upon the aggregate amount of the principal sum, and of the damages thereon from the time at which notice of protest for non-acceptance or non-payment shall have been given, and payment of such principal sum shall have been demanded.

C. C. 1935 (1929), 2117 (2113); D. Sec. 1886.

ascertained

Sec. 322. If the contents of the bill be expressed in the Principal and money of account of the United States, the amount of the prin- damages, how cipal and of the damages shall be ascertained and determined when in Unitwithout any reference to the rate of exchange existing between ed States curthis State and the place on which such bill shall have been drawn at the time of the demand of payment or notice of nonacceptance or non-payment.

Sec. 323. If the contents of such be expressed in the money

rency.

amount is ex

of account or currency of any foreign country, then the princi- When the pal, as well as the damages payable thereon, shall be ascertained pressed in a and determined by the rate of exchange; but whenever the foreign curvalue of such foreign coin is fixed by the laws of the United es how ascerStates, then the value thus fixed shall prevail.

rency, damag

tained.

Sec. 324. The following shall be considered as days of public rest in this State, namely: the first of January, the eighth of January, the twenty-second of February, the fourth of July, rest. the twenty-fifth of December, Sundays and Good Friday, and all promissory notes and bills of exchange shall be due and payable on the second day of grace when the third is a day of public rest, and on the first day of grace, when both the second and third are days of public rest; and in computing the delay allowed for giving notice of non-acceptance or non-payment of a bill of exchange or promissory note, the days of public rest shall not be counted; and if the day or two days next succeed- Payable on ing the protest for non-acceptance or non-payment shall be days following day. of public rest, then the day next following shall be computed as

the first day after the protest.

C. P. 207, 237, 318; D. Sec 522, 1114, 3556. Act 1870, p. 98; Act 1872, No. 42.

protests

Sec. 325. No taries and parish recorders shall keep a separate book, in which they shall transcribe and record, by order of Notaries to date, all the pro-tests by them made, with mention made of the keep a record notices which they shall have given of the same to the drawers and notices. or indorsers thereof, together with the names of the drawers or indorsers, the date of the notices, and the manner in which they were served or forwarded, which declaration, duly recorded under the signature of the notary public or parish recorder and two witnesses, shall be considered and received in all courts of this State as a legal proof of the notices.

D. Sec. 2507, 3116.

Protests, how

Sec. 326. All notaries, or persons acting as such, are authorized in their protests of bills of exchange, promissory notes, or orders for the payment of money, to make mention of the made and nodemand made upon the drawer, acceptor, or person on whom such order or bill of exchange is drawn or given, and of the

tices given.

test, when to

be put in the

post-office.

manner and circumstances of such demand, and by certificate added to such protest, to state the manner in which any notices of protest were served or forwarded; and whenever they shall have so done, a certified copy of such protest and certificate shall be evidence of all the matters therein stated.

C. C. 2234 (2231), 2267, 3406 (3369); D. Sec. 165, 326, 387, 1439, 1448, 1522, 1876, 2410, 2492, 2508, 3117, 3390, 3550, 3703, 3749.

Sec. 327. Whenever the drawer, acceptor, indorser, or Notices of pro- others, shall not reside in the town or city where protest shall be made, it shall be the duty of such notaries, or others acting as such, to put into the nearest post-office where the protest is made, a notice of the protest to such drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, addressed to them at their domicile or usual place of residence.

Notice, how

given when

the residence

is unknown.

Notaries in

D. Sec. 2509, 3118.

Sec. 328. Whenever the residence of any drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, shall be unknown to the notary, or other person acting as such, and whenever, after using all due dili gence to obtain the necessary information thereon, the residence shall not have been found, then it shall be the duty of the notary, or other person acting as such, to put the notice of such protest in the nearest post-office where the protest was made, addressed to the drawer, acceptor, indorser, or others, at the place where, as it shall appear by the face thereof, such bill of exchange or promissory note was drawn, and the same shall be deemed and considered legal notice of such protest. D. Sec. 2510, 3119.

Sec. 329. Notaries public in the city of New Orleans are emNew Orleans powered to protest bills of exchange, notes and other negotiable authorized to effects throughout the parish of Orleans, and in default of notaries and parish recorders in the country, any justice of the peace may protest promissory notes and bills of exchange in the presence of two persons residing in the parish, who shall certify and subscribe the same as witnesses.

protest throughout the parish.

accommoda

tion notes lia

ble as drawers in certain cases.

D. Sec. 2055, 2527, 2531.

Sec. 330. Whenever promissory notes are indorsed for the Indorsers of benefit of the drawer or drawers thereof, and the same is mentioned on the notes, if the drawer or drawers cause the notes to be discounted in any bank in operation within this State, or obtain any sum of money in consideration of the notes from any person, the indorsers shall by law be bound towards the bearers of the notes as if they had been discounted or negotiated for their own account and benefit.

Sec. 331. Upon all bills of exchange and promissory notes Days of grace. made negotiable by law, or by the usage and custom of merchants in this State, three days of grace shall be allowed.

Days of grace not allowed on certain bills.

Sec. 332. Upon all bills of exchange at sight, and upon all drafts or orders for money on demand, payable at any place within this State, no days of grace shall be allowed.

Act 1858, p. 128.

when jury is

Sec. 333. All suits against makers and indorsers of promissory notes, drawers, indorsers and acceptors of bills of ex- Suits on bills change, and generally all suits brought on unconditional obli- of exchange, gations to pay a specific sum of money, shall be tried without a allowed." jury, unless the defendant shall make oath that his signature to the note, bill or other obligation is not genuine, or that he expects to prove that the same had been obtained through fraud or error, or want or failure of consideration; or in cases when the defendant in his answer may set up a plea of compensation or reconvention, and make oath to the truth of all the allegations in said plea or answer.

