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POSTAL RATES AND REGULATIONS.
LETTERS.--The law requires postage on all letters (including those to foreign countries when prepaid), excepting those written to the President or Vice President, or members of Congress, or (on official business) to the chiefs of the executive departments of the Government, and the heads of bureaux and chief clerks, and others invested with the franking privilege, to be prepaid by stamps or stamped envelopes, prepayment in money being prohibited. All drop-letters must be prepaid. The rate of postage on drop-letters, at offices where free delivery by carrier is established, is two cents per half ounce or fraction of a half ounce; at offices where such free delivery is NOT established the rate is one cent. The single rate of postage on all domestic mail letters throughout the United States, is three cents per half ounce, with an additional rate of three cents for each additional half ounce or fraction of a half ounce. The 10 cent (Pacific) rate is abolished. NEWSPAPERS, ETC.--Letter postage is to be charged on all handbills, circulars, or other printed matter which shall contain any manuscript writing whatever. Daguerreotypes, when sent in the mail, are to be charged with letter postage by weight. |
Photographs on cards, paper, and other flexible material, (not in cases), can be sent at the same rate as miscellaneous printed matter, viz., two cents for each four ounces or fraction thereof.
Photograph Albums are chargeable with book postage--four cents for each four ounces or fraction thereof.
NEWSPAPER POSTAGE.--Postage on daily papers to subscribers when prepaid quarterly or yearly in advance, either at the mailing office or office of delivery, per quarter (three months), 35 cts.; six times per week, per quarter 30 cts.; for tri-weekly, per quarter 15 cts.; for twi-weekly, per quarter 15 cts.; for semi-weekly, per quarter 5 cents.
Weekly newspapers (one copy only) sent by the publisher to actual subscribers within the county where printed and published, FREE.
Postage per quarter (to be paid quarterly or yearly in advance) on newspapers and periodicals issued less frequently than once a week, sent to actual subscribers in any part of the United States: Semi-monthly, not over 4 ozs., 6 cts.; over 4 oz. and not over 8 oz., 12 cts.; over 8 oz. and not over 12 oz., 18 cts.; monthly, not over 4 oz., 3 cts.; over 4 oz. and not over 8 oz., 6 cts.; over 8 oz. and not over 12 oz., 9 cts.; quarterly, not over 4 oz., 1 cent; over 4 oz. and not over 8 oz., 2 cts.; over 8 oz. and not over 12 oz., 3 cts.
TRANSIENT MATTER.--Books not over 4 oz. in weight, to one address, 4 cts.; over 4 oz. and not over 8 oz., 8 cts.; over 8 oz. and not over 12 oz., 12 cts.; over 12 oz. and not over 16 oz., 16 cts.
Circulars not exceeding three in number to one address, 2 cts.; over 3 and not over 6, 4 cts.; over 6 and not over 9, 6 cts.; over 9 and not exceeding 12, 8 cts.
On miscellaneous mailable matter, (embracing all pamphlets, occasional publications, transient newspapers, hand-bills and posters, book manuscripts and proof-sheets, whether corrected or not, maps, prints, engravings, sheet music, blanks, flexible patterns, samples, and sample cards, phonographic paper, letter envelopes, postal envelopes or wrappers, cards, paper, plain or ornamental, photographic representations of different types, seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots and scions), the postage to the pre-paid by stamps, is on one package, to one address, not over 4 oz. in weight, 2 cts.; over 4 oz. and not over 8 oz., 4 cts.; over 8 oz. and not over 12 oz., 6 cts.; over 12 oz. and not over 16 oz., 8 cts. The weight of packages of seeds, cuttings, roots and scions, to be franked, is limited to 32 oz.
[All printed matter (except single copies of newspapers, magazines, and periodicals to regular subscribers) sent via overland mail, is to be charged at LETTER POSTAGE rates.]
Any word or communication, whether by printing, writing, marks or signs, upon the cover or wrapper of a newspaper, pamphlet, magazine, or other printed matter, other than the name or address of the person to whom it is to be sent, and the date when the subscription expires, subjects the package to letter postage.
Infallible Rules for Detecting Counterfeit or Spurious Bank Notes.
RULE 1st.--Examine the shading of the letters in title of Bank called LATHEWORK, which in genuine notes presents an even, straight, light and silky appearance, generally so fine and smooth as to appear to be all in one solid, pale body. In the counterfeit the lines are coarse and irregular, and in many of the longer lines breaks will be perceived, thus presenting a very inferior finish in comparison to genuine work.
2d.--Observe the dies, circles and ovals in the genuine; they are composed of a network of lines, which, by crossing each other at certain angles, produce an endless variety of figures; SEE THE ONE CENT STAMP ATTACHED. The fine line alone is the unit which enables you to detect spurious work. In the counterfeit, the REPRESENTED white lines are coarse, irregular, and cross each other in a confused, irregular manner, thus producing blurred and imperfect figures.
3d.--Examine the form and features of all human figures on the note. In the genuine, the texture of the skin is represented by fine dots and lines intermixed. In the eyes, the pupil is distinctly visible, and the white clearly seen; the nose, mouth and chin, well formed, natural and expressive; the lips are slightly pouting, and the chin well thrown out; and the delicate shading of the neck perfectly harmonizes with the rest of the figure. Observe the fingers and toes; they should be clearly and accurately defined. The hair of the head should show the fine strands and present a natural appearance. The folds of the drapery of human figures should lay natural and present a fine, finished appearance. In the counterfeit the female figure does not bear the natural prominence in outlines; observe, the eyes and shading surrounding does not present the lifelike appearance it should. The fingers and toes are not properly and proportionately defined; the hair does not bear that soft and finished appearance as in the genuine.
