Page:Halsbury Laws of England v1 1907.pdf/796

 — Bankers and Banking.

574 Sect.

2.

Sect.

Bank Notes generally.

Bank

on amount of note.

Tender of country note in payment.

generally,

cannot be issued for sums less than £5 in less than £1 in Scotland (a) or Ireland (b). Bank notes may be re-issued after payment (c), but in practice the Bank of England never re-issues any notes. The circulation of Scotch or Irish notes for sums under £5 in England is prohibited (d), 1160.

England Eestriction

Bank Notes

2.

(t),

notes

or for

(s)

sums

1161. Apart from Bank of England notes, which are legal tender (e), the notes of an English bank are good tender for money, if not objected to at the time (/). They may be so objected to even by the banker who issued them, if tendered to him in

payment

(g).

Half notes.

1162. Bank notes are frequently cut in halves for purposes of transmission or otherwise, and the practice is recognised as legitimate (li). In case of loss of one half, the Bank of England pays the other half on indemnity (i). It has been held, however, that a half bank note may be sued on without indemnity (k). "Whether a Court has power to treat the matter as loss of a bill or negotiable instrument on indemnity being given would seem doubtful (l). But when the whole note is lost, the Court can allow the action to proceed on indemnity being given im).

Effect of

1163. If a bank note be given in payment for value received at the time, the payment is complete, and in the event of dishonour of the note, no recourse can be had against the transferor either on the note or the consideration for it {n). But a note given for a pre-existing debt has been held to be only payment conditional on its being paid when presented (o). A note, however, must be presented or circulated within a reasonable time, otherwise, in the event of the bank failing, the loss will fall on the transferee And in the

payment by country note

(s)

For

(t)

Bank Notes

definition of a

bank

note, see p. 569, ante. c. 6), s. 3 ; and

Act, 1826 (7 Geo. 4,

Notes Act, 1828 (9 Geo. 4, c. 23), s. 1. (a) Bank Notes (Scotland) Act, 1845 (8 (b) Bankers (Ireland) Act, 1845 (8 & 9 (c)

(d)

&

9 Yict.

Vict.

Stamp Act, 1891 (54 & 55 Vict. c. 39), s. Bank Notes (No. 2) Act, 1828 (9 Geo. 4, c.

See p. 570, ante. If) Wright v. Reed (1790), 3

c.

37), 30.

c.

65),

by terms

of licence,

Bank

38), s. 16. 15.

s.

s.

1.

(e)

Bank

of

England notes prior

Term Rep. 554, being made 12 M. & W. 191.

to their

(g) Forster v. Wilson (1843), (h) Williams v. Smith (1819),

2 B.

&

J., in which case were objected to.

per Buller, legal tender

Aid. 496



Redmayne

v.

Burton (1860), 2

L. T. 324. {i)

Redmayne

Forms, Vol. IL, (k) Ibid.

v.

Burton, supra.

For a form of indemnity,

see Encyclopaedia of

p. 502.

See, however,

Mayor

v.

Johnson (1813), 3 Camp. 324.

Common Law Procedure Act, 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. 125), s. 87, as amended by Statute Law Revision Act, 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 19), s. 1, sched. Bills of Exchange Act, 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 61), s. 70. The question is whether half a [l)



note

is

a

negotiable instrument "

or a

"

bill."

As

to indemnity, see title

Guarantee. (m) See statutes cited in last note. {n) Camidge v. Allenby (1827), 6 B. & C. 373. But the doctrine is not fully established. (©) Ibid., per Bayley, J., at p. 382. Ip) Guardians of Lichfield v. Greene (1857), 26 L. J. (ex.) 140.