payable at the domicile of a third. It may be drawn by the order and for the account of a third person.

Art. 112. All bills of exchange, containing a fictitious name, quality domicile, place where drawn or where payable, are held to be only sim dle promises; (Art. 113) the signature of a married or single woman not a trader or merchant, is equivalent, with respect to her, only to a simple promise; and (Art. 114) bills of exchange signed by minors not merchants, are void in respect to them.

In Germany, every person who can lawfully bind himself by a contract may become a party to a bill of exchange. The age of majority is, however, different in different states; in Prussia it commences with the completion of the twenty-fourth year of age; in Austria, Bavaria, Saxony Baden, and in those states on the Rhine where the French Civil Code prevails, it commences with the twenty-first year of age, and the same is the case in France and Turkey.

In Sardinia, only merchants can draw inland bills, but any body may draw foreign bills.

The Russian law excludes only women who do not carry on com.

merce.

The Code of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies excludes women in general.

The Code of Copenhagen makes the capability of becoming a party to a bill of exchange general, but confines it only to bills of exchange, and does not include promissory notes.

The Spanish Code of Commerce of 1829, § 434, grants to other persons than merchants the right of also becoming parties to bills of exchange, but only in cases where they have drawn or accepted bills on account of a mercantile transaction.

Parma and Tuscany grant only to merchants the right of becoming parties to bills.

The Code of Basle of 1809, § 53, requires that a person's name be entered in the book of mercantile firms, called the book of Raggiones, which is in many cities kept either at the exchange or the city-hall.

The law of Basle requires the sum payable to be stated in letters, and not merely in figures; the laws of Russia and Copenhagen require the sum to be stated both in letters and in figures; and the law of St. Gallen provides, that any erasure or alteration of the sum, or any other requisite part of the bill, renders the bill void, and entitles the drawee to refuse payment. By the law of Copenhagen, the bills payable to bearer (lettres au porteur) are allowed, but not by the law of Germany or France.

By the French law (Art. 129) a bill of exchange may be drawn payable at sight, or at one or more days, or months, or usances, after sight or after date; or on a day fixed, or at or during a fair (en foire); and (Art. 132) the usance is thirty days, which run from the day after the date of the bill; and (Art. 133) a bill payable at the fair is at maturity on the evening preceding the day fixed for the termination of the fair, or the day after the fair, if it continue only one day.

The German law (Art. 4, No. 4) does not now allow bills drawn in

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Germany on a foreign country, or inland bills, to be drawn at usance (a uso, mezzo uso, doppio uso, i. e. at single, half, or double usance), or a piacere, on demand" (with the exception of Austria, which allows the latter). If foreign bills are drawn upon any German state at a usance, the time of maturity (échéance, scadenza) is to be determined by the foreign law, viz. that of the place where the bill is drawn, which law also determines whether the usance is counted from the day of presentation, or from the day of drawing. The German law does not admit either of fixing the time by the happening of certain events, or by certain periods of time, as "on Easter," etc.

The law in Turkey does not admit usance (Art. 87), differing in this respect from the French law.

The law of Norway (of 1842) provides (Art. 1) that bills shall not be drawn beyond the time of six months, or, if payable out of Europe, not beyond one year. The law of Copenhagen appoints still shorter periods.

Indorsement.

In Germany, the law in regard to indorsement (Indossament, Endosso, Giro) is, that the payee can transfer a bill of exchange upon another person by indorsing it either in blank, or in full, and the indorsee will have the same rights against all other antecedent parties as the indorser, and the payee may indorse, and the bill is negotiable, although the drawer did not make it payable to order. If the drawer does not wish to make it negotiable, he must insert the words "not to order" (nicht an Ordre) or something similar. The mere striking out of the word "order" in the printed formula, and adding the word "self" to the name of the payee, will not operate as forbidding the negotiability. The blank indorsement must be put on the back of the bill, or of a copy of it, or on a piece of paper, commonly called "Rider" (Alonge), connected with, and joined to the bill or copy. Every holder may fill up the blank indorsement, or may also indorse it further in blank, and is answerable to all subsequent holders, unless he adds the words "without guaranty" (ohne Gewährleistung, ohne Obligo) or some similar expression, which corresponds to our " without recourse.' If the words "not to order" (nicht an Ordre), or a similar expression, are added to an indorsement, and the bill is yet indorsed or handed over to other persons, these subsequent holders can have no recourse against such an inderser. But if the words in procura, for collecting" (zur Einkassirung), are added to an indorsement, then such an indorsement does not transfer the property in the bill, but empowers such indorsee to indorse it further for the same purpose, and also to have the bill protested, and to give notice to his antecedent indorser, and to commence legal proceedings for non-payment. The laws of Copenhagen (Denmark), Holland, Russia, and Sweden, also allow blank indorsements.

