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Appointment of
Special Bank
Holidays by
Proclamation

Day appointed

may be altered

by Governor in Council

Bank Holidays

day for entry of any caveat, or for delivery of any memorial, or for the performance in either of the said offices of any act by any officer or by any person whatsoever shall fall upon any Bank Holiday, the obligation to enter such caveat, deliver such memorial, or perform such act shall apply to the day next following such Bank Holiday; and the entry of such caveat, or the delivery of such memorial, or the performance of such act on such following day shall be equivalent to such entry or delivery or performance on the holiday.

5. The Governor may from time to time, as he may think fit, by proclamation, appoint a special day to be observed as a Bank Holiday, either throughout Western Australia, or in any part thereof, or in any city, town, or district therein; and any days so appointed shall be kept as a close holiday in all banks within the locality mentioned in such proclamation, and shall, as regards bills of exchange and promissory notes payable in such locality, be deemed to be a Bank Holiday for all the purposes of this Act.

6. It shall be lawful for the Governor in like manner from time to for Bank Holiday time, when it is made to appear to the Governor in Council in any special case that in any year it is inexpedient that a day by this Act appointed for a Bank Holiday should be a Bank Holiday, to declare, by proclamation in a 'Government Gazette' published not less than one week before the day appointed for such holiday, that such day shall not in such year be a Bank Holiday, and to appoint such other day as to the Governor in Council may seem fit to be a Bank Holiday instead of such first mentioned day, and thereupon the day so specially appointed shall in such year be substituted for the day so appointed by this Act.

Short title

7. This Act may be cited for all purposes as 'The Bank Holidays Act, 1884.'

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New Year's Day,

The Birthday of the Sovereign,

The Anniversary of the Foundation of the Colony (the first of June),
Coronation Day,

The Prince of Wales' Birthday,

The twenty-sixth day of December.

When any of the days last above mentioned shall fall upon a Sunday, the next

following Monday shall be a Bank Holiday.

Bills of Exchange

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

ANNO QUADRAGESIMO OCTAVO

VICTORIÆ REGINÆ

No. 10

An Act to Codify the Law relating to Bills of Exchange,
Cheques, and Promissory Notes.

[Assented to 27th August, 1884.

E it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Western Australia

the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:

PART I.-PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as 'The Bills of Exchange Act of 1884.' 2. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January, Commencement one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five.

3. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

'Acceptance' means an acceptance completed by delivery or
notification;

'Action' includes counter-claim and set-off;

'Banker' includes a body of persons whether incorporated or
not who carry on the business of banking;

'Bankrupt' includes any person whose estate is vested in a
trustee or assignee under the law for the time being in
force relating to bankruptcy;

'Bearer' means the person in possession of a bill or note
which is payable to bearer;

'Bill' means bill of exchange, and 'note' means promissory

note;

'Colony' means the Colony of Western Australia;

'Delivery' means transfer of possession, actual or construc-
tive, from one person to another;

'Holder' means the payee, or indorsee, of a bill or note who
is in possession of it, or the bearer thereof;

'Indorsement' means an indorsement completed by delivery;
'Issue' means the first delivery of a bill or note, complete in
form, to a person who takes it as a holder;

'Person 'includes a body of persons whether incorporated or

not;

'Value' means valuable consideration;

'Written' includes printed, and 'writing' includes print.

of Act

Interpretation of terms

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Bills of Exchange

Bill of exchange defined

Inland bill

Foreign bill

Effect where dif

bill are the same

person

PART II.-BILLS OF EXCHANGE

FORM AND INTERPRETATION

4. (1) A bill of exchange is an unconditional order in writing, addressed by one person to another, signed by the person giving it, requiring the person to whom it is addressed to pay on demand or at a fixed or determinable future time a sum certain in money to or to the order of a specified person or to bearer.

(2) An instrument which does not comply with these conditions, or which orders any act to be done in addition to the payment of money, is not a bill of exchange.

(3) An order to pay out of a particular fund is not unconditional within the meaning of this section; but an unqualified order to pay, coupled with (a) an indication of a particular fund out of which the drawee is to reimburse himself or a particular account to be debited with the amount, or (b) a statement of the transaction which gives rise to the bill, is unconditional.

(4) A bill is not invalid by reason—

(a) That it is not dated;

(b) That it does not specify the value given, or that any value has been given therefor;

(c) That it does not specify the place where it is drawn or the place where it is payable.

5. (1) An inland bill is a bill which is, or on the face of it purports to be, (a) both drawn and payable within Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, or Fiji Islands, or (b) drawn within Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, or Fiji Islands, upon some person resident therein. Any other bill is a foreign bill.

(2) Unless the contrary appear on the face of the bill the holder may treat it as an inland bill.

6. (1) A bill may be drawn payable to, or to the order of, the ferent parties to drawer; or it may be drawn payable to, or to the order of, the drawee. (2) Where in a bill drawer and drawee are the same person, or where the drawee is a fictitious person or a person not having capacity to contract, the holder may treat the instrument, at his option, either as a bill of exchange or as a promissory note.

Address to drawee

Certainty required as to payee

7. (1) The drawee must be named or otherwise indicated in a bill with reasonable certainty.

