by indorsement or delivery, so that the transferee or holder may sue the same in his own name, and as if it had been made to him originally; or, in other words, it means paper, that is, bills of exchange or promissory notes, or drafts, or checks, payable to the order of a payee, or to bearer.

The rules of law on the subject of negotiable paper are more exact and technical than those of any other department of Mercantile Law. They reach, on many points, an extreme nicety, which makes it difficult to express them intelligibly to persons who do not already possess some familiarity with the subject. All difficulty of this kind could have been easily avoided by me by omitting any notice of these nice points. But it was thought better to mention them, one and all, for these are the things an intelligent man of business should know; and although the rules stated, especially those in reference to presentment, demand, notice, and some other subjects, may seem to be intricate and difficult, they require, it is believed, only careful consideration to be fully understood.

While the general principles of the law relating to negotiable instruments have been the same in all parts of the country, there have been minor differences in the laws of the several States. In order to make the law uniform throughout the country, an act prepared under the auspices of the American Bar Association, and known as the "Uniform Negotiable Instrument Law," has been recently adopted and is in force in nearly all the States.

Where and when bills of exchange were invented is not certainly known. They were not used by any ancient nations, but have been employed and recognized by most commercial nations for

some centuries. A still more recent invention is the promissory negotiable note, which, in this country, for inland and domestic purposes, has taken the place of the bill of exchange very generally. Besides these two, bills of lading, and some other documents, have a kind of negotiability, but it is quite imperfect. The utility of bills and notes in commerce, arises from the fact that they represent money, which is the representative of the market value of everything; and many of the peculiar rules respecting negotiable paper are derived from this representation, and intended to make it adequate and effectual.

A negotiable bill of exchange is a written order whereby A orders B to pay to C or his order, or to bearer, a sum of money absolutely and at a certain time.

C.

days (or months) after sight, (or At sight,) pay to the order of dollars. Value received, and charge the same to account of

(Signed) 4.

To B.

A is the Drawer, B the Drawee, and C the Payee. If the bill is presented to B, and he agrees to obey the order, he "accepts" the bill, and this he does in a mercantile way by writing the word Accepted" across the face of the bill, and also writing his name below this word; then the Drawee becomes the Acceptor. If C, the payee, chooses to transfer the paper and all his rights under it to some other person, he may do this by writing his name on (usually across) the back; this is called indorsement, and C then becomes an Indorser. The person to whom C thus transfers the bill is an Indorsee. The Indorsee may again transfer the bill by writing his name below that of the former Indorser, and the Indorsee then becomes the second Indorser; and this process may go on indefinitely. If the added names cover all the back of the note, a piece may be wafered on to receive more. In France, this added piece is called "allonge," and this word is used in some law books, but not by our merchants.

Promissory notes of hand are written in many ways, which, however, differ only in the different words in which they express

the same thing. We will first give the full Form of a technically accurate note, and afterwards of the more usual forms:

(74.)

For value received, I promise John Smith to pay to him or to his order, one thousand dollars in three months from this day, with interest from date. HENRY SIMMONS.

But promissory notes are seldom, if ever, written in this way in practice. They are shortened and simplified in a great variety of ways, mercantile usages having given a meaning to expressions which the law accepts and enforces. Some of the more common forms in use are as follows:

$1,000 50400

NEW YORK, January 5, 1900. Three months after date, I promise to pay to the order of John Smith, one thousand 50/100 dollars, at the North River Bank, value received.

HENRY SIMMONS.

If it is intended that more than one person shall be liable on the note, the following is a customary form:

$1,000 50/100

NEW YORK, January 5, 1900.

Value received, we jointly and severally promise to pay to Robinson, Wellman & Co., or order, one thousand 50/100 dollars in three months from date.

"With interest" may be added if that is agreed upon, otherwise it bears no interest until after it is due. So it may be "on demand," in which case it bears no interest until after demand is made; "after date" or "from date," should be written, although the law would supply these words.

If the note be signed by more than one person, all the signers, whether the note says "I promise" or "We promise," are liable jointly; but in the latter case only jointly, and not jointly and severally unless the note says so.

Where the promise is joint, suit must be brought against all the promisors together; where it is joint and several the holder may elect whether to sue all jointly or to confirm his claim to one or more of the individual promisors. In the latter case he may recover the whole amount of the note from one promisor, leaving the latter such remedies for contribution as he may have against the others.

Generally speaking, notes are not made payable at any particular place. But they may be made payable at any bank, or the promisor's own house or office, or wherever else he chooses. The effect of making a note payable at a certain place is this: In this country neither a promissory note nor a bill of exchange, drawn payable at a certain place, nor a bill accepted payable at a certain place, need be presented at that place in order to sustain an action against the maker of a note or the acceptor of the bill; but he may show, by way of defence, that he was ready at that place with funds to pay the note or bill, and then he will escape all damages and interest. And if he can show a positive loss from the want of such presentment,-as, for instance, by the subsequent failure of a bank where he had placed funds to meet the note or bill,-he will be discharged from his liability on the paper to the amount of the loss. But the drawees of the bill and the indorsers of the bill or note are discharged by a neglect to demand payment at such specified place.

In some States, Indiana for example, it is customary to add "without relief from valuation and appraisement laws"; and also, "if the note is not paid at maturity five per cent. shall be added and collected as attorney's fees."

If the note be secured by mortgage, coupon notes are sometimes attached, each of which is for six months' interest. We give below a Form for such additions to a note of hand, given in Chicago to a lender in Boston:

$2,000.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, May 8th, 1900.

Three (3) years after date, for value received, I promise to pay to or order, the principal sum of Two Thousand Dollars, with interest thereon at the rate of Six (6) per cent. per annum, payable semi-annually, on the 8th days of November and May, in each and every year until said principal sum is fully paid, both principal and interest payable at the office of Boston, Massachusetts.

in

The several instalments of interest aforesaid for said period of Three (3) years are further evidenced by Six (6) interest notes of even date herewith. And I agree that if default be made on the payment of any one of the interest instalments at the time and place the same become due as above, and if said default shall continue for twenty days thereafter, then if the legal holder or holders of the principal note shall so elect, at any time after said twenty days, the principal sum of Two Thousand Dollars shall at once and without notice of such election made, become due and payable.

This note is secured by Trust Deed.