Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/409

* CONTRABAND OF WAB. 349 CONTRACT. by land or sea. (2) The goods mxist be in- tended eventually for a hostile destination. (3) The ofl'ense is completed with the deposit of the contraband cargo at tlic belligerent destination. The ship when captured is generally taken to a prize court by the captor, and the penalty of conviction is the confiscation of the contraband goods, unless the owner of the contraband also has ownershijj in the vessel, in which case the ship, or his share therein, is likewise confiscated, and' also anj- innocent goods of his ownership. False papers or misrepresentation as to des- tination may lead to the ship's condemnation. The carrying of agents or dispatches of an enemy must be distinguished as more projjerly unneutral service than carrying of contraband. The Trent Affair (q.v.) comes under the appli- cation of the rules relating to this question. The term contrabund of irnr was inappropri- ately though ingeniously applied during the Civil War by Gen. B. F. Butler, while in command at Fortress iSIonroe, to captured slaves, as a ground for retaining them when demanded by their Southern owners. Consult the authorities re- ferred to under Ne:ttr^vlity ; Belligerents; Blockade; Internationax Law. CONTRA-BASS. See Double Bass. CONTRA-BASS TUBA. See Tuba. CONTRACT (from Lat. contrahere, to draw up, from cam-, together -|- trahere, to draw). In English and American law", an agreement, en- forceable at law, between tw'o or more parties to do or not to do a particular thing. The ele- ments essential to all tonus of contracts arc: (a) an obligation founded on the promise made by a party to the contract and resulting in his intent to enter into such an obligation; (b) a meeting of the minds of all the parties to the contract as to the terms and conditions of the promise given. Additional elements may be re- quired to give solidity to various classes of con- tracts, as is pointed out below. Classification. — Contracts are usually classified as : ( a ) contracts of record ; ( b ) contracts by specialty; and (e) simple contracts. Contracts of record^ so called, are conclusive legal obligations created by the judgment or order of a court of record. Examples of contracts of record are judgments, recognizances, statutes staple, etc. They are not true contracts at all, as they do not contain a promise and are not founded upon the intention of the party bound, but should probably be classified as quasi con- trncts (q.v.). Contracts by specially are contracts depending for their validity ujjon the formality of their execution. They are required to be in writing and to be perfected by sealing and delivery by the party to be bound thereby. The usual form of specialty contract is by covenant (q.v.). A bond (q.v.), though in strictness not a contract, being an acknowledgment of indebtedness instead of a promise to pay, has always been regarded and classified as a specialty contract. Contracts by specialty require no consideration (q.v.) to give them validity. As in the case of other contracts, the courts of equity will not specifically enforce a specialty contract unless it is founded upon a consideration. At common law the seal required to be placed upon specialty contracts was of great technical importance, but the law in this connection has been greatly modified by modern statutes. In nearly all of the United States a scroll or mark with the pen may be used in >iu-v, of a seal. In a number of States it is jirovided by statute that the seal upon a sealed iiistrvunent is only pre- sumptive evidence ot a consideration; the effect of which probablj' is to make a consideration nec- essary to the validity of a sealed instrument, at least where it is intended by the parties that a consideration is to be given. In a few States all distinction between specialty contracts and simjjle contracts has been abolislied by statutes. The common-law form of action for enforcing all kinds of specialty contracts, except a bond, was the action of covenant (q.v.). Recovery upon a bond was secured by the eonunon-law action of debt (q.v.). These distinctions are not preserved in modern systems of pleading. The usual period of limitation upon specialty contracts is twenty years. Simple contracts are contracts which do not depend upon any particular formality as to execu- tion for their validity, but upon the existence of a consideration, which is a detriment, or a sur- render of a right, given in exchange for the promise. (See Consideration.) A simple con- tract may be in writing or by parole, or may even be implied from the acts and conduct of the parties manifesting their intentions. As no formality is required in the creation of a simple contract, it always comes into existence as the consequence of an offer and acceptance. The otl'er must be accepted in accordance with its terms within a reasonable time, or within the time stated in the offer, in order to give rise to a contract. A refusal to accept, or a counter- offer, puts an end to the first offer, which cannot thereafter be' accepted. In contracts entered into by letter, in most jurisdictions, the offer is deemed to be accepted upon the posting of the letter of acceptance, but in a few .States it is held that there is no acceptance until the letter of aecejitance is actually received by the person making the offer. Inasmuch as there must be an agreement in order to ereate a contract, any mis- take as to the time of the offer or acceptance will prevent a meeting of the minds of the parties and no contract will arise. But a mistake as to some collateral matter will have no efl"ect upon the contract imless induced by fraud, in which case the defrauded party may rescind the con- tract. Thus, if A offers to sell property to B for $10,000, and B accepts, understanding the offer to be $5,000, no contract arises; but it B understands the offer made and accepts it because he erroneously believes the property is of much greater value, a contract does arise. Simple con- tracts are frequently classified as express and im- plied. An express contract is one entered into on terras expressed in spoken or written words. An implied contract is one which is inferred from the acts or conduct of the parties. The latter should not be confounded with the so-called con- tracts implied in law, as, for example, the obliga- tion to repay money paid by mistake, which are not true contracts, becaiise not based upon inten- tion. They are properly classified as quasi con- tracts (q.v.). Express contracts may be by parole or in writing, the only difference in legal effect being in the method of proof. (See Evi- dence.) A few simple contracts are required, however, by the Statute of Frauds (q.v.) to be executed in writing. Simple contracts are further