Lancaster, Jan. 1, 1855 Mr. Humphrey Barrett, Bought of Geo. W. Dodge. 3 yds. Broadcloth at $3.75 $11.25 (d.) If Mr. F. W. Spofford, Mr. Dodge's clerk, had received the money due on the bill, he would have receipted it by some form similar to the following: Or, Received Payment, Geo. W. Dodge, by F. W. Spofford. F. W. Spofford, (e.) If the goods had been bought on credit, the words “Received Payment” might have been written, but no name would have been affixed. It is the signing of the receipt by the seller, or his authorized agent, which gives validity to it. The receipted bill should be kept by the person who pays it, as evidence of the payment. (f.) The following form of heading a bill is often used instead of the above:— Lancaster, Jan. 1, 1855. Mr. Humphrey Barrett, To Geo. W. Dodge, Dr. For 3 yds. Broadcloth, at, &c. NOTE. A person is my debtor when he owes me money, and my creditor when I owe him. (g.) When articles are bought or services rendered at different times, the bill may be headed and receipted as before, and the dates of the various transactions written at the left, opposite the entries. (h.) Theodore Gay is a trader living in Dedham. He sold to Samuel French the following articles, viz.: Jan. 3, 1855, 5 bags of meal at $1.58 per bag, and 2 bags of corn at $1.54 per bag; Jan. 27, 8 lbs. of coffee at 16 cents per pound; Feb. 7, 3 lbs. tea at 59 cents per pound; Feb. 21, 1 bbl. of flour for $10.37, and 14 lbs. of brown sugar at 9 cents per pound. On the 1st of March, Mr. Gay being in want of money, made out a bill, and sent it to Mr. French, who paid it on the 3d of March. (i.) The bill was made out in the following form : Dedham, March 1, 1855. Mr. Samuel French, 1855. To Theodore Gay, Dr. Jan. 3, For 5 Bags Meal, at $1.58, $7.90 (j.) If Mr. French had paid Mr. Gay $2 on the 1st of February, and worked for him the 4 days ending Feb. 24 at $1.50 per day, the first part of the bill would have been made out as before, and then the credit entries would have been made as follows: * Feb. 21, For 1 4 lb. Sugar, at $.09, $ 1.26 Cr. Feb 1, By Cash, $25.66 $2.00 24, 66 4 days' labor, at $1.50,$6.00 8.00 Bal. due T. G., $17.66 March 3, Received Payment, Theodore Gay. (k.) The mere sending of a bill to a person, except at his request, or at the time of sending the articles for which the biil is made out, is equivalent to a request that the money due on it should be paid. (7.) A bill is said to be against the person who the one who is to receive the money due on it. preceding bills is against Humphrey Barrett, and Dodge. owes, and in favor of Thus the first of the in favor of Geo. W. 100. Examples for Practice. - Due Bills. Make out the proper bills for each of the following examples : 1. L. H. Holmes is a dry goods dealer, residing in Bridgewater. Oct. 7, 1854, he sold to E. C. Hewett, for cash, 3 yds. of broadcloth at $3.62, 3 yds. of doeskin at $1.68, 1 cravat for $1.50, 1 vest for $6.00, 1 pair of gloves for $1.00, and 1 pair of boots for $4.50. 2. A. B. Curry & Son, of Providence, sold to Geo. A. Richards, June 13, 1855, the following articles, viz.: 35 This entry is repeated so as to make the form of the bill more apparent. lbs. live geese feathers, at 50 cents per pound; 12 common chairs, at $.42 each; 6 cane seat, at $1.00 each; 6 mahogany spring seat, at $3.00 each; 3 common bedsteads, at $3.00 each; 2 cottage bedsteads, at $5.00 each; 2 best hair mattresses, 25 lb. each, at $.50 per lb.; 2 palm leaf mattresses at $4 each, 2 husk at $5.00 each, 2 straw at $2.50 each, 1 sofa, $35; 1 pair tete-a-tetes, $75; 1 gilt mirror, $75; 1 marble centre table, $42; 1 secretary, $45; 1 painted chamber set, $45; 1 enamelled chamber set, $125.00; 3 common bureaus at $8.00 each; 1 marble toilet bureau, $42.00; 1 extension dining table, $45.00; 12 oak dining chairs at $3.50; 1 timepiece, $8.00; and 1 whatnot, $25.00. 3. John Smith sold to David Brown the following articles, viz.: Oct. 7, 1854, 13 bushels of potatoes at $.56, 19 bu. corn at $.97, and 3 bbl. of apples at $2.42; Nov. 1, 4 tons of hay at $19, and 3 tons at $18.50; Dec. 17, 40 bushels of potatoes at $.67, 34 bu. of corn at $.98, and 21 bbl. of apples at $2.75 per barrel. settled by a due bill. Jan. 1, 1855, the account was NOTE. ·A due bill is not a promise to pay a debt, but merely an acknowledgment that it is due. It is intended to cut off after disputes as to the debt for which it is given, by furnishing the creditor additional means of establishing the justice of his claim. Every due bill, or written promise to pay money, should contain the words "value received," to show that the person who signs it has received an equivalent for it. Indeed, it is a principle in law, that no claim is valid unless it is based on some service rendered, or consideration given, to the person against whom it is made, or on his account. To illustrate the form of a due bill, we will suppose that John Smith owes James Brown $25, and that he gives him a due bill for the amount, as follows: $25. Boston, Jan. 1, 1855. Due to James Brown twenty-five dollars, for for value received. John Smith. |