4th.--Examine the imprint or engraver’s names in the evenness and shape of the fine letters. Counterfeits never bear the imprint perfect. This rule should be strictly observed, as it is infallible in detecting counterfeits.
5th.--In the genuine note the landscapes are well finished; trees and shrubs are neatly drawn; the limbs well proportioned, and the foliage presenting a fine natural appearance; clear sky is formed of fine parallel lines, and when clouds or heavy skies appear, they cross each other and bear a soft, smooth and natural appearance. The perspective, showing a view of the surrounding country, is always clear and distinct. The small figures in the background are always plainly seen, and their outlines and general character recognized. Ships are well defined and the canvass has a clear texture; railroad cars are very accurately delineated; in examining a train observe carefully the car most distant. In the counterfeit the landscape is usually poorly executed; the leaves of trees poorly and unnaturally defined.--The lines representing still water are scratchy rather than parallel, the sky is represented generally in like manner, and where rolling clouds are to be seen, the unnatural effect is obvious. Domestic animals are generally poorly executed, particularly the head and limbs; the eyes are seldom clearly defined. Ships are poorly drawn, the texture of the canvass coarse and inferior in style of workmanship, thus giving an artificial appearance. Railroad cars are also poorly executed; the car farthest from the eye is usually the most imperfect. The perspective is always imperfect, the figures in the background can seldom be recognized.
6th.--Bills altered from a smaller to a higher denomination, can readily be detected by a close observer, in consequence of the striking difference between the parts which have been extracted and the rest of the note. This difference is readily perceived in the lack of color, body and finish of the dye; we have seen bills where the surrounding shading in altered dies was too dark, but from the back or finish of the white lines you have a sure test. Again observe particularly the words "Five" or "Ten Dollars" as the case may be, denoting the denomination of the note; the parallel outlines and shading (if any) are coarse and imperfect. Alterations are frequently made by pasting a greater denomination over a smaller, but by holding the bill up to the light, the fraud will be perceived. Another method resorted to is to cut out the figures in the dies as well as the words one dollar, or the words two or three as the case may be, and with a sharp eraser, scrape down the ends and also the edges of the pieces to be inserted; when the pieces thus prepared are affixed they are hardly perceivable; but by passing the note through the hand, so as to feel the die both with the finger and thumb at the same time, the fraud will be detected by the stiffness of the outer edges, "occasioned by the gum or method adopted" in affixing the parts. The letter S should always be examined, as in many alterations it is pasted or stamped at the end of the word "dollar;" and even when stamped there, the carrying out of the outlines for its shading will readily show the fraud. Bills of broken banks are frequently altered by extracting the name of bank, state and town; they may readily be detected by observing first the state, second the title or name of the bank, third the town or location.
GENERAL REMARKS IN REFERENCE TO COUNTERFEITS.--The paper on which they are printed is generally of a very inferior quality, with less body, finish and toughness than bank note paper has. The ink generally lacks the rich luster of the genuine; the red letters and figures are generally imperfect, and the ink does not present the vermillion hue as it should. The printing is generally inferior, usually exhibiting specks of white in the most prominent letters. The date and filling up, and the President’s and Cashier’s names are generally written by the same person, although in many instances they present a different appearance. There are bills in circulation bearing either genuine dies or vignettes; but upon close examination you will be enabled to detect any spurious bill, whether counterfeit or altered, by the instructions here given, if persevered in for a short time. We beg to suggest, if time will admit, the learner should examine minutely every bill he receives. A powerful pocket magnifying glass, which can be purchased for from 50 cents to $1 at any of the opticians, will greatly enable you to see and comprehend the difference between genuine and spurious work.
What will my readers give to know how to get rich? Now, I will not vouch that the following rules will enable every person who may read them to acquire wealth; but this I will answer for, that if ever a man does grow rich by honest means, and retains his wealth for any length of time, he must practice upon the principles laid down in the following essay. The remarks are not original with me, but I strongly commend them to the attention of every young man, at least as affording the true secret of success in attaining wealth. A single perusal of such an essay at an impressible moment, has sometimes a very wonderful effect upon the disposition and character.
Fortune, they say, is a fickle dame--full of her freaks and caprices; who blindly distributes her favors without the slightest discrimination. So inconstant, so wavering is she represented, that her most faithful votaries can place no reliance on her promises. Disappointment, they tell us, is the lot of those who make offerings at her shrine. Now, all this is a vile slander upon the dear blind lady.
Although wealth often appears the result of mere accident, or a fortunate concurrence of favorable circumstances without any exertion of skill or foresight, yet any man of sound health and unimpaired mind may become wealthy, if he takes the proper steps.
Foremost in the list of requisites are honesty and strict integrity in every transaction of life. Let a man have the reputation of being fair and upright in his dealings, and he will possess the confidence of all who know him. Without these qualities every other merit will prove unavailing. Ask concerning a man, "Is he active and capable?" Yes. "Industrious, temperate and regular in his habits?"--Oh yes. "Is he honest? Is he trustworthy?" Why, as to that, I am sorry to say that he is not to be trusted; he needs watching; he is a little tricky, and will take an undue advantage, if he can. "Then I will have nothing to do with him," will be the invariable reply. Why, then, is honesty the best policy? Because, without it, you will get a bad name, and everybody will shun you.
A character for knavery will prove an insurmountable obstacle to success in almost every undertaking. It will be found that the straight line is, in business, as in geometry, the shortest. In a word, it is almost impossible for a dishonest man to acquire wealth by a regular process of business, because he is shunned as a depredator upon society.
