CONTRACT OF PARTIES 1. Maker's contract.—The maker of a negotiable instrument by making it engages that he will pay it according to its tenor. By paying according to its tenor is meant that he will pay according to the con tract made by him, and as it appeared on the face of the instrument when he delivered it. He is precluded from denying to a holder in due course the existence of the payee and the capacity of the payee to indorse at the time of indorsement. For all practical pur poses, the maker of a note, for example, corresponds to the unconditional acceptor of a bill of exchange. His contract is interpreted strictly against him, be cause so far as the instrument itself shows, his con tract thereon is made voluntarily. He is the primary debtor. Indorsers are secondarily liable until the note has been dishonored and notice given to them. Ordinarily, a promissory note made payable at a par ticular place must be presented for payment at that place, but the maker is not discharged by the omission to present the note for payment on the day that it matures. If he is sued upon the note without its hav ing been presented, he may plead the fact, and tho he will not escape liability on the note itself, the costs of the action will be in the discretion of the court.
If no place of payment is specified in the body of the note, presentment for payment is not necessary in order to render the maker liable. The note may be made by two or more makers, and they may be liable thereon jointly or jointly and severally, according to its tenor. Where a note runs, "I promise to pay" and is signed by two or more persons, it is deemed to be their joint and several note; that is, each can be sued for and be forced to pay the whole amount of the note. If they are jointly liable only one action can he taken. As the maker of a note is, in these respects, similar to the acceptor of a bill of exchange, the rules above mentioned apply in so far as they are applicable to both.
2. Acceptor's drawee, that is, the person upon whom a bill of exchange is drawn, un til lie accepts, is not liable on the bill. By accepting
lie signifies his assent to the order of the drawer, and his acceptance is irrevocable; but only delivery of the instrument so accepted by him gives effect thereto, un less after having accepted, but before delivery, he gives notice to the person entitled to the bill that lie has accepted it. His acceptance then becomes com plete and irrevocable. Having accepted and deliv ered the bill, he of course becomes liable to the holder, according to the terms of his acceptance. But his ac ceptance must be in writing, and must be signed as such. His acceptance is invalid if it expresses that he will perform his promise by any other means than the payment of money. The mere signature of the drawee, however, written on the bill without addi tional words is a sufficient acceptance. It has been held that, tho the acceptance and signature of the drawee are usually written across the bill, it will be valid when written below the drawee's name, or above it, or parallel to it, or even on the-back of the bill.' If written on the back of the bill, it may be doubtful whether an indorsement or an acceptanCe is intended, unless the word "accepted" is used in connection with the signature. The acceptance may be upon a blank paper and may be delivered to be filled up as a bill, when it will be binding. It may be accepted before it has been signed by the drawer, or while otherwise incomplete. It may be accepted when it is overdue, or after it has been dishonored by protest, by refusal to accept or by non-payment. But a bill accepted when overdue is payable on demand. When a bill payable at sight or after sight is dishonored by non-acceptance, and the drawee subsequently accepts it, the holder, in the absence of any different agreement, is entitled to have the bill accepted as of the date of first present ment to the drawee for acceptance.