1897.

Presentment

when drawer is dead.

When drawee is bankrupt.

When bill may be presented for acceptance.

Presentment on
Saturdays.

When presentment for acceptance is excused,

person authorized to accept or refuse acceptance on his behalf; and:

1.

Where a bill is addressed to two or more drawees who are not partners, presentment must be made to them all, ununless one has authority to accept or refuse acceptance for all, in which case presentment may be made to him only;

2.

Where the drawee is dead, presentment may be made to his personal representative;

3. Where the drawee has been adjudged a bankrupt or an iusolvent or has made ar. assignment for the benefit of creditors, presentment may be made to him or to his trustee or assignee.

SEC. 146 A bill may be presented for acceptance on any day on which negotiable instruments may be presented for payment under the provisions of sections seventy-two and eighty-five of this act. When Saturday is not otherwise a holiday, presentment for acceptance may be made before twelve o'clock noon on that day.

SEC. 147. Where the holder of a bill drawn payable elsewhere than at the place of business or the residence of the drawee has not time with the exercise of reasonable diligence to present the bill for acceptance before presenting it for payment on the day that it falls due, the delay caused by presenting the bill for acceptance before presenting it for payment is excused and does not discharge the drawers and indorsers.

SEC. 148. Presentment for acceptance is excused and a When present- bill may be treated as dishonored by non-acceptance, in either of the following cases:

ment for ac

ceptance is

excused.

When bill is

1. Where the drawee is dead, or has absconded, or is a fictitious person or a person not having capacity to contract by bill;

2. Where after the exercises of reasonable diligence, presentment cannot be made;

3. Where although presentment has been irregular, acceptance has been refused on some other ground.

SEC. 149. A bill is dishonored by non-acceptance:

1. When it is duly presented for acceptance and such an acceptance as is prescribed by this act is refused or cannot be non-acceptance obtained; or

dishonored by

When to treat bill as dis

honored.

2. When presentment for acceptance is excused and the bill is not accepted.

SEC. 150. Where a bill is duly presented for acceptance and is not accepted within the prescribed time, the person presenting it must treat the bill as dishonored by non-accept

ance or he loses the right of recourse against the drawer and indorsers.

SEC. 151. When a bill is dishonored by non-acceptance, an immediate right of recourse against the drawers and indorses accrues to the holder and no presentment for payment is necessary.

ARTICLE IV.
Protest.

SEC. 152. Where a foreign bill appearing on its face to be such is dishonored by non-acceptance, it must be duly protested for non-acceptance, and where such a bill which has not previously been dishonored by non-acceptance is dishonored by non-payment, it must be duly protested for nonpayment. If it is not so protested, the drawer and indorsers are discharged. Where a bill does not appear on its face to be a foreign bill, protest thereof in case of dishonor is

1897.

Protest to be

unnecessary. SEC. 153. The protest must be annexed to the bill, or must contain a copy thereof, and must be under the hand and annexed to i seal of the notary making it, and must specify:

1. The time and place of presentment;

2. The fact that presentment was made and the manner What protes

thereof;

3. The cause or reason for protesting the bill;

4. The demand made and the answer given, if any, or the

fact that the drawee or acceptor could not be found.

SEC. 154. Protest may be made by:

1. A notary public; or

must specify

Who protests

2. By any respectable resident of the place where the bill may be made is dishonored, in the presence of two or more credible wit

nesses.

When prote

SEC. 155. When a bill is protested, such protest must be made on the day of its dishonor, unless delay is excused as herein provided. When a bill has been duly noted, the pro- to be made test may be subsequently extended as of the date of the noting.

SEC. 156. A bill must be protested at the place where it is dishonored, except that when a bill drawn payable at the place of business or residence of some person other than the Where to be drawee, has been dishonored by non-acceptance, it must be protested, protested for non-payment at the place where it is expressed to be payable, and no further presentment for payment to, or demand on, the drawee is necessary.

SEC. 157. A bill which has been protested for non-accept- Protest for nonance may be subsequently protested for non-payment.

payment

Acceptance for honor supra Protest.

Acceptor for

SEC. 158. Where the acceptor has been adjudged a binkrupt or an insolvent or has made an assignment for the benefit of creditors, before the bill matures, the holder may cause the bill to be protested for better security against the drawer and indorsers.

SEC. 159. Protest is dispensed with by any circumstances which would dispense with notice of dishonor. Delay in noting or protesting is excused when delay is caused by circumstances beyond the control of the holder and not imputable to his default, misconduct, or negligence. When the cause of delay ceases to operate, the bill must be noted or protested with reasonable dilgence.

SEC. 160. Where a bill is lost or destroyed or is wrongly detained from the person entitled to hold it, protest may be made on a copy or written particulars thereof.

ARTICLE V.

Acceptance for Honor.

