A contract relating to movable property is valid in all parts of the world, if it is valid by the law of the country where it is made; and for this purpose a contract is presumed to have been made at the place where the acceptance of an offer is signified. Therefore, if a contract is made abroad between two aliens, or between an Englishman and an alien, who afterwards take up their residence in this country, an action may be brought upon it in the English courts. But if the plaintiff alone is resident in England, the possibility of bringing an action in an English court will depend upon whether service of the writ can be effected upon the defendant. The cases in which this can be done are fully set out in Order XI If of the Rules of the Supreme Court. the English courts refuse to entertain jurisdiction, the plaintiff must have recourse for any remedy to the courts of the country in which the defendant resides. (See Conflict of Laws.)

In case of a tort committed abroad, the English courts will assume jurisdiction, if both parties are in this country, and the act complained of is illegal by the law of England and also wrongful by the law of the country in which it was committed.

When an action is brought in a foreign country and judgment obtained against a defendant who is resident in England and has no property in the country where the judgment is pronounced, an action may be brought upon the judg. ment in this country, and, unless any irregularity is proved, it will be enforced here.

The action upon the foreign judgment must be brought, in England, within six years of the date of the judgment, as it is considered in no other light than as a simple contract debt. English plaintiff who obtains a judgment in an English court can obtain similar satisfaction in the majority of civilised states.

ACTIVE PARTNER. (Fr. Associé gérant, Ger. geschäftsführender Teilhaber, Sp. Socio gerente, It. Socio attivo.)

An active partner one who takes a working part in the business or trading concern which in part belongs to him. A partner who simply provides capital, and takes no active part whatever in the business, is called a dormant or sleeping partner, or he may be a limited partner under the Limited Partnership Act, 1907. (See Partnership.)

ACTUARY. (Fr. Actuaire, Ger. Aktuar, Gerichtsschreiber, Sp. Actuario, It. Attuario.)

An actuary is a person skilled in the calculation of the value of life annuities and insurances from mortality tables and upon mathematical principles, and in the preparation of reports, etc., in connection with insurance matters generally.

He is also a person who makes the periodical actuarial report required by the Assurance Companies Act, 1 This report, which must be made ev five years in accordance with certain forms set out in the Act, is a résumé of the financial condition of the company. A copy of the report must be deposited with the Board of Trade within six months of its preparation, and a printed copy must be forwarded to every shareholder and policy-holder of the company upon application.

The Institute of Actuaries has its offices at Staple Inn Hall, London, W.C.1; and the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland is located at 14 Queen Street, Edinburgh.

AD REFERENDUM. (Fr. Contrat provisoire, ad referendum, Ger. zu weiterer Erwägung, Sp. Contrato provisorio, It. Contratto provvisorio.)

ACTIVE BONDS. (Fr. Titres au porteur, Ger. Aktivobligationen, Sp. Seguridades al portador, It. Titoli al portatore.)

These are bonds which bear a fixed interest, payable in full from the date of issue. Most negotiable bonds are of this kind.

ACTIVE CIRCULATION. (Fr. Circulation effective, Ger. Notenumlauf, Sp. Circulación efectiva, It. Circolazione effettiva.)

This is a banking expression, and has reference to the notes of a bank of issue which are actually in the hands of the public.

The meaning of this Latin phrase is to be further considered." Ad referendum contracts are sometimes made by public companies and others, and the term then means that a contract has been signed for the supply of certain articles, but that there are some minor points left to be settled, which require further consideration.

AD VALOREM. (Fr. De la valeur, sur la valeur, Ger. nach dem Werte, Sp. Ad valorem, It. Secondo il valore, ad valorem.) Latin, according to value.”

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(1) A customs ad valorem duty is a percentage charge made upon the value of certain goods, and not upon their weight or quantity.

(2) An ad valorem stamp duty is a duty payable in respect of certain documents, and varies with the value

of the subject matter dealt with by the document.

ADDRESS, FORMS OF. (Fr. Formules d'étiquette, Ger. Briefaufschriften, Sp. Tratamiento, It. Forme di indirizzo.)

Persons in different walks of life are entitled by courtesy to a special form of address in correspondence and when approached personally. Similarly an appropriate conclusion is in most cases used by a correspondent. The following are some of the important forms in

common use

THE SOVEREIGN. To His (or Her) Most Gracious Majesty, King--(or Queen), Sire (or Madam), May it please your Majesty. In conclusion-I have the honour to remain, Your Majesty's obedient servant. Personal approachYour Majesty.

MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. To His (or Her) Royal Highness, Prince (or Princess)- Your Royal Highness.

In conclusion-I have the honour to remain Your Royal Highness's obedient servant. Personal approach is prefaced by-Your Royal Highness.

DUKE OR DUCHESS. To His (Her) Grace the Duke (or Duchess) of My Lord Duke (or My Lady). ConclusionI have the honour to be Your Grace's obedient servant. Personal approach-Your Grace or My Lord (Lady).

MARQUIS OR MARCHIONESS. To the Most Honourable, the Marquis (Marchioness) of My Lord Marquis (My Lady). Conclusion-I have the honour to be Your Lordship's (Ladyship's) obedient servant. Personal approach to all peers should be preceded by the words-My Lord (My Lady).

EARL OR COUNTESS. To the Right Honourable the Earl (Countess) of My Lord (My Lady). In some titles the "of" is omitted. Conclusion-I have the honour to be, My Lord (Lady), Your Lordship's (Ladyship's) obedient servant.

VISCOUNT, BARON. TO the Right Honourable Lord Viscount or Lord My Lord. Conclusion-I have the honour to be, Your Lordship's obedient servant. The wives of Viscounts and Barons are addressed like their husbands with the necessary modification as shown for Countesses.

Other Clergy. The Reverend

LORD PROVOST AND PROVOST. In Scotland the Provost is an official like the English mayor and is addressed similarly. The Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the Right Honourable the Lord Provost.

In addressing persons entitled to use special initials as C.V.O., K.C.B., O.B.E., these should be used, but it is not usual to use the letters of University degrees unless for some reason or other desired by the graduate.

ADJUDICATION ORDER. (Fr. Dé claration de faillite, Ger. Fallimentsanzeige, Sp. Mandato de adjudicación, It. Sentenza dichiarativa del fallimento.)

This is an order made in bankruptcy proceedings against a debtor upon a resolution passed by the creditors, by which the debtor is adjudged a bankrupt and his property vested in a trustee for the benefit of the creditors. The court may be induced to adjudge a debtor a bankrupt even when the creditors have come to no decision on the subject at their meetings, and also

(a) If the creditors hold no meeting at all.

or

(b) If 8 proposed composition scheme of arrangement falls through. (c) If the debtor has absconded and failed to give a proper account of bis affairs. An adjudication order must be duly advertised in the Gazette.

Under certain circumstances, an adjudication may be annulled.

ADJUSTMENT. (Fr Règlement d'avaries, Ger. Havarieaufmachung, Seeschadenberechnung, Sp. Ajuste de averías, It. Stima dell' avaria.)

This term is used in marine insurance to signify the exact amount of indemnity to which the insured is entitled under the policy, when all deductions and proper allowances have been made. The policy is generally indorsed by the underwriters as follows

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Adjusted this loss at per cent., payable at

ADMEASUREMENT. (Fr. Mesurage, Ger. Ausmessung, Sp. Cabida, It. Misura, misurazione.)

This word means the measurement made in order to ascertain the tonnage of a ship.

ADMINISTRATION, LETTERS OF. (See Executor, Will.)

ADMINISTRATION ORDER. (Fr. Gestion, Ger. Konkurs, Sp. Gestión, It. Mandato di amministrazione.)

This is an order made by the court in the case of small bankruptcies for the summary administration of the estate of the debtor. (See Bankruptcy.)

ADMINISTRATOR. (Fr. Adminis trateur, Ger. Verwalter, Sp. Adminis trador, It. Amministratore.) (See Executor.)

ADMIRALTY, BOARD OF. (Fr. Conseil d'amirauté, Ger. Admiralitätsgericht, Sp. Conseio del almirantazgo, It. Consiglio dell'ammiragliato.)

The First Lord of the Admiralty is a Cabinet Minister with salary of £4,000 and a house. In addition there are four Sea Lords, the first of whom is paid £3,000 with a house, and the others £2,000 each. The Permanent Secretary of the Admiralty receives £3,000.

