mouldering bodies have been weak and defenceless women! they have all been tempted to commit the act for which they died, by the bait which you held out, the facility with which they could accomplish the crime; yet thou, old man,' continued he, thou hoary son of luxury, hast long possessed the means of preventing their misfortune, but, prodigal of human life, and pitiless, you slumbered away year after year, and listened to the groans of the dying without a pang! therefore art thou a murderer! a cruel and rapacious murderer!' "Oh! my friend, words cannot convey to you my sensations; my eyes seemed bound in burning iron, at which my tears were burnt up as they approached to relieve me ;-my knees trembled with weakness, yet I had not the power to fall upon the ground. My guide now led me away from this withering scene, and through a gloomy passage we reached the world again;-it was all darkness, and the silent hour of midnight. "The object of the Spirit now evidently was to show me the habitations of the wretched, so he prɔceeded through various passages, and at length we entered a house, where lay, upon a few straws, a wasted form, surrounded by four or five sickly children; her tears seemed all exhausted, and her countenance fixed in the frame of grief. At another part of the room sat an aged man, who moved his body to and fro as in the agony of sorrow, while his wild stare was that of a maniac, and his teeth chattered with cold. A groan now came from the mother of the wretched babes ;-it was the tongue of agony forcing the clammy gates of her utterance. 'Father!' said she, 'father, are you awake?' The poor old man arose, nnd tottered across the floor in obedience to the call of misery, and stooping over her, demanded, in a voice that tore my bosom, what the sufferer wanted? 'Wet my lips,' said she. 'My poor child, you require a little wine to nourish you, but I have only water.' 'No matter, father; wet my lips.' The old man obeyed. 'Father,' said she, I dreamt that William came to me, and I am sure I shall soon be along with him,' The poor old creature received a shock by the words pronounced, and bursting into a flood of tears, knelt down and kissed his daughter's hand, while his aged frame shook with convulsive sobs. Bill! my poor son Bill!-he cannot see your sufferings! -he would help you, Mary, if he were here, and so will I, his father, as long as I am able;-to-morrow, Mary, to-morrow I shall bring you comfort.-I dare say I shall get some money to-morrow from the charitable Mr. 'Father,' rejoined the female, take care of these little children;-do not tell them of their father's fate ;--and go to the gentlemen of the Bank,-tell them of the children's situation; perhaps they may relieve them, although cruelcruel to my poor William !'-She spoke no more!--She died in her father's arms! "My conductor, haply for my feelings, led me away. But need I trouble you to listen to the recital of scenes like that I have mentioned ? Suffice it to say, that all the situations which icy poverty and keen sorrow could produce, were placed successively before me; at length the figure addressed me thus:'Now I have pointed out to you the scenes of misery which you, old man, have been instrumental in framing; these are the families of the unhappy wretches who were tempted to their fate by your neglect. Go now to your bed; think on the horrors I have shown you, and cut short the miseries which must accrue from further lethargy. If you regard not what I say, mark me! I may soon revisit you and your junta with fire and sword!' "Here ended my dream, and I awoke in convulsion of every limb. Oh! my friend, advise me; what shall I do? Give me your kind counsel, for I will not sleep again until something be done.” Mr. Editor, I replied to the contrite Bank Director as nearly as possible in the following words :"Your dream, my friend, has been - an awful and a painful one, but, like the road to Heaven, the end of it will bring its reward. Take it as the voice of Providence, and amend the abominable grievance which your notes in the present state certainly are. You can be furnished forthwith, nay, could have been years ago, with a plan of a note totally impossible to forge, and thus you will effectually put a stop to the scenes of carnage and misery that have stained the page of our country's history, and will hold the generous and feeling people of Great Britain up to posterity as a cruel, senseless, and diabolical race. Do this, and you will be happy; fail to do it, and I should not be surprised that one day or other both the Bank and its members may be immolated on the altar of public fury." The good old man (for I must do him the justice to say he is naturally well inclined, although weak)—I say the good old man, while he wiped his eyes, shook my hand, and a dead pause ensued. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, O LOMON THOUGHTFUL, D. D. S reet, Chelsea. LAWS RELATING TO BILLS OF EXCHANGE, PROMISSORY NOTES, &c. (Continued from P. 406.) Abstract of an Act to regulate Acceptances of Bills of Exchange. 1&2 Geo. IV. Passed 2nd July, 1821. Whereas according to law as hath been adjudged, where a bill is accepted payable at a banker's, the acceptance thereof is not a general but a qualified acceptance: and whereas a practice hath very generally prevailed among merchants and traders so to accept bills, and the same have, among such persons, been very generally considered as bills generally accepted, and accepted without qualification and whereas many persons have been, and may be much prejudiced and misled by such practice and understanding, and persons accepting bills may relieve themselves from all inconvenience, by giving such notice as hereinafter mentioned of their intention to make only a quali» fied acceptance thereof; it is therefore enacted, that from and after the first day of August, 1821, if any person shall accept a bill of exchange, payable at the house of a banker or other place, without further expres sion in his acceptance, such acceptance shall be deemed and taken to be, to all intents and purposes, a general acceptance of such bill; but if the acceptor shall in his acceptance express that