Volume 1
The universal dictionary of trade and commerce : with large additions and improvements, adapting the same to the present state of British affairs in America, since the last treaty of peace made in the year 1763. With great variety of new remarks and illustrations incorporated throughout the whole: together with everything essential that is contained in Savary's dictionary: also, all the material laws of trade and navigation relating to these kingdoms, and the customs and usages to which all traders are subject / By Malachy Postlethwayt, esq.
- Jacques Savary des Brûlons
- Date:
- 1766
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The universal dictionary of trade and commerce : with large additions and improvements, adapting the same to the present state of British affairs in America, since the last treaty of peace made in the year 1763. With great variety of new remarks and illustrations incorporated throughout the whole: together with everything essential that is contained in Savary's dictionary: also, all the material laws of trade and navigation relating to these kingdoms, and the customs and usages to which all traders are subject / By Malachy Postlethwayt, esq. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![The exchange of monies is of great antiquity, as well by ' fobfervation of the Hebrew cuftoms as thole of the Ro¬ mans. Upon the firft day of the month Adar, proclamation was made throughout all Ifrael, that the people fhould provide their half fhekels, which were yearly paid towards the fervice of the temple, according to the commandment of God ; on the 25th of Adar, they brought tables in the temple (that is, in the outward court, where the people flood) [£xod. xxx. 31.] on tiiefe lay the lefler coins, which were to furnilh thofe who wanted half Ihekels for their offerings, or that wanted lefler pieces of money in their payment for oxen, fhcep, doves, &c. which flood there ready in the fame court to be fold for facri- fices ; but this fupply and furnifhing the people from thefe tables, was not without an exchange for other money, or other things in lieu of money, and that at an advantage: hence all thofe who fat at the tables were called bankers, or maflers I of the exchange. . * By the Romans it is fuppofed to be in ufe upwards of 2000 years, money being then made out of gold and fllver, to avoid the carriage of merchandizes in barter, from one country to another : lo other nations, imitating the Jews and Romans, erebted mints, and coined monies, upon which the exchange by bills was deviled, not only to avoid the danger of the ad¬ venture of monies, but it’s troublefome carriage. Thus ftates having, by their fovereign authority, coined monies, caufed them to appoint a certain exchange, for permutation of the various coins of feveral countries, without tranfporting of the coin, but giving par pro pari, or value for value, with a certain allowance to be made thofe exchangers for accommo¬ dating the merchants. j As commerce branched into various fhapes, fo did exchange, but was generally reducible to four fpecies, viz. common ex¬ change, real exchange, dry exchange, and fiftitious exchange. Thole who pradtifed the common exchange were conftituted by the feveral kings, who, having received monies in England, would remit by exchange the like fum, to be paid in another kingdom. Edward III. to afcertain the exchange, caufed tables to be fet up in moft of the, general marts or ports of England, declaring the values of the foreign coins of thofe countries with which his fubjedts carried on commerce, and what allowances were to be made for having monies to be remitted to fuch countries. Real exchange was, when monies were paid to the exchanger, and bills were drawn, without naming the fpecies, but ac- I cording to the value of the feveral coins ; which two offices I afterwards were incorporated ; and, indeed, was no more but, upon payment of monies here in England, to be repaid the juft value in money in another country, according to the price agreed on between the officer and deliverer, to allow, or pay, for the exchange of the money, and the lofs of time. I Dry exchange is, when a merchant hath occafion for 500 1. fuppofe for a certain time, and would willingly pay intereft for the fame ; the banker, being defirous to take more than the legal intereft, and yet to avoid the ftatute, offers the 500 1. by exchange for Gales, or any other place, to which the mer¬ chant agrees; but, the merchant having no correfpondent there, the banker defires him to draw his bill, to be paid at double or treble ufance, at Cales, by any feigned perfon, at the price of the exchange then current/ Accordingly, \he merchant makes the bill, and the banker pays the monies • which bill the banker remits to fome friend of his, to procure a proteft from Cales for non-acceptance, with the exchange of the money from Cales to London ; all which, with coifs, the merchant is to repay to the banker ; and fometimes they have been fo confcientious as not to make above 30 per cent, by thefe artifices. This kind of ufury is faid to be firft introduced into England by the Jews. Vide Co. 2 Inft. fo!. 506. Fictitious exchange is when a merchant hath occafion for goods to freight out his fhip, but cannot well fpare the money; the owner of the goods intimates, that he muff have ready money ; the buyer knowing his drift, it is agreed, that the Idler fhali take up the monies by exchange for Venice, or any other parts; but then the merchant muft pay for exchange and re- I exchange. The.e two laft ways of oppreffing the generous merchant I were afterwards prohibited 3 and 4 Hen. VII. ; The juft and true exchange for monies, by bills, is par pro pari, according to value for value; which is grounded on | the weight and finenefs of monies, according to their feveral I ftandards, proportionable to