tament of my said late husband (in their actual possession and seisin now being), their executors all and all manner of dower in and to the said premises, but thereof and therefrom, shall be utterly debarred and excluded, for ever, by these presents.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the

day of

in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

In presence of

(Signature.)

(Seal)

(149.)

A RELEASE OF DOWER, WHERE THE PRESENT HUSBAND OF THE WIDOW JOINS IN THE DEED.

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That (name of husband), of and (name of wife), his wife, in her right, in consideration of

paid them by

of

the receipt whereof

they hereby acknowledge, have granted, remised, released, and for ever quitclaimed, and by these presents do

unto the said

his heirs and assigns, for ever, all the right which the said hath to dower or thirds, of and in (here describe the estate), whereof her late husband (name of former husband), late died seised, situate, which she claims as the endowment of the said deceased, and all the right, title, interest, and claim whatsoever, which the said and 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, for ever; and the for themselves, their heirs, executors, and his

said

and

and administrators, do hereby covenant with the said heirs and assigns, that he and they shall henceforth for ever 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

day of

in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

In presence of

(Signature.)

(Seal.)

(150.)

A RELEASE OF A TRUST.

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME (name of releasor) 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, Now know ye,

for the benefit and behoof of

of

that I, the said

in discharge of the trust reposed in me, at have remised, released, and surren

the request of the said dered, assigned, and set over, and by these presents, for me, my executors

and administrators, do freely and absolutely remise said

interest, use,

unto the his executors all the estate, right, title, 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 for ever 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 year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

day of
(Signature.)

(Seal.)

In presence of

(151.)

A RELEASE OF RIGHT TO LANDS.

Know all men BY THESE PRESENTS, That I (name of releasor), of

in consideration of

releasee) the receipt

to me paid by (name of have remised, released, and for ever

unto the said

quitclaimed, and by these presents do 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 any of them, or any part thereof, but that I, the said

or

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 for ever excluded and debarred.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the

day of

in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and

In presence of

(Signature.) (Seal)

(152.)

A RELEASE BETWEEN TWO TRADERS ON SETTLING ACCOUNTS.

WHEREAS sundry accounts, current and otherwise, and divers dealings in trade, have been subsisting for a long time past between

and

of

and

trader, which said have balanced

accounts and dealings the said 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 have mutually agreed to give reciprocal releases to each other. Now, know all men by these presents, that the said (one of the parties) (for the considerations abovesaid, and to prevent all future disputes), for himself, his executors and administrators, doth remise, release, and for ever quitclaim 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.

And the said (the other party) (for the considerations abovesaid, and to prevent all future disputes), for himself, his executors and administrators, doth remise, release, and for ever quitclaim 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.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, We have hereunto set our hands and seals, this

day of

In

presence of

in the year

(Signatures.) (Seals.)

CHAPTER XVIII.

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 payable 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.

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 every thing; and many of the peculiar rules respecting negotiable paper are derived from this representation, and intended to make it adequate and effectual.

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.

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.

(153.)

COMMON FORM OF A BILL OF EXCHANGE.

Value received, please pay to C

in

account of

To B

days (or months) after sight (it may be after date), on

(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, 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 of our law-books, but not by our merchants.

It is best to write the words "from date," although they are often omitted, and the law construes the note as if they were written.

It is quite important to have a clear idea of the difference between the parties to a note and the parties to a bill of exchange.