(2) A bill may be addressed to two or more drawees whether they are partners or not, but an order addressed to two drawees in the alternative or two or more drawees in succession is not a bill of exchange.

8. (1) Where a bill is not payable to bearer the payee must be named or otherwise indicated therein with reasonable certainty.

(2) A bill may be made payable to two or more payees jointly, or it may be made payable in the alternative to one of two or one or some of several payees; a bill may also be made payable to the holder of an office for the time being.

(8) Where the payee is a fictitious or non-existing person, the bill may be treated as payable to bearer.

Bills of Exchange

9. (1) When a bill contains words prohibiting transfer, or indicating What bills are an intention that it should not be transferable, it is valid as between negotiable the parties thereto but is not negotiable.

(2) A negotiable bill may be payable either to order or to bearer. (8) A bill is payable to bearer which is expressed to be so payable, or on which the only or last indorsement is an indorsement in blank.

(4) A bill is payable to order which is expressed to be so payable, or which is expressed to be payable to a particular person and does not contain words prohibiting transfer or indicating an intention that it should not be transferable.

(5) Where a bill, either originally or by indorsement, is expressed to be payable to the order of a specified person, and not to him or his order, it is nevertheless payable to him or his order at his option.

10. (1) The sum payable by a bill is a sum certain within the Sum payable meaning of this Act, although it is required to be paid

(a) With interest.

(b) By stated instalments.

(c) By stated instalments, with a provision that upon
default in payment of any instalment the whole
shall become due.

(d) According to an indicated rate of exchange, or accord-
ing to a rate of exchange to be ascertained as
directed by the bill.

(2) Where the sum payable is expressed in words and also in figures, and there is a discrepancy between the two, the sum denoted by the words is the amount payable.

(8) Where a bill is expressed to be payable, with interest, unless the instrument otherwise provides, interest runs from the date of the bill, and if the bill is undated from the issue thereof.

11. (1) A bill is payable on demand

(a) Which is expressed to be payable on demand, or at
sight, or on presentation; or

(b) In which no time for payment is expressed.

(2) Where a bill is accepted or indorsed when it is overdue, it shall, as regards the acceptor who so accepts, or any indorser who so

indorses it, be deemed a bill payable on demand.

Bill payable on demand

12. A bill is payable at a determinable future time within the Bill payable at a meaning of this Act which is expressed to be payable

(1) At a fixed period after date or sight.

(2) On or at a fixed period after the occurrence of a specified
event which is certain to happen, though the time of
happening may be uncertain.

An instrument expressed to be payable on a contingency is not a bill, and the happening of the event does not cure the defect.

13. Where a bill expressed to be payable at a fixed period after date is issued undated, or where the acceptance of a bill payable at a fixed period after sight is undated, any holder may insert therein

future time

omission of date in bill payable

after date

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Ante-dating and post-dating

Computation of

Bills of Exchange

the true date of issue or acceptance, and the bill shall be payable accordingly.

Provided that (1) where the holder in good faith and by mistake inserts a wrong date, and (2) in every case where a wrong date is inserted, if the bill subsequently comes into the hands of a holder in due course the bill shall not be avoided thereby, but shall operate and be payable as if the date so inserted had been the true date.

14. (1) Where a bill or an acceptance or any indorsement on a bill is dated, the date shall, unless the contrary be proved, be deemed to be the true date of the drawing, acceptance, or indorsement, as the case may be.

(2) A bill is not invalid by reason only that it is ante-dated or post-dated, or that it bears date on a Sunday.

15. Where a bill is not payable on demand the day on which it time of payment falls due is determined as follows:

Case of need

Optional stipulations by drawer or indorser

Definition and requisites of

acceptance

(1) Three days, called days of grace, are in every case, where the bill itself does not otherwise provide, added to the time of payment as fixed by the bill, and the bill is due and payable on the last day of grace: Provided that

(a) When the last day of grace falls on Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, or a Bank Holiday under 'The Bank Holidays Act, 1884,' the bill is due and payable on the succeeding business day.

(2) Where a bill is payable at a fixed period after date, after sight, or after the happening of a specified event, the time of payment is determined by excluding the day from which the time is to begin to run and by including the day of payment.

(3) Where a bill is payable at a fixed period after sight, the time begins to run from the date of the acceptance if the bill be accepted, and from the date of noting or protest if the bill be noted or protested for non-acceptance or for non-delivery.

(4) The term 'month' in a bill means calendar month.

16. The drawer of a bill and any indorser may insert therein the name of a person to whom the holder may resort in case of need; that is to say, in case the bill is dishonoured by non-acceptance or non-payment. Such person is called the referee in case of need. It is in the option of the holder to resort to the referee in case of need or not, as he may think fit.

17. The drawer of a bill, and any indorser, may insert therein an express stipulation

(1) Negativing or limiting his own liability to the holder.

(2) Waiving as regards himself some or all of the holder's duties.

18. (1) The acceptance of a bill is the signification by the drawee of his assent to the order of the drawer.

(2) An acceptance is invalid unless it complies with the following conditions; namely:

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