3d. Inland Bills of Exchange, Drafts, Checks, or Orders drawn upon places other than the place of issue, if payable at sight, or on demand, are subject to the same rate of tax, viz:..... .02 4th. Inland Bills of Exchange, Drafts, or Orders for the payment of money otherwise than at sight or on demand, and all promissory notes on demand or on time (excepting Circulating Bank Notes.) Exceeding $20 and not exceeding $100. .05 .10 .15 .20 .30 .40 .60 1 00 1 50 1 00 And for every additional $2,500, or part of $2,500, one dollar... 5th. Foreign Bills of Exchange drawn out of, but payable in the United States, and all such bills, drawn in, but payable out of the United States "when drawn singly or otherwise than in a set of three or more," and all letters of Credit, pay the same rates of duty as in the preceding Schedule. [NOTE. When such bills are drawn in any foreign currency the equivalent in dollars is taxable according to the standard value fixed by the United States.] 6th. Bills of Exchange drawn in, but payable out of the United Exceeding $150 and not exceeding $250..... And for every additional $2,500, or part thereof.. 7th. Bonds of Indemnity, fifty cents... .03 05 .10 .15 .30 .30 .50 .70 100 .30 .50 8th. Certificates of Stock in any incorporated company, each twentyfive cents.... .25 9th. Certificates of Deposit of Bank, Trust Company, Banker, or Person acting as such, not exceeding $100, two cents.... .02 Exceeding $100, five cents... .05 10th. Powers of Attorney For sale or transfer of Stocks or Bonds, or for the collection of Dividends or Interest, twenty-five cents.... .25 .10 ..... Or proxy for voting at an election, ten cents. .25 General Powers-For all purposes other than those above specified 1 00 [NOTE.-General Powers will not be valid for either of the specific objects above named, without the addition of the stamp required therefor.] 11th. Protests, each twenty-five cents.... 12th. Tax on all Dividends, and on all sums added to Surplus or Contingent funds.. 25 ....Three per cent. 13th. Stamps issued for specific instruments cannot be used for any other. (See sec. 96.) 14th. The person using or affixing a stamp, must write thereupon the initials of his name, and the date when used. (See sec. 99.) The penalty for making, signing, or issuing any instrument, document, or paper of any kind, without the same having thereon a stamp to denote the duty, is fifty dollars, and such a paper will be invalid and of no effect. (Sec. 95.) The certification of checks, already duly stamped, will require no additional stamp for such certification. The stamp tax upon protests should be added to the expenses thereof. All dividends or coupons, payable prior to or on September 1st, 1862 a lthough paid after that day, are exempt from the operations of the law. Checks dated or payable ahead, are subject to taxation as promissory notes. Stamps are not required upon documents made prior to October 1st, 1862, excepting upon foreign bills of exchange, which must be stamped on accep tance. The Committee recommend, as a simple and convenient method, that the three per cent tax required upon dividends and surplus profits be deducted by banks in gross from their net earnings before the declaration of dividends. Dividends then declared would be free from tax. The three per cent thus withheld must be paid to the United States within thirty days from the date on which such dividends are payable, under penalty of five hundred dollars for default. (Sec. 82.) Stamps must be affixed to all documents by the party issuing the same, before presentation at Bank; and all documents issued by a Bank must be stamped by it before delivery, as required by resolution unanimously passed at a meeting of Bank Officers, September 15. Stamps, in amounts of $50 and over, can be obtained of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, as per Schedule hereunto annexed; for which a commission of not exceeding fiver per cent, in stamps, will be allowed. All checks of a Bank upon itself, for payment of dividends or otherwise, and all written papers for facilitating the internal business of Banks, are exempt from tax. Orders to pay dividends are not Powers of Attorney; but, like drafts at sight, are subject to the stamp of two cents. Bills of Exchange, drawn in duplicate, must both be stamped. Stamps may be canceled by an instrument made for the purpose of impressing the initials of the Bank or person thereon, to which the date must be added. Revenue stamps may be ordered from this office in quantities to suit The omission to cancel the stamps on checks does not invalidate the checks, but subjects the maker to a fine of fifty dollars. Washington, September 25, 1862. I have examined the foregoing memoranda, and I am of opinion that the specifications conform to the provisions of the Excise Law in allessential particulars. GEO. S. BOUTWELL, Com. of Internal Revenue. Until the government provide stamps no penalty will be exacted for their omission. OFFICE OF INTERNAL REVENUE, } Revenue Stamps may be ordered from this Office in quantities to suit the purchasers. Orders should cover remittances of Treasury notes, or an original certificate of a United States Assistant Treasurer, or designated depositary, of a deposit made for the purchase of stamps. The following commission, payable in stamps, will be allowed: In sending orders for stamps it should be remembered that every stamp expresses upon its face its kind as well as its denomination, and that each stamp must be used for the purpose thus specified, and for no other. For instance: Check stamps must be used for checks alone; contract stamps only on contracts, etc., etc. Revenue stamps will be ready for delivery on the 22d instant. Every correspondent is requested to give the State, as well as town and county, of his residence. If not otherwise instructed, the stamps will be transmitted by mail. GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, Commissioner. On motion of Mr. HAYDEN, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted, viz.: Resolved, That the report of the Committee be accepted and adopted, and the Committee discharged. Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be presented to the Committee for the faithful discharge of their arduous labors. The following resolution was also adopted unanimously, viz.: Resolved, That, until the government provide stamps for checks, it is understood that the written agreement entered into between the banks, on the 15th of September, 1862, be considered extended, and that a copy of this resolution be sent to every bank which has signed that agreement and their written assent to this resolution requested, and that the Chairman of the Clearing-house Committee be authorized to notify the banks when that agreement becomes binding. On motion of Mr. BERRY, it was ordered that the report of the Committee be printed, for the use of the banks and the information of their correspondents. The meeting then adjourned. GEORGE D. LYMAN, Secretary. JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW. 3. 