Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-02-09
LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF TRADE.
CONTRACTS.
ny JUDGE REID.

( tain rules and usages. The more adj
vanced the civilization of a people, the
more varied are the application OF
! those rules and usages. The greater
number of the legal maXims which
governs the gigantic commerce of this
/ century grew into shape and stability
( when commerce was young, and
| traffic slight. As the material wealth
of the people grew, and communica-
I tion between nations became easy,
questions more frequently arose de-
manding the application of these old
rules regulating the intercourse OF
! traders.
To apply these rules, courts were es-
! tablished, and resort was had to them
to settle the questions that arose be-
| tween the parties engaged in barter
and exchange. The decisions of these
courts were preserved in books of re-
ports, until they have grown to a
great bulk of learning, which even the
lawyer can hardly hope to master in
all its details. 1t was so in, Rome,
when the decisions of the emperor and
DEGREES of the senate grew so extern
sive that they were almost useless,
until Tribonian, a lawyer of that time,
by appointment of the Emperor JUS
tinian, made digest of the principles
which these numerous decisions con-
tained.
Now | do not expect in these arti-
cles on commercial law to make sew
ery man his own lawyer" but, in as
plain q manner as / can employ, to
give the reader an idea of those gener-
al principles governing business trans
actions. which every business man
should be acquainted with. Indeed.
in many instances, shall rather show
the benefit of prudent counsel from
men learned in the law, as a prevent
i've of litigation. Every lawyers ex-
perience has been, that it is not the
want of legal information, but igno-
rance of the necessity of having COM
petent counsel at the right time, OF
neglect in seeking it, which keeps the
courts open, and engenders lawsuits,
with all their attendant expenditure
of time and money and bad feeling
| Some of the maXims of law are so easi-
ly applied, that no one who is ac-
quainted with them can err; while
others depend so much upon circum-
stances, that only those whose busi-
ness it is to apply these rules can
safely give an opinion upon the law
governing the particular case.
The foundation of commercial law
is the law of contract. The term con-
tract is one of vast extent. 1t covers
almost every business act of a mans
life. You go into q store, and bargain
for penknife it is a contract You
hire a horse of a livery keeper at so
much a day; it is a contract. You
buy a ticket on a railway cSr: it is a
contract. You rent a pew in a church:
it is a contract. These are all contracts
with the obligations on each side,
which every party TO a contract in
ours.
Blackstone defines a contract to be
an agreement between two or more
persons to do or not to do particular
thing for a consideration. "It takes
two to make a bargain,n is the popu-
lar maxim. 1t means that there must
be an dqreemeHt-a meeting of minds;
a proposition on one side, before there
is any binding contract. There must
be an assent. If a man makes an offer
by letter, and another accepts it, but
with a qualification that certain terms
would be afterwards arranged, this
was no contract, because he did not
assent to the terms of the proposition.
When a man publishes that he will
do certain things on certain terms,
and another orders it done without
saying any thing about the price, he is
presumed to assent to it. If the pub
fisher of newspaper places distinctly
in the usual place of his paper his
terms of advertising, one who orders
advertising is regarded as asserting to
the published terms.
These are cases where the reply to a
proposition varies the terms of the
offer. Now there is no contract in
such a case; but the person who made
the offer may change it to suit the an
swer, and then there is a contract.
But if a party reject a proposition in
whole or in part, he cannot, unless
the offer is renewed, accept it after
wards, and hold the party to the con-
tract. If Smith offers to sell Jones
one hundred tons of hay at fifteen
dollars ton, and Jones replies by say
ing that he will take seventy-five
tons at that price, there is no contract
binding upon the parties, nor would
there be if, after sending that answer,
Jones had Immediately sent word
that he would accept the original
proposition, unless Smith renewed the
offer.
This question of assent frequently
arises where a man gives letter of
credit, or guarantees another against
loss on accountof goods sold to third
party. There must be an acceptance
of the guarantee. This may be i'm
piled or expressed. If one goes with
a purchaser, and says to the seller,
Furnish him with goods, and will
guarantee the payment" and the SELL
er thereupon furnishes the goods, this
would be sufficient acceptance of the
guarantee, and a sufficient notice to
the guarantor. But IL the guarantee
were for future operation, or for an
uncertain amount of goods to be fur
nished, there should be a distinct no
tice of acceptance. Agaye Bawriting
guaranteeing to him payment for all
goods which he should furnish G to
the amount of one thousand dollars, if
c should fail to pay at the end of
three years. c purchased goods of B
occasionally during the next six
months. Twelve months from the
time the guarantee was made, & be-
came insolvent, and never paid for
the goods. No notice was ever given
to 4 of the acceptance of the guaran-
tee by b, nor was any notice given to
him of the amount of the debt due
from G for the goods until two years
from the time of the guarantee. 1t
was held by the court that b could
not hold A responsible, not having
given a notice of the acceptance in a
reasonable time.
There are two ways of making an
by words, either with or
without writing. If the agreement is
in writing, then it must be construed
according to the terms of the written
instrument Any otherwords spoken
at the time the contract was made,
but not incorporated in the writing,
are of no effect. When parties make
a written contract, they should be
careful to incorporate every thing in
the contract. For instance: if Jones
and Smith enter into a written con-
tract that Jones shall furnish Smith
with one hundred bushels of corn at !
cents a bushel. Now if |
il was understood by unwritten words |
that this corn should be white or yell |
low, or if of one or the other of those |
kinds, a certain deduction should be /
made, no court would allow evidence |
of such understanding to come into
the case; but would hold the parties /
to the strict terms of the written /
This applies, as / said, to 4
NVOrds s1nOEaO of fha time the written I