have, or either of them hath, or by law might have, of, in, and to the same : To have and to hold the same to the said

and his heirs and assigns forever; and the said

and

for themselves, their heirs, executors, and administrators, do hereby covenant with the said and his heirs and assigns, that he and they shall henceforth forever, have and quietly enjoy the released premises, without any claim or demand had or made, or to be had or made by them, or any persons, claiming, or who may claim the same or any part thereof, by, from, or under them or their heirs.

In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the

in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and

In Presence of

day of (Signature.) (Seal.)

(62.)

A Release of a Trust.

To all to whom these Presents may come, (name of releaser) sendeth greeting. Whereas, by indenture bearing date

, made between (here recite the deed) in which said indenture the said doth hereby declare, that his name was only used in

trust, for the benefit and behoof of Now know ye, that I, the said

of

in discharge of the trust , have remised,

reposed in me, at the request of the said released, and surrendered, assigned, and set over, and by these presents, for me, my executors and administrators, do freely and absolutely remise,

all the estate, right, title, interest, use, benefit, privilege, and demand whatsoever, which I the said have, or may have or claim, of, or to the said premises, or of and in any sum of money, or other matter or thing whatsoever, in the said indenture contained, mentioned, and expressed, so that neither I the said my executors or administrators,

or any of us, at any time hereafter, shall or will ask, claim, challenge, or demand any interest or other thing, in any manner whatsoever, by reason or means of the said indenture, or any covenant therein contained, but thereof and therefrom, and from all actions, suits, and demands, which I, my executors, administrators, or assigns, may have concerning the same, shall be utterly excluded and forever debarred, by these presents.

In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the

in the vear of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and

day of

In Presence.

(Signature.) (Seal.)

(63.)

A Release of Right to Lands.

Know all Men by these Presents, That I in consideration of

name of releasee) the receipt

and forever quit-claimed, and by these presents do the said

(name of releaser) of

to me paid by

and his heirs, all the estate, right, title, interest. use, trust, claim, and demand whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which I the said have, of, in, to, or out of, all and singular the following described parcel of land (here describe the land) so that neither I the said , my heirs or assigns, or any other person or persons in trust for me or them, or in my or their name or names, or in the name, right, or stead of any of them, shall or will, can or may, by any ways or means whatsoever, hereafter have, claim, challenge, or demand, any right, title, or interest, property, claim, and demand, of, in, to, or out of the same or any of them, or any part thereof, but that I the said

, my heirs, and assigns, and every of them, from all estate, right title, interest, property, claim, and demand, of, in, to, or out of the said

or any of them, or any part thereof, are, is, and shall be, by these presents forever excluded and debarred.

In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the

in the

year of our Lord one thousand nine h: ndred and

day of

In Presence of

(64.)

(Signature.) (Seal.)

A Release between two Traders on Settling Accounts. Whereas sundry accounts, current and otherwise, and divers dealing in trade have been subsisting for a long time past between

trader, and

which said accounts and dealings, the said

of

and

of

trader,

have balanced and adjusted, whereby it appears that nothing remains due from the one to the other; and whereas, therefore, to prevent any future disputes concerning the said accounts and dealings, and to confirm the said adjustment, the said and have mutually agreed to give reciprocal releases from each other. Now know all men by these presents, that the said (one of the parties) (for the consid eration abovesaid, and to prevent all future disputes) for himself, his execu tors, and administrators, doth remise, release, and forever quit-claim unto the said (the other party) his 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, variances, 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.

his

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 quit-claim unto the said (the other party), 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

the said now hath or ever had, on account of their said mutua) dealings, or for or by reason of any other cause, matter, or thing whatso ever, fcm the beginning of the world to the day of the date of these presen

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

in the year

(Signatures.) (Seals.)

In Presence of

CHAPTER XVI.

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. payabl 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 t

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.

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

(65.)

Common Form of a Bill of Exchange.

NEW YORK, January ,19.

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

same to account of

To B

(Signed) A

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, h 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 usuai Forms:

(66.)

NEW YORK, January 5, 1900.

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 usage 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 f.

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

HENRY SIMMONS.

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

$1,000 f.

NEW YORK, January 5, 1900.

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

50

100

date.