their valuation ; which, being truly and juftly made, afcertains and reduces the price of ex¬ change to a fum certain, for the exchange of monies to any nation or country whatfoever. Foreign bills of exchange have long been looked on as the moft obligatory and convenient paper-fecurity, that is amon^ft merchants; not lo much by virtue of the laws of any coun- try as in conformity to the univerfal cuftoms and ufages efta- bl.ffied among traders themfelves, by a kind of unanimous concurrence, for the facilitating a general commerce through¬ out the world. In order, therefore, to make a judgmentftn cale$ of this nature, it is neceffary to be acquainted with thqfe cuftoms and ufiges: but, although in the courts of judicature of this nation, great regard is paid to thefe mercantile ufagds, yet they have been frequently over-ruled by the law. Where¬ fore we judge it neceffary to give a feries of feledt cafes, which have been determined in our courts of law, as alfo thofe ftatutes which relate to bills of exchange ; thefe being the fundamental principles, upon which the reafonablenefs and equity of mercantile ufages muft be judged of in this kingdom. In the reign of king William III, inland bills in this nation had greatly loft their credlt, being not looked upon as bills of exchange, and therefore not pundualiy and regularly paid ■ which proceeded, in a great meafure, from the defect of the laws, they not having effectually provided for the recovery of fuch debts: whereupon the following a& of parliament took place to remedy this evil. Anno 9 & 10 Gulidmi III. Regis, An aft for the better payment of inland bills of exchange. Whereas great damages and other inconveniencies do fre- ‘ fluently happen in the courfe of trade and commerce, by ‘ reafon of the delays of payment, and other negledis on ‘inland bills of exchange in this kingdom ; be it therefore; * ena^ed by the king’s moft excellent majefty, by and with ‘ the advice and confent of the lords fpiritual and temporal, ‘ and the commons in this prefent parliament affirm bled, and ‘ by the authority of the fame, that from and after the’24th * day of June next, which fhali be in the year 1698, all and ‘ every bill or bills of exchange drawn in, or dated at, and * from any city or town, or any other trading city or town, ‘or any other place in the kingdom of England, dominion ‘ of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, of the fum ‘ of five pounds fterling or upwards; upon any perfon or per- ‘ fons, of or in London, or any other trading city, town, or ‘ any other place (in which Laid bill or bills of exchange (hall ‘ be acknowledged and expreffed, the faid value to be received) ‘ and is, and fhali be, drawn payable at a certain number of ‘ days, weeks, or months, after date thereof, that from and ‘ after prefentation and acceptance of the faid bill or bills of ‘ exchange (which acceptance fhali be by the underwriting the fame under the party’s hand fo accepting) and after ‘ the expiration of three days, after the faid bill or bills fhali ‘ become due, the party to whom the faid bill or bills are ‘ made payable, his fervant, agent, or affigns, may, and fhali, caufe the faid bill or bills to be protefted by a notary public ‘ and, m default of fuch notary public, by any other fub- frantial perfon of the city, town, or place, in the prefence of two or more credible witneffes, refufal or negledi being hrit made of due payment of the fame, which proteft fhali ‘ be made and written under a fair written copy of the faid ‘ of exchange, in the words or form following ; Know all men, that I R. S. on the day of at the ufual place of abode of the faid have de¬ manded payment of the bill, of which the above is the copy, which the faid did not pay ; wherefore I the laid do hereby proteft the faid bill, dated at this day of ‘ Which proteft fo made, as aforefaid, fhali, within fourteen ‘ days after making thereof, be fent, or otherwife due no- ‘ tice fhali be given thereof to the party, from whom the ‘ faid bill or bills were received, who is, upon producing ‘ fuch proteft, to repay the faid bill or bills, together with ‘ all interefts and charges, from the day fuch bill or bills were ‘ protefted ; for which proteft fhali be paid a fum, not ex- ‘ ceeding the fum of fix-pence; and in default or neglect * of: fuch proteft made and fent, or due notice given within ‘ the days before limited, the perfon, fo failing or negleflihg thereor, is, and fhali be liable to all cofts, damages, and ‘ interefts, which do, and fhali, accrue thereby. * Provided neverthelefs, that in cafe any fuch inland bill, or bills of exchange, fhali happen to be loft, or mifearried, * within the time before limited for payment of the fame, * ‘ben the drawer of the faid bill or bills is, and fhali, be * obliged to give another bill or bills of the fame tenour with ‘ the firft given, the perfon or perfons to whom they are, and * be fo delivered, giving fecurity, if demanded, to the ‘ faid drawer, to indemnify him againft all perfons whatfoever, * in cafe the faid bills or bill of exchange, fo alledged to be ‘ loft or mifearried, fhali be found again.’ After this, the nation being fenfible of the conveniencies ari- fing to commerce by that a£t, and obferving, that there was no provifion made in it for protefling fuch bills for non-ac¬ ceptance, and the merchants further confidering how bene¬ ficial it would be to the public to have the fame remedy upon promiffary notes, as upon bills of exchange, whereby the fame may be transferred from party to party, without any other formality, but that of an endorfement: all thefe mat¬ ters having been taken into confideration by parliament, an a£t tor that effedt palled both houfes, and received the royal allent, to the general fatisfadtion of the nation, which is as follows. 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