CALIFORNIA.-Legal interest, seven per cent. Ten per cent. on money overdue on any written instrument.

CONNECTICUT.-Legal interest, six per cent., in the absence of any agreement to the contrary. In computing interest, three hundred and sixty days may be considered a year. Money paid for insurance or taxes on property mortgaged to secure a loan, may be recovered if the borrower has agreed in writing to pay the same.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Legal interest, six per cent. Ten per cent may be paid on agreement. Any excess forfeits the whole interest. DELAWARE.- Legal interest, six per cent. Penalty for taking more, -forfeiture of the money lent; half to the prosecutor, half to the State. Legal interest, six per cent. But the usury laws are ex

FLORIDA. pressly abolished.

GEORGIA.-Legal interest, seven per cent.

Any higher interest not exceeding twelve per cent. may be recovered provided it be specified in a written contract.

ILLINOIS. Legal interest, six per cent.

Parties may agree upon ten per cent orally or in writing. If more is agreed on or is taken, only the principal can be recovered.

INDIANA.

Legal interest, six per cent. Ten per cent may be agreed upon in writing. It may be taken in advance. Excess cannot be recovered, and, if paid, shall be considered as paid on account of the principal.

IOWA.-Legal interest, six per cent. Parties may agree in writing for ten per cent. If contract be for more, the creditor recovers only the principal, and interest at ten per cent is forfeited to the State.

KANSAS. — Legal interest, seven per cent. Parties may stipulate for any rate not exceeding twelve per cent. Contract for more forfeits all interest. Usurious payments held to be made on account of principal.

KENTUCKY.-Legal interest, six per cent., but eight per cent. may be agreed upon. Extra interest forfeited; if paid, may be recovered back.

LOUISIANA.-Legal interest, five per cent. Conventional interest shall in no case exceed eight per cent, under penalty of forfeiture of entire interest. Owner of negotiable paper discounted for more than eight per cent may recover eight per cent. Usurious interest may be recovered back, but must be sued for within twelve months.

MAINE.

Legal interest, six per cent., in the absence of any agreement in writing. No bank can take a greater interest, unless by agreement in writing; but in discounting negotiable securities payable at another place, the bank may charge in addition the existing rate of exchange between the places of payment and of discount.

MARYLAND. - Legal interest, six per cent. Excess forfeited.

MASSACHUSETTS. — Legal interest, six per cent. Any rate of interest or discount may be made by agreement; but if greater than six per cent, it must be in writing.

MICHIGAN. Legal interest, seven per cent. Parties may agree in writing upon any rate not exceeding ten per cent. If more interest is agreed for, only legal interest recoverable.

MINNESOTA. Legal interest, seven per cent. Parties may agree in

writing for more, but agreement not valid for any excess over twelve per cent. Interest on judgments, six per cent.

MISSISSIPPI.Legal interest, six per cent. Parties may agree in

writing for ten per cent. If more be taken or agreed for, the excess is forfeited.

MISSOURI. Legal interest, six per cent; but parties may agree in writing for any rate not to exceed ten per cent. If more be taken or agreed for, the creditor recovers only the principal, and interest at ten per cent is forfeited to the State. Parties may contract in writing for the payment of interest upon interest; but the interest shall not be compounded oftener than once a year.

NEBRASKA.- Legal interest, ten per cent. Parties may agree on any rate not exceeding twelve per cent. On proof of illegal interest, plaintiff shall recover only principal.

NEVADA. - Legal interest, ten per cent. But parties may agree in writing for any rate.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. - Legal interest, six per cent. A person receiving more forfeits threefold the excess; but contracts are not invalidated by securing or taking more. Exceptions as to contracts of farmers and merchants, as in Maine.

NEW JERSEY. - Legal interest, seven per cent.; on usurious contract, principal only can be recovered.

NEW YORK. - Legal interest, seven per cent. A contract for more than legal interest is wholly void. If more than legal interest is paid, it may be recovered back within a year by payer, or within the next three years by the overseers of the poor. No corporation can interpose the defence of usury; nor can a joint-stock company, having the powers of a corporation.

NORTH CAROLINA. — Legal interest, six per cent. Eight per cent. may be recovered for loan of money by written agreement. On usurious contracts no interest is recoverable.

OHIO. - Legal interest, six per cent. Any rate not exceeding eight per cent may be agreed upon in writing; excess cannot be recovered. Banks can charge or take by discount only six per cent. Railroad companies may borrow money at seven per cent.

OREGON. Legal interest, ten per cent. Parties may agree for one per cent a month. Usurious interest works a forfeiture of the principal and interest.

PENNSYLVANIA. - Legal interest, six per cent. Excess cannot be recovered. If paid, may be recovered back if sued for within six months. RHODE ISLAND. - Legal interest, six per cent. Any higher rate may be agreed upon.

SOUTH CAROLINA. - Legal interest, seven per cent. More than legal interest may be agreed upon by the parties.

TENNESSEE. - Legal interest, six per cent. Parties may agree in writing for ten per cent. If more be charged, the whole interest is forfeited, and if paid, may be recovered back; and the creditor is liable to a fine equal in amount to the excessive interest.

TEXAS. Legal interest, eight per cent. Parties may agree in writing

for twelve per cent. If more than this is agreed for, no interest can be recovered.

