Contracts. In the case of formal and important contracts, it is usual to affix seals and to have the execution attested by witnesses. The effect of the latter formality is to require the party afterwards seeking to prove the contract in court, to produce the same witness or account for his absence. If the instrument is not attested by a witness, other proof may be resorted to, such as the testimony of the party, handwriting, etc. As to the necessity of Internal Revenue Stamps upon contracts, see chapter on STAMPS. PAGE 557. General form of contract, with provision for liquidated damages in case of breach..... 254 558. Contract executed by agents or attorneys in fact.. 255 559. Contract declaratory of the construction of a previous contract.. 255 560. Contract with a clerk or workman?.. 256 561. Contract to bind a minor to service in payment for his passage-money. 256 562. Acknowledgment of the foregoing contract.. 563. Railroad construction contract..... 564. Contract by officers of a corporation, for construction of a locomotive engine 269 565. Contract for the construction of a steamship.... 256 257 269 566. Contract for the construction of engines for a steamship........ 270 567. Contract for the right to manufacture a patented article, paying a tariff to the patentee.... 568. Contract between author and publisher, for publication of a book upon a copyright..... 272 569. Contract for sale of manuscript and copyright... 273 570. Contract between printers and publishers, for publication on joint account.. 274 571. Agreement for sale and purchase of personal property.... 572. Contract for sale of goods at a price to be fixed by appraisal.. 275 275 573. Contract for sale of stock of goods and good-will of business, with covenant in restraint of the vendor.... 276 574. Agreement to sell shares of stock in a corporation or joint-stock company.. 277 575. Contract for sale of land..... 277 576. The same; with building loan... 278 577. Contract for sale of farm and mill; payment in instalments... 281 578. Stipulation as to terms of purchase-money mortgage.. 282 579. Stipulation as to time of taking possession and income... 282 580. Stipulation as to possession, taxes, etc.... 282 581. Provision that existing insurance shall inure to the benefit of the purchaser. 288 582. Contract of several persons to unite in a purchase..... 283 583. Agreement for a lease.... 283 584. Contract for building... 284 585. Special stipulations which may be inserted according to the nature of the 557. General Form of Contract, With Provision for Liquidated Damages one thousand eight hunby and between A. B., of the town of manufacturer, of the first part, and Y. Z., of merchant, of the second part, WITNESSETH: That the said party of the second General Forms. part covenants and agrees to and with the party of the first part, to [here insert the subject-matter of the agreement]. And the said party of the first part covenants and agrees to pay unto the said party of the second part, for the same, the sum of dollars, lawful money of the United States, as follows: the sum of the sum of dollars, on the day of 18 and 18 with the in- * terest on the amount due, payable at the time of each payment. And for the true and faithful performance of all and every of the covenants and agreements above mentioned, the parties to these presents bind. themselves, each unto the other, in the penal sum of dollars, as liquidated damages, to be paid by the failing party. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands [and seals], the day and year first above written. [Signatures, with or without seals.] of 558. Contract Executed by Agents or Attorneys in Fact. THIS AGREEMENT, made this farmer, of the first part, by C. D., his attorney, and Y. Z., of merchant, of the second part, by W. X., his attorney, WITNESSETH: That the said party of the first part [etc., as in other forms to the end, signing thus:] of A. B. [Seal.] By C. D., his attorney. Y. Z. [Seal.] 559. Contract Declaratory of the Construction of a Previous Contract. THIS AGREEMENT, made the day of of the first part, and Y. Z., of Whereas a difference has heretofore arisen day of presents, in relation to their respective rights and obligations under a certain contract, made on the 18, between them; and the parties hereto have now come to a mutual understanding and agreement respecting all the matters aforesaid, and propose to set forth the same in these presents, as declaratory of their respective rights and obligations from the date hereof, henceforward, for the government of themselves under the same: NOW, THIS INDENTURE WITNESSETH, that the parties of the second part covenant, promise and agree to and with the party of the first part [etc., according to the nature of the case]. IN WITNESS [etc., as in Form 557]. WITNESSETH: That the said A. B. agrees faithfully and diligently to serve the said Y. Z., as clerk, in the store of the said Y. Z. [ or otherwise], at from and after the day of , for the period of next, for the sum of dollars per In consideration of which service so to be performed, the said Y. Z. agrees to pay the said A. B. the sum of per month [payable as follows: and on the on the day of day of each month following, during said term, and at the expiration thereof, the balance of such sum as has not then been already paid]. And it is understood and agreed that the death of either of them occurring prior to the expiration of said term of shall terminate this agreement. IN WITNESS [etc., as in Form 557]. 561. Contract to Bind a Minor to Service in Payment for His Passage THIS INDENTURE, made this Money. 18, coming from in years on the a foreign country of infant under twenty-one years of age-to wit: of the age of day of beyond sea, of the one part, and Y. Z., merchant, of the city of the other part, WITNESSETH: That the said A. B., in pursuance of the statute in such case made and provided, and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter mentioned, does hereby bind himself to serve the said Y. Z. and his executors, administrators and assigns, for the full term of from the date hereof, during all which time the said A. B. shall well and faithfully serve the said Y. Z. and executors, administrators and assigns, in all such lawful business as he shall be put to by him or them, to the best of the power and ability of the said A. B., and that he will at all times behave himself honestly and obediently in said service. In consideration whereof, the said Y. Z. having brought him from beyond sea as aforesaid, also covenants to and with the said A. B.: that he, the said Y. Z., will furnish and allow the said A. B. suitable and sufficient board, meat, drink, washing and lodging and apparel and all other necessaries during the said term. 18 before me came the within-named A. B., to me known to be the person who executed the within contract, and on a private examination before me, acknowledged that the same was made and executed by him freely, for the purposes therein expressed. [Signature of magistrate.] Railroad Construction. 