Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1906-03-17


agreement and contract is this: The
law says that in a contract man con-
templates legal relations, that is, he
intends to put himself under legal OBJ
legations, and in an agreement he does
not so intend, his purpose being mere
ly to bind himself by a social obliga-
ton. We have nothing to do in these
talks with merely social obligations;
we treat only of such engagements
or agreements as the law holds bind
ing.
We distinguish, too, between kinds
of contracts; for instance, contract
may be express or it may be implied.
An express contract is one where the
terms are expressed or stated, either
orally or in writing. An implied con-
tract is one where the facts in con-
nection with the matter are such that
the law will infer certain things. If
go into a store where l have credit,
take up an article, and say to the
clerk. II will take this. Charge it to
me-" the contract is not an express
contract; there is no price Set no time
of payment indicated, no promise of
payment. The law, however infers
that | have made promise to pay a
reasonable price for the article in a
reasonable or the customary time.
We often hear it said that contract
is not good without consideration >
or that a contract must have "consid-
Grafton to support it. The meaning of
be enforced in law unless something
is paid or promised to be paid for the
promise, or unless the person to whom
the promise is made has done some
| thing or suffered some loss by depend
ing on the promise. If l promise to
make you present and fail to do so,
you cannot hold me in law accountable
for breaking my promise, no matter
how much inconvenience or unhappi-
ness it may cause you. If, however, |
promise to do something for you or
give you something in consideration of
your paying me something, or suffering
some small loss, l can be held to the
promise. 1t is in this sense that the
law requires that in order for a pro-
mise to be binding, it must have a
nsideration-another word for the
price.
1t used to be said whenever prom
Use was under seal, that is, where il
was in writing and the promisor at.
tached to his name his seal, the law
would forbid the promisor from deny
ing that there was a consideration. In
other, words, the fact that a seal an.
peared on the promise was evidence
conclusive that there was a considera.
ton and in a suit at law to compel the
performance of the promise the prom.
isor could not bring in evidence to the
effect that he had received nothing
for the promise, and therefore was not
bound by it. Our present law, how.
ever, has almost wholly done away
with this fiction. Now the considera.
ton of a promise may be inquired in.
to, whether it be under seal or not.
1t must not be thought that in order
to support promise the other party
must necessarily give something or
promise to give something. If he is
to lose or suffer something or prom.
ises to give up something, the consid.
Grafton is valid one. If | promise
to give you a hundred dollars If Won
stop smoking for six months, and de.
pending upon my promise, you do stop
smoking for six months, / am bound
to pay the one hundred dollars. In
this case you have not given ANYTHING
or promised to give anything to me,
but you have suffered a loss, or have
given up something denandinp unon