ter, the officer charged with the service thereof shall send a copy of such writ or warrant to the general treasurer, in addition to the other service required by law. Rate, what to be, unless another stipulated. CHAPTER 128. OF LEGAL INTEREST. SECTION 1. Rate of interest to be six dollars on a hundred, unless a different rate is stipulated. SECTION 1. Interest in the rendition of judgments, and in all business transactions where interest is secured or paid, shall be computed at the rate of six dollars on a hundred dollars for one year, unless a different rate is expressly stipulated. Damages and interest on foreign bills. Action against drawer or endorser may be joint or several. Damages and interest on inland bills. SECTION 1. Whenever any foreign bill of exchange is or shall be drawn or endorsed within this state for the payment of any sum of money, and such bill is, or shall be returned from any place or country without the limits of the United States, protested for nonacceptance or non-payment, the drawer or endorser shall be subject to the payment of ten per cent. damages thereon and charges of protest, and the bill shall carry an interest of six per cent. per annum from the date of the protest. SEC. 2. Any person having a right to demand any sum of money upon a foreign protested bill of exchange as aforesaid, may commence and prosecute an action for principal, damages, interest, and charges of protest against the drawers or endorsers, jointly or severally, or against either of them separately; and judgment shall and may be given for such principal, damages, and charges, and interest upon such principal after the rate aforesaid, to the time of such judgment, together with costs of suit. SEC. 3. Whenever any inland bill of exchange shall be drawn or endorsed within this state for the payment of any sum of money without the same, and such bill shall be protested for non-acceptance or non-payment, the drawer or endorser shall be subject to the payment of five per cent. damages thereon, and charges of protest, and the bill shall carry an interest of six per cent. per annum from the date of the protest. SEC. 4. All bills of exchange drawn at sight, which shall be due and payable in this state, shall be deemed to be due and payable on the day of presentation, without grace. No grace on bills at sight. rations on SEC. 5. Whenever any persons or bodies corporate, by themselves, Action by or or by any person by them lawfully authorized for the purpose, shall against corpomake or sign any promissory note, whereby such persons or body promissory corporate shall promise to pay to any other person or body corpo- notes. rate any sum of money, or specific article mentioned in such note, the same shall be taken and construed to be, by virtue thereof, due and payable to such person or body corporate; and such person or body corporate may maintain an action for the same, against the person or body corporate who shall have made the same. Promissory notes payable bearer, assign to order or SEC. 6. A note made as aforesaid, containing a promise for the payment of money only, made payable to order or bearer, shall be assignable or endorsable over in the same manner as bills of exchange are or may be, according to the custom of merchants; and the as- able; signee or endorsee of such negotiable note may maintain an action actions on. against the maker of such note, or any prior endorser, for the recovery of the money due thereon. SEC. 7. The fourth day of July, Christmas day, and the twenty- Holidays. second day of February, - or, when either of the said days falls on the first day of the week, the day following it, and such other days as the governor or the general assembly of this state, or the President or Congress of the United States may appoint, as days of thanksgiving, or days of solemn fast, shall be holidays. SEC. 8. It shall be lawful to require payment of all notes, checks, and bills of exchange due and payable on such holidays, to be made on the secular day next previous thereto; and, in default of such payment, the same may be protested, and such protest shall be as valid as if made on the day on which such check, note, or bill became due by its own terms. When bills and notes due on such days to be paid or protested. Standard SECTION and measures to bring them in ing in weights, &c., and adjust 10. Penalty upon, for neglect of duty 11. Fees of town sealer. 12. Weights, measures, and balances 13. Penalty for using weights, meas- SECTION 15. Hay scales and platform balances 16. Penalty for using hay scales or 18. Weighers of coal and other mer- SECTION 1. The weights, measures, and balances received from the weights, meas- United States, and now in the custody of the state sealer, and such ures, and balnew weights, measures, and balances as shall be received from the ances estabUnited States as standard weights, measures, and balances, in addition to, or in renewal thereof, shall be the authorized standards by which all town standards of weights and measures shall be tried, proved, and sealed. lished. State sealer, how appointed, term of office, &c. Duties of. Standard set for towns, when and how furnished. Town sealer to take charge of same, &c. Penalty upon, for neglect. Town standards, when, and how to be adjusted, &c. SEC. 2. The governor shall appoint some suitable person to be state sealer of weights, measures, and balances; who shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duty, and shall continue in office during the pleasure of the governor. SEC. 3. The state sealer shall have the exclusive custody and control of the standards so received by the state; which standards shall be kept in a suitable fire-proof place, to be provided by the state. He shall try, prove, and seal, all town standards of weights, measures, and balances brought to him for that purpose. SEC. 4. The state sealer shall furnish a set of standard weights and balances, at such cost as he shall deem proper, to each town which shall not, in his opinion, have a suitable set, to be paid for by the state, upon the order of the state auditor on the general treasurer. SEC. 5. Every town sealer shall, at the expense of his town, provide therein places for the safe and suitable keeping and preservation of the weights, measures, and balances furnished by the state, which shall be used only as standards. He shall have the care and oversight thereof; shall see that they are kept in good order and repair; and if any portion of them are lost, destroyed, or damaged, shall, at the expense of the town, replace the same by similar weights, measures, or balances. SEC. 6. Every town sealer, who neglects to provide a suitable place for keeping such weights, measures, and balances, or suffers any of them, through his neglect, to be lost, damaged, or destroyed, shall forfeit the sum of one hundred dollars. SEC. 7. Every town sealer shall, once at least in every three years, have the standard weights, measures, and balances in his custody tried, adjusted, and sealed, by the state sealer, who shall receive, as compensation therefor, the sum of fifteen dollars, which sum, together with the necessary expenses incurred by