pressed in a for

SEC. 323. If the contents of such be expressed in the money of account or currency of any foreign country, then the principal, as When the well as the damages payable thereon, shall be ascertained and amount is exdetermined by the rate of exchange; but whenever the value of eign currency, such foreign coin is fixed by the laws of the United States, then the ascertained. value thus fixed shall prevail.

SEC. 324. The following shall be considered as days of public rest

damages how

in this State, namely: the First of January, the Eighth of January, Days of public the Twenty-second of February, the Fourth of July, the Twenty-fifth rest. of December, Sundays and Good Friday, and all promissory notes and bills of exchange shall be due and payable on the second day of grace when the third is a day of public rest, and on the first day of grace, when both the second and third are days of public rest; and in computing the delay allowed for giving notice of nonacceptance or non-payment of a bill of exchange or promissory note, the days of publie rest shall not be counted; and if the day or two days next succeeding the protest for non-acceptance or nonpayment shall be days of public rest, then the day next following shall be computed as the first day after the protest.

tests and notices

SEC. 325. Notaries and parish recorders shall keep a separate book, in which they shall transcribe and record, by order of date, Notaries to keep all the protests by them made, with mention made of the notices a record of prowhich they shall have given of the same to the drawers or indorsers thereof, together with the names of the drawers or indorsers, the date of the notices, and the manner in which they were served or forwarded, which declaration, duly recorded under the signature of the notary public or parish recorder and two witnesses, shall be considered and received in all courts of this State as a legal proof of the notices.

made and

SEC. 326. All notaries, or persons acting as such, are authorized in their protests of bills of exchange, promissory notes, or orders for Protests, how the payment of money, to make mention of the demand made upon notices given. the drawer, acceptor, or person on whom such order or bill of exchange is drawn or given, and of the manner and circumstances of such demand, and by certificate added to such protest, to state the manner in which any notices of protest were served or forwarded; and whenever they shall have so done, a certified copy of such protest and certificate shall be evidence of all the matters therein stated.

test, when to be

SEC. 327. Whenever the drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, shall not reside in the town or city where protest shall be made, it Notices of proshall be the duty of such notaries, or others acting as such, to put put in the postinto the nearest post office where the protest is made, a notice of the office. protest to such drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, addressed to them at their domicile or usual place of residence.

is

SEC. 323. Whenever the residence of any drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, shall be unknown to the notary, or other person Notice, how acting as such, and whenever, after using all due diligence to obtain given when the the necessary information thereon, the residence shall not have unknown. been found, then it shall be the duty of the notary, or other person acting as such, to put the notice of such protest in the nearest post office where the protest was made, addressed to the drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, at the place where, as it shall appear by the face thereof, such bill of exchange or promissory note was drawn, and the same shall be deemed and considered legal notice of such protest.

Orleans au

SEC. 329. Notaries public in the city of New Orleans are emNotaries in New powered to protest bills of exchange, notes and other negotiable thorized to pro- effects throughout the parish of Orleans, and in default of notaries and test throughout parish recorders in the country, any justice of the peace may protest promissory notes and bills of exchange in the presence of two persons residing in the parish, who shall certify and subscribe the same as witnesses.

the parish.

commodation

notes liable as

SEC. 330. Whenever promissory notes are indorsed for the beneIndorsers of ac- fit of the drawer or drawers thereof, and the same is mentioned on the notes, if the drawer or drawers cause the notes to be discounted drawers in cer- in any bank in operation within this State, or obtain any sum of money in consideration of the notes from any person, the indorsers shall by law be bound towards the bearers of the notes as if they had been discounted or negotiated for their own account and benefit.

tain cases.

Days of grace.

1858-128.

SEC. 331. Upon all bills of exchange and promissory notes made negotiable by law, or by the usage and custom of merchants in this State, three days of grace shall be allowed.

SEC. 332. Upon all bills of exchange at sight, and upon all drafts or orders for money on demand, payable at any place within this not allowed on State, no days of grace shall be allowed.

Days of grace

certain bills.

1839-172-24. Art. 491, C. P.

Suits on bills of exchange, when

SEC. 333. All suits against makers and indorsers of promissory notes, drawers, indorsers and acceptors of bills of exchange, and generally all suits brought on unconditional obligations to pay a specific sum of money, shall be tried without a jury, unless the jury is allowed. defendant shall make oath that his signature to the note, bill or other obligation is not genuine, or that he expects to prove that the same had been obtained through fraud or error, or want or failure of consideration; or in cases when the defendant in his answer may set up a plea of compensation or reconvention, and make oath to the truth of all the allegations in said plea or answer.

1852-90-3. Art. 3505, C. C. Prescription.

1866-266. Manner of

pawning certain evidences of credit.

Notice to be given.

1860-41. Promissory notes, etc., col

lectable, though bearing interest

greater than eight per cent.

SEC. 334. All promissory notes, whether the same be negotiable or otherwise, shall be prescribed by five years.

SEC. 335. When a debtor wishes to pawn promissory notes, bills of exchange, stocks, obligations or claims upon other persons, he shall deliver to the creditors the notes, bills of exchange, certificates of stocks or other evidences of the claims or rights so pawned, and such pawn so made, without further formalities, shall be valid, as well against third persons as against the pledgers thereof, if made in good faith.

SEC. 336. If a credit not negotiable be given in pledge, notice of the same must be given to the debtor.

