LETTER OF CREDIT. THIS is a letter frequently given by a person of known responsibility to a friend, to enable that friend to procure goods on time. It is usually somewhat in this form : No. 73.-Form of Letter of Credit. HAMILTON, CANADA WEST, MESSRS. JOHN SMITH & Co.-Gentlemen: Please deliver to RICHARD ROE, of this place, goods, silks, and merchandise, to any amount not exceeding five thousand dollars, and I will hold myself accountable to you for the payment of the same, in case Mr. ROE should fail to make payment therefor. You will please to notify me of the amount for which you may give him credit; and if default should be made in the payment, let me know it immediately. I am, gentlemen, your most ob't servant, Messrs. JOHN SMITH & Co., No Broadway, New York. } LETTER OF LICENSE. A letter of license is an agreement by creditors to permit a debtor, when he is not able to pay his debts at the time due, to carry on his business without molestation. It does not release the debts, or prevent creditors who have not signed it from collecting their claims in the usual method. No. 74.-Agreement not to sue a Debtor. Know all Men by these Presents, that whereas JoHN DOE, of the city of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore, and state of Maryland, is justly indebted to us, RICHARD ROE, JOHN JONES, THOMAS SHARPE, and HENRY SMITH, in divers sums of money, which the said JOHN DOE is unable to pay : Now, therefore, we do hereby grant unto the said JOHN DoE full liberty and license to attend to, follow, and negotiate, any business or affairs whatsoever, without any suit, trouble, or hinderance from us, or any of us, for the space of two years from the date hereof. And we and each of us, for ourselves, our and each of our heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, for and in consideration of the agreement and covenant of the said JOHN DOE hereinafter contained, do covenant and agree with the said JOHN DOE, that we will not, nor will either or any of us, at any time during the said space of two years, sue, prosecute, arrest, molest, or trouble the said JOHN DOE, in respect or on account of any debts now by him due to us or any or either of us. And the said JOHN DOE, in consideration of the foregoing covenant and agreement, for himself, his heirs, executors, or administrators, covenants and agrees with the creditors aforesaid, that he will faithfully apply all moneys, property, and effects, that he may earn or procure during the said term of two years, to the payment of his debts owing to the creditors aforesaid, in proportion to the amount due and owing to each. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. RICHARD ROE, MARRIAGE. MARRIAGE is a civil contract entered into by persons capa ble of consenting thereto. It can not be entered into by idiots or lunatics. When procured by force or fraud, it is also void. Marriage is likewise prohibited between near relations. The parties must be of the age of consent, which is generally fourteen in males and twelve in females. No peculiar ceremonies are requisite by the common law to the valid celebration of the marriage rite, but it is advisable that the contract should be entered into in the presence of some clergyman or civil magistrate. In all cases be sure to take a certificate of the marriage: it is of much importance to have that certificate in case of necessity. No. 75.-Form of Marriage. The parties having joined hands, say: "By this act of joining hands, you do now assume toward each other the relation of husband and wife, and do solemnly promise, as such, to love, honor, and cherish each other, so long as you both shall live. 66 "I therefore pronounce you to be henceforth husband and wife." No. 76.-Marriage Certificate. State of Massachusetts, I do hereby Certify, that on County of Franklin, the first day of July, in the year Town of Deerfield. of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty, at the house of JOHN JONES, in said town, JOHN DOE, of the city of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and state of Massachusetts, and HARRIET E. JONES, of the city aforesaid, to me personally known [or proved by the oath of John Jones aforesaid] to be the persons described in this certificate, were by me joined together with their mutual consent in the bonds of wedlock; and I did first ascertain that the said parties were of sufficient age to consent to the same: which marriage took place in the presence of JOHN SMITH and JOIN STONE, subscribing witnesses hereto. Witness my hand and seal, this first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. HENRY HOPE, Church in Deerfield. Pastor of First Marriage celebrated in JOHN Smith, presence of us, JOHN STONE. JUDGMENT NOTE. THIS note enables the holder, in some of the states, to enter up judgment thereon without suit, if it be not paid when it is due. No. 77.-Form of Judgment Note. $1,000. For Value received, I promise to pay to RICHARD ROE, or order, the sum of one thousand dollars, thirty days after date; and I hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint the said RICHARD ROE, or any attorney-at-law of this state, my true and lawful attorney, irrevocable, for me and in my name to appear in any court of record of this state, at any time after the above promissory note becomes due, and to waive all process and service thereof, and to confess judgment in favor of the holder hereof for the sum that may be due and owing hereon, with interest and costs, and waiving all errors, &c. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and state of Illinois, this first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and fifty. Sealed and delivered in the JOHN DOE (seal). JOHN SMITH, JOHN JONES. PROMISSORY NOTES. A promissory note is an absolute engagement in writing to pay a specified sum at a certain time to a person named, or to his order, or to the bearer. The signer of the note is called the maker; the one to whom it is made payable, the payee; and he to whom the payee makes it payable by endorsement, is called the endorsee; he who endorses the note, the endorser. A consideration must be given for a note to make it valid, as between the maker and payee; but any one who has given value for it, before it had become due, and not knowing that it was originally made without consideration, can recover on it against all the antecedent parties to the note. The words "value received" should be inserted in a promissory note, so as to express a consideration for the promise. But he who receives a promissory note for a consideration before given, for instance as security for a precedent debt, does not give value for it, and is in no better position than the payee. A negotiable note is one that is transferable without, or is made transferable by endorsement. A note negotiable by the laws of the state where it is made is negotiable elsewhere. The most usual methods of drawing notes are on demand, or at a certain time after date; either payable only to the person named, or to his order, or to bearer, or in a specified commodity. A note payable to the person named, where the words, to order, or to bearer, are omitted, is not negotiable; if payable to order, it is negotiable by the payee endorsing it by writing his name on the back of the note, in which case the payee is liable to the holder if it is not paid by the maker, provided he have due notice thereof. If payable to bearer, the holder can demand payment without endorsing it. Any payee who desires to transfer a note by endorsement, without incurring any responsibility, can do so by endorsing |