he is then also termed the acceptor; and "George Montague" is the payee. When the acceptor of a bill of exchange is a man of substance and of good credit, it renders it easily negotiable, and consequently almost as valuable as a bank note. Chitty ou Bills of Exchange.

See also titles ACCEPTANCE; INDORSE

MENT; ACCOMMODATION BILL; FO-
REIGN BILL; USANCE; NOTICE OF
DISHONOUR; PROTEST.

BILL OF LADING. This is a document which is signed and delivered by the shipowner, or master as his agent, to the shippers in a general ship on the goods being shipped; or, speaking more practically, upon the goods being shipped, the mate gives the shipper an acknowledgment thereof, which is called the "mate's receipt," and the shipper takes that to the broker or captain of the ship, who exchanges it for the bill of lading.

Form of Bill of Lading:-A bill of lading is commonly made out in parts. One or more of these parts are sent by the shipper to the consignee of the goods, one is retained by the shipper in his own custody, and another is given to the master, shipowner, or captain. The bill, after mentioning the shipping of the goods in good order and condition, and their destination, undertakes to deliver same in like order and condition to the consignee or his assigns, upon payment by the latter of the agreed freight.

Incidents of Bill of Lading:-A bill of lading may be indorsed, and thereafter, upon being delivered, it passes to the indorsee the property in the goods to which it relates; and since the Act 18 & 19 Vict. c. 111, the indorsee may sue thereon in his own name, and not, as heretofore, in the

BILL OF LADING-continued. name of the indorser only. The actual holder of a bill of lading, although insolvent, may even defeat by a bona fide indorsement, accompanied with delivery of the bill of lading, the right of the unpaid consiguor or vendor to stop the goods in transitu; and for this purpose it is not material that the indorsee knows that the consignor has not been paid for the goods in money, if he does not know that the consignee is insolvent, or that the bills given in payment are bad (Cuming v. Brown, 9 East, 506). No property, however, passes by the indorsement if there is fraud in the transfer, or if there is notice by the previous indorsement that the earlier transfer is conditional only, or if the indorsee knows of the insolvency of the consignee (Vertue v. Jewell, 4 Camp. 31). Nor can the bona fide indorsee for value interfere by virtue of the indorsement to him with the stoppage in transitu, if the person through whom the bill of lading came to him had no authority from the shipper or consignee to put it in circulation (Gurney v. Behrend, 3 E. & B. 622), the bill of lading being in this respect like an overdue bill of exchange. And it is expressly provided by the 18 & 19 Vict. c. 111, s. 2, that the extension which that Act gives to the rights and liabilities of the indorsee shall not affect in any way the right of stoppage in transitu. Where the bill of lading is negotiated by way of pledge, the right to stop in transitu may be gone at Law (and the better opinion seems that it is); but it remains in Equity, subject to the pledgee's rights in respect of his specific advance. In re Westzinthus, 5 B. & Ad. 817.

A bill of lading, after indorsement, is countermandable before actual delivery thereof or of the goods to the indorsee; but, after an indorsement and delivery of the bill of lading and invoice of the goods as a security against bills which are to be drawn by the indorsers on the indorsees, the indorsers cannot, after having obtained the acceptances, and whilst the balance of accounts is in favour of the indorsees, countermand the delivery of the goods, and the master of a ship would be liable in trover if he acted under any such order (Haille v. Smith, 1 B. & P. 563). But, semble, it would be otherwise if the balance of accounts were the other way.

BILL OF MIDDLESEX. A species of process by which actions were formerly commenced in the Court of Queen's Bench. It was a kind of precept directed to the sheriff of the county, commanding him to take the body of the defendant and have it, on a certain day therein-mentioned, in Court, wheresoever the lord the king should be

BILL OF MIDDLESEX-continued. in England (Boote's Suit, at Law, 38). This mode of proceeding was abolished by the Uniformity of Process Act, 2 Will. 4, c. 39.