SEC. 337. The owner of any promissory note, bond or written obligation for the payment of money, to order or bearer, or transferable by assignment, shall have the right to collect the whole amount of such promissory notes, bonds or written obligations, notwithstanding such promissory notes, bonds or written obligations may include a greater rate of interest or discount than eight per cent. per annum; Provided, Such obligations shall not bear more than eight per cent. interest per annum after their maturity until paid.

Parish Recorders to record births.. 338 Penalty for not conforming to the
Declaration of births when to be

same.....
Recorder of births and deaths in
Orleans..... .

345

346

341

Deaths in Orleans reported; by

343

344

Parish record

SEC. 338. It shall be the duty of all the parish recorders of this 1869-20. State to record all births in a book bound and kept for that purpose, ers to record in the order of their dates.

births.

SEC. 339. It shall be the duty of the parish recorder to receive declarations of birth within eight days from the birth. They may, 1855-41. however, extend that delay to two months after the birth, when a Declaration of declaration could not be made sooner, on account of the persons be received. births, when to who are to make the same living at a distance, or being prevented by sickness or other lawful impediment.

SEC. 340. The birth of a child shall be declared by his father, or

whom made.

in case the father could not make the said declaration, by any other Declaration, by person who may have been present at the birth of the child, and the said birth shall be immediately recorded in presence of the two witnesses.

SEC. 341. The said records shall contain the day, hour and place of birth, the sex of the child, and the first name or names given to Record, what to the child, the first name or names, profession and residence of the father and mother, and the names of the witnesses.

contain.

death, by whom

SEC. 342. Deaths shall be recorded by the parish recorders, upon the declaration of two witnesses, who shall be, if possible, the two Declaration of nearest relatives or neighbors of the deceased, or when a person to be made. shall have died out of his house, the person at whose house he shall have died, with a relation or another.

deaths, what to

SEC. 343. The record of deaths shall contain the name in full, age, trade and residence of the deceased, the name in full of the Record of surviving consort, if the person deceased was married, or a widower, contain. or a widow, the name, age, profession and resident of the declarants, and if they be relatives, the degree of relationship. The same record shall contain, as far as the same may be ascertained, the christian names, profession and residence of the father and mother of the deceased, and the place of his or her birth.

Out of Orleans,

SEC. 344. No person out of the parish of Orleans shall be under births and any legal obligation to have a birth or death recorded.

deaths not recorded.

SEC. 345. The birth of every child in the parish of Orleans shall Delay for debe declared therein within thirty days, as provided in the preceding Orleans.

claring births in

conforming to

Penalty for not sections. Every person offending against the provisions of this section shall pay a fine of not less than five nor more than ten dollars, one-half for the benefit of the informer.

the same.

Recorder of

births and

deaths in Orleans.

1869-20.

Deaths in Orleans reported; by whom reported.

SEC. 346. For the parish of Orleans there shall be an office of record of births and deaths, whereof the officer shall be appointed by the Governor.

SEC. 347. The death of every person within the parish of Orleans shall be reported at said office within twenty-four hours thereafter. This declaration shall be made by the nearest relative of the deceased, if he or she is present, and in case of absence, by the testamentary executor, if there be one; if none, by the owner or tenant of the house in which the person died, and if the death happened in a State, parish, municipal, charitable or benevolent institution, hospital, asylum, prison, workhouse, house of refuge, insane asylum, etc., it shall be the duty of the president, superintendent or managers of said institutions to have the said death recorded in the said office of recorder of births and deaths monthly. It shall also be the duty of the coroners to record monthly in said office the deaths of all persons upon whose bodies an inquest has been held, or a certificate issued by them for the burial of indigent persons, and the recording fees in Recording fees, such cases shall be charged to the city of New Orleans, or the police jury of the parish of Orleans, right bank, as the case may be, and any person contravening the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than ten nor more than twenty-five dollars, recoverable before any court of competent jurisdiction.

Coroners to record certain deaths.

how charged.

Penalty.

41.

Fee for recording birth or death.

SEC. 348. For every record of birth and death, and for registering the same, henceforward the sum of fifty cents shall be allowed.

1867-53. Preamble.

WHEREAS, The Board of Currency, now existing, was created for the exclusive purpose of regulating and controlling the issue of the banks, so as to secure a sound and specie paying currency to the State; and

Whereas, The United States laws, now in force, virtually prohibit any issue of circulating notes by the banks of the State, and render the further existence of said Board of Currency superfluous, and its maintenance a useless expense; therefore,

SEC. 349. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives Acts repealed. of the State of Louisiana, in General Assembly convened, That an act entitled An Act to authorize and require the State Treasurer and Secretary of State to perform the duties heretofore required of the

Board of Currency in supervising the operation of the banks, approved March 12, 1865, and all supplementary acts thereto, further defining the duties and powers thereof, and an act entitled An Act to appoint a secretary of the Board of Currency and define the duties of his office, approved March 18, 1858, be, and the same is hereby repealed, except so much thereof as requires the regular monthly deports, to reports of the banks under oath, of their condition, which said reports shall be made to the State Treasurer.

SEC. 350. Be it further enacted, etc., That all the books, papers and records of said Board of Currency shall be turned over to the State Treasurer, and for the services of an additional clerk the State Treasurer shall be allowed the sum of one thousand dollars per annum, to be paid to him monthly, pro rata, by the banks.

whom made.

Books, papers, over to the State

etc., to be turned

Treasurer.