Stoppage in Transitu. Goods sold on credit to a person, since becoming insolvent or bankrupt, may be seized by the vendor at any time before their actual and complete delivery to the vendee. This seizure is called stoppage in transitu; it is often a nice and difficult question to determine when the transit has ended and the purchaser's possession begun.

Stipend. Settled pay for services; daily, monthly, or annual salary.

Stipulation. An agreement or contract. Stocks. Shares in joint stock companies, and notes on the government.

Stock Broker or Jobber. One who speculates in stocks.

Statute of Limitations. An assigned period within which legal action must be commenced to enforce pay

ment.

Statement. and liabilities.

Usually a list of property, or resources

Statistics. A collection of facts respecting any particular thing.

Sterling Exchange. A bill of exchange drawn on London. This is the most general current exchange, and is good for the payment of debts anywhere. Our shippers of cotton, grain, flour, and merchandise receive bills of lading with draft attached, which they sell to foreign exchange houses here, who issue their bankers' bills against these commercial bills.

Stock. Certificates issued by a corporation certifying that the person in whose name they are written and stand registered on the corporation books is entitled to share in the company's profits, to vote, etc.

Stock, Assessable. That is liable to assessment. Stock, Cumulative. One on which a corporation agrees to pay past due dividends before declaring a dividend on stocks coming after it in the distribution of net earnings.

Stock Exchange. An incorporated body of brokers, who buy and sell stocks, bonds, and other values. Stock, Non-Assessable. Stock carrying with it no liabilities.

Subornation of Perjury. The offense of procuring another to take a false oath.

Subpœna. A writ used for the purpose of compelling witnesses to attend and give evidence.

Sufferance. A tenant at, is a person who acquired the possession of lands by right, and holds over after his right is determined.

Suit. Proceedings in equity are usually termed suits, as distinguished from the proceedings at common law, which are termed actions.

Summons, Writ of. The process used for the commencement of all action in the courts of law. Supersedeas. A command to stay some ordinary proceedings at law, on good cause shown.

Sue. To prosecute in law.

Surety. Security against loss; a person bound for the faithful performance of a contract by another. Suspend. To stop payment temporarily. Syndicate. A number of capitalists who unite to dispose of a loan, or to conduct a great financial enterprise.

Tacit. That which is understood; implied. Tare. An allowance for weight of box, case, bag, cask, etc., containing merchandise.

Tariff. A list of prices; duties on imports and exports.

Tax. A rate or sum of money imposed on persons or property for public use.

Tenancy. The holding of property under tenure. Tenant. One who holds lands of another as a tenant for life, for years, in tail, etc.; it is a word extensively used in legal phraseology.

Tender. A legal tender is an unconditional offer to

a debt, which, if refused, may be afterwards pleaded in bar to an action.

Tenement. Property held by a tenant; it comprises lands, houses, and every species of real property which may be holden.

Tenure. The system of holding lands in subordination to some superiors.

Testamentary Guardian. A person appointed by a father in his will to be the guardian of his child.

Testator or Testatrix. The maker of a will. Teste. The clause at the bottom of a writ beginning with the word "witness," is so called.

Tenants in Common. Persons holding lands and tenements by several and distinct titles, and not by a joint title.

Title. The evidence of the right which a person has to the possession of property.

Time Draft. A draft maturing at a future specified time.

Tonnage. Weight of a ship's load; capacity of a vessel. Also a duty on ships estimated per ton. Traverse. A plea which denies the truth of some part of the plaintiff's declaration in an action. Treasure Trove. Any money, etc., found hidden under the earth the owner thereof being unknown.

Trespass. Any wrong or damage which is done by. one man to another, whether it relates to his person or property, but it usually signifies a wrongful entry on another's premises.

Trial. The formal method of examining and adjudicating upon a question of fact in a court of law.

Trover. The form of action used to try a disputed question of property in goods or chattels, in which the plaintiff can only recover their estimated value, and not the goods or chattels themselves.

True Bill. The words indorsed upon an indictment by a grand jury, when satisfied that the charge against the offender is made out.

