The notary also usually gives the necessary notice of dishonor to the drawer or indorsers, but this may be done by the holder or by any other agent of his. If the notary gives such notices, he may include a statement to that effect in his certificate. Practice in that respect varies. If the statement that notices have been duly given is not included in the certificate, that fact would have to be proved at a trial by the oral evidence of the notary or other person who gave them.

at the request of

in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Nine hundred five First National Bank of Ithaca, N. Y., I, BENJAMIN L. JOHNSON, Notary Public duly Commissioned and Sworn. dwelling in the City of ITHACA, County of Tompkins, and State aforesaid, did present the original... Donald Malcolm

note

for

Dollars,

where the same is payable,

which was refused.

WHEREUPON, I, the said Notary, at the request aforesaid, did protest, and by these presents do publicly and solemnly protest, as well against the Maker and Endorser of the said note

as against all others whom it doth or may concern, for exchange or re exchange, and all costs, charges, damages and interest, already incurred, and to be incurred for want of

And I, the said Notary, do hereby certify, that on the same day and year above written, due notices of the foregoing Protest, were put into the Post Office at Ithaca, postage paid, or served as follows:

Notice Harold Williamson

directed Elmira, N.Y.

do

7 allen St., Buffalo, W. Y.

do

9 Eddy St, Ithaca, n.y.

Each of the above named places being the reputed place of residence of the person to whom the notice was directed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and

When protest has been made the notary prepares a certificate under his hand and seal setting forth (a) the time and place of presentment; (b) the fact that presentment was made and the manner thereof; (c) the demand made and the answer given, or the fact that the drawee, acceptor, or maker could not be found; (d) the cause or reason for protesting the instrument. This certificate is annexed to the instrument protested or a copy thereof, and is handed to the holder of the instrument as his evidence of presentment, demand, and dishonor. It may also, of course, contain evidence that notices were duly sent to the drawer or indorsers.

The protest must be at the place where the instrument is dishonored and on the day of the dishonor. But it is not essential that the certificate should be made on that day. Protest itself may be sufficiently indicated by a "noting" on the bill or note in very brief form, thus: "Payment demanded and refused, 27 April, 1905. B. L. J. Fees 759." This means that on that date the notary whose initials are written made due presentment and demand, that the instrument was dishonored and protested, and that the notary's charges are 75 cents. The notary may at any subsequent date "extend" the protest by making out his formal certificate.

The costs of protest are added to the amount to be paid by any party liable on the instrument. These fees are fixed by statute and include so much for protest and so much for each notice of

at.

........after date,

the First NATIONAL BANK, of Ithaca,

and endorsed by you, was this day PROTESTED for non-payment and that the holders look to you for the payment thereof, payment having been demanded and refused.

Yours respectfully,

Benj. L. Johnson,

Notary Public.

TO. Harold Williamson...

dishonor. There is also added interest from the time the instrument was due until the drawer or prior party pays it to the holder.

In case of a foreign bill the holder may recover the cost of reëxchange. This is measured by the sum for which a sight draft must be drawn on the drawer of the dishonored bill in order to realize immediately the amount of the dishonored bill plus the cost of protest.

Example. D in London draws a bill for $1000 on E in New York and it is transferred to H in New York, who presents it for payment. It is dishonored and the protest fees amount to $1.25. It is obvious that D now owes H on that day $1001.25. H may draw a sight draft on D for such a sum as at the ruling rate of exchange between New York and London will realize in New York $1001.25. The difference between that sum (say $1081.35 American money) and the sum realized ($1001.25) is the cost of reëxchange which must be borne by D.

In the United States the matter of reëxchange has been simplified by statutes which fix a definite percentage on a foreign bill to be recovered in lieu of reëxchange. This varies in different states, but the amount is from 10 per cent upward.

114. Checks. The contract of the drawer of a check is different from that of the drawer of an ordinary bill of exchange so far as concerns presentment and acceptance.

I. Presentment. A check must be presented for payment within a reasonable time after its issue, or the drawer will be discharged from liability thereon to the extent of the loss caused by the delay. If he is not damaged at all, he will not be discharged, no matter how long the delay.

Example. B draws a check for $100 and delivers it to C, who keeps it six months. In the meantime the bank fails. When it failed B had more than $100 on deposit. The bank pays 40% to depositors. C may recover from B $40 on the check, but not the other $60 because B is damaged by C's delay to that extent. Had this been a bill of exchange payable on demand, B would have been discharged altogether by C's unreasonable delay.

A reasonable time for the presentment of a check is much shorter than that for the presentment of a bill and cannot be prolonged by negotiation. If the holder and the bank are in the same place, the check should be presented before the close of banking hours on the next business day following the day of its issue. If the holder resides in a different place, the check should be started by a reasonably direct route to the place where the bank is located not later than the day following its delivery. The sending of checks by indirect routes through various correspondent banks has been held in some states to constitute unreasonable delay in presentment.

2. Certification. If the holder of a check procures it to be certified, the drawer and indorsers (if any) are discharged from

further liability. This is because when a holder takes the check to the bank to be certified he is entitled to the money and elects to take the promise of the bank in place of it. But if the drawer procures it to be certified before delivery to the payee, the latter takes the check with the same effect as an accepted bill of exchange. When a check is certified the bank immediately charges up the check to the depositor's account so as to preserve a fund from which to pay the check.

3. Rights of holder of check. A holder of an uncertified check has, ordinarily, no rights against the bank upon which it is drawn, even though the drawer has funds enough there to pay it. The promise of a bank to honor the checks of a depositor runs to the depositor only, and the payee of the check cannot sue the bank any more than the payee of a bill of exchange can sue the drawee before acceptance. The sole right of the payee is to present the check promptly and, in case it is dishonored, give the drawer due notice, and thereafter sue the drawer. In Illinois, Nebraska, and one or two other states, a payee is permitted to maintain an action against the bank if the drawer had funds enough to meet the check; the theory in those states is that drawing a check is an assignment to the payee of the sum named.

4. Rights of drawer against bank. If a bank wrongfully dishonors a depositor's check, the depositor has an action against the bank for the injury to his credit. If he is a business man, the damage to credit is presumed to follow such dishonor, and he may recover a substantial sum in the discretion of the jury. 115. Position of indorser after liability is fixed. After the necessary steps have been taken to fix an indorser's liability or without such steps if he has waived them the indorser's position is essentially that of a guarantor. His rights and remedies are those already discussed under the head of Guaranty (see secs. 91-93 ante).

If an indorser pays an instrument upon which he is liable, he is entitled to the possession of the instrument and may proceed upon it against all prior parties. He may strike out his own and all subsequent indorsements, and again transfer the paper if he wishes.