Part 15

Time on shipboard is divided into periods of four hours--from midnight to midnight--and the lapse of every half hour is marked by one or more strokes of the bell--from one stroke for the end of the first half hour to eight strokes or, in nautical language, eight bells, for the end of the fourth hour. Thus 12:30 a. m. is 1 bell; 1:00 a. m., 2 bells; 1:30 a. m., 3 bells; 2:00 a. m., 4 bells; 2:30 a. m., 5 bells; 3:00 a. m., 6 bells; 3:30 a. m., 7 bells; 4:00 a. m., 8 bells. Then 4:30 a. m. is indicated by 1 bell; 5:00 a. m., 2 bells, etc.; 8 bells being sounded at 8:00 a. m., 12:00 m., 4:00 p. m., 8:00 p. m. and 12:00 p. m.

Four to 8:00 p. m. is divided into two "dog watches" called "first dog watch" and "last dog watch," so as to change the watches daily; otherwise starboard or port watch would be on deck the same hours day after day.

QUEER ANALOGIES IN NATURE.

The cocoanut is, in many respects, like the human skull, although it closely resembles the skull of the monkey. A sponge may be so held as to remind one of the unfleshed face of the skeleton, and the meat of an English walnut is almost the exact representation of the brain. Plums and black cherries resemble the human eyes; almonds, and some other nuts, resemble the different varieties of the human nose, and an opened oyster and its shell are a perfect image of the human ear. The shape of almost any man's body may be found in the various kinds of mammoth pumpkins. The open hand may be discerned in the form assumed by scrub-willows and growing celery. The German turnip and the eggplant resemble the human heart. There are other striking resemblances between human organs and certain vegetable forms, The forms of many mechanical contrivances in common use may be traced back to the patterns furnished by nature. Thus, the hog suggested the plow; the butterfly, the ordinary hinge; the toadstool, the umbrella; the duck, the ship; the fungous growth on trees, the bracket. Anyone desirous of proving the oneness of the earthly system will find the resemblances in nature a most amusing study.--Scientific American.

MODERN FABLES.

Luxury.

Of two cats, one, thinking to be very fine, hunted only humming birds, and the other hunted only mice. The first had to hunt much longer than the other, because humming birds were scarce, so that it spent nearly all its life in getting food, while the other had little trouble to get all it wanted. "How unfortunate it is," said the first cat, "that I have formed my liking for what is so hard to get and is so little when I have it."

Fastidiousness.

A fastidious ox would not drink while standing in the water with his head turned down stream lest he should soil the water with his feet. But once when drinking with his head turned up stream he saw a whole drove of hogs washing in the water above him.

Attracting Attention.

A flea, which saw many people trying to get the attention of a king and waiting long for that purpose, said: "Though I am but a little thing, I will get his attention." So he jumped up the throne until he got on the king's head. Here he received recognition from the king by a slap, and when he boasted to a dog of his success, the latter said: "Some get attention by their merit, others by their demerit. In making yourself a nuisance you get recognition before the lords of the realm, but only as a flea."

Gambling.

A monkey playing with a steel trap got his tail cut off. He went back the next day to get his tail, when he got his foot cut off. "Now," he said, "I will go back and get both my foot and my tail." He went back, and the third time he got his head cut off, which ended his monkeying with the trap.

Mugwumpery.

A mule on one side of a fence was discontented because he was not on the other side. He finally jumped over, when he was equally discontented because he was not back again. "Which side of the fence do you want to be on?" asked a horse. "It does not matter," replied the mule, "provided I am on the other side."

The Non-Partisan.

A dog, running about in an irregular way, was asked where he was going. "I am not going anywhere," replied the dog, "but only running about to learn where to go."

Partisanship.

The swans, wishing to drive the peacocks from a park, procured a law against big feet. The peacocks retaliated by getting a counter law against big necks. Soon one side could see nothing but ugly feet, and the other nothing but long necks. At last they came to think peacocks were all feet and swans all neck.

NUMBER OF MILES BY WATER FROM NEW YORK.

To Amsterdam, 3,510; Bermudas, 660; Bombay, 11,574; Boston, 310; Buenos Ayres, 7,110; Calcutta, 12,425; Canton, 13,900; Cape Horn, 8,115; Cape of Good Hope, 6,830; Charleston, 750; Columbia River, 15,965; Constantinople, 5,140; Dublin, 3,225; Gibraltar, 3,300; Halifax, 612; Hamburg, 3,775; Havana, 1,420; Havre, 3,210; Kingston, 1,640; Lima, 11,310; Liverpool, 3,210; London, 3,375; Madras, 11,850; Naples, 4,330; New Orleans, 2,045; Panama, 2,358; Pekin, 15,325; Philadelphia, 240; Quebec, 1,400; Rio Janeiro, 3,840; Sandwich Islands, 15,300; San Francisco, 15,858; St. Petersburg, 4,420; Valparaiso, 9,750; Washington, 400; around the Globe, 25,000.

