CONTRACT (CoxsE:s-r, ante), an agreement between two or more parties to do or not to do a particular thing. There are several varieties of contract besides the ordi nary agreement which almost every person understands. The chief of these are Acces sory contracts made to assume the performance of a prior contract, such as a suretyship, mortgage, etc.; a contract of beneficence, where only one of the parties is benetitted, as loans, deposits, etc. • certain contracts in which the thing to be done is supposed to depend on the will of the party, or when, in the usual course of events, it must happen in the manner stipulated; commutative contracts, in which what is done, given. or promised by one party, is considered an equivalent to, or in consideration of, what is done, given, or promised by the other; consensual contracts, formed by the mere consent of the parties, such as hiring out; executed contracts, those in which noth ing remains to be done, as in a sale with payment and delivery on the spot; entire con tracts, where the consideration is entire on both sides; executory contracts, in which some act remains to be done, as an agreement to do a certain thing at a future time; express contracts, where the terms of agreement are openly uttered and avowed at the time of making; gratuitous contracts, in benefit of the person with whom made, with out profit or advantage received or promised as a consideration; hazardous contracts, in which the performance depends upon some uncertain future event; implied contracts, such as reason and justice dictate, and which the law presumes that every man under takes to perform; independent contracts, in which the neutral acts and promises have no relation to each other as equivalent or considerations; mixed contracts, where one of the parties confers a benefit on the other, receiving something of inferior value in return; contracts of mutual interest, entered into for the common and reciprocal interest of both parties, such as partnership; onerous contracts, where something is given or promised as a consideration for the engagement or gift, or some service, interest, or condition is imposed on what is given or promised, although unequal to it in value; oral contracts, ordinary simple agreements; principal contracts, where both parties act on their own account; real contracts, where there must be something more than mere consent, such as a loan, pledge, or deposit, which from their nature require the delivery of the thing itself; reciprocal contracts, mutually agreeing together in business, such as sales, hire, and the like; contracts of record, such as are evidenced by record made, such as judg ments, recogniz,ances, etc. (The foregoing are the higher class of contracts.) Severable
contracts are those in which the considerations are, by their terms, susceptible of division on either side, as agreeing to pay for a certain work as long as it is done in a certain way. Simple contracts arc the lowest form of contracts; mere non-recorded parol agree ments. Unilateral contracts are those in which the party to whom the engagement is made makes no express agreement on his part. As to the qualities of contracts, the agreement should be so complete as to give either party his action upon it, and both parties must assent to all its terms. There must be and valid consideration. The thing to be done must be one not forbidden by law; immoral as well as fraudulent con tracts are void, and so arc contracts against public policy, even though not forbidden by statute. The intention of the parties is the marrow of the contract, and this is the key for construction by a court. Words are, if possible, taken in their comprehensive and common-sense meaning.