Needy men are apt to deviate from the rule of integrity, under the plea that necessity knows no law; they might as well add that it knows no shame. The course is suicidal, and by destroying all confidence, ever keeps them immured in poverty, although they may possess every other quality for success in the world.
Punctuality, which is said to be the soul of business, is another important element in the art of money getting. The man known to be scrupulously exact in the fulfillment of his engagements, gains the confidence of all, and may command all the means he can use with advantage; whereas, a man careless and regardless of his promises in money matters will have every purse closed against him. Therefore be prompt in your payments.
Next, let us consider the advantages of a cautious circumspection in our intercourse with the world. Slowness of belief and a proper distrust are essential to success. The credulous and confiding are ever the dupes of knaves and imposters. Ask those who have lost their property how it happened, and you will find in most cases that it has been owing to misplaced confidence. One has lost by endorsing, another by crediting, another by false representations; all of which a little more foresight and a little more distrust would have prevented. In the affairs of this world men are not saved by faith, but by the want of it.
Judge of men of what they do, not by what they say. Believe in looks rather than words. Observe all their movements. Ascertain their motives and their ends. Notice what they say or do in their unguarded moments, when under the influence of excitement. The passions have been compared to tortures which force men to reveal their secrets. Before trusting a man, before putting it in his power to cause you a loss, possess yourself of every available information relative to him. Learn his history, his habits, inclinations and propensities; his reputation for honor, industry, frugality and punctuality; his prospects, resources, supports, advantages and disadvantages; his intentions and motives of action; who are his friends and enemies, and what are his good or bad qualities. You may learn a man’s good qualities and advantages from his friends--his bad qualities and disadvantages from his enemies. Make due allowance for exaggeration in both. Finally, examine carefully before engaging in anything, and act with energy afterwards. Have the hundred eyes of Argus beforehand, and the hundred hands of Briarius afterwards.
Order and system in the management of business must not be neglected. Nothing contributes more to dispatch. Have a place for everything and everything in its place; a time for everything, and everything in its time. Do first what presses most, and having determined what is to be done, and how it is to be done, lose no time in doing it. Without this method all is hurry and confusion, little or nothing is accomplished, and business is attended to with neither pleasure nor profit.
A polite, affable deportment is recommended. Agreeable manners contribute powerfully to a man’s success. Take two men, possessing equal advantages in every other respect, but let one be gentlemanly, kind, obliging and conciliating in his manners; the other harsh, rude and disobliging; and the one will become rich, while the other will starve.
We are now to consider a very important principle in the business of money-getting, namely--Industry--persevering, indefatigable attention to business. Persevering diligence is the Philosopher’s stone, which turns everything to gold. Constant, regular, habitual and systematic application to business, must in time, if properly directed, produce great results. It must lead to wealth, with the same certainty that poverty follows in the train of idleness and inattention. It has been truly remarked that he who follows his amusements instead of his business, will, in a short time, have no business to follow.
The art of money-saving is an important part of the art of money-getting. Without frugality no one can become rich; with it, few would be poor. Those who consume as fast as they produce, are on the road to ruin. As most of the poverty we meet with grows out of idleness and extravagance, so most large fortunes have been the result of habitual industry and frugality. The practice of economy is as necessary in the expenditure of time as of money. They say if "we take care of the pence the pounds will take care of themselves." So, if we take care of the minutes, the days will take care of themselves.
The acquisition of wealth demands as much self-denial, and as many sacrifices of present gratification, as the practice of virtue itself. Vice and poverty proceed, in some degree, from the same sources, namely--the disposition to sacrifice the future to the present; the inability to forego a small present pleasure for great future advantages. Men fail of fortune in this world, as they fail of happiness in the world to come, simply because they are unwilling to deny themselves momentary enjoyments for the sake of permanent future happiness.
Every large city is filled with persons, who, in order to support the appearance of wealth, constantly live beyond their income, and make up the deficiency by contracting debts which are never paid. Others, there are, the mere drones of society, who pass their days in idleness, and subsist by pirating on the hives of the industrious. Many who run a short-lived career of splendid beggary, could they be but persuaded to adopt a system of rigid economy for a few years, might pass the remainder of their days in affluence. But no! They must keep up appearances, they must live like other folks.
Their debts accumulate; their credit fails; they are harassed by duns, and besieged by constables and sheriff. In this extremity, as a last resort, they submit to a shameful dependence, or engage in criminal practices which entail hopeless wretchedness and infamy on themselves and families.
Stick to the business in which you are regularly employed. Let speculators make thousands in a year or a day; mind your own regular trade, never turning from it to the right hand or to the left. If you are a merchant, a professional man, or a mechanic, never buy lots or stocks, unless you have surplus money which you wish to invest. Your own business you understand as well as other men; but other people’s business you do not understand. Let your business be some one which is useful to the community. All such occupations possess the elements of profit in themselves.
How to Secure the Public Lands,
OR THE ENTRY OF THE SAME UNDER THE PRE-EMPTION AND HOMESTEAD LAWS.
The following circular gives all necessary information as to the procedure necessary in purchasing and securing the public lands:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
GEN’L LAND OFFICE, July 19, 1865.
Numerous questions having arisen as to the mode of procedure to purchase public lands, or acquire title to the same by bounty land locations, by pre-emptions or by homestead, this circular is communicated for the information of all concerned.
In order to acquire title to public lands the following steps must be taken:
1. Application must be made to the Register of the district land office in which the land desired may be situated.
A list of all the land offices in the United States is furnished by the Department, with the seats of the different offices, where it is the duty of the Register and Receiver to be in attendance, and give proper facilities and information to persons desirous of obtaining lands.
