3 Silver Table Spoons,-marked E. A. on the handle. 13 Silver Tea Spoons,-marked E. A. on the handle.

2 Silver Tankards,-marked E. A. on the side.

To hold the above described chattels to her sole and separate use, free from the interference and control of her present, or any future husband, and to her heirs and assigns, to her and their sole use and behoof forever.

In witness whereof, I, the said A. B., have, &c.

Executed and delivered

in presence of

A. B. [L. S.]

CHAPTER IX.

OF COMMERCIAL OR NEGOTIABLE PAPER.

SECTION 1.-Definitions and Forms.

COMMERCIAL paper is that species of contracts used in the transactions of business, as a representative of value.

There are several different forms of it, as promissory notes, bank bills, bills of exchange, and checks.

A promissory note is a simple promise, for value received, to pay to the payee or to his order, or to bearer. I say, a promise for "value received," that is, it must be upon sufficient consideration, or it will not be good between the original parties; but it need not contain the words, "value received," although they are usually inserted, value is implied by law without this expression.

The bank bill is much like a promissory note, but is uniformly payable to bearer, instead of being sometimes (as in the case of promissory notes) restricted to the payee or his order. Constituting, as they now do, the principal circulating medium in nearly all our states, they are so common and well known as to need no special description. Bills of exchange are usually drawn substantially as follows:

"$1,000.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 1868.

"Three months from date [or, at sight, or, three days after sight, or, on demand, as the parties may agree,] pay to the order of John Johnson One Thousand Dollars, value received, and charge to account of,"

"To Wm. Peters,"

"No. 2 Spring St., New York."

"JAMES SIMONS."

A check is quite similar, but is not usually on time, but made payable on presentment, and is generally drawn upon a banker. The form is a simple order:

"$500.

"HARTFORD, Dec. 12, 1868.

"Hartford National Bank, pay to (the order of) or (the bearer) five hundred dollars.

"JAMES JOHNSON."

Some of the most ingenious and troublesome forgeries, which have occurred in the commercial world, have been accomplished by changing the amount of a genuine check, note, or bill of exchange.

Many of these would have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care on the part of those filling out such instruments. Blanks are carelessly left, inviting dishonest holders to fill them. It is well to draw a pen along, with such mark as will leave no open and blank space unfilled.

The parties to a note are, the maker, and the person to whom it is payable, who is called the payee. When signed by some friend of the maker, to give it additional credit before it is delivered, such friendly signer is called a surety. If payable to the order of any person, it is properly negotiated by putting the name of that person upon the back.

This is called an endorsement, and the party so putting his name upon the back is called an endorser. If the endorser wishes to avoid personal liability upon the note, after it has passed from his hands, he should write above his name the words, "without recourse," which is a very brief, but effective, way of informing all parties who afterwards receive it, that they have not, under any circumstances, a claim upon him. This is the only safe way of avoiding such liability; an agreement at the time of the transfer, that the party endorsing shall not be liable, will not prevent a subsequent purchaser of it, without notice, before it is due, from holding the endorser; the paper itself should notify all persons to whose hands it shall come, as it does when the words "without recourse" are written over the name of the endorser.

There are two kinds of endorsement, general and special. A general endorsement is, where the name of the endorser is written without any direction to pay to any specified

person.

This is an order to pay to whoever shall present it, and the note thereafter is as if payable to bearer, and need not be again endorsed, upon its subsequent transfer.

A note so endorsed, if lost or stolen, may be enforced by any party purchasing it before it is due, even of the thief or finder, in good faith and without notice that the thief or finder has not a good title. Here the effect is, that one, who has no title, by sale to a bona fide purchaser vests a perfect title in his vendee.

Now, it is generally true that a man, who has no title to property in him, can convey nothing out of him; but here the party purchasing for full and fair consideration, and in good faith, takes, by force of the superior faith and sanctity attributed to negotiable paper, perfect and unimpeachable title, when he from whom he purchased had none. This is a quality in which negotiable securities differ from all other property.

A special endorsement is one, in which a particular person. is named to whom payment shall be made, and is in this form:

"Pay to John Jones."

"JAMES JOHNSON."

A note so endorsed can only be paid to John Jones, and can only be sued in his name, and, consequently, if lost or stolen, is useless to the thief or finder, as no person can take title to it except through, or in the name of, John Jones.

If the party endorsing wishes to continue the negotiability of the instrument, beyond John Jones, he may still vary the endorsement thus:

"Pay to the order of John Jones."

"JAMES JOHNSON."

This is equally safe with the last form, as it cannot be transferred, so as to make title beyond John Jones, without his genuine endorsement; and, if it is paid upon a forged

endorsement of his name, it must be paid again to him, or to his genuine endorsee. This protective character of such an endorsement, is that which renders it necessary for bankers and others, upon whom checks and drafts payable to order are drawn, to have the person presenting them, if unknown to the presentee, identified.

The parties to a bank bill are merely the bank, (usually represented by the signatures of the president and cashier), and the bearer; and such bills pass from hand to hand, as is familiarily known, without endorsement, and are never payable to order.

The parties to a "check" are, the maker, commonly called the drawer, the person to whom it is payable, called as in a note the payee, and the bank or banker upon whom it is drawn, who is usually called the drawee.

When payable (as they frequently are) to the order of the payee, they are transferrable by endorsement, in the same manner, and with the same effect of general and special endorsements and endorsements "without recourse," &c., as in the case of promissory notes.

The parties to a "bill of exchange" (sometimes called a "draft") are, the drawer, who makes it, the person to whom it is to be paid, who, as in the case of a check, is called the payee, and the person to whom it is directed, who is called the drawee.

If payable otherwise than at sight, it is usually expected that a bill of exchange will be presented to the person upon whom it is drawn, for acceptance, and if he accepts, he is called the "acceptor," and he is thereafter the party primarily liable; that is, he is, like the maker of the note, supposed to be, and treated as, the real debtor. If payable to order, they are, like notes and checks, transferrable by endorsement, and the remarks made as to endorsement of promissory notes apply equally to them.

The signature of any of the parties to these instruments may, as is the case in reference to other contracts, be made by the party himself, by another person in his presence and by his direction, (which makes it his), or by a duly author