or in receipt of such rent, then such possession or receipt of or by the person by whom such acknowledgment shall have been given shall be deemed according to the meaning of this Act to have been the possession or receipt of or by the person to whom or to whose agent such acknowledgment shall have been given; and the right of such person shall be deemed to have first accrued at the time of such acknowledgment, or the last of such acknowledgments, if more than one. I do hby acknge that the messe and premise whereof I am now in possession do rightfully belong to C. D., the true owner, his heirs and assigns. A. B. No. XVI. Title, (Person.) No. XVII. Acknowledgment by Trustees of the Transfer of Stock upon Trust. We the within-named A. B. and C. D. do hby acknge that the sum of £ bank stock within mentioned hath been transferred to and accepted by us upon the trusts within mentd. Witness, &c. A. B. No. XVII. Transfer, (Stock.) No. XVIII. Acknowledgment by a Vendor and his Wife of a Deed before the Lord Mayor of London, indorsed thereon previously to Inrolment in the Lord Mayor's Court, to bar the Wife of Dower. Obs. By the Common Law, a deed acknowledged by the husband and wife would be inrolled for the husband only, but by the custom it is otherwise, 2 Inst. 673. A bargain and sale of lands executed by husband and wife, and acknowledged before the Lord Mayor, or Recorder, or an Alderman, and inrolled in the Court of the Hustings, the wife being previously examined, will be as binding on her as a fine would have been, Bohun. Priv Lon. 241; Com. Dig. tit. Lond. (N); 1 Cru. Dig. 177, 4th ed. By 34 Hen. 8, c. 22, all such conveyances before mayors, aldermen, recorders, chamberlains, or other head officers, as well of the city of London as of other cities, should be of force, notwithstanding 32 Hen. 8, c. 28. As to acknowledgments by married women in other cases under the new law, see Fines and Recoveries. 18 per Be it remembered that on the day of sonally came before me (Mayor) Lord Mayor of the City of No. XVIII. Vendor. No. XVIII. London, the within-named (vendor) and M. (wife) his wife, and Vendor. did then and there severally own and acknge the within-written indre to be their free and voluntary act and deed, and the sd M. being by me the sd Lord Mayor privately examined apart from her said husband did declare her free and voluntary consent to the sd deed, and that she exted the same without fear or force of her sd husband or any or. person, and that at the time she knew the same to be an absolute conveye of the este within mentd to the within-named (purchaser) and the sd (vendor] did also acknge the name (his name) subscribed to the receipt indorsed upon the sd indre to be his name and handwriting, and that he had recd the conson money thin mentd. In Witness whof I the sd Lord Mayor Definition. Acknowledg ment not a receipt. Form of a receipt. Effect of an acquittance. 1. Definition. ACQUITTANCES. 2. Acknowledgment not a Receipt. 4. Effect of an Acquittance. Sect. 1. An acquittance signifies a release or discharge in writing of a sum of money or debt due. It must be on a stamp, the value of which must be according to the amount. A receipt in full of all demands requires a 10s. stamp. If it include a release, it must be on a deed stamp, (see Release). 2. A memorandum in these words, " Mr. T. has left in my hands £200," has been held not to require a receipt stamp, which is only necessary where the document has been given for or upon the payment of money, and in discharge of something already due, Tomkins v. Ashby, 6 B. & C. 541; see Dig. p. iii. tit. RECEIPTS. 3. A receipt need be in no particular form to make it liable to a stamp. If a party on receiving payment writes the word "Settled," he is liable to the penalty for giving a receipt without a stamp, Sparforth, q. t. v. Alexander, 2 Esp. 261. 4. An acquittance, or mere receipt without seal, is only evidence of satisfaction, and not conclusive against the party who signed it Stratton v. Rastall, T. R. 366. But when a man by deed acknowledges himself satisfied, it is a good plea in bar, without receiving anything, Rowntree v. Jacob, 2 Taunt. 141; and a court of law can only avoid the deed by equitable interference, Legh v. Legh, 1 B. & P. 447; Skaiff v. Jackson, 3 B. & C. 421. An acquittance, or re ceipt in full of all demands, will discharge all debts except such as are on specialty, as bonds, bills, and the like, Cro. Jac. 650. 5. Where there has been a series of dealings, the last receipt will Effect of last be considered as presumptive evidence that all the previous payments receipt. have been made, especially if the receipt be in full of all demands; and if under hand and seal, the presumption is so strong, that the party will not be allowed to prove the contrary, Alner v. George, 1 Campb. 