BUSINESS LAW IN BRIEF

It is a fraud to conceal a fraud.

Ignorance of the law excuses no one.

A contract made on a Sunday is void.

A contract made with a lunatic is void.

The act of one partner binds all the others.

An agreement without consideration is void.

The law compels no one to do impossibilities.

Agents are liable to their principals for errors.

Principals are liable for the acts of their agents.

A receipt for money paid is not legally conclusive.

Signatures made with a lead pencil are good in law.

The seal of a party to a written contract imports consideration.

A contract made with a minor cannot be enforced against him. A note made by a minor is voidable.

Each individual in a partnership is liable for the whole amount of the debts of the firm.

A note which does not state on its face that it bears interest, will bear interest only after due.

A lease of land for a longer term than one year is void unless in writing.

An indorser of a note is exempt from liability if notice of its dishonor is not mailed or served within twenty-four hours of its non-payment.

In case of the death of the principal maker of a note, the holder is not required to notify a surety that the note is not paid, before the settlement of the maker's estate. Notes obtained by fraud, or made by an intoxicated person, are not collectible.

If no time of payment is specified in a note it is payable on demand.

An indorser can avoid liability by writing "without recourse" beneath his signature.

A check indorsed by the payee is evidence of payment in the drawer's hands.

An outlawed debt is revived should the debtor make a partial payment.

If negotiable paper, pledged to a bank as security for the payment of a loan or debt, falls due, and the bank fails to demand payment and have it protested when dishonored, the bank is liable to the owner for the full amount of the paper.

Want of consideration--a common defense interposed to the payment of negotiable paper--is a good defense between the original parties to the paper; but after it has been transferred before maturity to an innocent holder for value it is not a defense.

Sometimes the holder of paper has the right to demand payment before maturity; for instance, when a draft has been protested for non-acceptance and the proper notices served, the holder may at once proceed against the drawer and indorsers.

Negotiable paper, payable to bearer or indorser in blank, which has been stolen or lost, cannot be collected by the thief or finder, but a holder who receives it in good faith before maturity, for value, can hold it against the owner's claims at the time it was lost.

If a note or draft is to be paid in the State where it is made, the contract will be governed by the laws of that State. When negotiable paper is payable in a State other than that in which it is made, the laws of that State will govern it. Marriage contracts, if valid where they are made, are valid everywhere. Contracts relating to personal property are governed by the laws of the place where made, except those relating to real estate, which are governed by the laws of the place where the land is situated.

THE RIGHT OF DOWER.

Dower is one-third of the husband's estate, and in general cannot be destroyed by the mere act of the husband. Hence, in the sale of real estate by the husband, his wife must, with the husband, sign the conveyance to make the title complete to the purchaser. In the absence of such signature, the widow can claim full dower rights after the husband's death. Creditors, also, seize the property subject to such dower rights.

The husband in his will sometimes gives his wife property in lieu of dowry. In this case, she may, after his death, elect to take either such property or her dower; but she cannot take both. While the husband lives the wife's right of dower in only inchoate; it cannot be enforced. Should he sell the land to a stranger, she has no right of action or remedy until his death.

In all cases the law of the State in which the land is situated governs it, and, as in the case of heirship, full information must be sought for in statute which is applicable.

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.

Marriage may be entered into by any two persons, with the following exceptions: Idiots, lunatics, persons of unsound mind, persons related by blood or affinity within certain degrees prohibited by law, infants under the age of consent, which varies in the different States, and all persons already married and not legally divorced.

The causes for which a divorce may be obtained vary greatly in the different States. In South Carolina only fraud and force are recognized as invalidating the marriage tie, this State having no divorce law. In the District of Columbia and all the other States with the exception of Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia, cruelty is a statutory cause, and desertion in all but New York. In most of the States neglect is also recognized as a valid cause. Imprisonment for crime is a cause in all except Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Physical inability is a cause in all the States except California, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota and Texas. Intemperance, in all but Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakotah, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. The time of residence required to secure a divorce varies from 6 months in Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada and Texas to 3 to 5 years in Massachusetts. In most States it is one year. Remarriage is permitted in all the States having divorce laws except Georgia, and alimony is also provided for in all these States.

RIGHTS OF MARRIED WOMEN.

Any and all property which a woman owns at her marriage, together with rents, issues and profits thereof, and the property which comes to her by descent, devise, bequest, gift or grant, or which she acquires by her trade, business, labor, or services performed on her separate account, shall, notwithstanding her marriage, remain her sole and separate property, and may be used, collected and invested by her in her own name, and shall not be subject to the interference or control of her husband, or be liable for his debts, unless for such debts as may have been contracted for the support of herself or children by her as his agent.