The minimum price of ordinary public lands is $1.25 per acre. The even or reserved sections falling within railroad grants are increased to double the minimum price, being $2.50 per acre.
Lands once offered at public sale, and not afterwards kept out of market by reservation, or otherwise, so as to prevent free competition, may be entered or located.
2. By the applicant filing with the Register his written application describing the tract, with its area; the Register will then certify to the receiver whether the land is vacant, with its price; and when found to be so, the applicant must pay that price per acre, or may locate the same with land warrant, and thereafter the Receiver will give him a "duplicate receipt," which he is required to surrender previous to the delivery to him of the patent, which may be had either by application for it to the Register or to the General Land Office.
3. If the tract has not been offered at public sale it is not liable to ordinary private entry, but may be secured by a party legally qualified, upon his compliance with the requirements of the pre-emption laws of 4th September, 1841, and 3d March, 1843; and after such party shall have made actual settlement for such a length of time as will show he designs it for his permanent home, and is acting in good faith, building a house and residing therein, he may proceed to the district land office, establish his pre-emption claim according to law, by proving his actual residence and cultivation, and showing that he is otherwise within the purview of these acts.--Then he can enter the land at $1.25, either in cash or with bounty land warrant, unless the premises should be $2.50 acre lands. In that case the whole purchase-money can be paid in cash, or ½ in cash, the residue with a bounty land warrant.
4. But if parties legally qualified desire to obtain title under the Homestead Act of 20th May, 1862, they can do so on complying with the Department Circular, dated 30th October, 1862.
5. The law confines Homestead entries to surveyed lands; and although, in certain States and Territories noted in the subjoined list, pre-emptors may go on land before survey, yet they can only establish their claim after return of survey, but must file their pre-emption declaration within three months after receipt of official plat, at the local land-office where the settlement was made before survey. Where, however, it was made after survey, the claimant must file within three months after date of settlement; and where actual residence and cultivation have been long enough to show that the claimant has made the land his permanent home, he can establish his claim and pay for the same at any time before the date of the public sale of lands within the range in which his settlement may fall.
6. All unoffered surveyed lands not acquired under pre-emption, homestead, or otherwise, under express legal sanction, must be offered at public sale under the President’s Proclamation, and struck off to the highest bidder, as required by act of April 24, 1820.
J. M. EDMUNDS,
Commissioner General Land Office.
1. A promise of a debtor to give "satisfactory security" for the payment of a portion of his debt, is a sufficient consideration for a release of the residue by his creditor.
2. Administrations are liable to account for interest on funds in their hands, although no profit shall have been made upon them, unless the exigencies of the estate rendered it prudent that they should hold the funds thus uninvested.
3. Any person who voluntarily becomes an agent for another, and in that capacity obtains information to which as a stranger he could have had no access, is bound in subsequent dealing with his principal, as purchaser of the property that formed the subject of his agency, to communicate such information.
4. When a house is rendered untenantable in consequence of improvements made on the adjoining lot, the owner of such cannot recover damages, because it is presumed that he had knowledge of the approaching danger in time to protect himself from it.
5. When a merchant ship is abandoned by order of the master, for the purpose of saving life, and a part of the crew’s subsequently meet the vessel so abandoned and bring her safe into port, they will be entitled to salvage.
6. A person who has been led to sell goods by means of false pretenses, cannot recover them from one who has purchased them in good faith from the fraudulent vendor.
7. An agreement by the holder of a note to give the principal debtor time for payment, without depriving himself of the right to sue, does not discharge the surety.
8. A seller of goods who accepts, at the time of sale, the note of a third party, not endorsed by the buyer, in payment, cannot in case the note is not paid, hold the buyer responsible for the value of the goods.
9. A day-book copied from a "blotter" in which charges are first made, will not be received in evidence as a book of original entries.
10. Common carriers are not liable for extraordinary results of negligence that could not have been foreseen by ordinary skill and foresight.
11. A bidder at a Sheriff’s sale may retract his bid at any time before the property is knocked down to him, whatever may be the conditions of the sale.
12. Acknowledgment of debt to a stranger does not preclude the operation of the statute.
13. The fruits and grass on the farm or garden of an intestate descend to the heir.
14. Agents are solely liable to their principals.
15. A deposit of money in bank by a husband, in the name of his wife, survives to her.
16. Money paid on Sunday contracts may be recovered.
17. A debtor may give preference to one creditor over another, unless fraud or special legislation can be proved.
18. A court cannot give judgment for a larger sum than that specified in the verdict.
19. Imbecility on the part of either husband or wife, invalidates the marriages.
20. An action for malicious prosecution will lie, though nothing further was done than suing out warrants.
21. An agreement not to continue the practice of a profession or business in any specified town, if the party so agreeing has received a consideration for the same, is valid.
22. When A consigns goods to B to sell on commission, a B delivers them to C, in payment of his own antecedent debts, A can recover their value.
23. A finder of property is compelled to make diligent inquiry for the owner thereof, and to restore the same. If, on finding such property, he attempts to conceal such fact, he may be prosecuted for larceny.
24. A private person may obtain an injunction to prevent a public mischief by which he is affected in common with others.
25. Any person interested may obtain an injunction to restrain the State or a municipal corporation from maintaining a nuisance on its lands.
26. A discharge under the insolvent laws of one State will not discharge the insolvent from a contract made with a citizen of another State.
27. To prosecute a party with any other motive than to bring him to justice, is malicious prosecution, and actionable as such.
