of equity and, moreover, that the present system works well in practice, and, in addition, protects the interests of the widow and the orphan, which would be greatly jeopardised by the change. These remarks

assume *at once that policies could only be made assignable by

deed formally executed and registered; to make policies assign- [*390] able by indorsement, or negotiable as bills of exchange or promissory notes, would be an extravagant act, uncalled for by the exigencies of commerce, and one that would greatly detract from the true value of life assurances as family provisions.

1. THE highest bidder shall be the purchaser, and if any dispute arise as to the highest bidder, the lot in dispute shall be put up again at the last undisputed bidding.

2. No person to advance less than £- at each bidding, nor retract a bidding.

at which

3. The purchaser shall pay down immediately into the hands of [the auctioneer], a deposit of £20 per cent. in part payment of the purchasemoney, and sign an agreement for payment of the remainder on or before the day of next at the office of situate in time and place the purchase is to be completed. And if from any cause whatever the completion of the purchase be delayed beyond the said day of next, the purchaser shall pay interest on the balance of his purchase-money, until payment thereof, at the rate of £5 per cent. per annum; but this provision shall not prejudice the right of the vendor to require the completion of the said purchase on the said day of, or any other right or privilege stipulated for by these present conditions, or any of them.

4. That upon payment of the remainder of the purchase-money at the time above mentioned, the vendor shall assign his interest in the policy at the expense of the purchaser, who shall be entitled to all advantages arising upon the policy from the hour of sale; but all premiums falling due or becoming payable between the day of sale and the completion of the purchase are to be paid by the purchaser.

5. That the age of the assured life having been admitted by [*392] *indorsement upon the policy, signed by, such admission shall be conclusive against the purchaser, and no further or other proof of age shall be given or required [and that the issue of the policy by the company shall in like manner be conclusive evidence of the posses

sion of an insurable interest by the assured, and no other evidence shall be required of the continued existence of such interest.](a)

[6. That the vendor will furnish, at his own expense, an abstract of wills, deeds, or documents under which he derives title. But the expense of all attested, official and other copies of or extracts from wills, deeds, decrees, orders, reports, or other documents, and all certificates of burials, deaths, marriages, births, and baptisms, and all other documentary evidence whatsoever, and also the expense of all statutory declarations as to identity of parties or otherwise, and deeds of covenant for the production of deeds and documents, whether in verification of the abstract or otherwise, shall be borne by the party requiring the same.](6)

[7. That all objections and requisitions as to the title shall be made in writing within fourteen days next after the delivery of the abstract, otherwise they shall be considered to be waved, and if any such objection shall be made within the time aforesaid, the vendor shall be at liberty to rescind the contract by notice in writing to the purchaser or his solicitor, and upon repayment of the deposit paid by such purchaser, but without any interest, damages, or costs.](c)

8. That if any error or mis-statement be inserted in this particular, such error or mis-statement shall not vitiate the sale, *but the vendor or purchaser, as the case may happen, shall pay or allow [*393] a proportionate value, according to the average of the purchase-money, as a compensation either way; such proportionate value to be determined by any person to be agreed upon by the vendor and purchaser within one week after the objection shall have been made to the vendor, or by the auctioneer selling the property, in case such other referee be not so agreed upon within the said period.

9. Lastly-That should the purchaser neglect or fail to comply with any or either of the above conditions, the deposit-money shall be forfeited, and the vendor shall be at full liberty to re-sell the property, either by public or private sale, and the deficiency (if any) arising by such second sale, together with all expenses attending the same, shall be made good by the defaulter at this present sale; and in case of the non

(a) Prior to the putting up a policy to sale by auction, it will always be prudent to obtain an admission of the age. The purchaser will be entitled to evidence, and if any difficulty arises by reason of the imperfection of the available evidence, the company will generally be found easier to satisfy than a purchaser, and of course than an unwilling purchaser; the portion of the condition within brackets, will of course be only added when the policy is on the life of a nominee; it is not invariably used. See Barber v. Morris, 1 Moo. & Rob., 62.

(6) Unless the policy has been the subject of previous assignments, conditions 6 and 7 will be unnecessary, and even in such a case they should be, as far as possible, curtailed, as very stringent conditions may damp the sale.

(e) When the vendor is a mortgagee with power of sale, it may be desirable to preclude the purchaser from requiring proof of the existence of the mortgage debt; the following is an example of a condition to that effect.

"That as the vendor is a mortgagee selling by virtue of a power of sale in his mortgage deed, the production of such deed, whole and uncancelled, shall be conclusive evidence, that the security is subsisting, and of the right of the vendor to sell the policy; and the purchaser shall not be entitled to any other covenants for title than the covenant of the vendor, that he has not encumbered the property." AUGUST, 1853.-17

payment of the same, the whole shall be recoverable by the vendor as liquidated damages, and it shall not be necessary previously to such second sale to tender a conveyance to the purchaser.

