The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1872-10-31
The Selling of Goods to Minors for
Credit.

The following is the opinions of the
editor of the law column of the Land and
Law Reporter:
An infant, as the law calls every one
who has not attained the age of twenty
one years, can not, as general rule,
make contract, which he may not dis
affirm during minority, or within res
sonablc time after attaining his majority.
If you sell him goods on credit aud be
resells them, and then refuses to pay, you
are without legal remedy. IF you buy
horse from him aud pay him the price
for it, and he refuses to deliver, your
money is gone. He is not liable to his
promissory note or bond, nor for borrow
ed money 1T he undertakes to do cer-
tain act and receive money in advance
therefore, he cannot be compelled to per-
form his promise after he has parted with
the consideration nor can the money be
recovered from him, for it was the folly
of the party to trust him. IF. however,
he retain the specific and identical con-
sideration, and it can be identified, he
becomes the trustee of the other party,
and, as soon as he dsafirms the contract
or refuses to perform it, he is bound to
surrendert. So, if an infant has advanced
money which has been parted with by the
other party, and afterwards disaffirms the
contracts. he cannot, if he received any
benefit from it, recover from the other
party the advanced consideration. Thus,
if he buy large quantity of grain and,
after selling portion, disaffirm his con.
tract, he cannot, by returning the re,
mainder, acquire right to sue the seller
for proportional part of the price. An
infant is not bound by his execut<
ed contracts if it be in the power of the
other party to replace him in the same
condition in respect to the matter as that
in which he was before the contract, but
in such cases he must return the con-
sideration which was advanced to him.
The general rule, denying the obliga.
tory power Of an infants contracts admits
of but one exception. He can make bind
ing contracts for food, clothing, medical
attendance, and such other necessaries as
may be suitable to his actual condition
but, even in these cases, some care is re
required on the part Of the seller. He is
bound to ascertain that the articles
which the minor proposes to purchase,
are actually necessaries, and that he is not
already provided with them by his par
ents, guardian or friends. An infant
who lives with his parents, or guardian,
or other person under whose care he has
been placed by them, and is properly
maintained, can not bind himself to a
stranger, or third person, even for neces
saries. "No man." says Mr.. Justice
Gould, "shall take upon himself to die
tate to parent what clothing the child
shall wear, at what time they shall be
purchased, and of whom" Ii trades
man furnish articles which might be me-
cessary if the minor were not already sup
piled by his parents, or, if confding in
false appearance, he furnish articles too
expensive or numerous for the minors
real condition, he is not entitled to re.
cover pay for them.
Infancy is no plea to actions founded
in misrepresentation or fraud IF an in
fant falsely represents himself of age-or
represents that he is purchasing for an
other who is of age-and on the faith OF
this, another sell him goods, the seller
may retake the goods, or sue him for dam.
ages.
A person may bind himself by con-
tract made the day previous to his TWEEN
ty first birthday-and it has been held
that ''if one be born on the first day of
February, at eleven o'clock at night, aud
on the last day of January in the twenty
first year of his age, at one o'clock in the
morniniDg, he make will devisiDg land
it is good will, for he was of age" 1t
is also settled that an express promise,
after he comes of age, to pay back money
borrowed, or for goods purchased during
his minority, will bind him-but such
promise must be given voluntarily and
with full knowledge that he then stood
discharged from all legal liability.