away the fervant of another; an action against him will lie at the fuit of the first master. TESTIMONIAL. No fervant retained in husbandry, or in any of the arts mentioned in the ftatute of Elizabeth, after the time of his retainer expired, fhall depart from one city, town, or parish, to another; nor out of the lathe, rape, wapentake, or hundred; nor out of the county where he last served, to serve in any other city, town corporate, lathe, rape, wapentake, bundred or county; unless he have a testimonial under the feal of the faid city or town corporate, or of the constable or other head officer, and of two other honest householders of the city, town, or parish, where he laft ferved, importing that he is licenfed to depart, and at liberty to ferve elsewhere. This teftimonial is to be delivered to the fervant, and also registered by the minifter of the parish where the mafter dwells, taking twopence for the fame; and no perfon that fhall depart out of a fervice, fhall be retained or accepted into any other service, without fhewing (before his retainer) fuch teftimonial to the chief officer of the town corporate, and in every other town and place, to the conftable, curate, church-warden, or other head officer; upon pain that every fuch fervant fo departing without fuch teftimonial, fhall be imprifoned till he procure one; which if he cannot do in twenty-one days, he shall be whipped and ufed as a vagabond, according to the laws in fuch cafe provided; and every perfon retaining fuch fervant, without fhewing fuch teftimonial, fhall forfeit 5 l., half to the king, and half to him that fhall fue in the fefiions, or other court of record; and if any fuch perfon be taken with a counterfeit teftimonial, then to be whipped as a vagabond. If fervants run away into another county, they may be retaken by warrant and put in prifon, till they find fecurity well and honeftly to ferve their matters. ASSAULTS. A fervant, workman, or labourer, making an affault upon his mafter or miftrefs, or any other person having overfight over him or his work, is to be committed to prifon for a year or lefs, or in aggravated cafes, to fuffer fuch further punishment, not extending to life or limb, as the juftices in feflion fhall think convenient. The mafter is allowed by law, with moderation, to chaftife his fervant being under age: 4 fervant too may juftify an affault in defence of his master, but not a master in defence of his fervant; because he might have an action for the lofs of his fervice. DISPUTES. The relation between mafter and fervant has occafioned the enactment of many laws for reftraining the frauds and injuries which the fervant has fo many opportunities of committing, committing, though these are framed with a tender regard to the weakness of human nature expofed to great and frequent temptations. Difputes between mafters and workmen are alfo the objects of many ftatutes which it would be tedious here to enumerate. They regard the masters and workmen in filk, cloth, woollen, linen, fuftian, leather, cotton, bone and thread lace, the manufacturers of clocks and watches, and paper, as well as thofe employed in husbandry, artificers, handicraftsmen, miners, colliers, keelmen, pitmen, glaffmen, potters, and other labourers. There are alfo feparate laws for regulating taylors, and fhoemakers, and their workmen, within the bills. of mortality; an abstract of them all will be found in Burn's Juftice; article Servants. COMBINATIONS. By 39 and 40 Geo. III. c. 106, the 39 Geo. III. c. 81; for preventing unlawful combinations of workmen is repealed. It is enacted that all contracts, covenants, and agreements, whether in writing or not, entered into by any journeymen, manufacturers, or other perfons, for obtaining an advance of wages, or for leffening or altering their ufual hours or time of working, or decreafing the quantity of work (except any contract made between any mafter and his workmen on account of his work or fervice), or for hindering any perfon from employing whomfoever he may think proper, or for controlling, or any way affecting any perfon carrying on any manufacture, trade, or bufinefs, in the conduct or management thereof, fhall be illegal, null, and void, to all intents and purposes whatsoever. Journeymen workmen and others making fuch contracts, may be committed by two juftices to goal not exceeding three, or to the Houfe of Correction, not exceeding two calendar months. Journeymen or workmen entering into combinations for fuch purpofes, or who fhall by giving money, or by perfuafion, folicitation, or intimidation, or any other means, wilfully and malicioufly endeavour to prevent any unhired, or unemployed workman in any manufacture, trade or bufinefs or any other perfon wanting employment therein, from hiring himself to any manufacturer, tradefman, or person conducting any manufacture, trade, or bufinefs; or who shall for the purpose of obtaining an advance of wages, or for any other purpose, contrary to the provifions of this act, wilfully and maliciously decoy, perfuade, folicit, intimidate, influence, or prevail, or attempt to prevail, on any journeyman or workman, or other perfon hired or employed in any fuch manafacture, trade or bufinefs, to leave the fame; or who fhall wilfully and maliciously hinder, or prevent any manufacturer, tradefman, or other perfon, from employing any fuch workman as he shall think proper; or who, being hired or employed, fhall, without any ány just or reasonable caufe refufe to work with any other journeyman or workman employed to work therein; fhall be committed to gaol not exceeding three months, or to the House of Correction to hard labour not exceeding two calendar months. And every perfon (whether employed in any manufacture or not) who fhall attend any meeting held for the purpofe of entering into any contract, covenant, or agreement hereby declared illegal; or who fhall fummon, give notice to, call upon, perfuade, entice, folicit, or by intimidation, or any other means, endeavour to induce any journeyman, workman, or other perfon employed in any manufacture, trade or bufinefs, to attend any fuch meeting; or who fhall collect, demand, afk, or recieve any money from any fuch workman, or other perfon, for any of the purposes aforefaid; or who fhall perfuade, entice, folicit, or by intimidation or any other means, endeavour to induce any fuch journeyman, workman, or other perfon to enter into, or be concerned in any fuch combination; or who fhall pay any money, or enter into any fubfcription or contribution for the support or encouragement of any fuch illegal meeting or combination; and who fhall be convicted thereof, on confeffion, or on the oath of one witnefs, before two