he accepts the bill, payable at a banker's house or other place only, and not otherwise or elsewhere, such acceptance shall be deemed and taken to be, to all intents and purposes, a qualified acceptance of such bill, and the acceptor shall not be liable to pay the said bill, except in default of payment, when such payment shall have been first duly demanded at such banker's house or other place. No acceptance of any inland bill of exchange shall be sufficient to charge any person, unless such aɛceptance be in writing on such bill, or if there be more than one part of such bill, on one of the said parts. Bills drawn on Joint Traders, how far Binding. Where there are two joint traders, and a bill is drawn on both of them, the acceptance of one binds the other, if it concern the joint trade; but it is otherwise if it concern the acceptor only, in a distinct respect and in terest. Acceptance of Bills by Partners and Agents. When an acceptance is made by one partner only, on the partnership account, it should express that he accepts for himself and partner, and when by an agent for his principal, it is usual and necessary for him to specify that he does it as agent, as it would otherwise make him personally responsible. Of negociating Bills by Procuration. Bills of exchange are sometimes made in the name and for the account of a third person, by virtue of full power and authority given by The resemblance of a promissory note to a bill of exchange begins as soon as the promissory note is indorsed, for then it is an order by the indorser to the maker of the note, who by his promise is his debtor, to pay the money to the indorsee. The indorser of the note then corresponds to the drawer of the bill; the maker, to the drawee or acceptor; and the indorsee to the payee. As soon as this point of resemblance is fixed, the law is fully settled to be exactly the same in bills of exchange and promissory notes; and whenever the law is reported to have been settled with respect to the acceptor of a bill, it is to be considered as applicable to the drawer (or maker) of the note; when with respect to the drawer of a bill, then to the first indorser of a note; the subsequent indorsers and indorsees bear an exact resemblance to one another. What Orders in Bills or Notes shall be valid. Any order wherein the sum or time can be certainly specified, will constitute a valid bill or note; thus an order to pay money as the drawer's quarterly half pay may advance, before the pay will be due; or to pay money when A B shall come of age, specifying the day when the event shall happen, are good bills or notes. An order or promise to pay within a limited time after a man's death, is a good bill or note, as is also an order or promise to pay within a limited time after the payment of money due from government, because there is a moral certainty that such payments will be made some time or other, al though the exact period is uncertain. A bill or note payable to A B or order, is payable to order. A bill or note payable to A B or bearer, is payable to bearer; and in the latter case, A B is a mere cypher. It is not essential that a bill or note should be made payable either to order or to bearer, so as to entitle the acceptor to the benefit of the three days grace; for unless a bill or note be made "payable to order," it gives no authority to an indorser to recover the amount of the drawee; but the indorsement of a note or bill which has not these words, is good, so as to make the indorser liable to the indorsee; nor that such bill or note should import to have been for value received. Presentment of Bills, &c. for Acceptance or Payment. It is a question which seems never to have had a direct judicial determination, whether the holder of a bill payable at a certain time after the date, be bound to present it for acceptance immediately on receiving it, or whether he may wait till it becomes due, and then present it for payment. In practice, however, it sometimes happens that a bill is negociated and transferred through many hands without acceptance, and not presented to the drawee till the time of payment, and no objection has been made on that account. But when a bill is drawn payable within a specified time after sight, it is necessary, in order to ascertain the period when the bill is to be paid, to present it to the drawee for acceptance. And the time of payment must be computed from the time of its acceptance. And though in other cases it may not be incumbent on the holder to present it before it is due, yet it is certainly most advisable in all cases to get it accepted if possible, as by that means another debtor is added to the drawer, who becomes a new security, and consequently renders the bill the more negociable. : If the drawee of a bill cannot be found at the place where the bill states him to reside, and it appears that he never lived there or has absconded; the bill is to be considered as dishonoured; but if he has only removed, the holder must endeavour to find out to what place he has removed, and to make the presentment there. He should in all cases make every possible inquiry after the drawee, and if it be in his power, present the bill to him; but if the drawee has actually left the kingdom, or cannot be found, it will be sufficient to present the bill at his house. A presentment either for payment or acceptance must be made at seasonable hours; and seasonable hours are the usual hours of business in the place where the party lives to whom the presentment is to be made. But a neglect to make a presentment at a proper time, may be excused by illness, or by some other cause accident. or No delay warranted by the common course of business is improper, nor is any delay which is occasioned by keeping the bill in circulation at a distance from the place where it is payable; but a delay by locking it up for any length of time is improper. If on presentment, it appears the drawee is dead, the holder should inquire after his personal representative, and if he lives within a reasonable distance, should present the bill to him. If on presentment for acceptance, the drawee dishonours the bill, the holder may insist on