of to me paid, at or before by my son the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, and for the love and affection which I have to my said son, have granted, remised, released and forever quit claimed, and by these presents do unto the said his heirs and assigns forever, all the dower and thirds, right and title of dower and thirds, and all other right, title, interest, property claim, and demand whatsoever, in law and in equity, of me the said of, in, and to (a description of the parcel of land in which dower is released) so that neither I, the said my heirs, executors, or administrators, nor any other person or persons for me, them, or any of them, shall have, claim, challenge, or demand, or pretend to have any dower or thirds, or any other right, title, claim, or demand, of, in, or to the said premises, but thereof and therefrom, shall be utterly debarred and excluded, forever, by these presents. In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents. hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and day of In Presence of (Signature.) (Seal.) (60.) A Release of Dower in Consideration of an Annuity given by Will. late of deceased, To all Persons to whom these Presents may come, (name of releaser) widow, relict and residuary legatee of sendeth greeting. Whereas the said in and by his last will and testament, duly signed, sealed, published, and declared in my presence and with my approbation, bearing date did settle and secure unto and upon me the said an annuity of to be paid unto me half yearly, by equal payments, in lieu and full satisfaction of the dower or thirds at common law, which I might otherwise have, claim, or be entitled unto, out of all and every the lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever, of my said late husband, deceased, or of, in, to, or out of the reversion or remainder, rents, issues, and profits thereof: Now know ye, that I the said for and in consideration of the said annuity so secured to me as aforesaid, and in pursuance and part performance of the said last will and testament of my said late husband, do hereby declare myself fully satisfied and contented therewith, and do hereby remise, release, and forever quit claim unto of appointed in and by the said last will and testament of my said late husband (in their actual possession and seisin now being) their executors all and all manner of dower in and to the said premises, but thereof and therefrom, shall be utterly debarred and excluded, forever, by these presents. In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and day of (Signature.) (Seal.) In Presence of (61.) A Release of Dower where the Husband of the Widow joins in receipt whereof they hereby acknowledge, have granted, remised, released, and forever quit claimed, and by these presents do unto the said his heirs and assigns forever, all the right which the said hath to dower or thirds, of and in (here describe the estate) died seized, whereof her late husband (name of former husband) late situate, and which she claims as of the endowment of the said said to hold the same to the said ever; and the said and their heirs, executors, and administrators, do hereby covenant with the said and his heirs and assigns, that he and they shall henceforth forever, have and quietly enjoy the released premises, without any claim or demand had or made, or to be had or made by them, or any persons, claiming, or who may claim the same or any part thereof, by, from, or under them or their heirs. In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and day of In Presence of (62.) (Signature.) (Seal.) A Release of a Trust. To all to whom these Presents may come, (name of releaser) sendeth greeting. Whereas, by indenture bearing date made between (here recite the deed) in which said indenture the said doth hereby declare, that his name was only used in trust, for the benefit and behoof of said of : Now know ye, that I, the , in discharge of the trust reposed in me, at the request of the said have remised, released, and surrendered, assigned, and set over, and by these presents, for me, my executors and administrators, do freely and absolutely remise his executors unto the said all the estate, right, title, interest, use, benefit, have, or privilege, and demand whatsoever, which I the said may have or claim, of, or to the said premises, or of and in any sum of money, or other matter or thing whatsoever, in the said indenture contained, mentioned, and expressed, so that neither I the said my executors or administrators, or any of us, at any time hereafter, shall or will ask, claim, challenge, or demand any interest or other thing, in any manner whatsoever, by reason or means of the said indenture, or any covenant therein contained, but thereof and therefrom, and from all actions, suits, and demands, which I, my executors, administrators, or assigns, may have concerning the same, shall be utterly excluded and forever debarred, by these presents. In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and day of (Signature.) (Seal.) In Presence of (63.) A Release of Right to Lands. Know all Men by these Presents, That I in consideration of (name of releaser) of to me paid by (name have remised, released, and forever unto the said of releasee) the