When it appears that some considerable time must elapse before the title can be perfected, and the purchaser agrees to take possession and pay interest, he cannot, (unless there be great and unexpected delay,) by subsequently appropriating the purchase-money and giving notice, escape his liability to interest (a).

The Law upon the general subject seems in its application to cases where there is a special condition as to interest, to be in an unsettled state: it has been held, that a general agreement by the purchaser to pay interest during delay in completion will bind him during delay caused by the vendor (b): this decision, however, is disapproved of by Sir E. Sugden (c); and two subsequent cases (d), in which it was decided that agreements to pay interest during delay caused by "any unforeseen or unavoidable obstacles," or "any unavoidable obstacle" did not apply to delays in making out the title, seem seriously to affect its authority: where, however, the agreement was to pay interest during delay arising from " any cause whatever except the wilful (e) default of the vendor" (f), or, simply, "from any cause whatever" (g), (an expression not so strong against the purchaser as the former one, inasmuch as, the particular exception of "wilful default" increased the stringency of the first part of the sentence,) it was held, that interest was payable during delays occasioned by the state of the title; but, in the latter case (h), the order was made without prejudice to any application by the purchaser for compensation: and a different decision was come to, when the expression was, "if from any cause whatever the purchase-money shall not be paid on, etc, the purchaser making default shall pay interest" (i); and, of course, a condition containing the words " any cause whatever," even without anything to qualify their effect, would not authorize wilful delay on the part of the vendor (k): in a very recent case, where the expression, upon a sale by the Court, was, " if the purchaser shall fail in making such payments at the time and in manner aforesaid, then and in such case, from whatever cause the delay may have arisen," interest to be paid at 5l. per cent., and no abstract was delivered until after the time fixed for completion, and the supplemental abstracts, showing a good title, were not delivered, although repeatedly applied for, until eighteen months after the time fixed for completion, and the purchaser at the commencement of the delay paid the purchase-money into a bank at a low rate of interest, and gave notice thereof to the Vendors, and that he should require compensation, and then, upon the title being cleared up, obtained an order for a conveyance and for payment of his purchase-money into Court without prejudice to his right (if any) to compensation, and the purchase was accordingly completed, a petition for compensation in respect of the loss of interest was dismissed by Sir J. Wigram, V. C, with costs, upon the ground of the purchaser having completed the contract; but it seems to have been admitted that, while the contract remained incomplete, he might have obtained relief, or might probably have abandoned the contract (l): and the decision of the V. C. was reversed by Lord Cottenham on appeal; his Lordship holding, either that interest did not begin to run until the delivery of an abstract showing a good title, or that, if the condition bound the purchaser to pay interim interest, he was entitled to compensation for the nonperformance by the vendor of his part of the contract (m). But, in the same case, when, it having been decided that the right to interest on the one hand, and to the income of the estate on the other, was not to commence until a good title was abstracted, the purchaser applied for compensation in respect of his money having been comparatively unproductive in the interim, (it having, as before stated, been paid into a bank at a low rate of interest upon notice to the vendors,) his Lordship held that the claim could not be sustained. His Lordship observed - "My opinion is, that, the vendors being in default, the delay having been occasioned by their not performing their part of the contract, are not to exact from the purchaser the payment of interest until the time they showed a good title on their abstract. The effect of that is to postpone the day agreed on for the completion of the contract until the time when the vendors put themselves right, and showed their title to be good on the abstract. The result, therefore, is, until that time there would be no demand to be made by the vendors for the payment, and therefore the interest, which was to stand in the place of that payment, had not commenced to run: it did run when they showed a good title, and not before. The purchaser is to have compensation for the loss and injury which he sustained by the non-performance of the contract by the vendors; but the vendors are not, therefore, to make compensation for any loss not arising out of their contract; that default on the part of the vendors not making it necessary or proper for the purchaser to lay his money by and make it unproductive, for the purpose of throwing the loss of that unproductiveness on the vendors. I think it is carrying the principle out strictly, to postpone the time for paying the purchase-money till the time a good title was shown. The vendors would be entitled to the rents and profits up to that time, and the purchaser's liability to pay interest would commence from that time, and the Master must inquire when that time was" (n).

Actual bond fide appropriation requisite.

Payment into Bank at call.

Purchaser acceding to delay cannot afterwards appropriate purchase-money.

Express agreement to pay interest-effect of

(z) Sug. 795; and see Macdonnell. Harding, 7 Sim. 178. (a) Dickinson v. Heron, Sug. 797.

" Unavoidable obstacle."

"Any cause whatever except wilful default."

" Purchaser making default."