Trust. A trust exists where a party, called the cestui que trust, has a right in equity to the beneficial enjoyment of property, the legal ownership of which is vested in another, who is hence called a trustee. Transact. To perform any act of business; to man

age.

Transfer. To convey; to sell or alienate title. Treasury. A place where public money is kept. Trustee. One to whom some special trust is assigned.

Trade. A company of persons engaged in the same occupation; business of buying and selling.

Trade Discount. A deduction of a certain rate per cent. from the face of a bill made by wholesale houses and others in trade.

Trade-Mark. A distinguishing mark used by a manufacturer on his goods or labels.

Trunk Lines. Through lines of railroad from the Atlantic seaboard to Chicago or more western points. Trust. A combination of manufacturers or dealers for the purpose of limiting production and advancing prices for their own benefit.

Umpire. A third person chosen to decide a matter in dispute left to arbitration, in case the arbitrators should not agree.

Under-Lease. A lease granted by one who is himself only a lessee of the premises under-let.

Under-Lessee. The person to whom an under-lease is granted.

Unliquidated Damages. Damages not fixed or ascertained, and which require therefore to be estimated by a jury.

Uncurrent. Not passing in common payment, as pounds, shillings, and pence in the United States.

Underwriter. An insurer; so called because he underwrites his name to the conditions of the policy. Use. A right to the beneficial enjoyment of land nominally vested in another.

Usury. The extortion of unlawful gain; the taking more for the use of money than is allowed by law; but the usury laws in this country are now abolished, any rate of interest therefore may now be lawfully taken.

Usage of Trade. Custom, or the frequent repetition of the same act in business transactions. Usance. A fixed time on bills of exchange; business habit generally acted upon from force of custom.

Value Received. The words usually, but unnecessarily, appearing in bills of exchange and promissory

notes.

Valid. Of binding force; strong; effectual.

Value. The rate of worth or amount or price of a commodity.

Venditioni Exponas. A writ directed to the sheriff, commanding him to sell goods which he has taken possession of under a writ of fieri facias, and which remain in his hands unsold.

Vendor and Vendee. A vendor is the person who sells, and a vendee the person who buys, anything. Venue. The county at which an action at law is intended to be tried.

Verdict. A verdict is the unanimous judgment or opinion of the jury on the issue of fact submitted to them.

Vend. To sell; to transfer for a pecuniary consider

ation.

Versus. Against.

Viva Voce. By word of mouth.

A con

Voluntary Conveyance, or Settlement. veyance or settlement without any valuable consideration.

Voucher. A receipt or discharge.

Void. Having no binding force or effect. Voidable. That which has some force or effect, but which, in consequence of some inherent quality, may be annulled or avoided.

Waifs. Stolen goods which the thief has thrown away or left behind him. Ward. An infant under the guidance and protection of a guardian.

Warrant. An authority or precept from a justice, commanding the apprehension of an offender, or a search to be made for stolen goods.

Warrant of Attorney. An authority given by anyone to an attorney at law, to appear and plead for him;

or to suffer judgment to pass against him, by confessing the action.

Warranty. As applied to goods and chattels, may be either expressed or implied; the implied warranty only extends to the title of the vendor. If that proves deticient, the purchaser may demand satisfaction from the seller. Watercourse, Right of. A right to an uninterrupted flow of water.

Way, Right of. The right of going over another man's ground.

Wages. Compensation for services.

Waiver. The relinquishment or refusal to accept of a right.

Wares. Goods; merchandise; commodities.

Wash Trades. Pretended trading. Trades made on an open market by parties between whom there is a tacit or private understanding that they shall be void. Done with a view to influence prices and considered a reprehensible practice.

Watered Stock. An increase in capitalization without a corresponding increase in assets.

Wharfinger. The owner or keeper of a wharf.

Will. A will is the legal written declaration of a man's intentions of what he wills to be performed after his death with reference to the disposition of his property. It must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by two witnesses, who must not only be present and see the testator sign, but must themselves subscribe the will as witnesses in the presence of the testator and of each other. Without these formalities the will is invalid. A codicil is a kind of addendum or supplement to a will. Its execution and attestation must be attended with the same formalities as the will itself.