The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1849-08-24
Is ".M." a Name !

The London Common Pleas has recently
been agitated by curious litigation about
the significance or materially OF q middle
initial letter in describing mans endorse
ment TO note in law pleading. In this
country, the middle names are immateral !;
but not So in England, it appears:
SittiRgs in BGncO.-In the case Of Kin
nerdy v. Knott the plaintiff as endorser of a
bill Of exchange Of sixty-fve pounds, ten
shillinSs, brought all action against the de-
PENDANT as the acceptor, and declared against
him by the name of John NJ. Knott, being
that by which he had signed the note, but
without stating i'll the declaration that the
defendant had so signed it. To this deca-
ration the defendant, demurrsd specially, and
assigned as the ground of his demurrer that
the declaration had not properly set forth
his christian name, nor assigned any reason
under the statute third and fourth William
w., chapter forty two, for not doing SO.
Mr. Sergeant Ialfonrd, on behalf Of the
defendant, said the lordshipS were often told
that case rested on letter only. II wa,
his duty TO contend, both upon principle and
prec edent, that this was good ground Of
demurrer. The court had decided that the
letter I, being vowel and capable of pro.
uunciation, might be taken to be a christian
name, but they had at the same time init
mated that such would not be the case with
a consonant, which, as it could not be SCUM
ded alone, would be deemed to be not a
name, but All initial letter only. Now, in
this case, Nj was plainly an tialle,ter, for
/ il could not be pronounced bp itself. Stand
ING by itselfthercIure il meant nothing. He
was sure very eminent authoress Miss
] Ill \ hol tlx.
to lament, was OF opinion that all the letters
OF the alphabet, by the mode in which they
were explained, were rendered little more
(to use judicial language) than a mockpry
a dclusion and a snare,-that A, B, c, d.
etc., meant A, b, G, ID, ETC., and nothing
more but even il it would avail him, he
feared his friend could not rely upon such
authority.
The Lord Chief Justice: You may say
the NJ means nothng-then let II me an moth
ing. Would a scratch be demurrable?
Mr.. Sergeant Taliourd IL say that M
by itself, cannot be pronounced, and means
nothing; but here it does mean something
which something ought to have been stated
or explained under the statute. Suppose q
person Of the lame of John Robbins, thu
court would surely hold declaration ba,
which described him by the word John and
figures of the red breast! In like mamie,
the court would hold this declaration bad
because it either put sign for one of tn,
defendants names, or described itby the in
i,ial letter. A consonant by itself was ,
; mere sound without meaning. The le,te
II, indeed, by the custom OF London AM
some other places, was no sound at al
laughter. though elsewhere it often protru
ded i,seltcn all occasions. Renewed laugh
! ter,
Mr.. Justice Maule Il had a policeman
before me as a witness the other day, VIII,
told me he belonged to the hen division, am
/. was not until some farther stage in tn
cause, that discovered it was not division
: designated by the name Of bird, but by n
A the alphabetical letter. Great laughter,
D Mr.. Sergeant Taliourd 1T will protabl
be commended that this person might hav
o been chrs,ened in the manner the bill
n signed, but submit that the court will nc
n intend that. 1t is true we often hear Of alb
'. surd christian names, and ] myself remcm
}, Der when many persons insisted upon hav
l. ing their children christened "Sir Franci
e Burdett."
J.. Mr.. Justice Maule II remember YER