A married woman may likewise bargain, sell, assign, transfer and convey such property, and enter into contracts regarding the same on her separate trade, labor or business with the like effect as if she were unmarried. Her husband, however, is not liable for such contracts, and they do not render him or his property in any way liable therefor. She may also sue and be sued in all matters having relation to her sale and separate property in the same manner as if she were sole.

In the following cases a married woman's contract may be enforced against her and her separate estate: 1. When the contract is created in or respecting the carrying on of the trade or business of the wife. 2. When it relates to or is made for the sole benefit of her sole or separate estate. 3. When the intention to charge the separate estate is expressed in the contract creating the liability.

When a husband receives a principal sum of money belonging to his wife, the law presumes he receives it for her use, and he must account for it, or expend it on her account by her authority or direction, or that she gave it to him as a gift. If he receives interest or income and spends it with her knowledge and without objection, a gift will be presumed from acquiescence.

Money received by a husband from his wife and expended by him, under her direction, on his land, in improving the home of the family, is a gift, and cannot be recovered by the wife, or reclaimed, or an account demanded.

An appropriation by a wife, herself, of her separate property to the use and benefit of her husband, in the absence of all agreement to repay, or any circumstances from which such an agreement can be inferred, will not create the relation of debtor and creditor, nor render the husband liable to account.

Though no words of gift be spoken, a gift by a wife to her husband may be shown by the very nature of the transaction, or appear from the attending circumstances.

A wife who causelessly deserts her husband is not entitled to the aid of a court of equity in getting possession of such chattels as she has contributed to the furnishing and adornment of her husband's house. Her legal title remains, and she could convey her interest to a third party by sale, and said party would have a good title, unless her husband should prove a gift.

Wife's property is not liable to a lien of a sub-contractor for materials furnished to the husband for the erection of a building thereon, where it is not shown that the wife was notified of the intention to furnish the materials, or a settlement made with the contractor and given to the wife, her agent or trustee.

The common law of the United States has some curious provisions regarding the rights of married women, though in all the States there are statutory provisions essentially modifying this law. As it now stands the husband is responsible for necessaries supplied to the wife even should he not fail to supply them himself, and is held liable if he turn her from his house, or otherwise separates himself from her without good cause. He is not held liable if the wife deserts him, or if he turns her away for good cause. If she leaves him through good cause, then he is liable. If a man lives with a woman as his wife, and so represents her, even though this representation is made to one who knows she is not, he is liable the same way as if she were his wife.

THE LAW OF FINDING.

The general rule is that the finder has a clear title against every one but the owner. The proprietor of a hotel or a shop has no right to demand property of others found on his premises. Such proprietors may make regulations in regard to lost property which will bind their employes, but they cannot bind the public. The finder has been held to stand in the place of the owner, so that he was permitted to prevail in all action against a person who found an article which the plaintiff had originally found, but subsequently lost. The police have no special rights in regard to articles lost, unless those rights are conferred by statute. Receivers of articles found are trustees for the owner or finder. They have no power in the absence of special statute to keep an article against the finder, any more than the finder has to retain an article against the owner.

THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT.

The new copyright law, which went into effect July 1, 1909, differs in many respects from the law previously in force. Its main provisions are given below, but those desiring to avail themselves of its protection should write to the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C., for full instructions and the necessary blanks. etc. The new law provides that the application for registration of any work "shall specify to which of the following classes the work in which copyright is claimed belongs": (a) Books, including composite and cyclopedic works, directories, gazetteers, and other compilations; (b) periodicals, including newspapers; (c) lectures, sermons, addresses prepared for oral delivery: (d) dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; (c) musical compositions; (f) maps; (g) works of art; models or designs for works of art; (h) reproductions of a work of art; (i) drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character: (j) photographs; (k) prints and pictorial illustrations.

Necessary Steps to Secure Copyright.

For works reproduced in copies for sale: 1. Publish the work with the copyright notice. The notice may be in the form "Copyright, 19 ..... (year date of publication) by (name of copyright proprietor)." 2. Promptly after publication, send to the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C., two copies of the best edition of the work, with an application for registration and a money order payable to the Register of Copyrights for the statutory registration fee of $l.

In the case of books by American authors, or permanent residents of the United States, the copies deposited must be accompanied by an affidavit, under the official seal of an officer authorized to administer oaths, stating that the typesetting, printing and binding of the book have been performed within the United States. Affidavit and application forms will be supplied on request.

Books of foreign origin in a language or languages other than English are not required to be manufactured in the United States. In the case of a book in the English language published abroad before publication in this country, an ad interim copyright for 30 days may be secured under certain conditions.