28. Ministers of the gospel, residing in any incorporated town, are not exempt from jury, military, or fire service.
29. When a person contracts to build a house, and is prevented by sickness from finishing it, he can recover for the part performed, if such part is beneficial to the other party.
30. In a suit for enticing away a man’s wife, actual proof of the marriage is not necessary. Cohabitation, reputation, and the admission of marriage by the parties, are sufficient.
31. Permanent erections and fixtures, made by a mortgagor after the execution of the mortgage upon land conveyed by it, become a part of the mortgaged premises.
32. When a marriage is denied, and plaintiff has given sufficient evidence to establish it, the defendant cannot examine the wife to disprove the marriage.
33. The amount of an express debt cannot be enlarged by application.
34. Contracts for advertisements in Sunday newspapers cannot be enforced.
35. A seller of goods, chattels, or other property, commits no fraud, in law, when he neglects to tell the purchaser of any flaws, defects, or unsoundness in the same.
36. The opinions of witnesses, as to the value of a dog that has been killed, are not admissible in evidence. The value of the animal is to be decided by the jury.
37. If any person puts a fence on or plows the land of another, he is liable for trespass whether the owner has sustained injury or not.
38. If a person, who is unable from illness to sign his will, has his hand guided in making his mark, the signature is valid.
39. When land trespassed upon is occupied by a tenant, he alone can bring the action.
40. To say of a person, "If he does not come and make terms with me, I will make a bankrupt of him and ruin him," or any such threatening language, is actionable, without proof of special damage.
41. In an action for slander, the party making the complaint must prove the words alleged; other words of like meaning will not suffice.
42. In a suit of damages for seduction, proof of pregnancy, and the birth of a child, is not essential. It is sufficient if the illness of the girl, whereby she was unable to labor, was produced by shame for the seduction; and this is such a loss of service as will sustain the action.
43. Addressing to a wife a letter containing matter defamatory to the character of her husband is a publication, and renders the writer amenable to damages.
44. A parent cannot sustain an action for any wrong done to a child, unless he has incurred some direct pecuniary injury therefrom in consequence of some loss of service or expenses necessarily consequent thereupon.
45. A master is responsible for an injury resulting from the negligence of his servant, whilst driving his cart or carriage, provided the servant at the time engaged in his master’s business, even though the accident happens in a place to which his master’s business does not call him; but if the journey of a servant be solely for a purpose of his own, and undertaken without the knowledge and consent of his master, the latter is not responsible.
46. An emigrant depot is not a nuisance in law.
47. A railroad track through the streets is not a nuisance in law.
48. In an action for libel against a newspaper, extracts from such newspaper may be given to show its circulation, and the extent to which the libel has been published. The jury, in estimating the damages, are to look at the character of the libel, and whether the defendant is rich or poor. The plaintiff is entitled, in all cases, to his actual damages, and should be compensated for the mental sufferings endured, the public disgrace inflicted, and all actual discomfort produced.
49. Delivery of a husband’s goods by a wife to her adulterer, he having knowledge that she has taken them without her husband’s authority, is sufficient to sustain an indictment for larceny against the adulterer.
50. The fact that the insurer was not informed of the existence of impending litigation, affecting the premises insured, at the time the insurance was effected, does not vitiate the policy.
51. The liability of an innkeeper is not confined to personal baggage, but extends to all the property of the guest that he consents to receive.
52. When a minor executes a contract, and pays money, or delivers property on the same, he cannot afterwards disaffirm such contract and recover the money, or property, unless he restores to the other party the consideration received from him for such money or property.
53. When a person has, by legal inquisition been found an habitual drunkard, he cannot, even in his sober intervals, make contracts to bind himself or his property, until the inquisition is removed.
54. Any person dealing with the representative of a deceased person, is presumed, in law, to be fully apprized of the extent of such representative’s authority to act in behalf of such estate.
55. In an action against a railroad company, by a passenger, to recover damages for injuries sustained on the road, it is not compulsory upon the plaintiff to prove actual negligence in the defendants; but it is obligatory on the part of the latter to prove that the injury was not owing to any fault or negligence of theirs.
56. A guest is a competent witness, in an action between himself and an inn-keeper, to prove the character and value of lost personal baggage. Money in a trunk, not exceeding the amount reasonably required by the traveler to defray the expenses of the journey which he has undertaken, is a part of his baggage; and in case of its loss, while at any inn, the plaintiff may prove its amount by his own testimony.
57. The deed of a minor is not absolutely void. The court is authorized to judge, from the instrument, whether it is void or not, according to its terms being favorable or unfavorable to the interests of the minor.
58. A married woman can neither sue nor be sued on any contract made by her during her marriage, except in an action relating to her individual property. The action must be commenced either by or against her husband. It is only when an action is brought on a contract made by her before her marriage, that she is to be joined as a co-plaintiff, or defendant, with her husband.
59. Any contract made with a person judicially declared a lunatic is void.
60. Money paid voluntarily in any transaction, with a knowledge of the facts, cannot be recovered.
61. In all cases of special contract for services, except in the case of a minor, the plaintiff can recover only the amount stipulated in the contract.
62. A wife is a competent witness with her husband, to prove the contents of a lost trunk, or when a party.
63. A wife cannot be convicted of receiving stolen goods when she received them of her husband.
64. Insurance against fire, by lightning or otherwise, does not cover loss by lightning when there is no combustion.
65. Failure to prove plea of justification, in a case of slander, aggravates the offence.
66. It is the agreement of the parties to sell by sample that constitutes a sale by sample, not the mere exhibition of a specimen of the goods.