BILL OF PEACE. These are bills in the nature of bills quia timet (which title see), but which are most commonly brought after the right has been tried at Law. The bill is brought for the purpose of establishing and perpetuating a right claimed by the plaintiff, the right being of a nature to be controverted by different persons, at different times, and by different actions. The design of the bill is to secure repose from perpetual litigation, or the fear thereof, and is justified by the doctrine of public policy that there should be an end to litigation. Thus, the lord of a manor may bring such a bill against his tenants in regard of an encroachment; and see Sheffield Waterworks Co. v. Yeomans, L. R. 2 Ch. App. 8, and compare Earl of Bath v. Sherwin, Prec. Ch. 26.

BILL OF RIGHTS. The statute 1 Will. & Mary, stat. 2, c. 2, is so termed because it declares the true rights of British subjects. The short contents of it are as follows: After reciting the various unconstitutional and illegal acts of the preceding Stuart reigns, it goes on to enact as follows:

(1.) The suspending power, when ex

ercised by the Crown without the assent of Parliament is illegal; (2.) The dispensing power, as of late exercised, is illegal ;

(3.) Levying money by prerogative is illegal ;

(4.) The subjects have a right to petition the Crown, and all commitments for so petitioning are illegal; (5.) Raising or maintaining a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace is illegal, if done without the assent of Parliament; (6.) Freedom of speech in Parliament secured; and

(7.) Excessive bail, excessive fines, &c.,

&c., discouraged.

BILL OF SALE. Is an instrument whereby one person called the assignor assigns, or purports to assign, to another person called the assignee, personal property or chattels, either conditionally, i.e., by way of mortgage, or absolutely, i.e., by way of sale or gift outright. See titles ASSIGNMENT OF PERSONAL PROPERTY; CONVEYANCES.

Under the Bills of Sale Act, 1854 (17 & 13 Vict. c. 56), every bill of sale requires to be registered within twenty-one days from the making thereof, otherwise the same is void as against execution creditors,

This strictness of the law is due to the fact, that fictitious bills of sale are often given for the purpose of effectuating a fraud. In Edwards v. Harben (2 T. R. 587), following Twyne's Case (1 Sm. L. C. 1), the retention of possession by the maker was accepted as un index of fraud. The bill of sale is, however, in all cases good as between the parties. Bessey v. Windham, 6 Q. B. 166.

BILL, PARLIAMENTARY. A parliamentary bill has been described as the "draft or skeleton of a statute." Bills are divided into two classes, viz., public and private bills. The former are such as involve the interests of the public at large, and when passed by all the three branches of the Legislature, become a portion of the public statutes of the realm; the latter are such as have reference to the interests of private individuals, and are frequently introduced to enable them to undertake works of public utility at their own risk; such, for instance, are the various bills introduced for the purpose of establishing railway companies such also are those of naturalization, for change of name, for divorce, &c. See May's Treatise on Parl., although all, or the majority, of these latter purposes, are now partly accomplished in virtue of public or general statutes, see Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, &c.

A bill of par

BILL OF PARTICULARS. ticulars, or, as it is frequently termed, a particular of plaintiff's demand, is a statement in writing of what the plaintiff seeks to recover in his action. Its object is to furnish the defendant with a better or more specific statement of the plaintiff's cause of action than is to be collected from the declaration or summons. The bill of particulars "differs from the declaration, inasmuch as the one discloses the nature and legal effect of the plaintiff's claim, the other its component ingredients." Lush's Pr. 374; Pylie v. Stevens, 6 Mee. & W. 814, per Curiam.

BILL OF REVIVOR: See title REVIVOR.

BIRTH. By the statute 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 86, it is provided that the certified copies of entries, purporting to be sealed with the seal of the Registrar-General's office, shall be evidence of the birth [death, or marriage], to which the same relates, without

BIRTH-continued.

any further or other proof of such entry. An affidavit of identity must, however, accompany the extract as proof of the birth [death, or marriage]. Parkinson v. Francis, 15 Sim. 160.

In criminal law, the concealment of a birth is, under 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100, s. 60, a misdemeanour; and as such is punishable with imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour.

BISHOP. A dignitary of the church who has episcopal jurisdiction within his diocese, but which jurisdiction he commonly exercises through his chancellor or commissary.

See titles ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS;
ARCHBISHOP.

