Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/42

LEFT BILL 28 BILL to a correspondent in the other. It is an open letter of request from one man to another desiring him to pay to a third party a specified sum and put it to the account of the first. In such a transac- tion, B., the person who writes the bill of exchange, is called the drawer; A., to whom it is written, is termed up to and after he has done so, the acceptor; and C, his order, or the bearer — in short, whoever is entitled to receive the money — the payee. The bill may be as- signed to another by simple indorse- ment; the person who thus transfers it is named the indorser, and the one to whom it is assigned the indorsee or holder. Every one whose name is on the back of a bill is responsible if the person on whom payment should legiti- mately fall fails to meet his engagement. The first bills known in commerce were about A. D. 1328, Bills of exchange aro also called drafts. Bill of Health. — A certificate given to the master of a ship clearing out of a port in which contagious disease is epi- demic, or is suspected to be so, certify- ing to the state of health of the crew and passengers on board. Bill of Indictment. — A written accusa- tion made against one or more persons of having committed a specified crime or misdemeanor. It is preferred to and presented on oath by a grand jury. If the grand jury find the allegations un- proved, they ignore the bill, giving as their verdict, "Not a true bill"; if, on the contrary, they consider the indict- ment proved, their verdict is a "True bill." BUI of Lading. — A document by which the master of a ship acknowledges to have received on board his vessel, in good order and condition, certain speci- fied goods consigned to him by some particular shipper, and binds himself to deliver them in similarly good order and condition — unless the dangers of the sea, fire, or enemies prevent him — to the as- signees of the shipper at the point of destination, on their paying him the stipulated freight. Usually two or three copies of a bill of lading are made, worded thus: "One of which bills be- ing accomplished, the others stand void." A bill of lading may be transferred by indorsement like a bill of exchange. Bill of Parcels. — An account given by a seller to a buyer, giving a list of the several articles which he has purchased, and their prices. Bill of Parliamentary Procedure. — An instrument drawn or presented by a member or committee to a legislative body for its approbation and enactment. After it has successfully passed both houses and received the constitutional sanction of the chief magistrate, where such approbation is requisite, it becomes a law. Bill of Particulars. — A paper stating in detail a plaintiff's case, or the set off on defendant's side. Bill of Rights. — A bill which gave legal validity to the claim of rights, i e., the declaration presented by the Lords and Commons to the Prince and Prin- cess of Orange on Feb, 13, 1688, and afterward enacted in Parliament when they became King and Queen. It de- clared it illegal, without the sanction of Parliament, to suspend or dispense with laws, to erect commission courts, to levy money for the use of the crown on pretense of prerogative, and to raise and maintain a standing army in the time of peace. It also declared that subjects have a right to petition the King, and, if Protestants, to carry arms for defense; also that members of Par- liament ought to be freely elected, and that their proceedings ought not to be impeached or questioned in any place out of Parliament. It further enacted that excessive bail ought not to be re- quired, or excessive fines imposed, or un- usual punishment inflicted; that juries should be chosen without partiality; that all grants and promises of fines or forfeitures before conviction are illegal; and, that, for redress of grievances apd preserving of the laws. Parliament ought to be held frequently. Finally, it provided for the settlement of the crown. In the United States, a bill of rights, or, as it is more commonly termed in this country, a declaration of rights, is prefixed to the constitutions of most of the States. Bill of Sale. — A deed of writing, un- der seal, designed to furnish evidence of the sale of personal property. It is necessary to have such an instrument when the sale of property is not to be immediately followed by its transference to the purchaser. It is used in the trans- fer of property in ships, in that of stock in trade, or tihe good-will of a business. It is employed also in the sale of furni- ture, the removal of which from the house would call attention to the em- barrassed circumstances of its owner; hence the statistics of the bills of sale act as an index to measure the amount of secret distress existing in times of commercial depression. In not a few cases bills of sale are used to defeat just claims against the nominal or real vendor of the goods transferred.
 * he time that he accepts it, the drawee,