The acts 27 Eliz. c. 4, and 30 Eliz. c. 1$, § 3, make void, as against sub sequent purchasers, all conveyances, &c. of real property which are made for the purposes of defrauding such purchasers. unless " upon or for good consideration and bond fide." This statute has received a sin gular interpretation, for it has been de cided that it makes void a previous con veyance, though not made with the intent to defraud any one, if the consideration is not such as the statute intends ; and accord ingly, as in the case just stated, if a man settles his land after marriage on his wife and children, and then sells it, the prior settlement is void as a fraudulent conveyance.
A voluntary conveyance then by a man who is at the time insolvent, is not valid against his creditors ; but if a man is not insolvent at the time, a vo luntary conveyance, that is, one where there is no valuable consideration, is valid against future creditors (13 Eliz. c. 5). A conveyance for valuable consider ation, such as marriage, is a valid con veyance, even if a man be insolvent at the time. An insolvent man may therefore cheat his creditors by settling his property on a woman with a view to marriage, and then marrying her ; but in curtain caces, such settlements are not valid against creditors when made by a person who is subject to the bankrupt laws. A vo, luntary conveyance is not valid against a future purchaser for good consideration: it is a fraudulent transaction according to the construction of the 27th of Eliz., and as such is declared void against the pur chaser. If the purchaser knew that there was such a voluntary prior conveyance, that makes no difference ; liis purchase is valid against such conveyance.
It appears from these instances that the legal notion of consideration is this:— the fact of there being a good considera tion is evidence that there is no fraud, and the absence of it is a presumption of fraud. The doctrine of consideration is intended to protect either the giver or grantor. or other persons whom he may wish to defraud by disposing of his pro perty.
Every deed therefore or instrument by which property is conveyed ought to show some consideration for which the person conveys the property to another ; for though a deed is valid between the parties to it, when no consideration is expressed, it may be invalid with respect to other persons who are not parties to it. There is no absolute amount of con sideration which can be legally required, but a very small amount of consideration might in some cases raise a presumption of fraud ; and, indeed, even if the amount of consideration should be the full value of the thing conveyed, it may be necessary in some cases to inquire whether the con sideration expressed was actually paid.
In the case of a contract or agreement to give or settle property, the necessity for a consideration is obvious, both for the protection of the giver, and of others to whom he is indebted, or w bons it is his moral duty to provide for. No contract to give can be enforced unless there is a sufficient legal consideration. An agree ment to settle property on a lawful child is such consideration: an agreement to settle property on an illegitimate child is not such a consideration.
Many curious legal questions have arisen on the doctrine of consideration, such for instance as the case of one man promising to pay the debt of another man. The general principle is, as already stated, that there must be some advantage to the person promising, either certain or prospective, which shall be a reasonable and sufficient ipducernent for him to pro mise. If a man were to give his phy sician a bond which should hind his executors to pay the physician a certain sum after his death, a case which has happened, the validity of the bond might be disputed if the circumstances under which it was given were such as to raise a suspicion of fraud ; for instance, if no person was privy to the transaction ex cept the man and his physician, and if the sum should be very large, and the services of the physician altogether dis proportionate to the amount.