Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/434

 422 FEDBRAL BSFOBTEB. �win, 17 Mass. 606; Merrill v, Binker, 1 Bald. C. C. E. 628; Blood V. Palmer, 11 Me. 414; AfiiZer v. Bascom, 28 Mo. 352; Rogers' Locomotive Works v. Lewis, 4 Dilloa, 158 ; S. C. 3 Cent. L. J. 784. And it seems to me to be equally well set- tled that the vendor, wha bas been guilty of no laches in asserting his right to the property, may recover it from a hona fide purchaser from the vendee. Coggill v. Hartford R. Go. 3 Gray, 545; BaUarà v. Bwrgett, 40 N. Y. 314; Big- elow V. Huntly, 8 Vt. 151; Sargent v. Metcalf, 5 Gray, (Mass.) 306; Hart v. C arpenter, 24 Conn. 427; Parmelee v. Cather- wood, 36 Mo. 479; Griffin v. Pugh, 44 Mo. 326; Little v. Page, 44 Mo. 412; Berrner v. Puffer, 114 Mass. 378; Thomas V. Pfinters, 12 Ind. 383; Dunuar v. Raivles, 28 Ind. 322; Ijctlicy V. Harris, 8 lowa, 333; ILiMans v. Newton, 4 Fed. Ekp. 880. �In this state the settled rule of the common law, that a purchaser of a chattel acquires no better title than his vendor poBsesBed, has not been changed by statute in its application to conditional sales ; and creditors and purchasers of the condi- tional vendee acquire no right to the property as against the vendor, who has been guilty of no fraud and no laches in asserting his rights. If the property had been of a kind to be consumed in its use a different question would be pre- sented. Counsel for defendants insist that conditional sales not reduced to writing, and acknowledged and recorded, are void against purchasers and creditors of the vendee under the statute of frauds of this state. Section 2957, Gantt's Di- gest. �This section of the statute of frauds of this state originated in Virginia at an early day. Though applicable to ail goods and chattels, it is said to have had its origin in a practice con- nected with slave property. It had come to be comiuon for slave owners to transfer the mere possession and use of some portion of their slaves to memberg of their families — partic- ularly to daughters upon their marriage — by way of loan, or 'ipon some verbal agreement or understanding whereby the property in the slaves did not pass with the possession. In this way, without the intervention of a trustee, the beneficiai use of ����