juftices, within three calendar months, fhall be fubject to fimilar punishment. Perfons giving money as a fubfcription or contribution to pay expenfes incurred contrary to this act, or maintaining any workman or other perfon offending, to forfeit not exceeding 10. and those who receive, not exceeding 5., and on non payment, the parties to be imprisoned as before mentioned. All money given as a fubfcription or contribution for fuch purposes to be forfeited; half to the king, and half to the informer; and thofe who hold the money in their hands must make difcovery on oath. All contracts between mafters or other perfons for reducing the wages of workmen, or for altering the ufual hours of work, or for increafing the quantity of work, fhall be void; and every mafter being thereof convicted, by the oath of one witnefs, before two juítices, within three calendar months, fhall forfeit 20/; half to the king, and the other half in equal fhares to the informer and the poor, or be committed to gaol or the House of Correction not more than three nor less than two months. The fame ftatutes also establish a very beneficial mode of terminating difputes between mafters and their workmen, by arbitration, the fubmiffion to which, with the award or umpirage may be on unftamped paper. BILLS OF EXCHANGE. Under this head it is intended to give a brief account of this most useful fpecies of currency, in its various branches, without entering into thofe technical expla nations, nations, and detailing the numerous decifions which form the fubject of many ample treatifes. FOREIGN BILLS. The cuftom of merchants in relation to foreign bills of exchange, feems to have prevailed time out of mind; and was at first introduced for the expedition of trade and its fafety, and to prevent the exportation of money out of the realm; and has therefore been always countenanced and encouraged, as a matter of great eafe and advantage to trade, and is now become part of the law of the land; and as bills of exchange are established merely by the custom of merchants, and for their benefit; fo their rules and cuftoms are allowed to prescribe their form and several properties, as to their creating engagements on the parties that are concerned in them, By this cuftom, if a merchant abroad draw a bill on a merchant here, or vice verfa, requefting him to pay a certain sum of money, and the drawer fet his name to it; this amounts to a promise to pay, and subjects him, though it is but a collateral engagement, to an action on the non payment. And if the drawee, or he on whom the bill is drawn, refuse to accept, or, having accepted it, refuse to pay it, the payee, or he in whofe favour it is drawn, may proteft it, and fhall recover against the drawer, not only the principal fum, but likewife all intereft, cofts and damages, by reafon of the protest or refusal of acceptance, or payment of the money. But though the custom of merchants, in relation to bills of exchange, is established by common law, and fuch bills being fecurities for money, are of great credit among them; yet are they not allowed to be fecurities of as high a nature as bonds or fpecialties; and therefore it has been adjudged, that a bill of exchange is within the ftatute of limitations, and must be fued for within fix years after it becomes payable. Alfo, a bill of exchange is to be confidered as a fimple contract debt in a course of administration, which an executor or an administrator cannot discharge before debts by bond. But bills of exchange and promiffory notes, though, according to the general principles of the law, they are to be confidered only as evidence of a fimple contract, are yet fo far regarded as fpecialities, that unless the contrary be fhewn by the defendant, they are always prefumed to have been made on a good confideration; nor is it incumbent on the plaintiff, either to fhew a confideration in his declaration, or to prove it at the trial. Foreign bills were always intitled to this privilege; but it was not without a confiderable struggle that it was extended to inland bills; and notes were indebted for it to the statute of Queen Anne. USANCE. Bills of exchange are ufually drawn payable on Light, or after date, or on fingle, double, or treble ufances. An ufance is faid to be regularly a month; but yet varies ac cording to the cuftom of particular countries; ufance between London and any part of France, is thirty days after date.-Between London and the following places; Hamburgh, Amfterdam, Rotterdam, Middleburg, Antwerp, Brabant, Zealand and Flanders, one calendar month after the date of the bill. Between London and Spain and Portugal, two calendar months. Between London and Genoa, Leghorn, Milan, Venice, and Rome, three calendar months.-The ufance of Amfterdam on Italy, Spain, and Portugal, is two months.---On France, Flanders, Brabant, and on any place in Holland or Zealand, one month.-On Frankfort, Nuremberg, Vienna, and other places in Germany, on Hamburg and Breslaw, fourteen days after fight, two ufances twenty-eight days, and half ufance feven.-Half ufance when the ufance is one month, fhall contain fifteen days, notwithstanding the inequality in the length of the months. SETS OF BILLS. It is frequent to draw two or three for the fame fum, and of the fame date, for fear of lofs or miscarriage, which carry a condition with them that only one shall be paid. PAYMENT. Where the time, after the expiration of which a bill is made payable, is limited by months, it must be computed by calendar, not lunar months: thus, on a bill dated the first of January, and payable one month after date, the month expires on the first of February. Where a bill is payable so many days after fight, or from the date, the day of prefentment or of the date is excluded. Thus, where a bill, payable ten days after fight, is prefented on the first day of a month, the ten days expire on the eleventh; where it is dated the first, and payable twenty days after date, thefe expire on the twenty first. Where there is no date, and the payment is directed to be made fo many days after date, the date is taken to be the day on which it iflued. GRACE. A cuftom has obtained among merchants, that a perfon to whom a bill is addressed, fhall be allowed a little time for payment, beyond the term mentioned in the bill, called days of grace. But the number of thefe days varies according to the cuftom of different places. Great Britain, Ireland, Bergamo, and Vienna, three days. Leipfick, Naumburg, and Augsburg, five days. Venice, Amfterdam, Rotterdam, Middleburg, Antwerp, Cologn Breflar, Nuremburg, and Portugal, fix days. Dantzick, Koningsburg, and France, ten days. Humburgh and Stockholm, twelve days.. Naples |