(2.) A bill is not invalid by reason only that it is S. 13. ante-dated or post-dated, or that it bears date on a Sunday.d a If the date of a bill has been altered without authority, or if a wrong date has been fraudulently inserted, the fact may be proved for the purpose of setting aside the bill,1 or of throwing the burden of proof on the holder in accordance with s. 30. The true date of the drawing, acceptance, or indorsement of a bill is the date of delivery of the instrument to give effect thereto.2 A bill payable on demand or cheque, if post-dated, cannot be enforced before its date, but, if sued on after its date, cannot be objected to on the ground that it is not properly stamped, though the holder has taken it knowing it to have been post-dated.3 A bill which is post-dated is not on that account irregular under s. 29 (1). a The nullity arising from the doing of an act on Sunday applies only to public acts in which judicial sanction is either sought or acted on, as poinding or arrestment.* 14. Where a bill is not payable on demanda the S. 14. day on which it falls due is determined as follows: Computation of time of pay (1.) Three days, called days of grace, are, in every ment. Currie, 1875, L.R. 10 Ex. 153, affd. 4 Thomson, 38; Thorburn, 44; see S. 14. as a public fast or thanksgiving day, the bill is, except in the case herein-after provided for, due and payable on the preceding business day; C (b.) When the last day of grace is a bank holiday (other than Christmas Day or Good Friday) under the Bank Holidays Act, 1871, and Acts amending or extending it, or when the last day of grace is a Sunday and the second day of grace is a bank holiday, the bill is due and payable on the succeeding business day. (2.) Where a bill is payable at a fixed period after date, after sight, or after the happening of a specified event, the time of payment is determined by excluding the day from which the time is to begin to run and by including the day of payment. (3.) Where a bill is payable at a fixed period after sight, the time begins to run from the date of the acceptance if the bill be accepted, and from the date of noting or protest if the bill be noted or protested for non-acceptance, or for non-delivery. (4.) The term "month" in a bill means calendar month.f a See s. 10. b Till the expiry of the days of grace a bill is not overdue.2 c Bank holidays under the Bank Holidays Act, 1871,3 and the Holidays Extension Act, 1875, are, in England— 1 34 and 35 Vict. c. 17. 2 Brown v. Bain, 1864, 2 M. 1143; see ss. 10 (2), 36 (2). 3 34 Vict. c. 17, p. 258, infra. 4 38 Vict. c. 13, p. 260, infra. Easter Monday, the Monday in Whitsun week, the first S. 14. Monday in August, and the twenty-sixth day of December, or whenever the twenty-sixth day of December falls on a Sunday, the Monday following: in Scotland-New Year's Day and Christmas Day, or if either of the above days fall on a Sunday, the next following Monday, Good Friday, the first Monday of May, and the first Monday of August. e See ss. 42 and 51 (8). ◄ This holds though the bill be subsequently accepted by the drawee1 or supra protest.2 The date of protest must be the date of dishonour.3 f Bills payable one or more months after date or sight, are payable on the third day after the day in the due month corresponding to the day of the month of issue or acceptance. If the due month has no day corresponding to that of the issue or acceptance, the last day of that month is the day from which the days of grace are reckoned. Thus a bill dated 1st January, and payable three months after date, is due on 4th April, and a bill drawn on the 28th, 29th, 30th, or 31st January, and payable one month after date, is due on the 3rd March. If, however, a bill be drawn on the 28th January in leap year, payable one month after date, it will fall due on the 2nd March.4 Case of need. 15. The drawer of a bill and any indorser may S. 15. insert therein the name of a person to whom the holder may resort in case of need, that is to say, in case the bill is dishonoured by non-acceptance or nonpayment. Such person is called the referee in case of need.b It is in the option of the holder to resort to the referee in case of need or not as he may think fit.c a a The usual forms are:-" In need at Messrs. A. B."; "In case of need apply to A. B. for C.D."; "Au besoin chez 1 S. 18 (3). 2 S. 65 (5). 3 S. 51 (4). 4 Thomson, 250; Thorburn, 46. S. 15. Messrs. A. B." 1 It must be made clear that the referee is not drawn upon in succession to the drawee. The drawee may also be the referee.2 S. 16. Optional stipulations by drawer or indorser. The person inserting the name of a referee in case of need ought to note on the bill on whose behalf the referee is requested to accept or pay. But usually the drawer places the address in case of need at the foot of the bill, and an indorser under his indorsement.3 4 Protest for non-payment is necessary before a bill can be presented for payment to the referee; and, though it is not so distinctly provided for, it appears that protest for nonacceptance is necessary before the referee can accept.5 b If the referee accepts, he becomes an acceptor for honour." A referee in case of need is not for the purpose of receiving notice of dishonour the agent of the person inserting his name as referee.7 * As in some foreign countries it is in certain cases obligatory to present to the referee, it is advisable to present bills to which there are foreign parties to the referee. But a holder in this country is entitled, though he does not present to the referee, to recover from any party subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of this conntry, if he does what is necessary to preserve recourse according to the law of this country.9 16. The drawer of a bill, and any indorser, may insert therein an express stipulation (1.) Negativing or limiting his own liability to the holder: a (2.) Waiving as regards himself some or all of the holder's duties.b 99.66 a The usual forms are— -"without recourse, 'sans recours," 1 Chitty, 120; see Leeds Banking Co., 1865, L.R. 1 Eq. 1. 2 See s. 65. 3 Thorburn, 47. 4 S. 67 (1). 5 S. 65 (1); cf. Byles, 274. 6 See ss. 65-68. 7 Leeds Banking Co. 1865, L.R. 1 8 E.g., if the referee resides in the place of dishonour,-German Exchange Law, 56, 62; Swedish Exchange Law, 56, 62. Not in the United States, Negotiable Instruments Law, s. 215. 9 Ss. 72, 51, n.d "pay A without recourse to me." An indorser "without re- S. 16. course" apparently puts himself in the position of a transferor by delivery.1 b The usual forms are "protest or notice or presentment waived," " retour sans protêt or sans frais." The effect is to dispense with presentment, notice, or protest as regards the person waiving the duty,3 and thus to free him from liability for expenses. The holder's duties are specified in sections 39-52. 17. (1.) The acceptance of a bill is the significa- S. 17. tion by the drawee of his assent to the order of the drawer.c (2.) An acceptance is invalid unless it complies with the following conditions, namely:◄ (a.) It must be written on the bill and be signed a See s. 2. b See s. 3, n. 6, No. 4; s. 6. As to the acceptor's liabilities see s. 54. ₫ 1. Written.—The word "accepted," or any expression of acceptance, is competent, though unnecessary, and may be printed. The acceptance of a bill payable after sight should be dated, and the holder is entitled to insert the date.5 2. On the bill. The acceptance may be written on the back of a bill. It may be written upon a part of a set, but not upon a copy.8 A written promise to accept a bill will Definition and requisites of acceptance. |