receipt. quit claimed, and by these presents do and his heirs, all the estate, right, title, interest, use, trust, claim, and demand whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which I, the said have, of, in, to, or out of, all and singular the following described parcel of land (here describe the land) so that neither I the said , my heirs or assigns, or any other person or persons in trust for me or them, or in my or their name or names, or in the name, right, or stead of any of them, shall or will, can or may, by any ways or means whatsoever, hereafter have, claim, challenge, or demand, any right, title, or interest, property, claim, and demand, of, in, to, or out of the same or any of them, or any part thereof, but that I the said " my heirs and assigns, and every of them, from all estate, right, title, interest, property, claim, and demand, of, in, to, or out of the said or any of them, or any part thereof, are, is, and shall be, by these presents forever excluded and debarred. In Witness Whereof, The said party of the first part to these presents hath hereunto set her hand and seal, the in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and In Presence of day of (Signature.) (Seal.) (64.) A Release between two Traders on Settling Accounts. Whereas sundry accounts, current and otherwise, and divers dealings in trade have been subsisting for a long time past, between trader, and which said accounts and dealings, the said and of and of trader, have balanced and adjusted, whereby it appears that nothing remains due from the one to the other; and whereas, therefore, to prevent any future disputes, concerning the said accounts and dealings, and to confirm the said adjustment, the said have mutually agreed to give reciprocal releases to each other. Now know all men by these presents, that the said (one of the parties) (for the considerations abovesaid, and to prevent all future disputes) for himself, his executors, and administrators, doth remise, release, and forever quit claim unto the said (the other party) his all and all manner of action and actions, cause and causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sum and sums of money, accounts, reckonings, bonds, specialties, covenants, contracts, controversies, agreements, promises, variances, damages, extents, executions, claims and demands whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which against the said the said now hath or ever had, on account of their said mutual dealings, or for or by reason of any other cause, matter, or thing whatsoever, from the beginning of the world to the day of the date of these presents. his And the said (the other party) (for the considerations abovesaid, and to prevent all future disputes) for himself, his executors, and administrators, doth remise, release, and forever quit claim unto the said (the other party), his all and all manner of action and actions, cause and causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sum and sums of money, accounts, reckonings, bonds, specialties, covenants, contracts, controversies, agreements, promises, variances, damages, extents, executions, claims and demands whatsoever, both at law and in equity, which against the said the said his now hath or ever had, on account of their said mutual dealings, or for or by reason of any other cause, matter, or thing whatsoever, from the beginning of the world to the day of the date of these presents. In Witness Whereof, We have hereunto set our hands and seals, this day of In Presence of 12 in the year (Signatures.) (Seals.) CHAPTER XVI. NOTES OF HAND AND BILLS OF EXCHANGE, DRAFTS, AND CHECKS. SECTION I. THE PURPOSE OF, AND THE PARTIES TO, SUCH PAPERS. THESE instruments are usually negotiable. By negotiable paper is meant evidence of debt which may be transferred by indorsement or delivery, so that the transferee or holder may sue the same in his own name, and as if it had been made to him originally; or, in other words, it means paper, that is, bills of exchange or promissory notes, or drafts, or checks payable to the order of a payee, or to bearer. The rules of law on the subject of negotiable paper are more exact and technical than those of any other department of Mercantile Law. They reach, on many points, an extreme nicety, which makes it difficult to express them intelligibly to persons who do not already possess some familiarity with the subject. All difficulty of this kind could have been easily avoided by me, by omitting any notice of these nice points. But it was thought better to mention them, one and all, for these are the things an intelligent man of business should know; and although the rules stated, especially those in reference to presentment, demand, notice, and some other subjects, may seem to be intricate and difficult, they require, it is believed, only careful consideration to be fully understood. Where and when bills of exchange were invented is not certainly known. They were not used by any ancient nations, but have been employed and recognized by most commercial nations for some centuries. A still more recent invention is the promissory negotiable note, which, in this country, for inland and domestic purposes, has taken the place of the bill of exchange very generally. Besides |