Copyright may also be had of certain classes of works (see a, b, c, below) of which copies are not reproduced for sale, by filing an application for registration, with the statutory fee of $1, sending therewith: (a) in the case of lectures or other oral addresses or of dramatic or musical compositions, one complete manuscript or typewritten copy of the work. Registration, however, does not exempt the copyright proprietor from the deposit of printed copies. (b) In the case of photographs not intended for general circulation, one photographic print. (c) In the case of works of art (paintings, drawings, sculpture), or of drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character, one photograph or other identifying reproduction of the work. In all these cases, if the work is later reproduced in copies for sale, such copies must be deposited.

Duration of Copyright.

The original term of copyright runs for twenty-eight years, and may be renewed under certain conditions for a further term of twenty-eight years, making fifty-six years in all.

Assignments.

Copyrights are assignable by any instrument of writing.

Every assignment of copyright must be recorded in the Copyright Office within three months after its execution in the United States or within six months after its execution without the limits of the United States.

LEGAL HOLIDAYS IN VARIOUS STATES.

Jan. 1, New Year's Day. All the States (including District of Columbia), except Mass., Miss. and N. H.

Jan. 19, Lee's Birthday. In Ga., Fla., N. C, S. C., Va., Ala., Ark.

Feb. 12, Lincoln's Birthday. In Col., Conn., Del., Ill., Kans., Mass., Minn., Nev., N. J., N. Y., N. Dak., Penn., Wash. and Wyo.

Feb. 22. Washington's Birthday. In all the States and District of Columbia; in Miss., observed in the schools.

April 14, 1911, Good Friday. In Ala., Dela., Fla., La., Md., Minn., N.J., Penn., Tenn.

April 19, Patriots' Day. In Me. and Mass.

April 26, Confederate Memorial Day. In Ala., Fla., Ga., and Miss.

May, second Sunday, Mothers' Day, recognized in sixteen States.

May 10, Confederate Memorial Day. In N. C and S. C.; in Tenn., second Friday of May.

May, last Friday, Pioneer Day. In Mont.

May 30, Decoration Day. In all States and Territories, and the District of Columbia. except Fla., Ga., Ida., La., Miss., N.C., S. C., Tenn., Tex. In Va., called Confederate Memorial Day.

June 3, Jefferson Davis' Birthday. In Fla. Ga., Ala., Miss., Tenn., Tex. and S. C. In La., called Confederate Memorial Day.

July 4, Independence Day. In all States, Territories and the District.

Sept. 4, 1911, Labor Day. In all States, Territories and the District. except N. Dak.

Oct. 12, Columbus Day. In N. Y., Penn., Ill., Conn., N. J., Mich., Mont., Calif., O., Md., Ky., and R. I.

Nov. 1, All Saints' Day. In La.

November--General Election Day. In Ariz., Calif., Col., Del., Fla., Ida., Ill. (Chicago, Springfield and East St. Louis only), Ind., Ia., Kans., Ky., La., Md., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Nev., N. H., N. J., N. Mex., N. Y., N. C., N. Dak., O. (5:30 a. m. to 9 a. m. only). Okla., Ore. (Presidential only), Penn., R. I., S. C., S. Dak., Tenn., Tex., W. Va., Wash., Wis., Wyo.

By act of March 3, 1875, elections of Representatives in Congress take place on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in Nov., 1876, and every second year thereafter.

Nov. 30, 1911, Thanksgiving Day, observed in all the States, Ariz., N. Mex. and the Dist. of Col.

December 25, Christmas Day. In all the States, Territories and the District.

Arbor Day. In Ariz., Me., Md., N. Mex., Wis., Wyo., and Penn., by appointment of the Governor. Tex., Feb. 22; Neb., Apr. 22; Utah., Apr. 15; R. I., second Friday in May; Mont., second Tuesday in May; Ga., first Friday in December; Col. (in the schools), third Friday in Apr.; Okla., Friday after second Monday in March; Ark., first Saturday in March.

Half Holidays.

Every Saturday after 12 o'clock noon; in Calif., public offices; in Ill., cities of 200,000 or more inhabitants; in Md., Mich., N. Y., N. J., O., Penn., R. I., Va., Dist. of Col. (for banking); New Orleans, Charleston, La. and Mo., cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants; in Tenn. (State and county offices); in Col., for June, July, August; in Ind., from first Saturday in June to last Saturday in October, for public offices in counties with a county seat of 100,000 or more population.

PRINCIPAL POINTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.

Congress must meet at least once a year.

One State cannot undo the acts of another.

Congress may admit as many new States as desired.

The Constitution guarantees every citizen a speedy trial by jury.

A State cannot exercise a power which is vested in Congress alone.

One State must respect the laws and legal decisions of another.