Bills and notes demand payment in specie or Bank of England notes only; other descriptions of goods are not considered payment, and if drawn to include other than specie payment, are invalid. Byles, p. 357, says on this point, 'Goods treated as money are a sufficient payment.' If drawn subject to additions or deductions of interest, the document is of no use, even for the original amount. Bills or notes, the payment of which depend on any uncertain event, such as marriage or the realisation of sums of money consequent upon any speculation, are not countenanced by the law, and are useless as evidence. In case of a memorandum being added after the completion and handing over of the document, by way of defeasance, it is looked upon as a separate and independent agreement, and must have a proper stamp; but it must be remembered that an agreement must be only between the original parties to the instrument, and that any collateral arrangement will be of no avail as regards an interference with the progress of the bill or note. Any oral agreement is useless against a written contract.

3. Respecting alterations.

A bill of exchange or note ceases to be of any value after having been altered in a material part, irrespective of who may have made such alteration. Persons holding such documents are considered bound in obedience to the laws of society to uphold them in their integrity both as regards their own acts and those of other people who may in the course of business hold such instruments in their hands for the account of their employers.

An alteration made by the drawer or other holder, without the consent or knowledge of the acceptor, is considered a full discharge to the acceptor. The acceptor pledges himself to pay at a certain place; any alteration of that, without his knowledge, releases him from his original contract. A person indorsing a bill so altered to another person ignorant of the alteration cannot sue his indorser upon default; the acceptor not being held responsible for a change from the place where he had undertaken to pay. An alteration before the delivery of the instrument will not vitiate it; nor will the alteration of any slight error which may have occurred by which the original intention of the maker is furthered. Either payee or indorsee having given value for the bill, an alteration, though before acceptance, avoids the document. An alteration made at any period by the drawer or payee, though it renders void the instrument, does not extinguish the debt. An alteration by an indorsee not only liberates all the antecedent parties, but extinguishes the debt due to the indorsee by the indorser. The renewal of a bill consequent on any alteration does not render liable parties to the original unless duly apprised thereof.

4. Agreement of Body with Figures.

In cases of difference between body and figures, it is held that the writing in the body - being, in fact, the principal substance of the instrument - should be presumed to be the amount intended, as it is more probable that an error would occur in the figures. A banker having a bill presented thus differing, and holding no advice-which is frequently the case - would be governed in his actions by the nature of the alteration.

5. Bills of Exchange drawn in Sets.

In purchasing bills of exchange in one country to remit to another, it is customary to draw two or three bills to a set; but more must be furnished if demanded. In most cases only two are required. However many bills may be drawn in a set, they compose but one bill. All the parts of a set must be numbered alike, so that each has undoubted reference to the other part. Each of such parts contains the written condition that it will be paid, provided only that no other part of the same bill has been already paid. The mode of dealing with the parts may differ, according to circumstances, A purchaser may not intend to employ the 'second' at all, but only to hold it in case the ' first' should be lost, in which event the 'second' answers his purpose as well as the ' first' The 'first' may be forwarded for acceptance, and the 'second' indorsed away for value, subsequently finding its way to the accepted ' first' to which it will be attached, and both paid at maturity. The payment of any one part extinguishes the whole. The parts of a bill not being written so as to show undoubted reference one to the other, may oblige the drawer to pay more than one part in the event of anything going wrong. A drawee will, of course, take care to accept only one part, and always to obtain possession by payment of such part as he may have accepted, otherwise he may have to pay twice.

6. Presentation at Maturity - Before Maturity - After Maturity.

It is not necessary, on the arrival of a bill at maturity, to present it to the acceptor personally. It is his business to provide for it at the place indicated. It is absolutely necessary that the bill or note should be presented, when due, at the place indicated, otherwise legal proceedings will be of no avail against the indorsers. The acceptor or maker, however, still remains liable; but a person who guarantees the payment of a bill is not released by the non-presentment. A reasonable time is allowed to present a bill payable on demand. If it be received one day, it is not necessary that it should be presented until the day after. A promissory note, payable on demand, may be taken as an exception to this rule, as it is frequently given as a continuing security, carrying interest. It is not, therefore, considered sufficient neglect to discharge the indorser, if it be presented within a reasonable time after its reception. Where bills are made payable at private houses, with no recognised hours of business (such as bankers have), as late as eight o'clock in the evening is not considered unreasonable by the law. If a bill be drawn, payable at a certain place, even though it be different from that indicated by the acceptance, presentment must be made there, in order to charge the drawer. If a bill be made payable at one of two places, presentment at either will suffice. Proof of presentment at the place indicated, though no one were in attendance, neither did the acceptor live there, would suffice. In the case of a promissory note, the place of payment must be mentioned in the body of the document, so as to be a part of the contract. Presentment at a place indicated in a detached memorandum will not suffice, and is held to be fatal to the document. Circumstances, however, may exist in which non-presentment, when due, will not discharge the antecedent parties •-a bill seized under an extent, for instance, as laches cannot be imputed to the crown. Neglect to present, when due, discharges the antecedent parties-the only recourse being against drawer and acceptor. Should the acceptor, however, have failed since the day of maturity, the drawer is also released, unless the holder can satisfactorily prove that, had the bill been presented at maturity, it would have been refused for a sufficient reason, such as no effects, no orders, nor advice.