"Has

heavy expense to which it has been subject.” your bank an establishment at Kirkcudbright?" "The Bank of England has the control of its issues entirely within itself.”

3. When we notice the rules or habitual acts of a bank, the word belongs to the singular-as, "The Provincial Bank allows interest at the rate of two per cent." "The bank draws bills upon London at twenty-one days after date." "The bank discounts bills at the rate of four per cent." "The bank issues notes payable in gold at the place of issue." "The London and Westminster grants interest upon deposits-it does not allow its officers to receive Christmas presents from its customers." In reference to cases that fall under this rule, there is, however, some contrariety of practice: "Do the Provincial Bank issue post bills? They do not." "Have the Bank of Ireland at their branch at Cork been in the habit of receiving gold to any amount in payments?" "Have the Bank of Ireland any deposits at the Cork branch? Do you know how their notes get into circulation? Do they pay any interest on their deposits? They have a great quantity of notes in circulation— have they not?"

4. When the word bank is connected with a past participle by means of the neuter verb to be, it usually belongs to the singular―as, “I am a director of the Bank of Scotland, which is established by Act of Parliament; it does not hold a charter from the Crown, but in common language it is called a chartered bank." "Suppose a bank was enabled to take 6 per cent. on a cash credit, instead of 4." "The Falkirk Union Banking Company has been returned to this house, as sequestrated in the month of October, 1816." "A new bank was constituted as a fund, upon which the sum of 2,564,000l. should be raised, and it was called the Land Bank, because established on land securities."

5. When the word bank is preceded by the indefinite article, a, an-by the demonstrative pronoun, this, that-or by the words each, any, every, one-it belongs to the singular; as, "Do you not think that a bank that is possessed of a capital of one million, may and will do more business than a bank that is only possessed of half a million ?" "In a moment of pressure, an emergency like the present, that bank would get into great disrepute who called up any one of its cash credits." "What is the amount of the small note circulation in that bank, as

connected with its whole circulation ?" "Each bank has an interest to issue as much of the small note circulation as it can ?Certainly it has, provided the small notes can be kept out; but, as every bank makes an exchange at Glasgow twice every week, and the exchanges of each bank come back upon itself, and the balance is paid by a draft on Edinburgh at sight," &c. "I believe almost every bank in Scotland has an agent in Glasgow." "Suppose one bank in Scotland made its notes payable in Scotland, at the place where the notes were issued." "Is there any bank in Cork now that issues notes ?"

6. When the word bank is introduced in either the singular or the plural number, the same number should be preserved throughout the sentence. Hence, the following sentence of Smollett's is inaccurate: 66 'By the same Acts the bank was required to advance a sum not exceeding 2,500,000l. towards discharging the national debt, if wanted, on condition that they should have 51. per cent. for as much as they might advance, redeemed by Parliament."

7. When the word bank is used in the singular number, it is considered as a substantive of the neuter gender, and hence is associated with the relative pronoun, which; but when used in the plural number, it implies the idea of persons, and has accordingly the personal relative, who; as, "The bank with which he kept his account has stopped payment;" or, "The bank with whom he kept his account have stopped payment." "The bank, whose interests are affected by the proposed measure, have petitioned against it." The bank upon whom the cheque was drawn have refused to honour it." The following sentence is not in accordance with this rule: "In a moment of pressure, an emergency like the present, that bank would get into great disrepute who called up any of its cash credits."

I have not observed that any English writer, except Mr. McCulloch, considered a bank to be a lady; and this is only in the case of an Irish bank. Under the article "Banking, in his Commercial Dictionary, he says, "The Bank of Ireland draws on London, at twenty days' date. She neither grants cash credits, nor allows any interest on deposits; she discounts at the rate of 57. per cent." This mode of expression is, however, very common with American writers.*

It has now become more common with English writers, especially with reference to the Bank of England. 1849.

II. Should we write accepter or acceptor of a bill of exchange? The name of the agent to any verb is usually formed, in our language, by the addition of r or er to the verb; as, indorser, talker, walker, speaker. What reason, then, can be assigned why, in the present case, we should depart from the analogy of the language? We do not say, the drawor, the holdor, the payor of a bill; why then should we say the acceptor? When we speak of the accepter of a bill, why should we not spell the word in the same way as when we speak of the accepter of a present, or of a fee? Yet all our English legal authors write, acceptor: "A person who accepts for honour, is only liable if the original drawee do not pay; and to charge such acceptor, there must be a presentment for payment to such original drawee."-Bayley. "A foreign bill is binding in this country on the acceptor, though he accepted by parol, or by writing unconnected with the instrument."Chitty. "Where the acceptor of a forged bill pays it, and is guilty of any negligence, or want of due caution in making such payment, he cannot recover the money so paid, from the innocent party to whom he paid it."-Roscoe. Scotch authors, however, write accepter. "An English inland bill has generally three parties to it-the drawer, accepter, and payee; whereas, in Scotland, most of the inland bills have, at first, but two parties, the drawer and the accepter; and they are made payable to the drawer or his order."