SEC. 161. Where a bill of exchange has been protested for dishonor by non-acceptance or protested for better security and is not overdue, any person not being a party already liable thereon, may, with the consent of the holder, intervene and accept the bill supra protest for the honor of any party liable thereon or for the honor of the person for whose account the bill is drawn. The acceptance for honor may be for part only of the sum for which the bill is drawn; and where there has been an acceptance for honor for one party, there may be a further acceptance by a different person for the honor of another party.

SEC. 162. An acceptance for honor supra protest must be in writing and indicate that it is an acceptance for honor, and must be signed by the acceptor for honor.

SEC. 163. Where an acceptance for honor does not expressly state for whose honor it is made, it is deemed to be an acceptance for the honor of the drawer.

SEC. 164. The acceptor for honor is liable to the holder honor liable to and to all parties to the bill subsequent to the party for whose honor he has accepted.

older, etc.

SEC. 165. The acceptor for honor by such acceptance engages that he will on due presentment pay the bill according to the terms of his acceptance, provided it shall not have been paid by the drawee, and provided a'so, that it shall have been duly presented for payment and protested for non-payment and notice of dishonor given to him.

1897.

SEC. 166. Where a bill payable after sight is accepted for honor, its maturity is calculated from the date of the noting Date of mafor non-acceptance and not from the date of the acceptance turity of bill. for honor.

dishonored bill.

SEC. 167. Where a dishonored bill has been accepted for honor supra protest or contains a reference in case of need, Acceptance of it must be protested for non payment before it is presented for payment to the acceptor for honor or referee in case of need.

SEC. 168. Presentment for payment to the acceptor for honor must be made as follows:

1. If it is to be presented in the place where the protest for non-payment was made, it must be presented not later than the day following its maturity;

2. If it is to be presented in some other place than the place where it was protested, then it must be forwarded within the time specified in section 104.

SEC. 169. The provisions of section eighty-one apply where there is delay in making presentment to the acceptor for honor or referee in case of need.

SEC. 170. When the bill is dishonored by the acceptor for honor it must be protested for non-payment by him.

SEC. 171.

ARTICLE VI.

Payment for Honor.

Where a bill has been protested for non-payment, any person may intervene and pay it supra protest for the honor of any person liable thereon or for the honor of the person for whose account it was drawn.

SEC. 172. The payment for honor supra protest in order to operate as such and not as a mere voluntary payment must be attested by a notarial act of honor which may be appended to the protest or form an extension to it.

Presentments

for payments.

When provisions of Section

81 apply.

when to be

protested for non-payment.

SEC. 173. The notarial act of honor must be founded on a declaration made by the payer for honor or by his agent in Notarial act of that behalf declaring his intention to pay the bill for honor and for whose honor he pays.

SEC. 174. Where two or more persons offer to pay a bill for the honor of different parties, the person whose payment will discharge most parties to the bill is to be given the preference.

honor.

Preference be

tween parties offering to pay

bill.

When parties

SEC. 175. Where a bill has been paid for honor all parties subsequent to the party for whose honor it is paid are discharged, but the payer for honor is subrogated for, and suc- are discharged ceeds to, both the rights and duties of the holler as regards

1897.

Where holder

of bill refuses

to receive payment, etc.

the party for whose honor he pays and all parties liable to the latter.

SEC. 176. Where the holder of a bill refuses to receive payment supra protest, he loses his right of recourse against any party who would have been discharged by such payment.

SEC. 177. The payer for honor on paying to the holder the amount of the bill and the notarial expenses incidental to its dishonor, is entitled to receive both the bill itself and the protest.

True owner of bill.

ARTICLE VII.

Bills in a Set.

SEC. 178. Where a bill is drawn in a set, each part of the set being numbered and containing a reference to the other parts, the whole of the parts constitute one bill.

SEC. 179. Where two or more parts of a set are negotiated to different holders in due course, the holder whose title first accrues is as between such holders the true owner of the bill. But nothing in this section affects the rights of a person who in due course accepts or pays the part first presented to him.

SEC. 180. Where the holder of a set indorses two or more Liability of in- parts to different persons he is liable on every such part, and every indorser subsequent to him is liable on the part he has himself indorsed, as if such parts were separate bills.

dorsers.

Acceptance.

Liability of acceptor.

When bill is discharged.

What consti

SEC. 181. The acceptance may be written on any part and it must be written on one part only. If the drawee accepts more than one part, and such accepted parts are negotiated to different holders in due course, he is liable on every such part as if it were a separate bill.

SEC. 182. When the acceptor of a bill drawn in a set pays it without requiring the part bearing his acceptance to be delivered up to him, and that part at maturity is outstanding in the hands of a holder in due course, he is liable to the holder thereon.

SEC. 183. Except as herein otherwise provided where any one part of a bill drawn in a set is discharged by payment or otherwise the whole bill is discharged.

TITLE III.

PROMISSORY NOTES AND CHECKS.

ARTICLE I.

SEC. 184. A negotiable promissory note within the meantutes a negoti- ing of this act is an unconditional promise in writing made by one person to another signed by the maker engaging to

able promissory note.