392; 3 Chitt. Comm. Law, 134. payment. 6. Formerly an indorsement of the payment on a bond was ad- Indorsement of mitted in evidence to rebut the presumption, that after twenty years. it was satisfied, Serle v. Barrington, 8 Mod. 278; but now, by 9 G. 4, c. 14, s. 7, no indorsement or memorandum of payment on any bill of exchange or other writing will be sufficient evidence of payment, to take the case out of the Statute of Limitations. No. XX. Acknowledgment of having received Mortgage Money. I do hby acknge that I have received this day of being in full for of the within-named (mtgor) the sum of £ principal and int monies due to me as the exr of the withinnamed (mtgee) on the within mtge. No. XX. Mortgage Mo ney. No. XXI. Acquittance for Purchase Money in a Conveyance. Obs. Care should be taken to have the receipt properly indorsed, as the general acknowledgment in the body of the deed will not be conclusive evidence of payment, Styl. 461; 1 Ca. Chan. 119; Coppen V. Coppen, 2 P. Wms. 290. RECEIVED on the day of the date of the withinwritten indre of and from the within-named (purchaser) the sum of one thousand pounds being the full consideration money within mentd to be by him pd to me. Witness to the above-mentioned payment and to the signing hereof. C. D. A. B., (vendor.) £ 1000 No. XXI. Purchase Mo ney. No. XXII. No. XXII. Another, where the Consideration is Stock. RECEIVED and accepted the day and yr first within-written of and from the within-named (purchaser) the transfer of the capital sum of £ £ Reduced reduced bank annuities being the conson within- Annuities. mentioned to be transferred to me. Witness, &c. [see ante, No. XXI.] No. XXIII. No. XXIII. Acquittance from Vendors, being Trustees under a Will, to Obs. If there are two releases, the receipt must refer to each. in like manner on the back of another such indre of release within-written.] Witness, &c. [see ante, No. XXI.] £ Division of Sect. 1. Acts of Parliament are distinguished into public and priActs of Parlia- vate, and these latter are again distinguished into local and personal, ment. or personal merely. sonal Acts. Local and personal Acts comprehend Canal Acts, Railway Acts, Local and perWaterworks Acts, Inclosure Acts, and other Acts of a like kind, which, though they frequently contain a clause declaring them public Acts, are nevertheless classed among private bills. Personal Acts relate only to individuals, and to matters of a purely Personal Acts. private nature, as the naturalization of private individuals, divorce bills, and the like, but more especially bills relating to estates, which are on that account called Estate Acts. assurances. 2. Private bills relating to estates, are a species of assurance by Private bills as matter of record, not depending on the act or consent of the parties themselves, but having the sanction of a court of record to substantiate, preserve and be a perpetual testimony of the transfer of property from one man to another, or of its establishment when transferred. They are a common mode of assurance where ordinary In what cases adopted. proceedings in courts of justice will not avail, 2 Comm. 344, so as to enable tenants for life to sell parts of the estate to discharge incumbrances, to remove and obviate difficulties arising from infancy in selling or otherwise disposing of their estates, to establish and confirm exchanges, and the like, 1 Wood, 2. 3. Private bills generally originate in the House of Lords, where they are carried on with great deliberation and caution. They are, therefore, always referred to the judges for their approbation; and by order of the House, no private bill can be read in the House until one of the printed copies thereof shall have been delivered to every person concerned in the same bill before the meeting of the committee upon such bill; and in case of infancy, the copy must be delivered to the guardian or next relation of full age not concerned or interested in the passing of the bill, ib. 4, 5. Mode of proceeding as to private bills. 4. The first step taken for the bringing in a private bill is a peti- How carried through. tion to the House in which it originates, by the parties interested, stating the relative situation of the parties interested, and the state of their claims &c.; and this petition must be signed by all parties concerned in the event of the bill, and attested by two witnesses, ib. 4. See further "Practical Instructions for passing Private Bills through both Houses of Parliament." |