And in such case the promissor will also be entitled to his costs. 3. INTEREST. On bills of exchange, payable at a day certain, and not carrying interest on the face of them, interest is recoverable from the day on which the bill becomes due. Formerly interest was computed from the day on which the principal became due to the time of commencing the action; but now interest ought to be carried down to the day on which judgment is signed. Selw. 321. Ibid. 3. Robinson v. Bland, 2 Burr. 1085. Blake v. Lawrence, 4 Esp. Rep. 147. Where the terms of a promissory note are, that it shall be payable by instalments, and on failure of payment of any Ellenborough, Ch. J. instalment, the whole is to become due; in such case, interest becomes payable from the time of the first default. Where the interest is payable annually; an action lies Greenleaf v. Kellogg, for the interest before the principal is payable: And in such action, interest is allowed upon each year's interest unpaid. 2 Mas. Rep. 568. TITLE XXVIII. 1 Bac. Abr. 322. Ibid. 2 Esp. Dig. 290. Ibid. Edwards v. Harben, 2 T. R. 587. Twyne's case, 3 Co. 80, b. BILL OF SALE. A BILL of sale is a solemn contract under seal, whereby any thing By this statute, it is provided, that all conveyances of goods, made to the intent to defraud creditors, shall be null and void. Under this statute, it has been decided, that in the transfer of chattels, the possession must accompany and follow the deed; for an absolute conveyance of personalty without possession, is, in point of law, fraudulent; and not merely evidence of fraud. As where one Pierce, being indebted to Twyne in four hundred pounds, and to C. in two hundred pounds, and C. having brought an action of debt against Pierce, pending the writ, he made a general deed of gift of all his goods and chattels to Twyne in satisfaction of his debt, but notwithstanding, Pierce still continued in possession of his goods, some of them he sold, he shore the sheep, and marked them with his own mark, and exerted every act of ownership. This transaction appearing, it was clearly held, that the conveyance to Twyne was fraudulent and void within the stat. 13 Eliz. For it was made with a trust between the parties, and the owner continuing in possession, it gave him a credit whereby he traded with others, and so was enabled to cheat and defraud them. 1 Bac. Abr.323. 2 T. R. 587. So if goods continue in the possession of the vendor, after a bill of sale of them, though there is a clause in the bill that the vendor shall account annually with the vendee for them, yet it is a fraud; since, if such colouring were admitted, it would be the easiest thing in the world to avoid the provisions and caution of the act. So where a person, indebted both to the plaintiff and Edwards v. Harben, defendant, made a bill of sale of all his effects to the defendant, in which was a clause that defendant should be at liberty within fourteen days from the execution of the bill of sale, to enter upon and sell the effects so assigned, in case the money was not sooner paid; before the end of fourteen days, the person died; upon which the defendant entered upon the goods and sold them, when it was held that the owner having been left and dying in possession of the goods, that the assignment was fraudulent, and that defendant having so interfered should be liable to the whole of the plaintiff's debt, as executor of his own wrong. But the cases here are where the conveyance is absolute, Per Buller, J. in S. C. for cases may occur in which the owner may continue in possession, and yet the conveyance not be fraudulent. As if the conveyance is conditional, there the vendor's continuing in possession does not invalidate the sale, because by the terms of the conveyance the vendee is not to have possession till he has performed the condition. So where the want of immediate possession is consistent with the deed. As where personal property, and among other things, some cows were settled on the mar Ibid. Haselinton v. Gill. X. 2 Esp. Dig. 293. Atkinson v. Malling, 2 T. R. 462. riage of the plaintiff's wife on certain trusts, they were held not to be liable to the husband's debts. Another case of sales not void under the statute though no possession has been delivered, is that of the sale or assignment of ships at sea. For if a ship be sold while at sea, a delivery of the grand bill of sale amounts to a delivery of the ship itself, for it is the only delivery of which the subject matter is capable, and besides, it does not give any degree of false credit to the vendee or assignee. TITLE XXIX. BLASPHEMY. In what blasphemy By y statute it is enacted, that if any person shall wilfully Stat. 1782, c. 8. blaspheme the holy name of God, by denying, cursing, or contumeliously reproaching God, his creation, govern - consists. ment, or final judgment of the world, or by cursing, or reproaching Jesus Christ, or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing, or contumeliously reproaching the holy Word of God, that is, the canonical scriptures, contained in the books of the Old and New Testaments, or by exposing them, or any part of them to contempt and ridicule; every The punishment. person, so offending, shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, by setting in the pillory, by whipping, or by setting on the gallows, with a rope about the neck, or binding to the good behaviour; at the discretion of the supreme judicial court, before whom the conviction may be, according to the aggravation of the offence. |