III. Should we write indorse or endorse? Indorse is derived direct from the Latin, in dorsum, on the back. Endorse is derived from the Latin, through the French, endosser. In such cases, most writers adopt the Latin mode of spelling, in preference to the French, as indorse, inquire, intire; not endorse, enquire, entire. All legal authors write indorse. "A promise to indorse, though on sufficient consideration, cannot be treated as an actual indorsement."-Bayley. "The liability of the indorser is discharged by want of notice, as in the case of the drawer."-Roscoe. "A person who draws or indorses a bill, or indorses a note for the accommodation of the acceptor or maker, or payee, or prior indorsers, has on paying the instrument, a remedy over thereon against the acceptor or maker, or prior party."-Chitty. "A drawer or indorser cannot, in the character of indorsee, maintain an action against the

*See Glen on the Law of Bills of Exchange in Scotland.

accepter, where the indorsement is after the refusal of payment."-Glen.

IV. Should we say indorsement or indorsation? In England we always use the word indorsement. "No particular words are essential to an indorsement; the mere signature of the indorser is, in general, sufficient."-Bayley. "The indorsement may be upon the face, or at the back of the bill.”—Chitty. "An attesting witness to an indorsement is necessary, when the bill is for a less sum than 57."-Chitty. In Scotland the term more generally used is indorsation. "If a bill or note be granted to a woman while single, and she afterwards marry, the right to transfer it by indorsation would vest in the husband." "After a bill has been paid no indorsation can take place, so as to affect the accepter, or any of the parties who would otherwise be discharged."-Glen. The word indorsement is also used in Scotland, though more rarely. Both words appear to have precisely the same meaning. "An indorsation is made, either by the indorser's writing, and subscribing an order to pay the contents of the bill to some particular person mentioned by name, which is styled a full indorsement, or by merely signing his name on the bill, and delivering it to the indorsee, or person to whom it is indorsed, which is termed a blank indorsation."-Glen. "A fictitious indorsement to a bill is a forgery; such indorsation is clearly giving it a false credit."-Glen.

V. Should we say the presentment or the presentation of a bill of exchange? All writers agree in using presentment. "If upon the presentment of the bill for acceptance to the drawee, he refuse or neglect to accept it, the drawer is immediately responsible to the holder, although the bill has not become due according to its tenor."-Chitty. "If the bill be payable after sight, and the drawee detain it some days without declaring his intention to accept, and afterwards incline to do so, the acceptance must be from the date of the first presentment.”Glen. "Presentment for payment must be made by the holder of the bill, or by an agent competent to give a legal receipt for the money."-Glen. "Upon a presentment for acceptance, the bill should be left with the drawee twenty-four hours, unless in the interim he either accept, or declare a resolution not to accept. But a bill or note must not be left (unless it be paid) on a presentment for payment; if it be, the presentment

is not considered as made, until the money is called for."Bayley.

VI. Should we write draught or draft? This word is derived from the verb to draw, and probably was originally written and pronounced drawght. But custom, which is the law of language, has changed both the pronunciation and the spelling to draft. In the former editions of this work, I mentioned that Mr. Justice Bayley had always spelled this word draught; but in a recent edition of his work, since published, I find that draught has been changed to draft.

VII. Should we write check or cheque? This word is derived from the French, echecs, chess. The chequers placed at the doors of public-houses, are intended to represent chess-boards, and originally denoted that the game of chess was played in those houses. Similar tables were employed in reckoning money, and hence came the expression--to check an account; and the Government Office, where the public accounts were kept, was called the Exchequer. It probably obtained this name from the French exchiquier, a chess-board, though Blackstone states that this court was called the exchequer, from the chequered cloth which covered the table. Of the two forms of writing this word, check and cheque, the latter seems preferable, as it is free from ambiguity, and is analogous to EX-CHEQUER, the public treasury. It is also used by the Bank of England, "CHEQUE-OFFICE." In Bayley both forms are employed. "A cheque upon a banker was lost, and paid to a stranger the day before it bore date: the banker was obliged to repay the money to the loser." "By the usage of trade, a banker in London will not render himself responsible by retaining a check drawn on him, provided he return it at any time before five o'clock on the evening of the day in which it was drawn."

SECTION IV.

THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF A BANK.

To be a good banker requires some intellectual and some moral qualifications. A banker need not be a man of talent, but he should be a man of wisdom. Talent, in the sense in which the word is ordinarily used, implies a strong develop