views, which regard the state as more friendly to the wife than her own husband, especially under the system which here prevails,—a system which recognizes her legal independence so far, at least, as property and the right to enter into contracts are concerned. Increased rights bring increased responsibilities. It is quite significant that in several of the states the married woman’s power to contract is expressly limited to contracts relating to her separate property. Here we have no. such limitation in terms, and yet it is urged that these dissimilar statutes are to have the same interpretation. On what principle this contention is based we are unable to discover. A contract to pay money is a contract respecting property. If it does not relate to property, then money is not property. And to what else does such a contract relate if not to property? But we are not without authority on this point. Section 158 of the Civil Code of California is identical in its language with our § 2590 of the Comp. Laws. In Good v. Moulton, (Cal.) 8 Pac. Rep. 63, the Supreme Court of that state held that a wife was liable upon a note signed by her as surety. We quote briefly from the opinion to show the scope of the decision. After referring to an instruction which the trial judge had given, the court said: “The instruction, in effect, told the jury that if Mrs. Moulton was a married woman, and, without consideration, executed the note for the accomodation of D. L. Moulton, and the plaintiff knew these facts, then their verdict must be for the defendants. This was error. In this state a married woman may enter into any engagement or transaction respecting property which she might if unmarried. Section 158, Civil Code. A promissory note is an engagement respecting property which a married woman may make, though it can be enforced only as against her separate property. Marlow v. Barlew, 53 Cal. 456; Alexander v. Bouton, 55 Cal. 15. If Mrs. Moulton had been unmarried, she could have made a promissory note for the accomodation of her father without receiving any consideration for so doing; and the note so made, in the hands of one who received it for value, would, beyond. question, have been valid
