Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-22
Lectures to Mechanics.

Lectures to Mechanics.
 Professor Johnson IT. Platt on ssWhat Is a
 Contract :"-An Interesting Lecture.
 The tenth lecture of the mechanics course
 was given by Professor Johnson T. Platt at North Sheffield Hall last evening. There
 was large audience present. who listened
 with interest to a lecture which made clear
 many of the technicalities of commercial
 law. The lecturer commenced by referring
 the law as it exists today, and to the efforts
 that are being made to arrange and simplify
 it. It is not the fault of the lawyers that
 the law is uncertain and vague. "The dis
 order and uncertainty of our law, " said he,
 'is most marked in those departments where
 legislation has been most active. Take for instance, the tax laws. During the past seven years there have been enacted in this State upwards of fifty public acts in refer ence to taxation, each contributing something to the general confusion and uncertainty. In many parts of the State tax collectors make little pretensions of following the law, and rely upon the annual validating act for the l curing of their mistakes and misdoings. What is needed to effect change in this state of things is a better comprehension by ! the general public of the evils of the present system Change merely for the sake of change is great evil People are now con- \ ing to understand that our law is not what 1t ! might be- No great reform in the law was ever brought about except through the eff forts of lawyers. Legislation is a practical ] matter requiring high order of ability and ! learning. The bar of our time as class are \ in favor of wise and judicious reform. It IS not true that lawyers are devoted to selfish interests They have ever been the energet- | ic and conspicuous champions of every movement for the elevation and progress of mankind.
 1T am to speak tonight of the elements of contracts, and shall have time to do little else than explain the meaning that this fa- n1iliar word has to lawyer. Let us take one of the most common cases of contract that of sale--and examine it. I own & book and say to you, You may have this ! for five dollars I thereby make you pro- ! posal or offer. You say, I will take It and pay five dollars. Your assent to my propo- sal is called an acceptance. We have now reached this stage: I have made proposal which you have accepted, and the result IS 8 promise. l. having made the proposal, am
  { the promisee. I having promised to let you l have the book for five dollars, and you hav- X ing promised to pay that sum for it, the one ] promise becomes the consideration for the other This agreement for the sale of a book can be enforced by law, and Is there fore called contract In the case l nave analysed the parties were face to face and the E assent was expressed in spoken words. The result would have been the same If 1t had ' been expressed by a nod or any other under stood sign.
 "A proposal may be revoked any time be- ! fore it is accepted, but not afterwards. The party making the proposal may limit the \ time within which the other party may ac- \ cept. It has recently been held by the Court of Appeals in England that when an offer ! has been made by post to person who is \ authorized to accept such offer, then as soon as letter containing an acceptance and cor ' rectly addressed to the proposer is posted,
 the contract is complete even though the let l ter never reached its destination. The &C., ! ceptance must be unconditional, and accord K ing to the terms of the proposal To consti- ! tute an agreement the minds of the parties must meet they must agree upon the same ! thing in the same sense. If another person | should ask me, What will you sell your ! horse for p and I should reply, One hun ! dred dollars,' and he should say, T will take 1 it." and the facts should be that I had two X horses, one of which he had in mind and I I the other, there would be no contract.
 ! Persons of either sex under twenty-one years of age cannot for many purposes bind I themselves by promises. An idiot wholly bereft of reason cannot bind himself A \ promise made by one so drunk as to be abso- ! lutely incapable of understanding what he ! was doing to one who knew his condition is not binding so far as the drunken person is concerned and may be avoided by him unless kI~ c.. agreement was 8 fair one. An agreement 1 that cannot be forced at law by either party { is said to be void. voidable contract is one \ that is enforceable at law at the option of one or more of the parties, but not at the option \ of the other or others. The agreements of \ infants, lunatics and drunken persons are ! voidable only The disabilities of married ! women in respect to making contracts have all been removed in this State. Any lady \ who has married since March 16, 1877, has \ power to make contracts with third persons ! and to convey to them real and personal es- tates in the same manner as if she were un- E married. The husband is no longer liable l for his wife's debts contracted before mar ! riage, except in specified cases. Both hus- l band and wife are liable where any article purchased by either shall have sin fact gone l to the support of their family, or for the ! joint benefit of both.
 "A contract may bessexpressed by writing under seal, by writing simply, by spoken
 words, by signs and by g. course of conduct. ! Every contract not under seal must have a consideration to be binding. The considera- tion may be either some right, interest profit
 or benefit accruing to one party,o some for bearance, detriment, loss or responsibility ! given, suffered or undertaken by the other. ! Agreements must be made for legal consid-
 eration and the subject matter of the con-
 tract must be legal. Agreements in restraint
 of trade, except for limited time, are void,
 as are agreements in restraint of marriage.
 Agreements, the result of which would be
 the suppression of criminal prosecutions, are 1 void.'
 1 The last lecture of the course will be given
 tomorrow evening by Rev. H. c. Hovey. 1 Subject, ''The Mammoth Cave"