The

The chief departments are: Secretary's, Hydrographic, Mobilization, Naval Recruiting, Physical Training and Sports, Medical, Paymaster's, Education, Naval Construction, Engineering, Elec trical Engineering, Naval Ordnance, Armament Supply, Torpedoes and Mining, Naval Equipment, Compass, Gyroscope Equipment, Dockyards, Sig nal, Dockyard's Expense, Naval Stores, Victualling, Greenwich Hospital, Contract and Purchase, Accountancy, Scientific Research and Experiment, Statistics, Reserves.

The offices of the Board of Admiralty are situate in Whitehall, London, S.W.1.

The office of the Chaplain of the Fleet is at Royal Naval College, Greenwich. The Royal Marine Office is 54 Victoria Street, S.W.1.

ADMISSION OF PRESS TO MEETINGS. (Fr. Admission de la presse aux réunions, Ger. Zulassung der Presse bei den Versammlungen, Sp. Admisión de la prensa en las reuniones, It. Ammissione della stampa alle assemblee.)

According to the Local Authorities (Admission of the Press to Meetings) Act, 1908, representatives of the press must be admitted to the meetings of every local authority. It is provided, however, "that a local authority may temporarily exclude such representatives from a meeting as often as it may be desirable at any meeting when, in the opinion of a majority of the members of the local authority present at such meeting, expressed by resolution, in view of the special nature of the business then being dealt with or about to be dealt with, such exclusion is advisable

in the public interest." For the purposes of the Act the expression authority" means

local

(a) A council of a county, county borough, borough, urban district, rural district and parish, or two or more such councils acting jointly where the duties of the appointing council may have been transferred by provisions of an Act of Parliament or Provisional Order; and a parish meeting.

(b) An education committee and a joint education committee where the

proceedings are not required to be submitted to the appointing councils.

(c) A board of guardians and the board of management of any school or asylum district formed under any of the Acts relating to the relief of the poor.

(d) A central body and a distress committee under the Unemployed Workmen Act, 1905.

(e) The Metropolitan Water Board and a joint water board constituted under the provisions of any Act of Parliament or Provisional Order.

(f) Any other local body which has the power to levy a rate.

It is not compulsory, however, to admit press representatives to a meeting of any committee of a local authority unless the committee is a local authority for the purposes of the Act, as defined above.

of

For the purposes of the Act the expres sion representatives of the press means accredited representatives newspapers and of news agencies which systematically conduct a business of supplying reports and information to the press.

The Act applies to Scotland except that the definition of "local authority for the purposes of Scotland is different, as is laid down by the Act. It does not, however, apply to Ireland.

With regard to the admission of the press to meetings of a statutory body the standing orders or by-laws will make the necessary provisions. In the case of

a joint stock company the matter is dealt with in its articles of association. The nature and business of the meeting will in 8 large measure determine whether the press shall be admitted. On occasions when the widest publicity of the proceedings is desirable, the press should certainly be invited to send representatives, or when public money or public welfare is concerned it is desirable to invite the press in order that the general public may be informed. If the press is not admitted news will leak out some way and as the information is usually obtained surreptitiously, as likely as not the truth will be dis. torted. For this reason it is often desirable that a true report be circulated by representatives of the press who have been invited.

If it has been decided to admit the press the editors of the newspapers concerned should be given proper invitations to send representatives. Accommodation should be provided in a convenient position in the meeting room,

and where it is known beforehand they should be informed of the indentity of the speakers and prominent people present, and it will assist the press representatives in their work if a copy of the agenda can be provided for their use.

Newspaper reports of meetings are subject to the protection of Section 4 of the Law of Libel Amendment Act, 1888, which provides that a fair and accurate newspaper report of a public meeting or a meeting of a local authority (except where neither the public nor the press has been admitted) or any report published at the request of a Government Department, shall have the benefit of " privilege unless such report has been published maliciously. A public meeting is one which deals with public concern and public benefis, and does not include meetings of companies. Reports of such meetings will not, therefore, benefit by Section 4 of the Law of Libel Amendment Act.

ADULTERATION. (Fr. Adultération frelatage, falsification, Ger. die Verfälschung, Sp. Adulteración, It. Adulterazione.)

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Adulteration has been defined as the state of being debased by foreign mixture," but the term has a much wider scope than this. It may consist of extraction, as when fat is taken from milk, and on the other hand it may be that a non-deleterious and declared admixture is not looked upon as a technical adulteration. From time to time nearly every commodity of food, clothing, medicine and the like has come under the hand of the adulterator, and a great volume of legislation exists governing this aspect of business. Tea and coffee were rendered impure by admixture from the earliest days of their use, and as this step was usually taken to defraud the revenue, Acts of Parliament were passed to protect the health of the subject and incidentally the revenue. To-day the chief protection of the consumer is to be found in the Food and Drugs Acts, the Margarine and Butter Acts, and similar laws.