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But the French law requires (Art. 137 of the Code) that, in order to pass a valid title to a bill, the indorsement should be dated, and the name of the indorsee and the value should be stated, and if further nego

tiability be intended, the words "to order" should be added. A blank indorsement is held to be a mere 66 procura indorsement," i. e. for the purpose of collecting. The Spanish law, which also prevails in Mexico and South America, holds the blank indorsement of no effect. The. French and Russian laws punish the antedating of an indorsement like forgery. But the Spanish and Dutch laws regard it as forgery only when it is done for an evil purpose.

The law of Portugal requires the date to a blank indorsement.

The French law, and all the countries following the same, the Russian law, and that of St. Gallen, hold only bills made payable to order as negotiable and transferable.

The Spanish law (of Bilbao) requires the indorsement on the back of the instrument.

"without

The Sardinian law regards the clause "without recourse,' obligo," as not written at all; and if the drawer should add these words to his name, the instrument is not regarded as a bill.

The law in Germany is (Art. 16), when a bill has been indorsed after the lapse of time accorded to protesting for non-payment, that the indorsee acquires the rights springing from the acceptance against the drawee, and the right of recourse against those who indorsed it after the lapse of this period.

But if the bill has been protested for non-payment before the indorsement is made, then the indorsee has only the rights which his indorser has against the acceptor, the drawer, and the indorsers up to the time of protest. Nor is such an indorser after protest, in such a case, liable according to the laws on bills, but only according to the common law. The Russian law makes a like distinction.

The Dutch and Portuguese laws regard an indorsement after maturity only as a cession of rights.

The Sardinian law regards it only as an indorsement for procuration. The French law is not decided on this point, and the courts regard such an indorsement generally as admissible, but sometimes as a full and good indorsement, and then again only as one for procuration, i. e. power of attorney.

In Italy it is regarded as a procura indorsement, i. e. as a power of attorney.

Presentation for Acceptance.

The German law (Art. 18) provides, that the holder of a bill is entitled to present the bill for acceptance at once, and, if rot accepted, to have it protested for non-acceptance. But bills payable at fairs (MessWechsel, cambia regularia vel feriarum) can be presented only at the time fixed by the law for presentation. The mere possession of a bill entitles a person to present it, and to have it protested, in case of dishonor.

But (Art. 19) the holder of a bill, payable at sight, or a certain time after sight, must present it at least within two years from the date of its being drawn; and if a period of presentation has been prescribed either by drawer or indorser, the bill must be presented within that period,

or the holder will lose his right of recourse against drawer and indorser as debtors on account of the bill.

The law of Russia fixes the time, within which bills at sight or after sight must be presented, at one year, unless the drawer has prescribed a period; but in case of neglect to present the bill, it will still be good as evidence of indebtedness for the ordinary period, beyond which debts become outlawed.

The laws of other countries fix the time of presentation for acceptance or payment according to the distance from the place of drawing to the place of payment.

The French law (Art. 160) requires that the holder of a bill of exchange, drawn from the Continent and the European islands, and pay. able in the European possessions of France, whether at sight, or at one or more days, months, or usances after sight, must demand payment, or acceptance, within six months from its date, under the penalty of losing his remedy against the indorsers, and even against the drawer, if the atter had made provision for the payment of the bill in the hands of the drawee.

