Assignment.

Liability.

Diligence.

Indorsers.

in case suit has to be brought on such bill of exchange, five per cent. damages in addition.

§ 3. All promissory notes, bonds, due bills and other instruments in writing, made or to be made by any person, body politic or corporate, whereby such person promises or agrees to pay any sum of money or articles of personal property, or any sum of money in personal property, or acknowledges any sum of money or article of personal property to be due to any other person, shall be taken to be due and payable, and the sum of money or article of personal property therein mentioned shall, by virtue thereof, be due and payable as therein expressed.

§ 4. Any such note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, made payable to any person named as payee therein, shall be assignable, by indorsement thereon, under the hand of such person, and of his assignees, in the same manner as bills of exchange are, so as absolutely to transfer and vest the property thereof in each and every assignee successively.

§ 5. Any assignee to whom such sum of money or personal property is, by such indorsement or indorsements, made payable, or in case of the death of such assignee, his executor or administrator, may, in his own name, institute and maintain the same kind of action for the recovery thereof, against the person who made and executed such note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, or against his heirs, executors or administrators, as might have been maintained against him by the obligee or payee, in case the same had not been assigned; and in every such action, in which judgment shall be given for the plaintiff, he shall recover his damages and costs of suit, as in other cases.

§ 6. No maker of any such note, bond, bill, or other instrument in writing, or other person liable thereon, shall be allowed to allege payment to the payee, made after notice of assignment, as a defense against the assignee.

§ 7. Every assignor, or his heirs, executors or administrators, of every such note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, shall be liable to the action of the assignee thereof, or his executors or administrators, if such assignee shall have used due diligence, by the institution and prosecution of a suit against the maker thereof, or against his heirs, executors or administrators, for the recovery of the money or property due thereon, or damages in lieu thereof: Provided, that if the institution of such suit would have been unavailing, or the maker had absconded, or resided without, or had left the state, when such instrument became due, such assignee, or his executors or administrators, may recover against the assignor, or against his heirs, executors or administrators, as if due diligence by suit had been used.

§ 8. Any note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, made payable to bearer, may be transferred by delivery thereof, and an action may be maintained thereon in the name of the holder thereof. Every indorser of

Consideration.

Fraud.

Indorsements

Set-Off.

any instrument mentioned in this section shall be held as a guarantor of payment, unless otherwise expressed in the indorsement.

§ 9. In any action upon a note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, for the payment of money or property, or the performance of covenants or conditions, if such instrument was made or entered into without a good or valuable consideration, or, if the consideration upon which it was made or entered into has wholly or in part failed, it shall be lawful for the defendant to plead such want of consideration, or that the consideration has wholly or in part failed; and if it shall appear that such instrument was made or entered into without a good or valuable consideration, or that the consideration has wholly failed, the verdict shall be for the defendant; and if it shall appear that the consideration has failed in part, the plaintiff shall recover according to the equity of the case: Provided, that nothing in this section contained shall be construed to affect or impair the right of any bona fide assignee of any instrument made assignable by this act, when such assignment was made before such instrument became due.

§ 10. If any fraud or circumvention be used in obtaining the making or executing of any of the instruments aforesaid, such fraud or circumvention may be pleaded in bar to any action to be brought on any such instrument so obtained, whether such action be brought by the party committing such fraud or circumvention, or any assignee of such instrument.

§ 11. If any such note, bond, bill or other instrument, in writing, shall be indorsed after the same becomes due, and any indorsee shall institute an action thereon against the maker of the same, the defendant being maker shall be allowed to set up the same defense that he might have done had the action been instituted in the name and for the use of the person to whom such instrument was originally made payable, or any intermediate holder.

§ 12. In any action upon a note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, which has been assigned to or transferred by delivery to the plaintiff after it became due, a set-off to the amount of the plaintiff's debt may be made of a demand existing against any person or persons who shall have assigned or transferred such instrument after it became due, if the demand be such as might have been set off against the assignor, while the note or bill belonged to him.

§ 13. If any such note, bond, bill or other instrument of writing shall be assigned before the day the money or property therein mentioned becomes due and payable, and the assignee shall institute an action thereon, the defendant may give in evidence at the trial any money or property actually paid on the said note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing before the said note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing was assigned to the plaintiff, on proving that the plaintiff had sufficient notice of the said payment before he accepted or received such assignment.

§ 14. In any action founded upon any note, bond, bill or other instrument in writing, or in which the same, if produced, might be allowed as a

Computation of Time.

Legal Holidays.

Days of Grace. set-off in defense, if it shall appear that such instrument was lost while belonging to the party claiming the amount due thereon, to entitle him to recover upon or set off the same, he may in the discretion of the court be required to execute a bond to the adverse party in a penalty at least double the amount of such note, bill or instrument, with sufficient security, to be approved by the court in which the action is pending, conditioned to indemnify the adverse party, his heirs, executors and administrators, against all claims by any other person on account of such instrument, and against all costs and expenses by reason thereof.