1. PROMISSORY NOTE PAYABLE ON DEMAND. 2. A QUESTION OF "COMMERCIAL MORALITY." STATUTE OF FRAUDS. 4. No MORE SAILORS DESERTING AT SAN FRANCISCO. 5. PROMISSORY NOTES MADE IN KENTUCKY AND PAYABLE IN NEW YORK, PROMISSORY NOTE PAYABLE ON DEMAND. AN INDORSER on a note PAYABLE ON DEMAND WITH INTEREST; REMAINS LIABLE UNTIL AN ACTUAL DEMAND IS MADE EVEN THOUGH SEVERAL YEARS MAY ELAPSE BEFORE SUCH DEMAND IS MADE. AN interesting case has been decided lately by the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, (MOORETT vs. TODD, 23 N. Y. Reports 28.) settling, so far as this State is concerned, the vexed question of how long the holder of a note payable on demand with interest can omit to protest the note and still be able to hold the indorser. It is well known that the payment of an ordinary note must be demanded when due, and protest must be served without delay-that is due diligence must be used in performing the act. Thus in the language of the books, notice of the dishonor of the bill or note must be given within a reasonable time. When parties residə in the same town or city, this reasonable time is held not to extend beyond the next day after the obligation is due and presentment for payment has been made. When they reside in different towns or cities and the notice is sent by post, it must be mailed early enough for transmission on the day following the dishonor. These are legal propositions well known to all. It would seem, therefore, that in applying such familiar principles to at note payable on demand, that the only point necessary to decide would be, when may we consider such a note to be due. If it is due at once when given, why should not the demand for payment be made and the protest served at once, that is, within a reasonable time? That such a note is thus due the day it is given has been many times decided by our courts, and whether demand is made or not the statute of limitation begins to run from the date of the note. (WENMAN VS. Mohawk Insurance Co., 13 WEND. 267). We would naturally conclude, therefoere, that as the note is due immediately, the demand should be made and protest served immediately. Such has been the conclusion in many States. But in the case above referred to, our Court of Appeals has held that a note payable on demand with interest is a continuing security; an indorser remains liable until an actual demand is made, even if the holders were to wait several years before making the demand. In the action decided, for instance, the note was dated May 5, 1852, and the demand was not made until the 24th of December, 1855. We produce an extract from the opinion of the Court to show the grounds of its decision, and it will be seen from it that a very proper distinction is made between demand notes payable with and without interest. The Court says: "A demand note may be payable with or without interest. If the security be not on interest, it may be a fair exposition of the contract to hold that no time of credit is contemplated by the indorser, and that the de mand should be made as quickly as the law will require upon a check or sight-draft. Such a note, payable at a bank where the maker keeps his funds, will perform essentially the office of a check, imposing the duty of early presentment in order to hold the collateral parties. Drafts or checks are, however, almost universally used in such transactions. But, whatever may be the rule where the security is not on interest, we think that a note payable on demand with interest is a continuing security, from which none of the parties are discharged until it is dishonored by an actuel presentment and a refusal to pay. The loan or forbearance of money may be for a definite or an indefinite time. If the parties declare in the written instrument, which is the only evidence of their agreement, that the money shall he paid on call, with interest in the meantime, a productive investment of the sum for some period of time is plainly intended. What, then, is that period? The only answer which can be given is, that it is indefinite or indeterminate, and ascertainable only by an actual call for the money; and if that be the meaning of the principal parties, the indorser must be deemed to lend his name to the contract with the same intention. The only rational alternative is, that the payee or holder of such a note must demand its payment on the same day, or the day after, he receives it, unless some necessity or convenience of his own will excuse no longer delay; and he must give immediate notice of the refusal to the indorser. But a demand thus quickly made would probably, in every case, violate the actual intention of the parties, and it ought not, therefore, to be required as a rule of law for any collateral purpose. It should not be required in order to charge an indorser, if the act would not be consistent with the fair interpretation of the principal contract. In short, we see no good reason why a note, like the one now in question, should not be construed precisely according to its terms; and if we follow that construction, auch instruments are not dishonored by the mere effluxion of time which is provided for in their own language." It should be mentioned as a further fact in this case, that interest on the note was paid regularly each year. 66 STATUTE OF FRAUDS. THE WORDS FOR VALUE RECEIVED IN A GUARANTY OF A PROMISSORY NOTE, ARE A SUFFICIENT EXPRESSION OF THE CONSIDERATION. Ox page 582, vol. 45, of the Merchants' Magazine, we made some remarks upon the provision of the Statute of Frauds requiring a promise to answer for the debt of another person, to be in writing, and to have a consideration to support it. A guaranty is an engagement of this nature, and must therefore be right in these particulars. Of course, as we stated in the article here referred to, where the promise is an original undertakingor where the original debt and the guaranty are contemporaneous, no other consideration is necessary, than that which moves between the creditor and the original debtor. But if a promise of guaranty be made in respect to a debt which is already incurred, it will be void for want of consideration, unless there be some new consideration to support it. These points, how ever, we do not propose to notice farther, as they were fully discussed in the former article. |