A delay of eight months is allowed for the presentment of a bill drawn from the ports of the Levant, and northern coast of Africa, on the European possessions of France, and, reciprocally, from the Continent and European islands on the French establishments in the Levant, and northern coast of Africa.

A year is allowed for the presentment of bills drawn on the western coast of Africa, as far as, and including, the Cape of Good Hope. A year is also allowed for the presentment of bills of exchange drawn from the American continent and West-India islands on the European possessions of France, and, reciprocally, from the European continent and islands on the French possessions or establishments on the western coas. of Africa, on the American continent, and West-India islands.

Two years is allowed for the presentment of bills of exchange drawn from the East-India continent and islands on the European possessions of France, and, reciprocally, from the European continent and islands on the French possessions or establishments on the East-India continent and islands.

The delays above mentioned,, of eight months, one year, and two years, are allowed to be doubled in time of maritime war.

If the drawer has not made provision for payment with the drawee, the former will be held liable, although a protest has been made after the time fixed by law.

Of Acceptance

The law of Germany (Art. 21) requires that acceptance of a bill shall be made in writing on the bill itself; and if the drawee writes but his name or that of the firm on the face of the bill, it is considered an absolute acceptance, and every declaration written on the bill and signed is taken as an absolute acceptance, unless the drawee expressly states in it that he will not accept, or will accept only on certain conditions. The acceptance, once made cannot be taken back.

(Art. 22.) The drawee may restrict his acceptance to only a part of the sum specified in the bill. But if other limitations or conditions be added, the bill is regarded like one non-accepted; the acceptor, however, is answerable for the contents of his acceptance according to the law on bills.

(Art. 23.) The drawee, by his acceptance, becomes liable, according to the law on bills, to pay the accepted sum at maturity, and he is also liable to the drawer according to the law on bills. But the drawee has no rights peculiar to bills, as against the drawer.

The French law (Art. 122) requires that the acceptance of a bill of exchange must be signed; it is expressed by the word "accepted" (accepté) it is dated, if the bill be at one or more days or months after sight. And in the latter case, the want of a date to the acceptance renders the bill payable at the term specified in it, counting from the date when it was drawn.

The same rule prevails in those countries which have formed their laws on bills after the French law, which countries have been specified before; it also obtains by the law of Copenhagen.

By the Spanish law, such a bill runs from the day on which it might have been presented, according to the ordinary course of the post.

The French law (Art. 124) enacts, that the acceptance cannot be conditional, but it may be limited in regard to the sum accepted. But in this case the holder is bound to have the bill protested for the deficiency. And (Art. 125) a bill of exchange must be accepted on its presentment, or, at the latest, within twenty-four hours afterwards. After the twenty-four hours have elapsed, if it be not returned, accepted or not accepted, he who has retained it is liable in damages to the holder.

The German law (Art. 20) provides, that if a drawee refuses acceptance, or refuses to date his acceptance, the holder must have the bill protested within the period prescribed for presenting a bill (i. e. two years from date or the time prescribed by drawer or indorser), or he will lose his legal claim against indorser and drawer. The day of protest is, in that case, taken for the day of presentation.

If no protest has been taken, and the acceptor has omitted to date his acceptance, the maturity of the bill is counted from the last day of the period within which it ought to have been presented.

The law of Portugal and Russia and St Gallen makes it generally obligatory, and the law of Holland makes it obligatory only upon the holder, who presents the bill for acceptance, to have the bill protested, absolutely and without delay.

The Spanish law (Law of Bilbao, chap. 13, 35, which also prevails in Mexico and South America) provides, that the drawee, who gets the bill into his hands, with the consent of the holder, and lets the day of presentation pass by without returning it, is obliged to pay, that is, it is deemed a silent acceptance; and if the acceptance is made in writing, it is required (Bilbao, chap. 13, § 33) that, beside the name of the drawee, also the word accepted" be added. The law of Bilbao (chap. 13, § 32) has yet the peculiar provision, that, when bills at sight are accepted, only one half of the name of the firm need be signed.