67. An agent is liable to his principals for loss caused by his misstatements, tho’ unintentional.
68. Makers of promissory notes given in advance for premiums on policies of insurance, thereafter to be taken, are liable thereon.
69. An agreement to pay for procuring an appointment to office is void.
70. An attorney may plead the statute of limitations, when sued by a client for money which he has collected and failed to pay over.
71. Testimony given by a deceased witness on first trial, is not required to be repeated verbatim on the second.
72. A person entitling himself to a reward offered for lost property, has a lien upon the property for the reward; but only when a definite reward if offered.
73. Confession by a prisoner must be voluntarily made, to constitute evidence against him.
74. The defendant in a suit must be served with process; but service of such process upon his wife, even in his absence from the State, is not, in the absence of statutory provisions, sufficient.
75. The measure of damages in trespass for cutting timber, is its value as a chattel on the land where it was felled, and not the market price of the lumber manufactured.
76. To support an indictment for malicious mischief in killing an animal, malice towards its owner must be shown, not merely passion excited against the animal itself.
77. No action can be maintained against a sheriff for omitting to account for money obtained upon an execution within a reasonable time. He has till the return day to render such account.
78. An interest in the profits of an enterprise, as profits, renders the party holding it a partner in the enterprise, and makes him presumptively liable to share any loss.
79. Males can marry at 14, and females at 12 years of age.
80. All cattle found at large upon any public road, can be driven by any person to the public pound.
81. Any dog, chasing, barking, or otherwise threatening a passer-by in any street, lane, road, or other public thoroughfare, may be lawfully killed for the same.
82. A written promise for the payment of such amount as may come into the hands of the promisor, is held to be an instrument in writing for the payment of money.
83. The declaration of an agent is not admissible to establish the fact of agency.--But when other proper evidence is given, tending to establish the fact of agency, it is not error to admit the declarations of the agent, accompanying acts, though tending to show the capacity in which he acted. When evidence is competent in one respect and incompetent in another, it is the duty of the court to admit it, and control its effects by suitable instructions to the jury.
84. The court has a general power to remove or suspend an attorney for such immoral conduct as rendered him unworthy of confidence in his official capacity.
85. Bankruptcy is pleadable in bar to all actions and in all courts, and this bar may be avoided whenever it is interposed, by showing fraud in the procurement of the discharge, or a violation of any of the provisions of the bankrupt act.
86. An instrument in the form of a deed, but limited to take effect at the termination of the grantor’s natural life, is held to be a deed, not a will.
87. A sale will not be set aside as fraudulent, simply because the buyer was at the time unable to make the payment agreed upon, and knew his inability, and did not intend to pay.
88. No man is under an obligation to make known his circumstances when he is buying goods.
89. Contracting parties are bound to disclose material facts known to each, but of which either supposes the other to be ignorant, only when they stand in some special relation of trust and confidence in relation to the subject matter of the contract. But neither will be protected if he does anything, however slight, to mislead or deceive the other.
90. A contract negotiated by mail is formed when notice of acceptance of the offer is duly deposited in the post-office, properly addressed. This rule applies, although the party making the offer expressly requires that if it is accepted, speedy notice of acceptance shall be given him.
91. The date of an instrument is so far a material part of it, that an alteration of the date by the holder after execution, makes the instrument void.
92. A corporation may maintain an action for libel, for words published of them and relating to its trade or business, by which it has incurred special damages.
93. It is unprofessional for a lawyer who has abandoned his case without trying it, a term or two before trial, to claim a fee conditional upon the success of his client, although his client was successful.
94. Although a party obtaining damages for injuries received through the default of another, was himself guilty of negligence, yet that will not defeat his recovery, unless his negligence contributed to cause the injury.
95. A person may contract to labor for another during life, in consideration of receiving his support; but his creditors have the right to inquire into the intention with which such arrangement is made, and it will be set aside if entered into to deprive them of his future earnings.
96. A grantor may be express terms exclude the bed of a river, or a highway, mentioned as boundary; but if without language of exclusion a line is described as ‘along,’ or ‘upon,’ or as ‘running to’ the highway or river, or as ‘by,’ or ‘running to the bank of’ the river; these expressions carry the grantee to the center of the highway or river.
97. The court will take pains to construe the words used in a deed in such a way as to effect the intention of the parties, however unskillfully the instrument may be drawn. But a court of law cannot exchange an intelligible word plainly employed in a deed for another, however evident it may be that the word used was used by mistake for another.
98. One who has lost his memory and understanding is entitled to legal protection, whether such loss is occasioned by his own misconduct or by an act of Providence.
99. When a wife leaves her husband voluntarily, it must be shown, in order to make him liable for necessaries furnished to her, that she could not stay with safety. Personal violence, either threatened or inflicted, will be sufficient cause for such separation.
100. Necessaries of dress furnished to a discarded wife must correspond with the pecuniary circumstances of the husband, and be such articles as the wife, if prudent, would expect, and the husband should furnish, if the parties lived harmoniously together.
101. A fugitive from justice from one of the United States to another, may be arrested and detained in order to his surrender by authority of the latter, without a previous demand for his surrender by the executive of the State whence he fled.
102. A watch will not pass under a bequest of "wearing apparel," nor of "household furniture and articles for family use."
103. Money paid for the purpose of settling or compounding a prosecution for a supposed felony, cannot be recovered back by a party paying it.
104. An innkeeper is liable for the death of an animal in his possession, but may free himself from liability by showing that the death was not occasioned by negligence on his part.