Agreement for Purchase to be written at the Foot of or indorsed on the Particulars of Sale.

MEMORANDUM.

It is hereby agreed between [the auctioneer] as agent of the vendor, and that the said has become the purchaser of described in these particulars of sale, at the sum of £, and that he has paid to the said [the auctioneer,] the sum of £

as a deposit and in part payment of his purchase-money, on account of the vendor, and that these particulars and conditions of sale shall be taken as the terms of agreement for the said sale and purchase respectively. Dated the day of 1853.

PRECEDENT, No. II.

Assignment upon Sale of a Policy of Assurance executed by the Vendor upon the life of the nominee [with variations where the Policy is on the Life of the Vendor.]

THIS INDENTURE, made the day of, 1853, between A. B., of, &c., (the vendor,) of the one part, and C. D., of, &c. (the purchaser,) of the other part. Whereas by a policy of *assurance, bearing [*394] date the day of 1836, numbered and under the hand and seals of three of the directors of the Norwich Union Life Assurance Society, the sum of £ is assurance to be paid unto(d) the said A. B., his executors, administrators, or assigns, within three calendar months next after satisfactory proof of the decease of E. F., of, &c. Esquire, shall have been received by the directors of the said society, subject, nevertheless, to the payment of the yearly premium of £ —, and the observance and performance of certain conditions, stipulations, and agreements in the same policy mentioned or referred to: And whereas the said A. B. hath contracted with the said C. D. for the sale unto him of the said policy of Assurance, and all benefit thereof at the price of £- NOW THIS INDENTURE WITNESSETH that in pursuance of the said recited contract, and in consideration of the sum of £ at or immediately prior to the execution of these presents unto the said

(d) Variation where the policy is on the life of the assured:-"to be paid unto the executors, administrators, or assigns of the said A. B.. within three calendar months next, after satisfactory proof of his death shall have been received," &c.

A. B. paid by the said C. D. (the receipt whereof the said A. B. doth hereby acknowledge), he the said A. B. doth by these presents assign [transfer and set over,](e) unto the said C. D., his executors, administrators, and assigns, all that the said recited policy of assurance so effected upon the life of the said E. F.(ƒ) as aforesaid, together with the sum of £, thereby assured, and all other moneys, bonuses, and benefits which are, shall, or may be payable in respect of or otherwise incidental to the said policy, and all the right, title, interest, property, claim, and demand whatsover of him the said A. B., in, to, upon, or by virtue of the said policy, moneys, and premises hereby assigned or intended so to be, TO HAVE, HOLD, RECEIVE, AND TAKE the said policy, moneys, and all and singular other the premises hereby assigned or intended so to be, unto and by the said C. D., his executors, administrators, and assigns, for his and their own use.(g) AND THE SAID A. B. doth hereby authorise the said C. D., his executors, *administrators, and [*395] assigns, or such person or persons as he or they shall, from time to time, appoint as his or their substitute or substitutes, without any further authority or concurrence by or on the part of the said A. B., his executors, administrators or assigns, or any other person or persons, to demand, sue for, recover, receive and enforce the said policy, moneys, and premises hereby assigned or intended so to be, and every part thereof; and to commence, carry on, suspend or discontinue any action, suit, or other proceedings whatsoever concerning the same, and on receipt, satisfaction or discharge thereof, to give effectual releases and'discharges for the same, and otherwise act in relation thereto as fully and effectually as the said A. B., his executors, administrators, and assigns, could personally have done if beneficially entitled thereto, and with full power and authority for the respective purposes aforesaid, or any of them, to use the name or names, or to act as the attorney or attorneys of the said A. B., his executors or administrators: AND THE SAID A. B. doth here by, for himself, his heirs, executors and administrators, covenant with the said C. D., his executors, and administrators, in manner following, that is to say, that notwithstanding any act, matter, or thing done, com

(e) The word "assign" is the appropriate word; the others, although commou, may be omitted. Or, "of the said A. B."

85

The object of a power of attorney is to enable the purchaser to sue in a court of law in the name of the vendor, and when given for a valuable consideration is irrevocable by him (Walsh v. Whitcombe, 2 Esp. Ca. 565). It is very commonly inserted in assignments of choses in action, whether legal, or equitable; but it is of no value, except upon assignments of the former, as the assignee does not require such a power to enable him to proceed in a court of equity. When, therefore, the party making the assignment is not the grantee of the policy, the power is mere surplusage, and may be omitted; and in like manner, where the policy is on the life of the vendor, as the power by its nature expires upon the death of the grantor, it may be omitted;1 unless by the peculiar provisions of the policy the sum assured, or any moneys added as bonuses, may become payable during the life of the assured; or if inserted, it should be in the short form given in the following precedent, as merely the expression of the rule of equity, consequent upon the assignment.

1 Ante, p. 190.

2 Ante, p. 193.