BLASPHEMY. To revile at or to deny the truth of Christianity as by law established is a blasphemy, and as such is punishable by the common law. Under the stat. 9 & 10 Will. 3, c. 32, cited in the Stats. Rev. as 9 Will. 3, c. 35, any professed Christian who denies the Holy Trinity, or generally the Christian religion, may be indicted for the same, and upon conviction is liable to be deprived of office and incapacitated for holding future office; but the prosecution requires to be commenced within four days of the blasphemy spoken; and is to be desisted from, and all the penalties are to be removed, upon the defendant's renunciation of his heretical opinions.

BLOCKADE.

A blockade in law must be an actual or effective blockade, and not a paper blockade merely; in other words, a port is blockaded when a squadron is in the vicinity of it for the purpose of preventing ingress into and egress from it, and not when it is merely declared to be under blockade. A violation of blockade requires three things-(1.) That the blockade be effective; (2.) That the accused had notice thereof; and (3.), That he made ingress or egress in disregard of the blockade.

BOARDING-HOUSE. The keeper of such a house is bound to take ordinary care of the goods of his guest therein, and will be liable for negligence occasioning loss (Dancey v. Richardson, 2 El. & Bl. 144); but his liability is not so extreme as that of an innkeeper (Holden v. Soulby, 8 W. R. 438). A contract for board and lodging is not a contract regarding land within the meaning of the Statute of Frauds. Wright v. Stavart, 8 W. R. 413.

BOARD OF HEALTH. Under the stats. 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63 (Public Health Act, 1848), 21 & 22 Vict. c. 98 (Local Government Act, 1858), and other Acts amending same, local boards are constituted for the

BOARD OF HEALTH-continued. better securing the public health, and who for that purpose exercise certain powers as to sewers, drains, buildings, slaughterhouses, &c.

One of the admi

BOARD OF TRADE. nistrative departments of the Government, constituted by the Acts 22 Geo. 3, c. 82, and 24 & 25 Vict. cc. 45 & 47, and possessing under various statutes a very general jurisdiction and superintendence over railways, merchant shipping and seamen, harbours, fisheries, &c.

BOARD OF WORKS. The name of a board of officers appointed for the better local management of the metropolis. They have the care and management of all grounds and gardens dedicated to the use of the inhabitants in the metropolis; also, the superintendence of the drainage; also, the regulation of the street traffic, and generally of the buildings of the metropolis.

BOCKLAND (Sax. for bookland). An inheritance or possession held by the evidence of written instruments. It was one of the titles by which the English Saxons held their lands, and, being always in writing, was hence called bockland, which signifies terram codicillariam, or librariam, deed land or charter land. It was the same as allodium, being descendible according to the common course of nature and nations, and devisable by will. This species of inheritance was usually possessed by the thanes or nobles. Spelman on Feuds.

Such goods as a

BONA NOTABILIA. party dying had in another diocese than that wherein he died, and as amounted at the least to £5, which, whoever had, must have had his will proved before the archbishop of that province, unless, by composition or custom, other dioceses were authorized to do it, where bona notabilia were rated at a greater sum. If, however, a person happened to die in another diocese than that wherein he lived, while on a journey, what he had about him of the value of £5 was not bona notabilia. Book of Canons, 1 Jac. Can. 92, 93; Cunningham. But now under the Court of Probate Act, 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 77), ss. 3-4, the distinction of goods as bona notabilia has been abolished. 1 Wms. Exors. 279-280.

BONA VACANTIA. Goods in which no one claims a property but the king; such as royal fish, shipwrecks, treasure trove, waifs, strays, &c. Where a person dies possessed of personal property. intestate, and leaving no next of kin, the Crown becomes entitled upon office found to all such property. This title of the Crown is in virtue of its prerogative, and in this respect differs from the

BONA VACANTIA-continued. title of the Crown to land by escheat. Sce Middleton v. Spicer, 1 Bro. C. C. 201; Burgess v. Wheate, 1 Eden, 177.