immediate payment by the parties liable to him, or, in default thereof, may instantly commence an action against them; on which principle it was determined, that if a man draws a bill, and commits an act of bankruptcy, and afterwards the bill is returned for non-acceptance, the debt is contracted before the act of bankruptcy, and may be proved under the commission; which could not have been the case, if the time when notice of non-acceptance was given had been considered as the period when the debt was contracted. When a bill or check is expressed to be payable on demand, or where no time of payment is expressed, it is-payable instantly on presentment, which may be made immediately after it is delivered to the payee, without allowing any days of grace; and the presentiment for payment of such a bill or check must be made within a reasonable time after the receipt of it. Time allowed for Acceptance. A bill should be left with the drawee twenty-four hours, unless in the interim he either accepts, or declares 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. Acceptance when not Binding, or There are two species of waivers of acceptances of bills of exchange; the one express, and the other implied. An agreement to consider an acceptance at an end, or a message from the holder to the acceptor, upon an accommodation bill, "that the business was settled with the drawer, and he nced give himself no further trouble," is an express waiver; the receipt of the known consideration of the acceptance will constitute an implied one. The obligation of a complete acceptance may be also waived. Consequence of Accepting or Indorsing a forged Bill. If a bill be forged, the indorser will be liable; for, per Buller Justice, "where a bill is presented for acceptance, the acceptor looks to the hand-writing of the drawer, which be is afterwards precluded from disputing; and it is on that account that he is liable, even though the bill is forged. (To be continued) SKETCHES OF LONDON.-NO. III. Fullwood's Rents, "Of all the places to live in, Fullwood's Rents is the most eligible," said old Doctor S, some sixteen years ago; and who so capable of judging as the Doctor? who had wandered fifty years round London, seeking where he could enjoy the greatest possible comfort at the least possible expense; and finally sitting himself down in Fullwood's Rents, he continued to economise solus in a two-pair-of-stairs back room, as dignified, mysterious, intelligent a personage as ever graced Fullwood's Rents, or took a sixpenny plate at a second-rate eating-house. "I prefer this place," quoth he, "for a residence, because, Sir, it contains almost every thing a man can require; here is a tailor, a shoe-maker, a butcher, a baker, a fishmonger, a milkman, a grocer, a cheesemonger, an eatinghouse, and a general summary in a chandler's shop; in truth, Sir, I find it extremely convenient; I can just step out of a morning, and get my quarter of an ounce of tea for my breakfast I always like tea fresh and fresh; my penny roll from the baker's, and two ounces of butter at the cheesemonger's; I have my half pint of beer, read the newspaper, and smoke my pipe in the evening, in the parlor of The Harp. I like a pipe, Sir: always put a cherry-stone at the bottom of the pipe before you fill; it saves tobacco, and smokes mild." Thus spoke, here lived, and here died, this poor would-be economist, leaving behind him something less than A HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS. But this, exclains the reader, is a sketch of character, and not a sketch of London. Well, then, without even taking a peep, as plaintiff or defendant, at the Court of Requests in these Rents, better known by the appellation of The Coblers' Court of Chancery, and leaving the Doctor, The Harp, and Fullwood's Rents at once, I can only promise a Sketch of London pon another occasion. I OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO FERMENTING AND TUNNING BEER. (From a Correspondent.) The practice of cooling and working the wort in coolers, I have found to be unnecessary. As soon as it is strained off from the hops, tun it, Accasionally stirring it about in the cask, that it may all be of an equal temperature, and when rather below blood-warm, add the yeast. It will soon begin to ferment; and I have not found that it works more by this method than in coolers; it saves time, the expence of coolers, and the inconveniency of its laying about till the following day; the beer is equally as good, with less sediment in the casks. I have adopted another plan, which appears preferable. Tun the wort hot, as mentioned above; and instead of adding yeast, put into the cask about a quarter of a part of the spent hops, divided according to the sizes thereof while hot. I have found this method answer extremely well; the beer is stronger, will keep longer, and leaves no yeasty sediment at the bottom of the casks. The stronger the wort is, the longer it is before the fermentation takes place. Ale brewed in January, did not begin to work till the warm weather in April; some brewed in October, began in nine days, and table-beer has commenced the following day. By this method there is less waste, and the disagreeableness attending the sticky properties of yeast is avoided; and there is this advantage the wort does not become beer until it has fermented, and therefore will not be stale so soon as that where yeast is used, and it retains the flavour of sweet wort and hops until the fermentation is completed. Previous to its commencement, the bungs should be put lightly into the casks, but closed tight if it should not begin in the course of about a fortnight, leaving the vent-pegs loose. Those who do not wish to have any small-beer, by adding about half a pound of moist sugar to every gallon of wort, after it is strained. from the hops, either before or after it has been tunned, will find it nearly equal to the ale, and it will keep better through the summer. I have here to add my firm conviction, that beer turns sour during that period, in a great measure, from the want of attention in not tasting it soon This may be known by the hops rising to the surface, and working out. |