AUCTIONEER, a person whose pm.
fession or business it is to conduct sales by auction. It is his duty, previously to the commencement of every sale, to state the conditions under which the property is offered; to receive the respective bid dings; and to declare the termination of the sale : for this purpose, he commonly makes use of a hammer, upon the falling of which the biddings are closed.
It is a legal implication that an auc tioneer is authorized by the highest bidder or purchaser to sign for him the contract of sale, and the fact of the auctioneer's writing down in his book the name of such purchaser is sufficient to bind the purchaser, provided no objection be made by him previous to such entry. An auc tioneer can also act as the agent of per sons wishing to purchase,who may intrust him to make biddings for them. The auctioneer thus being the agent of both parties, his signature of the buyer's name in the catalogue to which the conditions of sale are annexed, opposite to the lot purchased, together with the price bid, has been considered s sufficient note or memorandum in writing of the bargain within the Statute of Frauds ; but where the conditions of sale are not annexed to the catalogue, nor expressly referred to by it, the signature of the buyer's name in the catalogue is not a compliance with the statute.
By 8 Viet. c. 15, the duties on sales by auction are repealed, and also pre vious statutes, so far as they relate to the collection of these duties. A licence is declared necessary to carry on the business of an auctioneer, for which the sum of 101. is to be paid ; the licence is to be renewed ten days before the expi ration thereof on the 5th of July in every year, under the penalty of 1001. for omis sion, and carrying on the business of an auctioneer without such licence (§ 2, 4). But certain sales need not be conducted by a licensed auctioneer; as goods sold under a distress for less than 201. for rent or tithes, and under the provisions of certain Small Debts Acts. No sepa rate licence is required to sell plate or other articles (§ 6).
By § 7, before the commencement of an auction the auctioneer is required to suspend in some conspicuous part of the room a ticket or board, containing his full Christian and surname and place of residence ; and shall produce his licence to, or deposit 101. with any officer of
Excise or Customs, or Stamps and Taxes, who may demand its production ; in de fault he may be arrested at the termina tion of the sale, and conveyed before a justice of the peace, who may commit him to prison for any time not exceeding one calendar month, and this imprison ment is not to affect any proceedings for the penalty incurred for selling without licence. On the production, within a week, of the licence, the deposit of 101. is to be returned by the officer.
It seems that, if the suction is de eland to be a sale "without reserve," the employment of a puffer by the vendor to bid for him, has been held to render the sale void, and to entitle the purchaser to recover back his deposit. Thornett v. Haines, Jer. Digest, 1847, 19.
If an auctioneer sell an estate without sufficient authority, so that the purchaser cannot obtain the benefit of his bargain, the auctioneer will be compelled to pay all the costs and loss the buyer may have incurred.
An auctioneer intending to hold a sale within the lihilts of the chief office of Excise in London must give two days' notice thereof at the said office. Wrecked vessels and their cargo may be sold at any place after only twenty-four hours' notice ; but the circumstance must be specially reported to the Board of Excise. (Board Order, 1822.) Green or perish able fruit may also be sold at the port of importation on one day's notice, but not without a catalogue. (Order, 1833.) Imported goods may also be sold at the port of importation after a like notice. (Treasury Warrant, 1834.) These offi cial regulations are from Bateman On the Excise, ed. 1843. The notices here mentioned must be in writing, and signed by the auctioneer, and must specify the particular day when such sale is to be held. It is further obligatory upon him to deliver in a written or printed cata logue, likewise attested by his signature, or by that of his authorized clerk, enu merating every lot and article intended to be offered at such auction. The Com missioners of Excise Inquiry recom mended that notices of sales in towns should be restricted to one day ; and that books, approved by the Excise, should be kept by the auctioneer for the entry of all sales, and signed by his employer, in substitution of the catalogues furnished to the Excise.