PAYEN PAYMENT 199 He was elected fellow of the horticultural so- ciety in 1826, and fellow of the Linnaean soci- ety in 1833 ; and in 1844 the emperor of Prussia created him a knight of the order of St. Vladi- mir. From 1854 till his death he was member of parliament for Coventry. He published a " Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Dahlia" (1838), a "Cottage Calendar," and a "Pocket Botanical Dictionary," and edited the " Magazine of Botany and Flowering Plants," and with John Lindley " The Flower Garden " (3 vols. 4to, 1850-'53). He also as- sisted in editing the " Horticultural Register " and the " Botanical Magazine." PAYE1V, Anselme, a French chemist, born in Paris, Jan. 6, 1795, died there, May 24, 1871. He studied under Thenard, and conducted for many years his father's sugar manufactory at Vaugirard. In 1836 he became professor at the school of trades and manufactures, and lec- turer also at the conservatoire des arts et metiers. He was elected to the academy in 1842. His principal works are : Cours de chimie elemen- taire et industrielle (2 vols., Paris, 1830-'31) ; Manuel de cours de chimie organique appli- quee aux arts industriels et agricoles (1841-'3) ; Precis de chimie industrielle (2 vols., 1849 ; 4th ed., 1859) ; and Traite complet de la distilla- tion (1862; 5th ed., 1866). PAYMENT, in law, the discharge of a debt by a delivery of the amount due. The party en- titled to receive the money may give notice to him who should pay it, that he requires the payment to be made directly to himself, and then no other payment discharges the debt; but without such notice, payment may be ef- fectually made in the ordinary course of busi- ness to the creditor's general agent, or to his attorney. But the agent or attorney must be agent for that purpose. Hence payment to a .man's wife, child, servant, clerk, or even at- torney or auctioneer, has not the effect of a payment to the party himself, unless this au- thority to receive the money be shown; but it may be shown indirectly, by usage or other circumstances. Here, however, another general principle of agency comes in ; and if the party receiving the money bears to the party paying it all the appearance of agency and authority, and this by the act or consent of the creditor, it is the same thing as if he were actually the agent. So an actual agent can receive pay- ment only according to his authority; thus, if he is authorized to receive payment of a debt in money and receives it in goods or by note, and gives a receipt therefor, the principal is not bound by the receipt. If there be joint creditors, as if two or more persons deposit money in a bank to their joint credit, a pay- ment to either of them without the consent of the other does not discharge the debt. The cases of partners, executors, and administrators are exceptions to this rule. In general, pay- ment to a trustee is valid as against any claim of the party having the beneficial interest in the trust, even if he be defrauded by the trus- tee, unless the person paying be a party to the fraud or consent to it. Formerly, a payment of a part of a debt was no satisfaction of the whole, even if that were agreed upon ; the rea- son being that the creditor who promised to give up a large debt, all of which was due to him, on the payment of a part only, made the promise without legal consideration. Now, however, it seems to be established that a fair and well understood compromise of a debt, honestly carried into effect, is a complete pay- ment or discharge of the debt. Payment of money is often made by letter ; and some dif- ficult questions have arisen under this mode of payment. The law may be stated thus. If the money reaches the creditor, the debtor is of course discharged. If it does not, he is still discharged if he was directed by the creditor to make the payment in this way, or if he can derive such authority from the certain and un- questionable course or usage of business ; but not otherwise. The same rule or principle would apply if the debtor sent the money, not by mail, but by an expressman, or by a private carrier. As paper money or bank notes are in universal use in this country, and payment is generally made by them, the law on this sub- ject is of much importance. The questions are: If the notes are forged, where is the loss ? If the notes are genuine but the bank is insolvent, where is the loss ? As to the first point, if the notes prove to be forgeries, they do not discharge the debt, being considered in law mere nullities. If they are genuine, but not good by reason of the insolvency of the bank, the rules of law are more uncertain. It may be said that generally, and where there is no fraud or negligence on either side, the loss in such cases falls on the party paying, and he must make up the difference between the actual and the nominal value of the notes. This, however, must be so far qualified, as that if the creditor receiving the money, by his subsequent negligence, as by receiving and retaining the notes without any inquiry or notice, prevents the debtor from profiting by any remedy or indemnity he might have had if due notice had been given him, the loss to this extent must fall on the creditor. Payment is also often made by the debtor drawing his check upon a bank for the amount due, or by his presenting to the creditor some other man's check which he holds. Now a check is a draft, and, being payable to order or to bearer, is negotiable either by indorsement or by deliv- ery ; and it is in most respects embraced with- in the law of promissory notes and bills of exchange. (See NEGOTIABLE PAPER.) If the creditor draws the money, then of course pay- ment is made. But if he fails to receive the money, it is no payment, unless this failure be his own fault; for he must not be negligent with it. It need not be presented on the day on which it was received, but it must be pre- sented within a reasonable time thereafter; for if the bank would have paid it when it was