BOND. Is a contract by specialty to pay a certain sum of money. It is either single, i.e., simple, in which case the money is absolutely to be paid; or double, i.e., conditional, in which case the money is only conditionally payable, and ceases to be payable or becomes absolutely payable according to the event which is expressed in the condition. If the condition is entire and unlawful, the bond is void (Collins v. Blantern, 1 Sm. L. C. 325); but if the condition is severable, and part of it is good, the bond is valid to that extent (Yale v. Rex (in error), 6 Bro. P. C. 61). In the case of alternative conditions, if one becomes impossible, the other, as a general rule, becomes absolute (Da Costa v. Davis, 1 B. & P. 242). The chief varieties of bonds are the following:-Bonds of Indemnity, Post Obit Bonds, Voluntary Bonds, Administration Bonds, Bail Bonds, Bottomry Bonds, Debentures, Guaranties, Replevin Bonds, Bonds in Restraint of Trade, Resignation Bonds, and Lloyd's Bonds, most of which will be found explained under the appropriate titles.

See also title OBLIGATION.

BOROUGH: See title REPRESENTATION.

BOROUGH ENGLISH. The custom which prevails in certain ancient boroughs and copyhold manors, of lands descending to the youngest son instead of to the eldest. The reason of this custom seems to be, that in these boroughs people chiefly maintain and support themselves by trade and industry; and the elder children, being provided for out of their father's goods, and introduced into his trade in his lifetime, were able to subsist of themselves without any land provision, and therefore the land descended to the youngest son, he being in most danger of being left destitute. It is called borough English, because, as some hold, it first prevailed in England. Unlike Gavelkind, the mode of descent in borough English is confined to lineal descendants, and does not extend to collaterals.

See titles GAVELKIND; TENURES. BOTTOMRY. Is in the nature of a mortgage of a ship, when the owner takes up money upon it to enable him to carry on his voyage, and pledges the keel or bottom of the ship (partem pro toto), as a security for the repayment thereof. which case it is understood, that if the ship be lost, the lender loses also his whole money; but if it return in safety, then he shall receive back his principal, and also

In

BOTTOMRY-continued.

the premium or interest agreed upon, however it may exceed what was once the legal rate of interest. And this is allowed to be a valid contract in all trading nations, for the benefit of commerce, and by reason of the extraordinary hazard run by the lender; and in this case, the ship and tackle, if brought home, are answerable (as well as the person of the borrower) for money lent. Park on Insurance.

See also titles RESPONDENTIA; SHIP

PING.

BOUGHT AND SOLD NOTES. These are the notes which a broker of stock or goods sends respectively to the vendor and purchaser for whom he has been engaged in the particular sale. They furnish the evidence of the contract, and, if they agree, bind the principals, the broker having authority to sign for both. Fisenden v. Levy, 3 F. & F. 477.

BOUNDARIES. The boundaries of boroughs are at present regulated by the stats. 2 & 3 Will. 4, c. 64, and 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 103. Upon a question of boundaries, evidence of reputation, although in the nature of hearsay, is receivable.

See title HEARSAY EVIDENCE.

BOURSE DE COMMERCE. In French law, is an aggregation sanctioned by Government of merchants, captains of vessels, exchange-agents, and courtiers, the two latter being nominated by the Government in each city which has a bourse.

BRAWLING. Under the 27 Geo. 3, c. 44, any suit for this offence was to be brought in the Ecclesiastical Court within eight months; but under the stat. 23 & 24 Vict. c. 32, the Ecclesiastical Courts were deprived of all their jurisdiction in the matter in the case of lay persons, and the justices of the peace were invested with authority to punish the offence as a misde

of privilege is a contempt of the High Court of Parliament, whether relating to the House of Lords or to the House of Commons. Both branches of the Legislature act on the same grounds, both declare what are and what are not breaches of their privileges, when the question is raised, and both punish, by commitment or otherwise, as the Courts of Law and Equity do for contempt of Court. Resistance to the officers of the Houses of Parliament has, in almost all cases, been treated as a breach of the privileges of Parliament. The presence of strangers is a breach of privilege, though permitted on

E

BREACH OF PRIVILEGE-continued. sufferance; and, formerly, to take a note of any of the proceedings was a high act of contempt, although now the representatives of the newspaper press are not only allowed to be present for that purpose, but have a gallery to themselves in each House, and every accommodation afforded them which the courtesy of the chief officers of both can render.

