Page:St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co. v. Beidler.pdf/3

45 Ark.] Rh  3d. Because, take all the written memoranda and receipts relied on, and the plat referred to in a receipt given by J. K. Brantly, (which we contend could in no manner bind this Plaintiff,) it is impossible to ascertain the terms of the sale or the property sold, from any or all of them, without a resort to parol evidence.

That the alleged contract of sale is within the Statute of Frauds, we think there can be no doubt, and unless there is a sufficient memorandum in writing, signed by the Plaintiff, (the Railway Company defendant in the cross-bill,) to meet the requirements of the statute, Beidler is not entitled to a specific performance.

The rule as to the requirement of the memorandum, is, that it must express the whole contract. It need not be all set out in one writing, and may be ascertained by separate writings which refer to each other. It must show the parties to the contract, the subject matter, and the price to be paid; and if a resort to parol evidence is necessary to establish any of these elements, the memorandum will be insufficient.

"Every agreement which is required to be in writing, by the Statute of Frauds, must be certain in itself, or capable of being made so by a reference to something else whereby the terms can be ascertained with reasonable precision, or it can not be carried into effect. The cases to this point are numerous and decisive, as will appear by a short reference to some of them." Abeel v. Radcliffe, 13 John N. Y., 299; Blagden v. Bradbear, 12 Ves., 466; 1 ''Scho. & Lef., 22; Prec. in Chy., 560; 11 East., 142; 1 Atk., 12; 3 Bro. C. C., 318; Prec. in Chy., 374; Gilb. Eq. Cas., 35; 2 Vern., 415; 1 Ves. Jr., 279; 3 Johns, 399; 1 Peters,'' 652.

Had this blank form been filled out and signed, there would have been no controversy on this point here, but that it was not, there is no dispute. To say the least of it, there was no certainty in the contract as to the land intended to be bought