VERMONT.-More than six per cent prohibited; and a person paying more may recover excess; but this is not to extend to usage of farmers or merchants, as in Maine and New Hampshire.

All contracts for a greater

VIRGINIA. — Legal interest, six per cent. rate void. Excess, if paid, may be recovered back. The receiver is liable to a fine of double the amount of the principal.

WEST VIRGINIA. — Legal interest, six per cent. greater amount are void as to the excess.

Contracts for a

WISCONSIN. - Legal interest, seven per cent; but parties may agree upon a rate not exceeding ten per cent. Usurious contracts are void, and if excessive interest be paid, treble the amount thereof may be recovered back.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE LAW OF PLACE.

SECTION I.

WHAT IS MEANT BY THE LAW OF PLACE.

If either of the parties to a contract is not at home, or if both are not at the same home, when they enter into the contract, or if it is to be executed abroad, or if it comes into litigation before a foreign tribunal, then the rights and the obligations of the parties may be affected either by the law of the place of the contract, or by the law of the domicile or home of a party, or by the law of the place where the thing is situated to which the contract refers, or by the law of the tribunal before which the case is litigated. All of these are commonly included in the Latin phrase lex loci, or, as the phrase is translated, the law of place.

It is obvious that this law must be of great importance whereever citizens of distinct nations have much commercial intercourse with each other. In this country it has an especial and very great importance, from the circumstance that, while the citizens of the whole country have at least as much business connection with each other as those of any other nation, our country is composed of thirty-seven separate and independent sovereignties, which are, for most commercial purposes, regarded by the law as foreign to each other.

SECTION II.

THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE LAW OF PLACE.

The general principles upon which the law of place depends are four: First, every sovereignty can bind, by its laws, all persons and all things within the limits of the State. Second, no law has any force or authority of its own, beyond those limits. Third, by the comity or courtesy of nations, -aided in our case, as to the several States, by the peculiar and close relation between the States, and for some purposes by a constitutional provision,—the laws of foreign States have a qualified force and influence.

The fourth rule is perhaps that of the most frequent applicaon. It is, that a contract which is not valid where it is made is not valid anywhere else; and one which is valid where it is made is valid everywhere. Thus a contract made in Massachusetts, and there void because usurious, was sued in New Hampshire, and held to be void there, although the law of New Hampshire would not have avoided it if it had been made there. But courts do not take notice of foreign revenue laws, and will enforce foreign contracts made in violation of them. If contracts are made only orally, where by law they should be in writing, they cannot be enforced elsewhere where writing is not required; but if made orally where writing is not required, they can be enforced in other countries where such contracts should be in writing. The rule that a contract which is valid where it is made is valid everywhere, is applicable to contracts of marriage.

As contracts relate either to movables or immovables, or, to use the phraseology of our own law, to personal property or to real property, the following distinction is taken. If the contract refers to personal property (which never has a fixed place, and is therefore called, in some systems of law, movable property), the place of the contract governs by its law the construction and effect of the con tract. But if the contract refers to real property, it is construed and applied by the law of the place where that real property is situated, without reference, so far as the title is concerned, to the law of the place of the contract. Hence, the title to land can only be given or received as the law of the place where the land is situated requires and determines. And it has been said that the same rule may properly apply to all other local stock or funds, although of a personal nature, or so made by the local law, such as bank stock, insurance stock, manufacturing stock, railroad shares, and other incorporeal property, owing its existence to or regulated

by peculiar local laws; and therefore no effectual transfer can be made of such property, except in the manner prescribed by the local regulations.

SECTION III.

THE PLACE OF THE CONTRACT.

A contract is made when both parties agree to it, and not before. It is therefore made where both parties agree to it, if this is one place. But if the contract be made by letter, or by separate signatures to an instrument, the contract is then made where that signature is put to it, or that letter is written, which in fact completes the contract. But this rule is subject to a very important qualification when the contract is made in one place and is to be performed in another place; for then, in general, the law of this last place must determine the force and effect of the contract, for the obvious and strong reason that parties who agreed that a certain thing should be done in a certain place intended that a thing should be done there which was lawful there, and therefore bargained with reference to the laws of the place, not in which they stood, but in which they were to act. This principle has been applied to an antenuptial contract; and it was held that, when parties marry in reference to the laws of another country as their intended domicile, the law of the intended domicile governs the construction of their marriage contract, as to the rights of property.

But for many commercial transactions, both of these rules seem to be in force; or rather to be blended in such a way as to give the parties an option as to what shall be the place of the contract, and what the rule of law which shall apply to it. Thus, a note written in New York, and expressly payable in New York, is, to all intents and purposes, a New York note; and if more than seven per cent interest is promised, it would be usurious, whatever be the domicile of the parties. If made in New York, and no place of payment is expressed, it is payable and may be demanded anywhere, but would still be a New York note. But if made in New York, but expressly payable in Boston (where any amount of interest may be agreed for), and it promised to pay ten per cent interest, when payment of the note was demanded in Boston the promise of interest would be held valid. So, if the note were made in Boston, payable in New York, and promising to pay ten per cent interest, it would not be usurious.

In other words, if a note is made in one place, but is payable in another, the parties have their option to make it bear the interest which is lawful in either place.