§ 15. No promissory note, check, draft, bill of exchange, order, or other negotiable or commercial instrument, payable at sight, or on demand, or on presentment, shall be entitled to days of grace, but shall be absolutely payable on presentment. All other bills of exchange, drafts, or promissory notes, shall be entitled to the usual days of grace.

§ 16. In all computations of time, and of interest and discounts, a month shall be considered to mean a calendar month, and a year shall consist of twelve calendar months; and in computations of interest or discounts for any number of days less than a month, a day shall be considered a thirtieth part of a month, and interests or discounts shall be computed for such fractional parts of a month upon the ratio which such number of days shall bear to thirty.

§ 17. The following days, to-wit: The first day of January, commonly called new year's day; the fourth day of July, and the twenty-fifth day of December, commonly called christmas day, and any day appointed or recommended by the governor of this state, or the president of the United States, as a day of fast or thanksgiving, shall for all purposes whatsoever, as regards the presenting for payment or acceptance, the maturity and protesting and giving notice of the dishonor of bills of exchange, bank checks and promissory notes, or other negotiable or commercial paper or instruments, be treated and considered as is the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday; and all notes, bills, drafts, checks or other evidence of indebtedness, falling due or maturing on either of said days, shall be deemed as due or having matured on the day previous; and should two or more of those days. come together, or immediately succeeding each other, then such instruments, paper, or indebtedness shall be deemed as due or having matured on the day previous to the first of said days.

AN ACT TO REVISE THE LAW IN RELATION TO OATHS AND AFFIRMATIONS.

Approved February 25, 1874. In force July 1, 1874.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That all courts now established, or that may hereafter be established, and each judge, justicc, master in chancery, and clerk thereof, and all justices of the peace, police magistrates and notaries public, shall have power to administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses and others, concerning anything commenced or to be commenced, or depending before them respectively.

§ 2. All courts, the judges, justices, masters in chancery, and the clerks thereof, the secretary of state, justices of the peace, police magistrates and notaries public, shall have power in their respective districts, circuits, counties or jurisdictions, to administer all oaths of office and all other oaths authorized or required of any officer or other person, and to take affidavits and depositions concerning any matter or thing, process or proceeding commenced or to be commenced, or depending in any court or before any justice of the peace, or on any occasion wherein any affidavit or deposition is authorized or required by law to be taken.

§ 3. Whenever any person shall be required to take an oath before he enters upon the discharge of any office, place or business, or on any other lawful occasion, it shall be lawful for any person empowered to administer the oath to administer it in the following form,'to wit: The person swearing shall, with his hand uplifted, swear by the ever-living God; and shall not be compelled to lay the hand on or kiss the gospels.

§ 4. Whenever any person required to take or subscribe an oath, as aforesaid, and in all cases where an oath is upon any lawful occasion to be administered, and such person shall have conscientious scruples against taking an oath, he shall be admitted, instead of taking an oath, to make his solemn affirmation or declaration in the following form, to-wit: You do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm; which solemn affirmation or declaration shall be equally valid as if such person had taken an oath in the usual form; and every person guilty of falsely and corruptly declaring, as aforesaid, shall incur and suffer the like pains and penalties as are or shall be inflicted on persons convicted of willful and corrupt perjury.

§ 5. All oaths, affirmations, affidavits and depositions administered or taken as provided in this act, shall subject any person who shall so swear or affirm willfully and falsely, in matter material to any issue or point in question, to the like pains and penalties as are inflicted by law on persons convicted of willful and corrupt perjury.

§ 6. When any oath authorized or required by law to be made is made out of the state, it may be administered by any officer authorized by the laws of the state in which it is so administered, and if such officer have a seal, his certificate under his official seal, shall be received as prima facie evidence without further proof of his authority to administer oaths.

PRACTICE.

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION FIFTY-ONE OF AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT IN REGARD TO PRACTICE IN COURTS OF RECORD."

Approved January 27, 1874. In force July 1, 1874.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That section fifty-one of an act entitled "An act in regard to practice in courts of record," approved February 22, 1872, be so amended as to read as follows:

"§ 51. The court in charging the jury shall only instruct as to the law of the case."

AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT IN REGARD TO PRACTICE IN COURTS OF RECORD."

Approved February 12, 1874. In force July 1, 1874.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That section two (2) of an act approved February 22, 1872, entitled "An act in regard to practice in courts of record," be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

"§ 2. It shall not be lawful for any plaintiff to sue any defendant, out of the county, where the latter resides or may be found, except in local actions, and except that in every species of personal actions in law, when there is more than one defendant, the plaintiff commencing his action where either of them resides may have his writ or writs issued, directed to any county or counties where the other defendant, or either of them, may be found: Provided, that if a verdict shall not be found, or judgment rendered against the defendant or defendants, resident in the county where the action is commenced, judgment shall not be rendered against those defendants who do not reside in the county, unless they appear and defend the action. Actions against a railroad company may be brought in the county where its principal office is located, or in the county where the cause of action accrued, or in any county into or through which its road may run."