Question 84. - Has the drawee of a bill, payable at or after sight, the right to antedate his acceptance, and if he does so, can the holder treat the bill as dishonoured and protest it?

Answer. - We do Dot think that there is any room for doubt on this point. An acceptance is qualified and discharges the prior parties, if it varies the effect of the bill as drawn. An order to pay at sight or at a given number of da after sight, would not, it seems to us, be complied with if the acceptor undertook to pay the amount at some other time, and we think the holder should refuse such an acceptance. If it were proper for a drawee to antedate his acceptance a single day, there is no logical reason why he should not antedate it a month or two months, and in the case of a draft drawn say at 60 days after sight, he might make the acceptance mature immediately - a most decided variation of the terms of the bill.

Bill Drawn to Mature on 31st October (including) grace) Accepted "Payable 31st October."

Question 85. - A bill dated 28th August, and payable two months after date, which would make it due on 31st October, is accepted by the drawee, who adds to his acceptance the following words: "Payable 31st October." Does this affect the due date?

Answer. - We presume our correspondent thinks that if the acceptor's statement is to be treated as part of the bill, three days of grace must be allowed after 31st October, but we do not think that it has this effect. The bill, according the Act, is "due, and payable on the last day of grace," and the acceptor has merely noted this in a concrete form.

If it were otherwise, the acceptance would not be one which the holder should take.