It was formerly held that where a bill was accepted without consideration for the accommodation of the drawer, the drawer was to be considered the principal debtor and the acceptor as his surety; and, therefore that time given to the drawer would discharge the acceptor, but time given to the acceptor would not discharge the drawer. But this distinction has since been overruled; and in Courts of Law at least the acceptor in all cases of accommodation bills, as well as others, is considered as the principal debtor, though the holder at the time of making the agreement, or even of taking the bill, knew the acceptance to have been without value. It is otherwise in equity, where the holder had notice, and the equitable doctrine is available under an equitable plea.

16. Cases in which a Banker is justified in refusing payment of a, Bill or Note.

On being presented with a bill for payment, the first thing a banker looks to is to ascertain if he holds sufficient funds, without which, it is hardly necessary to state, the document must be dishonoured. It is more prudent in all cases to give a banker advice of bills becoming due, without which, any informalities, etc, might give rise to suspicion, and cause injurious delay, perhaps refusal. In cases, however, where a customer is particular in providing for the proper payment of his acceptances, the banker will use his own discretion as to the refusal, as the consequences may be very serious from dishonouring a bill of exchange on account of trivial irregularities. A bill of exchange being refused, for instance, in consequence of an erroneous computation as to the due date on the part of the banker - there being sufficient funds to meet the bill, and before the representment of the bill the funds disappeared - the banker would most likely suffer in case the other parties to the instrument were to take advantage of the banker's negligence. Such an oversight would in all probability be speedily remedied without such loss to the banker; at the same time a banker renders himself liable in the same way by non-payment as by non-presentment. An insufficient stamp, as we have previously stated, makes the document illegal, and it must therefore be refused payment on that ground. Irregularity of indorsement-difference between body and figures, erasure of any vital part of the bill, any apparently subsequent addition made after acceptance to alter the purport of the instrument, an alteration of date so as to prolong the period the bill had to run, or to shorten it-would justify the banker in refusing payment, unless satisfactory explanation were offered on which he could act with safety to himself and for the welfare of his customer.

17. Discounting Bills.

Discounting bills - that is, placing the amount which the bills represent to the customer's credit, minus the interest - is the principal medium through which bankers employ their money, and is of itself a business with some; who style themselves 'bill discounters.'* Firms trading largely on a small capital find discounting a great assistance, and in some cases are unable to do without it; but bankers are always cautious to ascertain that the paper is of a good class, before they discount to any great extent; as when the accommodation afforded is to a person of but limited capital, in the event of an adverse crisis the banker will probably suffer. A discounted bill should never be delivered to any one but the depositor of it until after maturity; as not only can a bond fide indorsee, holding it for value, sue on it for non-payment at maturity, but it affords an opportunity to any who may be so disposed, to use an eminent name for the purpose of obtaining a sum of money for a period, and then retiring the instrument before the signature of the acceptance could, by proper presentation, be verified, and the forgery detected. Also suborbinates in banking-houses, or any who may be charged with the custody of bills for presentation at maturity, should be particular in taking written instructions respecting the non-presentment of a bill or note; as a case may occur in which the holder of a bill or note may know the acceptor, and even the other parties to the instrument, to be insolvent, and afterwards, by apparent neglect to present at maturity, endeavour to throw the loss on the bank. The qualifications necessary to render a man who has adopted banking as his business, capable of presiding over the discounting department of a bank, are perhaps the most valuable he can possess, as it is in nearly all cases the principal source of profit to the bank. A man must possess keen observation, a ready memory; and should have the means of knowing when certain houses are trading beyond their capital, so as to be able to distinguish accommodation bills from bona fide documents.

* The Athenians are said to have originated the method of discounting as at present practised,-that is, retaining the profits at the time of the advance.

18. Indications in case of need.

The indication 'in case of need' will usually appear in the margin of the bill or note, and signifies that the instrument is to be taken to the house of the person or persons mentioned, who will intervene for the honour of the drawer or indorsers, as the case may be. If there be several indications 'in case of need,' application should be made to all to ascertain for whom they interfere, and the preference given to that one who will accept for honour of the prior party to the bill, calculating from the drawer.

19. The Copy of a 'First' Bill.

The copy of a first bill of exchange may be negotiated in the same way as a 'second;' the 'second' of exchange, however, in the absence of the ' first' is frequently accepted where the copy of a 'first' would not be by the drawee, as it does not bear the original name of the drawer. In case of delay in the arrival of a first of exchange, a copy might be accepted for the honour of the original indorsers, as they are still liable to the holder. It is the practice abroad to furnish the copy of a bill which has not been drawn in sets. A protest may in some cases be made on the copy of a bill. The person making the copy should state distinctly 'copy,' the original with so and so, and transcribe the whole bill with all the indorsements, including his own.

The depression in trade from time to time is shown by the diminished number of stamps required by the public for bills of exchange. In the financial year 1873-74 the number was 9,998,359, producing a revenue of £999,604, or nearly ten millions of bills, supplying nearly a million of revenue. In the next year, 1874-75, the number fell to 9,800,899, and the revenue to £919,309. In the year 1875-76 the number was but 9,735,566, and the tax £869,131; the number of bills decreasing by a quarter of a million in the course of two years, but the revenue not declining so much. Still, the number of bills is much above that of ten years ago, when (in the year 1865-66) there were but 8,375,893 bill stamps issued.