C. P. 491, 494; D. Sec. 561, 747. Act 1839, p. 172, § 24. Sec. 334. All promissory notes, whether the same be negotiable or otherwise, shall be prescribed by five years.

C. C. 3540 (3505); D. Sec. 454, 2812. Act 1852, p. 90, § 3.

Prescription.

pawning cer

Sec. 335. When a debtor wishes to pawn promissory notes, bills of exchange, stocks, obligations or claims upon other per- Manner of sons, he shall deliver to the creditors the notes, bills of ex- tain evidences change, certificates of stocks or other evidences of the claims of credit. or rights so pawned, and such pawn so made, without further formalities, shall be valid, as well against third persons as against the pledgers thereof, if made in good faith.

C. C. 2643 (2613), 3158 (3125); D. Sec. 2477-2490, 2904. Act 1866, p. 266.

Sec. 336. If a credit not negotiable be given in pledge, no- Notice to be tice of the same must be given to the debtor.

C. C. 2643 (2613), 8158, (3125); D. Sec. 2906.

given.

notes, etc., col

ing interest

Sec. 337. The owner of any promissory note, bond or written obligation for the payment of money, to order or bearer, or Promissory transferable by assignment, shall have the right to collect the lectable, whole amount of such promissory notes, bonds or written obli- though beargations, notwithstanding such promissory notes, bonds or writ- greater than ten obligations may include a greater rate of interest or discount than eight per cent. per annum; Provided, Such obliga- Provided. tions shall not bear more than eight per cent. interest per annum after their maturity until paid.

C. C. 2924 (2895); D. Sec. 219, 299, 816, 1838-1890, 2904. Act 1860, p. 41.

eight per cent.

BIRTHS AND DEATHS.

SECTION.

SECTION

Parish recorders to record births, 338 Penalty for not conforming to the

Sec. 338. It shall be the duty of all the parish recorders of Parish record- this State to record all births in a book bound and kept for that purpose, in the order of their dates.

ers to record

births.

births, when to be received.

Act 1869, p. 20.

Sec. 339. It shall be the duty of the parish recorder to reDeclaration of ceive declarations of birth within eight days from the birth. They may, however, extend that delay to two months after the birth, when a declaration could not be made sooner, on account of the persons who are to make the same living at a distance, or being prevented by sickness or other lawful impediment. Act 1855, p. 41.

Declaration, by whom made.

Sec. 340. The birth of a child shall be declared by his father, or in case the father could not make the said declaration, by any other person who may have been present at the birth of the child, and the said birth shall be immediately recorded in presence of the two witnesses.

Sec. 341. The said records shall contain the day, hour and Record, what place of birth, the sex of the child, and the first name or names given to the child, the first name or names, profession and residence of the father and mother, and the names of the wit

to contain.

nesses.

Sec. 342. Deaths shall be recorded by the parish recorders, Declaration of upon the declaration of two witnesses, who shall be, if possible, the two nearest relatives or neighbors of the deceased, or when a person shall have died out of his house, the person at whose house he shall have died, with a relation or another.

death, by whom to be made.

Sec. 343. The record of deaths shall contain the name in

contain.

full, age, trade and residence of the deceased, the name in full Record of of the surviving consort, if the person deceased was married, or deaths, what to a widower, or a widow, the name, age, profession and resident of the declarants, and if they be relatives, their degree of relationship. The same record shall contain, as far as the same may be ascertained, the christian names, profession and residence of the father and mother of the deceased, and the place of his or her birth.

Out of Orleans,

births and

deaths not re

in Orleans.

Sec. 344. No person out of the parish of Orleans shall be under any legal obligation to have a birth or death recorded. corded. Sec. 345. The birth of every child in the parish of Orleans Delay for deshall be declared therein within thirty days, as provided in the claring births preceding sections. Every person offending against the pro- Penalty for not visions of this section shall pay a fine of not less than five nor conforming to more than ten dollars, one-half for the benefit of the informer. Sec. 346. For the parish of Orleans there shall be an office Recorder of of record of births and deaths, whereof the officer shall be ap- deaths in Orpointed by the governor.

D. Sec. 1596.

the same.

births and

leans.

leans report

Sec. 347. The death of every person within the parish of Orleans shall be reported at said office within twenty-four hours Deaths in Orthereafter. This declaration shall be made by the nearest rela- ed; by whom tive of the deceased, if he or she is present, and in case of ab- reported. sence, by the testamentary executor, if there be one; if none, by the owner or tenant of the house in which the person died, and if the death happened in a State, parish, municipal, charitable or benevolent institution, hospital, asylum, prison, workhouse, house of refuge, insane asylum, etc., it shall be the duty of the president, superintendent or managers of said institutions to have the said death recorded in the said office of recorder of births and deaths monthly. It shall also be the duty of the coroners to record monthly, in said office, the deaths of all per- record certain sons upon whose bodies an inquest has been held, or a certificate deaths. issued by them for the burial of indigent persons, and the recording fees in such cases shall be charged to the city of New Recording Orleans, or the police jury of the parish of Orleans, right bank, charged. as the case may be, and any person contravening the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than ten nor more than Penalty. twenty-five dollars, recoverable before any court of competent jurisdiction.

D. Sec. 675. Act 1869, p. 20.

Coroners to

fees, how

Sec. 348. For every record of birth and death, and for reg- Fee for recordistering the same, henceforward the sum of fifty cents shall be death.

allowed.

D. Sec. 772.

ing birth or