him in so performing such service, shall be paid by the town to which such set of standards belong. SEC. 8. Every town sealer shall annually advertise or post up notifications in public places, in different parts of his town, for every person engaged in the trade of buying and selling, or as a public weigher, who uses weights and measures to bring in within a certain time, in such notification limited, being not less than one month from the date of such notification, his weights, measures, and balance and balances, to be adjusted and sealed; and he shall forthwith adjust and seal all weights and measures brought to him for that purpose. SEC. 9. Every town sealer shall go annually to every hay scale or platform balance in his town, which cannot be readily removed, and try, adjust, and seal the same. After the expiration of the time limited in the notification, which is required to be given in the previous section, he may visit the place of business of all persons who are supposed to have weights, measures, and balances, which ought to be sealed, and which have not been sealed within one year from the date of said notification, and may try, prove, and seal the same. SEC. 10. For every neglect of duty prescribed in the next preceding section, the town sealer shall forfeit a sum not exceeding twenty dollars; and every town sealer who shall seal any weight, measure, or balance otherwise than according to the town standard, duly tried, proved, and sealed by the state sealer, shall be fined not exceeding fifty dollars, nor less than twenty-five dollars. Of sealing weights and measures used in trade, &c. Hay scales, platform balances, &c., to sealed. be visited and Weights, &c., not brought to town sealer, how sealed.' Penalty on town sealer for lation of duty. neglect or vio SEC. 11. The sealer of weights and measures in any town, in which Fees of town a different compensation shall not be made by an ordinance of such sealer. town, shall receive a fee of three cents for every weight, measure, scale, or balance by him sealed, except a platform balance; for sealing each platform balance, made for weighing five thousand pounds or upwards, the sealer shall receive one dollar; and for each balance made for weighing less than five thousand pounds, fifty cents. Each sealer shall also have a reasonable compensation for all repairs, alterations, and adjustments which it is necessary for him to make, made by him, and for the expenses incurred in visiting any place, as provided for in the ninth section of this chapter. Such fees and compensation shall be paid to said sealer by the person owning or using the weights, measures, or balances so adjusted and sealed. SEC. 12. No person engaged in the trade of buying and selling Weights, meas-shall have, or permit to be kept, at his place of business, any weight, ures, and balmeasure, or balance of whatever description, which is not at the time sealed, prohibi ances, not duly duly sealed in accordance with this chapter, or which, having been ited and for sealed, is no longer correct, and every such weight, measure, or bal- feited. ance shall be forfeited to the state; and every sealer of weights and measures for any town shall seize such weight, measure, or balance wherever so found by him, and forthwith destroy it or render it incapable of being used thereafter: Provided, that if, in the opinion of such sealer, such weight, measure, or balance is capable of being made correct, and the person in whose place of business the same was found shall desire him to correct the same, and shall tender to such sealer the cost of so correcting the same, together with the sum of twentyfive cents, such sealer shall correct and seal the same, and restore it to the person from whom it was by him taken. SEC. 13. Every person engaged in the trade of buying and selling, or as a public weigher, who shall use, or permit to be used for him, any weight, measure, or balance, of whatever description, unless such weight, measure, or balance shall have been duly sealed, in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars; one half for the use of the town in which such Sealers to seize and derector cor such. Penalty for using weights, balances not sealed. measures, or Penalty for selling falsely by weight. Hay scales, &c., when and by whom to be sealed, &c. Penalty for using hay scales and bal ances not sealed. Who to seal scales if office of sealer vacant. Weighers of coal, and other merchandise, how appointed, and fees of. Penalty for selling coal, &c., not weighed, if demanded by purchaser. offence shall have been committed, and the other half to the use of him who shall sue for the same. SEC. 14. Every person who knowingly sells any commodity by weight for a greater quantity than is actually delivered to the purchaser thereof, shall be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not exceeding three months. SEC. 15. Every person who shall keep hay scales or platform balances for public use, shall cause the same to be tried and sealed at least once in six months, by a sworn sealer of weights and measures. SEC. 16. Every person who shall keep hay scales or platform balances for public use, or who shall weigh or suffer to be weighed in such scales and balances any article of merchandise, unless such scales or balances shall have been tried and sealed, as provided for in the preceding section, shall forfeit one hundred dollars. SEC. 17. Whenever the owner or keeper of any such hay scales or balances shall apply to the president of the town council (or to any person by him appointed for the purpose) of any town in which the office of sealer of weights and measures shall, from any cause, be vacant, to try such scales or balances, and to seal the same if found correct, such president or person so appointed shall try such scales or balances and seal the same if correct; and, in case of his neglect so to do, such owner or keeper shall be exempt from the forfeiture scribed in the next preceding section. pre SEC. 18. The town councils of the several towns, may appoint one or more persons, not engaged in the business of selling coal, to be weighers of coal and other articles of merchandise, who shall be sworn, and be removable at the pleasure of the town councils appointing them, and shall receive such fees as may be fixed by the town councils of the several towns, which shall be paid by the seller. SEC. 19. If any person shall sell any coal, or other merchandise, without its being first weighed by a public weigher, when the same shall be demanded by the purchaser, and procuring a certificate of such weight for the purchaser, he shall be fined twenty dollars for each offence. SECTION 1. All casks which shall be gauged in this state shall be gauged by the method or rule commonly called gauging by Gunter, computing the gallon at 231 cubic inches. Care shall be taken to ascertain, as near as may be practicable, the true average of the head and bung diameter also of the internal length of the cask; its mean diameter shall be ascertained in accordance with the principles laid down in the work on the subject of gauging, by Daniel Anthony, published in Providence, A. D. 1817. |