See title PRIVILEGES OF PARLIAMENT.

BREACH OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE. Under the stat. 14 & 15 Vict. c. 99, rendering the parties to a civil action competent to give evidence, the parties to a breach of promise case were expressly left to remain incompetent; but under the stat. 32 & 33 Vict. c. 68, that incompetency has been removed.

In Sch. B. to C. L. P. Act, 1852, the following simple form of count is given:

That the plaintiff and defendant agreed to marry one another, and a reasonable time for such marriage has elapsed, and the plaintiff has always been ready and willing to marry the defendant, yet the defendant has neglected and refused to marry the plaintiff. (No. 19.)

It is a defence to an action of this sort, that the defendant has since his promise discovered the plaintiff to be unchaste (Irving v. Greenwood, 1 C. & P. 350), or to have had a bastard by some one (Young v. Murphy, 3 Bing. N. Č. 54), although ten or more years ago.

BRIBERY. The crime of offering any undue reward or remuneration to any public officer of the Crown, or other person entrusted with a public duty, with a view to influence his behaviour in the discharge of his duty. The taking such reward is as much bribery as the offering it. It also sometimes signifies the taking or giving a reward for public office. The offence is not confined, as some have supposed, to judicial officers. Bribery at elections vitiates the same. See stat. 31 & 32 Vict. c. 125 (Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868).

BROKERS. These are agents of various kinds, but principally agents on the Stock Exchange. By the stat. 6 Anne, c. 16, a broker on the Stock Exchange is required to be admitted by the Court of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, and to pay 40s. yearly for the use of the City, under a penalty of £25, increased by the stat. 57 Geo. 3, c. lx. (local and personal) to £100. But under the stat. 33 & 34 Vict. c. 60 (London Brokers Relief Act, 1870), the jurisdiction of the Court of Aldermen over brokers has been made to cease, saving existing rights; and brokers guilty of a fraud are disqualified from acting as brokers. It is the duty of a broker of the

BROKERS-continued.

City of London to charge his principal only with the cost price of articles purchased by him, in addition to his commission. Procter v. Brain, 2 M. & P. 284.

See also titles JOBBER; FACTOR.

BROTHEL. The statutes for the repression or regulation of houses of this character are 25 Geo. 2. c. 36, 28 Geo. 3, c. 19, and 58 Geo. 3, c. 70. Any inhabitant of the parish may give information thereof to the parish constable, and the overseers of the parish are to pay to the informant upon conviction a reward of £10.

BUGGERY: See title SODOMY.

BUILDING SOCIETY. A benefit building society is constituted upon its adoption of the rules prescribed by the stats. 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 32, and 12 & 13 Vict. c. 106, and which rules must be certified. It is within the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery under the Companies Act, 1862, as to winding up (In re Midland Counties Benefit Building Society, 13 W. R. 399); but not within the provisions of the Acts regulating friendly societies or industrial and provident societies (25 & 26 Vict. c. 87).

gage is described by Glanvil, and is expressly laid down by Littleton, to be but tenure in socage; and it is where the king or other person is lord of an ancient borough in which the tenements are held by a rent certain. It is, indeed, only a kind of town socage, by which other lands are holden, and is usually of a rural nature. A borough is usually distinguished from other towns by the right of sending members to Parliament; and where the right of election is by burgage tenure, that alone is a proof of the antiquity of the borough. It is, therefore, a tenure proper to boroughs, whereby the inhabitants, by ancient custom, hold their lands or tenements of the king or other lord of the borough at a certain yearly rent. 3 Bl. 82. See also title TENURES.

BURGLARY. A criminal offence which consists in entering a dwelling-house with intent to commit any felony therein, or being in such dwelling-house committing any felony therein, and in either case breaking out of the same dwelling-house, in the night, i.e., between the hours of 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. (24 & 25 Vict. c. 96, ss. 1, 51). The punishment is penal servitude for life, or for any term not less than five years, or imprisonment with or without hard labour, or with or without solitary confinement, for any term not exceeding two years.