105. Notice to the agent of a company is notice to the company.
106. An employer is not liable to one of his employees for an injury sustained by the latter in consequence of the neglect of others of his employees engaged in the same general business.
107. Where a purchaser at a Sheriff’s sale has bid the full price of property under the erroneous belief that the sale would divest the property of all liens, it is the duty of the court to give relief by setting aside the sale.
108. When notice of protest is properly sent by mail, it may be sent by the mail of the day of the dishonor; if not, it must be mailed for the mail of the next day; except that if there is none, or it closes at an unseasonably early hour, then notice must be mailed in season for the next possible mail.
109. A powder-house located in a populous part of a city, and containing large quantities of gunpowder, is a nuisance.
110. When the seller of goods accepts at the time of the sale, the note of a third person, unindorsed by the purchaser, in payment, the presumption is that the payment was intended to be absolute; and though the note should be dishonored, the purchaser will not be liable for the value of the goods.
111. A man charged with crime before a committing magistrate, but discharged on his own recognizance, is not privileged from arrest on civil process while returning from the magistrate’s office.
112. When one has been induced to sell goods by means of false pretences, he cannot recover them from one who has bona fide purchased and obtained possession of them from the fraudulent vendor.
113. If the circumstances attendant upon a sale and delivery of personal property are such as usually and naturally accompany such a transaction, it cannot be declared a legal fraud upon creditors.
114. A stamp impressed upon an instrument by way of seal, is good as a seal, if it creates a durable impression in the texture of the paper.
115. If a party bound to make a payment use due diligence to make a tender, but through the payee’s absence from home is unable to find him or any agent authorized to take payment for him, no forfeiture will be incurred through his failure to make a tender.
Government Land Measure.
A township, 36 sections, each a mile square.
A section, 640 acres.
A quarter section, ½ a mile square, 160 acres.
An eighth section, ½ a mile long, north and south, and a quarter of a mile wide, 80 acres.
A sixteenth section, a quarter of a mile square, 40 acres.
The sections are numbered from one to 36, commencing at the northeast
corner, thus:
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | NW/SW/NE/SE |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
The sections are all divided in quarters, which are named by the cardinal points, as in section one. The quarters are divided in the same way. The description of a 40 acre lot would read: The south half of the west half of the southwest quarter of section, in township 24, north of range 7 west, or as the case might be; and sometimes will fall short, and sometimes overrun the number of acres it is supposed to contain.
Discount and Premium.
When a person buys an article for $1.00--20 per cent off, (or discount), and sells it again for $1.00, he makes a profit of 25 per cent of his investment. Thus: He pays 80 cents and sells for $1.00--a gain of 20 cents, or 25 per cent of 80 cents. And for any transaction where the sale or purchase of gold, silver or currency is concerned, the following rules will apply in all cases.
RULE 1st.--To find premium when discount is given: Multiply 100 by rate of discount and divide by 100, less rate of discount.
RULE 2d--To find discount when premium is given. Multiply the rate of interest by 100, and divide by 100, plus the rate of premium.
Suppose A has $140 in currency, which he wishes to exchange for gold, when gold is 27 per cent. Premium, how much gold should he receive? In this case the premium is given, consequently we must find the discount on A’s currency and subtract it from the $140, as per rule 2d, showing the discount to be a trifle more than 21 per cent and that he should receive $110.60 in gold.
5 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows + 5 ¼ pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
10 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows +11 pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
15 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows +17 ½ pr. Ct. or profit.
20 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows +25 pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
25 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows +33 ½ pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
30 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows +*43 pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
40 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows + 69 2/3 pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
50 pr. Ct. Dis. Allows +100 pr. Ct. Pre. Or profit.
This (+) denotes the profits to be a fraction more than specified. A (*) denotes profits to be a fraction less than specified.
Table of Weights of Grain, Seeds, &c.
ACCORDING TO THE LAWS OF NEW YORK.
Barley weighs………48 lb. per bushel.
Beans……………….62 lb. per bushel.
Buckwheat…………48 lb. per bushel.
Clover Seed…………60 lb. per bushel.
Corn weighs…………58 lb. per bushel.
Flax Seed*…………..55 lb. per bushel.
Oats…………………32 lb. per bushel.
Peas…………………60 lb. per bushel.
Potatoes…………….60 lb. per bushel.
Rye…………………56 lb. per bushel.
Timothy Seed………44 lb. per bushel.
Wheat………………60 lb. per bushel.
_________
* Flax Seed by cust’m weighs 56 lb. per bush.
Facts on Advertising.
The advertisements in an ordinary number of the London Times exceed 2,500. The annual advertising bills of one London firm are said to amount to $200,000; and three others are mentioned who each annually expend for the purpose $50,000. The expense for advertising the eight editions of the "Encyclopoedia Britannia" is said to have been $15,000.
In large cities nothing is more common than to see large business establishments, which seem to have an immense advantage over all competitors, by the wealth, experience, and prestige they have acquired, drop gradually out of public view, and be succeeded by firms of a smaller capital, more energy, and more determined to have the fact that they sell such and such commodities known from one end of the land to the other. In other words, the establishments advertise; the old die of dignity.--The former are ravenous to pass out of obscurity into publicity; the latter believe that their publicity is so obvious that it cannot be obscured. The first understand that they must thrust themselves upon public attention, or be disregarded; the second, having once obtained public attention, suppose they have arrested it permanently; while, in fact, nothing is more characteristic of the world than the ease with which it forgets.