So far as food and drugs are concerned an article is said to be adulterated if it has been mixed with any other substance, or if any part of it has been abstracted so as in either case to affect injuriously_its quality, substance, or nature. The addition of a preservative or colouring matter in such quantity as not to render the article injurious to health is not deemed to be adulteration.

Provision is made for the detection and punishment of those guilty of adulteration, and the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, and local authorities generally are vested with powers which include the testing of foods and other substances. A standard of quality is set up for milk, cream butter, and cheese, and fines may be inflicted for adulteration such as is described above. Pure milk, for example, containing less than 3 per cent. of milk fat is not genuine, and butter containing more than 16 per cent. of water is deemed to be adulterated. Every public authority concerned with the health of the community has power to appoint a public analyst whose duty it is to test samples of any foods and drugs that may be sent to him for that purpose.

The principal forms of adulteration depend upon the substance which is treated, thus water is added to milk and fat; coffee has in the past been roasted with fat to increase its weight, and also mixtures have been made with coffee and a variety of vegetable products; cocoa has been treated with oxide of iron; mustard is often adulterated with flour, and pepper gives most trouble of all, being treated with numerous articles, from ground starch to fine sand. Nothing escapes the hand of the fraudulent adulterator; garden seeds may be mixed or dyed or otherwise treated to defraud the public.

Fabrics for dress materials cannot always be relied upon, but it should be remembered that unless such goods are sold as pure, as, for example, all wool or all silk, adulteration is a recognised trade practice. Mixtures of cotton and wool under the name of union are quite common, but all wool fabric may be largely adulterated by shoddy and similar materials which are really old textiles worked up again. Cotton goods are weighted with size, flour, lime and china clay. Some of this weighting is quite desirable and forms part of the finish, but when carried to excess it is a serious form of adulteration. Silk suffers most of all and can be weighted to many times its own weight by means of dyes, the basis of which is a compound of tin. In relation to the adulteration of textiles punishments can be meted out only when goods are sold under a false trade description. The penalties are laid down under the Merchandise Marks Acts and the Trade Marks Act.

ADVANCE. (Fr. Avance, Ger. Vor. schuss, Sp. Adelanto, It. Anticipazione.)

This is a prepayment usually sent by merchants, brokers, or agents to the consignor of goods upon receipt of invoice or the bill of lading. The term is also applied to money lent by a banker to tradesmen and others for business

purposes.

ADVANCE NOTES. (Fr. Billets d'avance, Ger. Vorschussanweisungen, Sp. Vales de adelantos, It. Boni di anticipazione.)

Advance notes are drafts upon the owner or agent of a vessel given by the master to the seamen when they sign their articles of agreement. Advance notes are, as a rule, for a month's wages; and, as they are payable three days after the sailing of the ship, they enable the seamen to leave some provision for their relatives ashore.

ADVENTURE, BILL OF. (Fr. Aven ture, Ger. Avanturbrief, Spekulation, Sp Recibo provisorio, It. Avventura.)

This is a document signed by a merchant which states that the goods on board a vessel are the property of another, who is to run all risk, the merchant only binding himself to account for the proJuce.

ADVICE. (Fr. Avis, Ger. Avis, Bericht, Sp. Aviso, It. Avviso.)

is

In commerce, the word "advice" used to signify information or instructions respecting trade communicated by letter. Thus, an advice is generally sent by one banker, or merchant, to another, to inform him of the drafts or bills drawn upon him, with full par. ticulars of their amount, date, and the nersons to whom they are payable. This document, which is also termed a "letter of advice," prevents mistakes, and at times enables forgeries to be detected; for, when bills of exchange are presented for acceptance or for payment, either can be refused for want of advice.

The term is also used to signify an opinion of counsel or others, a commercial report, or a notification of the arrival or the despatch of goods.

ADVICE NOTE. (Fr. Note d'avis, Ger. Benachrichtigungszettel, Sp. Nota de aviso, It. Biglietto d'avviso.)

An advice note is a letter giving its receiver information that some particular transaction either has been or is about to be effected on his behalf. It is usual to send an advice note as to the arrival of consignments, the despatch of goods,