Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1857-02-04

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6 - DsswiA. Esa.. gsss The Grss ~ ~ -
- " iectarse a t;oaamereld Lar, bsfotst the
sss1ssss efshs Mssssnnle College, u shls eiay
% Friday evening Ian, to be repeated On each
Friday esening 70 he close Of fhe seses The
following h . brief syaapsis Of the lecture
Contracts grid about our whole social life and
constitute lts basis and security. A contract -
10 promiss 70 do or not 70 do something, made
BY ono OF more, Who may be called The oaligor
and accepted By another or others, stho may be
cailrd the obiigee Most contracts are recog-
alzed By law 20 far that after performance Of
them .he Law will not undo them ard destroy
the vested rights. aud yet only sone are favor
ed by lsw - that il viii lend itseH TO enforce
them. The requisites of the latter only, viii we
speak Of now.
0ne Of the requisites of all enforceable con-
tract al agsinss the promisor is that he be not
an infant In law, aud this he ceases TO be, at diff
ferent ages In different countries, and in some
siso by an entry upon commercial activity. The
Law presnnes this incapacity Of an infant only
for bis benefit, and viii not use il to his harm,
| and viii not let him use it for the purpose Of
| defrauding others. The promise contracts of
an infant Is voidabIe only, and not void; the
promise Of the adul. in such contract may be
| enforced BIZ the infant. An infant is liable to
| pay for such articles Of necessity as beiit his
| station and are in good faith sold to him. The
voidable contracts of infancy may be made firm
by the adult by any act implying an intention
to abide by them, he knowing he could do 9TH
erwise.
Another requisite of an enforceable contract
that the promissor be not a married woman
This was more largely true when marriage vest.
ed all the woman's property in the husband
and when it also merged her individual life in
his than it is now, each that now has its own
/ laws against the plumber of women, and in him
she has an ample share OF protection and many
rights of contract, but local regulations does no,
come within our province.
Another requisite is mental sufiiciency. A
/ free act Of mind is necessary to bind by pro.
mise, and SO neither promise by lunatc in
lunacy, nor by an insane man in a psro1ysin
nor by drunken man, while so drunk as not
to know what he is doing; nor by man under
the illegal compulsion of another can be by law
| enforced.
Another requisite is that the promise Offered
and that accepted be the same. 1.-THE promis
sor offer one thing and the promissee accept.
annther there il no contract Rnt what ths
promissor offers should be conclusively inferred
from the words be uses, and he should not bt
allowed to say he intended a thing differen
| from that.
Another requisite is that there be consider
alton for the promise. The legal value of thu
contract never is measured by the size of Thu
consideration. 1t cannot be SO small us not t
support promise if it be honest, and it may b,
any good received by the promissor OR an,
harm suffered by. the pro,nissee. The consider
alton of a contract is differenced from the mo
tives OF it, in this, that the consideration O
q promise is that part of the cause of the promis
which is furnished to the promissor by the pro
missee, while that part of the cause of the pro
mise found in the nature of the promissor is nc
part of the consideration, however potent it ma,
be as an inducement or motive to the promissee
Many contracts may be proved by oral testimo
ny, but it is legal essential requisite to TIL
enforcement of some contracts that they be il
writing.
Those contracts with others, / will speak O
| in nv next lecture