Stephen Girard, than whom no shrewder business man ever lived, used to say: I have always considered advertising liberally and long to be the great medium of success in business, and the prelude to wealth. And I have made it an invariable rule too, to advertise in the dullest times as well as the busiest; long experience having taught me that money thus spent is well laid out; as by keeping my business continually before the public it has secured me many sales that I would otherwise have lost.
Capacity of Cisterns or Wells.
Tabular view of the number of gallons contained in the clear, between
the brick work for each 10 inches of depth:
| Diameter | Gallons. |
| 2 feet equals | 19 |
| 2 ½ feet equals | 30 |
| 3 feet equals | 44 |
| 3 ½ feet equals | 60 |
| 4 feet equals | 78 |
| 4 ½ feet equals | 97 |
| 5 feet equals | 122 |
| 5 ½ feet equals | 148 |
| 6 feet equals | 176 |
| 6 ½ feet equals | 207 |
| 7 feet equals | 240 |
| 7 ½ feet equals | 275 |
| 8 feet equals | 313 |
| 8 ½ feet equals | 353 |
| 9 feet equals | 396 |
| 9 ½ feet equals | 461 |
| 10 feet equals | 489 |
| 11 feet equals | 592 |
| 12 feet equals | 705 |
| 13 feet equals | 827 |
| 14 feet equals | 959 |
| 15 feet equals | 1101 |
| 20 feet equals | 1958 |
| 25 feet equals | 3059 |
Brilliant Whitewash.
Many have heard of the brilliant stucco whitewash on the east end of the President’s house at Washington. The following is a recipe for it; it is gleaned from the National Intelligencer, with some additional improvements learned by experiments: Take half a bushel of nice unslacked lime, slack it with boiling water, cover it during the process to keep in the steam. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or strainer, and add to it a peck of salt, previously well dissolved in warm water; three pounds of ground rice, boiled to a thin paste, and stirred in boiling hot; half a pound of powdered Spanish whiting, and a pound of clean glue, which has been previously dissolved by soaking it well, and then hanging it over a slow fire, in a small kettle within a large one filled with water. Add five gallons of hot water to the mixture, stir it well, and let it stand a few days covered from the dirt.
It should be put on right hot; for this purpose it can be kept in a kettle on a portable furnace. It is said that about a pint of this mixture will cover a square yard upon the outside of a house if properly applied. Brushes more or less small may be used according to the neatness of the job required. It answers as well as oil paint for wood, brick of stone, and is cheaper. It retains its brilliancy for many years. There is nothing of the kind that will compare with it, either for inside or outside walls.
Coloring matter may be put in and made of any shade you like. Spanish brown stirred in will make red pink, more or less deep according to the quantity. A delicate tinge of this is very pretty, for inside walls. Finely pulverized common clay, well mixed with Spanish brown, makes a reddish stone color. Yellow-ochre stirred in makes yellow wash, but chrome goes further, and makes a color generally esteemed prettier. In all these cases the darkness of the shades of course is determined by the quantity of coloring used. It is difficult to make rules, because tastes are different. It would be best to try experiments on a shingle and let it dry. We have been told that green must not be mixed with lime. The lime destroys the color, and the color has an effect of the whitewash, which makes it crack and peel. When walls have been badly smoked, and you wish to have them a clean white, it is well to squeeze indigo plentifully through a bag into the water you use, before it is stirred in the whole mixture. If a larger quantity than five gallons be wanted, the same proportion should be observed.
How to get a Horse out of a Fire.
The great difficulty of getting horses from a stable where surrounding buildings are in a state of conflagation, is well known.--The plan of covering their eyes with a blanket will not always succeed.
A gentleman whose horses have been in great peril from such a cause, having tried in vain to save them, hit upon the expedient of having them harnessed as though going to their usual work; when, to his astonishment, they were led from the stable without difficulty.
The Chemical Barometer.
Take a long narrow bottle, such as an old-fashioned Eau-de-Cologne bottle, and put into it 2 ½ drachms of camphor, and 11 drachms of spirits of wine; when the camphor is dissolved, which it will readily do by slight agitation, add the following mixture: Take water, nine drachms; nitrate of potash (saltpetre) 38 grains; and muriate of ammonia (sal ammoniac) 38 grains. Dissolve these salts in the water prior to mixing with the camphorated spirit; then shake the whole well together. Cork the bottle well, and wax the top, but afterwards make a very small aperture in the cork with a red-hot needle. The bottle may then be hung up, or placed in any stationary position. By observing the different appearances which the materials assume, as the weather changes, it becomes an excellent prognosticator of a coming storm or of a sunny sky.
Leech Barometer.
Take an eight ounce phial, and put in it three gills of water, and place in it a healthy leech, changing the water in summer once a week, and in winter once in a fortnight, and it will most accurately prognosticate the weather. If the weather is to be fine, the leech lies motionless at the bottom of the glass and coiled together in a spiral form; if rain may be expected, it will creep up to the top of its lodgings and remain there till the weather is settled; if we are to have wind, it will move through its habitation with amazing swiftness, and seldom goes to rest till it begins to blow hard; if a remarkable storm of thunder and rain is to succeed, it will lodge for some days before almost continually out of the water, and discover great uneasiness in violent throes and convulsive-like motions; in frost as in clear summer-like weather it lies constantly at the bottom; and in snow as in rainy weather it pitches its dwelling in the very mouth of the phial. The top should be covered over with a piece of muslin.
TO MEASURE GRAIN IN A BIN.--Find the number of cubic feet, from which deduct 1/5. The remainder is the number of bushels--allowing, however, one bushel extra to every 224. Thus in a remainder of 224 there would be 225 bushels. In a remainder of 448 there would be 450 bushels, &c.