563. Railroad Construction Contract. Articles of agreement made this second day of July in the year 1850, by and between & Company, of the one part, and the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, by their president, of the second part. Witness: that for and in consideration of the payments and covenants hereinafter mentioned, to be made and performed by said corporation, the said party of the first part doth hereby promise and agree to execute, construct and finish in every respect, in the most substantial and workmanlike manner, and to the satisfaction and acceptance of the engineer of said corporation, the grading, masonry, bridging, and railway superstructure of the said railroad, from its present terminus at White House to the village of Phillipsburgh on the Delaware River opposite to Easton, being a distance of about twenty-eight miles. And the said grading, masonry, bridging, and railway superstructure shall be made and completed as described in the following specifications, on or before the first day of January in the year 1852, and sooner if practicable. GRADING. 1. Under the head of grading shall be included all excavations and embankments required for the formation of a road-bed for a single track and all turnouts; also the preparation of all such depot grounds, sites for water stations, etc., as shall be required by the engineer; the digging of all ditches, the foundations for masonry, changing the direction of streams, removing the bottoms in rock and clay cuttings, and all other excavations and embankments in any way connected with, or incident to, the construction of the railroad. 2. All grading shall be done and estimated by the cubic yard, measured in excavation, and shall be comprised under the three following headsviz., "earth," "loose and shale rock" and "solid rock." "Earth excava tion" shall include all varieties; also all detached rocks, the dimensions of which shall not exceed one cubic yard; also all decomposed and rotten rocks, and shale rock on the top of cuts that can or may be ploughed, or can or may be excavated by using one pick to one shovel. "Loose and shale rock" shall include all varieties of shale rock, excepting as above specified, whether loose or solid; and all rock that may be quarried or excavated with "Picks and Bars;" and it is understood that under this class shall be included the whole of the red-shale cuttings, except such part of the top of said cuttings as may come under the classification of earth as above specified. "Solid rock" shall include all rock not shale rock, found in ledge and requiring blasting. 3. The road shall be graded for a single track (except at depots, turnouts and other places hereinafter provided for), with a road-bed of such width, and slopes of such inclination, as the engineer shall designate; and in conformity to such depths of cuttings and fillings, and to such demarkations as may have been, or may hereafter be, determined and fixed upon as guides and boundaries for the work. 17 Railroad Construction Contract. 4. The surface of the road, when finished off and at grade, shall-except when the engineer shall otherwise direct-be fifteen feet wide on embankments, and twenty feet wide in excavations. 5. All clearing, grubbing, etc., that may be required on the sites of the excavations, embankments, depots, etc., shall be done; and the trunks, treetops, and other rubbish shall be removed to such distance, and disposed of in such manner as the engineer may direct, and no extra charge or allowance shall be made therefor; it being expressly understood that the expenses attendant upon doing all such work are included in the price per yard to be paid for grading; and in reference to grubbing, it is understood that when not more than three feet below grade, shall be grubbed up and removed beyond the limits of the embankment. 6. The earth, gravel and other material, except stone suitable for masonry and other purposes, taken from the excavations upon any section, shall be used and applied in the formation of embankments on the same section; and when the quantity of materials taken from any excavation shall be greater than that required to make the embankment of the usual width, the surplus shall be deposited on one or both sides of the embankments in such manner as to increase their width uniformly, or in such other manner as the engineer shall direct. In cases where the quantity of materials taken from the excavations in any sections shall not be sufficient for the formation of the requisite embankment, the deficiency shall be supplied by materials taken from the adjacent grounds, at such places as the engineer may designate, or from an enlargement of the excavations made equally and uniformly on one side or both sides of the same, or in such other manner as the engineer may deem necessary and proper; and the sides of the excavations, in all such cases, shall be dressed off to such slope as the engineer shall require; provided that if the contractors shall have sloped such excavations according to the directions of the engineer, before widening the same, they shall receive for sloping the second time, such compensation as said engineer may deem fair and reasonable; provided, also, that the contractors shall not be required to supply the deficiency of materials last referred to at an expense of haul greater than the average haul of the section. 7. Whenever the route of the railroad is traversed by public or private roads, commodious passing-places shall be kept open for the accommodation of all having occasion to use them; and whenever excavations or embankments may be required in order to establish or maintain such passes or crossing-places, the contractor engaged on the section traversed shall prepare such passing-places in such manner as the engineer shall direct, and keep them free from obstructions; and whenever the route of the railroad shall approach so near to any public or private road as to render necessary the discontinuance of the same, and the construction of a new road, all excavation and embankment required in the construction of the same shall be done by the contractors if required by the engineer; and, in payment for the same, as well as the work done at the crossing-places above-named, they shall receive the same price per yard as for other grading on the section. |