NOTARY, NOTARY PUBLIC. An officer appointed by the executive or other appoint ing power, under the laws of different states.
Notaries are of ancient origin; they exist ed in Rome during the republic, and were called tab eitiones forenses, or persona publi cw. Their employment consisted in the drawing up of legal documents. They exist in all the countries of Europe, and as early as A. D. 803 were appointed by the Frankish kings and the popes. Notaries in England are appointed by the archbishop of Canter bury. 25 Hen. VIII. c. 21, § 4. They are officers of the civil and canon law ; Brooke, Office & Pr. of a Notary 9. In most of the states, notarios are appointed by the gov ernor alone, in others by the governor by and with the advice of his council, in others by and with the advice and consent of the senate; in the District of Columbia they are appointed by the President of the United States. A notary is a state officer ; Com. v. Shindle, 19 Pa. Co. Ct. R. 258. As a general rule, throughout the United States, the of ficial acts of a notary public must be au thenticated by seal as well as signature; Tunis v. Withrow, 10 Ia. 305, 77 Am. Dec. 117; Donegan v. Wood, 49 Ala. 242, 20 Am. Rep. 275 ; Stout v. Slattery, 12 Ill. 162.
Their duties differ somewhat in the differ ent states, and are prescribed by statute. They are generally as follows: to protest bills of exchange and draw up acts of honor; to authenticate and certify copies of docu ments ; to receive the affidavits of mariners and draw up protest relating to the same; to attest and take acknowledgments of deeds and other instruments; and to ltdminister oaths. Ordinarily notaries have no juris diction outside the county or district for which they are appointed; but in several states they may act throughout the state.
By act of congress, Sept. 16, 1850, notaries are authorized to administer oaths and take acknowledgments in all cases where under the laws of the United States justices of the peace were formerly authorized to act.
By act of Aug. 15, 1876, c. 304, notaries
are authorized to take depositions and do all other acts in relation to taking testimony to be used in the courts of the United States, and to take acknowledgments and affidavits with the same effect as commissioners of the United States circuit courts may do. R. S. § 1778. They may protest national bank circulating notes; R. S. § 5226 ; take acknowl edgment of assignment of claims upon the United States; id. § 3477; and administer oaths of allegiance to persons prosecuting such claims; id. § 3479. By act of June 22, 1874, c. 390, notaries may take proof of debts against the estate of a bankrupt. By act of Feb. 26, 1881, c. 82, reports of national banks may be sworn to before notaries, but such notary must not be an officer of the bank; R. S. § 5211. By act of Aug. 18, 1856, c. 127, every secretary of legation and consular offi cer may, within the limits of his legation, perform any notarial act ; R. S. § 1750. By act of April 5, 1906, every consular officer is required, within his consulate, to perform notarial acts.
A statute which authorizes a notary public to commit for contempt a witness who has been duly subpoenaed to testify before him and who refuses to be sworn or give his deposition, brunconstitutional; In re Huron, 58 Kan. 152,' 48 Pac. 574, 36 L. R. A. 822, 62 Am. St. Rep. 614.
The acts of notaries are respected by the custom of merchants and the law of nations. Their protest of a bill is received as evidence in the courts of all civilized countries. Ex cept in cases of protest of bills, the signa ture of a notary to an instrument going to a foreign country ought to be authenticated by the consul or representative of that coun try. • The notaries of England have always con sidered themselves authorized to administer oaths ; and the act of 5 & 6 Will. IV. has placed it beyond dispute. In this country they do not exercise the power unless au thorized by statute, except in cases where the oath is to be used out of the state or in the courts of the United States.