may be understood by sender and receiver; he must, therefore, send the message literally, as written. 27. Secrecy is also another obligation. Employees are strictly forbidden by statute or common law from making the contents of messages known. Even if they are summoned as witnesses in courts of justice, they are protected from producing despatches or testifying to their contents. 28. Messages must be delivered promptly and to the right person. A company is also bound to send beyond its own line if this is obviously required by the address of the message. 29. Whether the company is liable for the failure of another line to do its duty depends on the sender's contract made with the receiver. Several lines may be so associated as to be liable as partners. In other cases a telegraph company may agree, like a common carrier of freight, to transmit the message to the next company, but without holding itself responsible for its negligence in further transmission and delivery. 30. Professor Parsons says the question finally takes this form: "Has the receiving line, by actual connection with other lines, by an appearance of connection sanctioned by the receiving line, by custom, or advertisement, or otherwise, led their customer to believe, or justified him in believing, that they will send the message over the whole distance as over their own lines? Receiving pay for the whole distance may be prima facie evidence of such a contract, but it would be open to explanation.”1 The conditions printed on the face or reverse of a 1Vol. II., p. 285. blank message become a part of the contract for transmission. In this way a company may make all reasonable rules for the receiving, transmission, and delivery of its messages. It may require prepayment of them. It may also require repetition, in order to be responsible. This is a common rule among telegraph companies, and is declared to be reasonable and binding on the sender or receiver of the message. Says Chief Justice Chapman, in one of the cases: "It seems to us that one who elects to save the small sum charged for a more extended liability cannot reasonably claim the benefit of it in a business where careful operators are so liable to make mistakes, and that this principle applies to every stage of dealing with the message." In Illinois the Supreme Court has taken precisely the opposite view, declaring that a message thus sent was a forced contract, unjust in conception, without consideration, and void. But the former view is more generally maintained by the courts in this country. 31. Of course, a company in all cases must use reasonable skill in transmitting and delivering its messages. The above rule does not protect a company against the gross neglect or indifference of its operators. A company may refuse to send a message if not repeated; but if sent without repetition it must, although not paid specially for the additional service, use ordinary care and skill. 32. To whom does a company give credit for the price of sending a message? The answer is, in the first place, to the sender. If sent without payment the receiver may take it or not, as he pleases; if he refuses he cannot 1Grinnell v. Western Union Tel. Co., 112 Mass., 71. be held liable for the amount. But, if he takes an unpaid message, he must pay therefor. Finally, after receiving and opening the envelope containing a message, and especially after reading it, he cannot then decline to receive it and to pay for it, for he has received it. 5. CONTRACT OF NEGOTIABLE PAPER 1. What is a negotiable bill or note. 6. Similarity of endorsed note and bill. 7. Kinds of bills. 8. Check defined. 9. To be negotiable an instrument must contain proper words. 10. Promise must be unconditional II. Promise must be to pay money. 12. Amount must be certain. 13. Time of payment must be certain. 14. There must be no contingencies during life of the paper. 15. Effect of adding seal. 16. An instrument must be dated. 17. How can blanks be filled. 18. Instrument must be delivered. 19. Consideration. 20. Parties to a note, minor. 21. Married women. 22. Notes made by agents. 23. When an agent is not personally liable. 24. Persons of unsound mind. 25. Drunken persons. 26. The instrument must be signed. 27. Effect of indorsing a note. 28. This may be done on another piece of 29. Kinds of indorsement: a.-Blank indorsement. d.-Absolute indorsement. 30. Other forms of indorsement. 34. Joint indorsement. 35. Liability of an indorser. paper 36. Last indorser may recover from prior ones. 37. Effect of striking out indorsement. 38. Effect of negotiating note back. 39. A guarantor's liability differs from an indorser's. 40. To hold an indorser he must be notified of the nonpayment of the instrument. 41. Defenses that he may make. 42. Effect of an indorsement by a third person. 43. Admission of evidence to show an indorser's in tention. 44. To hold an indorser payment must be demanded of the maker. 45. When presentment for payment must be made. 46. Diligence must be shown in presenting. 47. What is due diligence. 48. Rules that must be preserved in presenting checks. 49. Presentment of notes and bills. 50. Presentment of bills payable at sight. 51. When a bill payable at any time must be presented. 52. Presentment of a bill to the drawee for his accept ance. 53. Acceptance defined. 54. Holder may require acceptance to be written on the bill. 55. Effect of writing it on another paper. 56. An incomplete bill may be accepted. 57. What is an actual acceptance. 58. Time for deciding whether to accept or not. 59. An acceptance may be general or qualified. 60. What is a general acceptance. 61. What is a qualified acceptance. 62. Holder may refuse qualified acceptance. 63. What bills must be presented for acceptance, and to whom. 64. When this presentment must be made. 65. When presentment is excused. 66. Presentment for payment of a note indorsed after maturity. 67. What time during the day must a note be paid? 68. Presentment when day of maturity is Sunday, or a holiday. |