1. Presentment for Acceptance is the exhibiting the bill to the drawee, and demanding of him to accept it, or make himself liable to the payment of the amount.

The holder of a bill must, if it is not already accepted, present it to the drawee or intended acceptor, for that purpose, and in case of default of acceptance, must give notice thereof to every party to whom he intends to look for payment, and who would be entitled to recover after paying it; thus, if in the hands of the first indorsee from the drawer, notice should be given to the drawer; if in the hands of a subsequent indorsee, notice should

be given to his immediate indorser, as also to the drawer and all the other indorsers, as explained at Chapter XIII.

Inland Bills are frequently accepted, at or about the same time they are drawn. Foreign Bills, drawn abroad, are often negotiated through several hands, before arrival and presentment for acceptance.

2. The usual course of presentment for acceptance, is to leave the bill with the drawee till the next day, and it must be accepted within twenty-four hours after being left, or it is dishonoured.

3. The time for presentment is not limited, but it must be within a reasonable time after coming to hand, at a seasonable hour of the day, and with bankers and merchants during and according to the usual hours and course of business; and the notice of dishonour for want of acceptance, must be given as soon as practicable after the dishonour.

4. There may, however, be causes to justify delay in presentment of a bill for acceptance, such as the illness of the holder, or other reasonable cause, so also, in the case of a foreign bill kept in circulation, a considerable delay will be excused: as a general rule, however, promptitude in presentment for acceptance, is the safest and proper course.

D

5. The presentment must be made to the drawee, and if required by the bill to be at a particular place, it must be presented there. If not presented to the acceptor in person, it must be at his residence or place of business.

If the drawee has absconded from the place at which the bill is made presentable, it may be treated as dishonoured; if, however, the drawee has only changed his residence, or if no particular place is named, the holder should use due diligence to find him.

7. If the drawee is dead, the holder should find out his executor or administrator, and present the bill to him for acceptance. If he accept it, he should do so in that character, and restrict his liability by stipulating, in his acceptance, to pay out of the deceased's estate only.

8. If the drawee has become bankrupt, presentment for acceptance should be made to his assignces.

The observations which follow in Chapter XII., as to presentment for payment, and in Chapter XIII., as to notice of dishonour, are in many respects, applicable to presentment for acceptance : the reader is therefore referred to those chapters.

Forms of notice of dishonour and protest for non-acceptance, are also given in Chapter XIII.

CHAPTER XI.

THE ACCEPTANCE.

1.Acceptance, what.

2. Acceptor primarily liable.
3. Acceptance of Inland Bills
must be in writing.

4. What necessary.
5. When made.

6. Acceptance of Foreign Bills need not be in writing.

7. As to qualified Acceptances. 8. Acceptance supra protest for Honour.

1. The Acceptance of a Bill, is the engagement to pay it according to the terms thereof; the making of a note is equivalent or tantamount to the accepting of a bill, and although a note is generally perfect without any acceptance, still, if it be payable at a particular time after sight, presentment becomes necessary, in order to fix the period from which, time will commence running. Practically (as has been already said) with inland bills and in ordinary transactions, the acceptance is made, at or about the time of drawing the bill, and the consideration is then often given; in the case of a foreign bill, the acceptance is generally made upon the presentment for acceptance, which, as we have already observed, should be shortly after the bill comes to hand.

Forms of Acceptance will be found in Chapter V.

The Drawee of a bill is not liable until acceptance, but a banker having in his hands moneys of his customer, is an exception to this rule, for he is then bound to pay to his customer's orders, and is liable to the customer if he do not.

Sometimes the acceptance is general, without naming any particular place for payment; sometimes naming the acceptor's bankers or his place of business; and sometimes specially making the bill payable at a particular place, and not elsewhere (see pages 58 and 59).

2. The Acceptor, by his acceptance makes himself primarily liable for the payment when due; he also admits the ability of the drawer to make the bill, and his signature; and if the drawee turns out incapable of making a valid acceptance, as through infancy or otherwise, the bill may be treated as dishonoured.

3. The Acceptance of all Inland bills must be in writing on the bill; the Statute of 1 & 2 Geo. 4, c. 78, enacting, "That no acceptance of any inland bill of exchange shall be sufficient to charge any person, unless such acceptance be in writing

on such bill."

4. Acceptance may be complete without any words of acceptance; the acceptor's name only, written across the bill with an intention to accept, having been held to amount to an acceptance.