protest

The term 'protest' has been commonly used to designate any complaint or objection, whether by a public agent or a private citizen, which is intended to be and is made the basis of some action or proceeding in the public right against an existing entry.

In Mercantile Law. A notarial act, made for want of payment of a promissory note, or for want of acceptance or payment of a bill of exchange by a notary public, in which it is declared that all parties to such instruments will be held responsible to the holder for all damages, exchanges, re-exchange, etc. In Legislation. A declaration made by one or more members of a legislative body that they do not agree with some act or resolution of the body. It is usual to add the reasons which the protestants have for such a dissent. In Maritime Law. A writing, attested by a justice of the peace, a notary public, or a consul, made and verified by the master of a vessel, stating the severity of a voyage by which a ship has suffered, and showing that it was not owing to the neglect or misconduct of the master. See Marsh. Ins. 715, 716; 1 Wash. C. C. (U. S.) 145, 238, 408, note; 1 Pet. C. C. (U. S.) 119; 1 Dall. (Pa.) 6, 10, 317; 2 DalL (Pa.) 195; 3 Watts & S. (Pa.) 144.

In Contracts. A notarial act, made for want of payment of a promissory note, or for want of acceptance or payment instruments will be held responsible to the holder for all damages, exchanges, re-exchange, etc. A formal notarial certificate attesting the dishonor of a bill of exchange or promissory note. Benj. Chaim. Bills, art. 176. There are two kinds of protest, namely, protest for non-acceptance, and protest for non-payment. There is also a species of protest common in England, which is called protest for better security. A similar provision is to be found in the Negotiable Instruments Act. Protest for non-acceptance or non-payment, when duly made and accompanied by notice to all the parties to the bill or note, has the effect of making all of them responsible to the holder for the amount of the bill or note, together with damages, etc.; 3 Kent 63; Byles, Bills 273, 394; Chitty, Bills 278; Com. Dig. Merchant (F 8, 9, 30); Bac. Abr. Merchant, etc. (M 7). Protest for better security may be made when the acceptor of a bill fails, becomes insolvent, or in any other way gives the holder just reason to suppose it will not be paid. It seems to be of doubtful utility, except that it gives the drawer of a bill on a foreign country an opportunity of availing himself of any attachment law there in force; 1 Dd. Raym. 745. The protest is a formal paper signed and sealed by a notary wherein he certifies that on the day of its date he presented the original bill attached thereunto, or a copy (a description of the bill is enough; Dennistoun v. Stewart, 17 How. [U. SJ 606, 15 L*. Ed. 228), to the acceptor, or the original note to the maker thereof, and demanded payment, or acceptance, which was refused, for reasons given in the protest, and that thereupon he protests against the drawer and indorsers thereof for exchange, re-exchange, damages, costs, and interest. See Benj. Chaim. Bills, art. 176; 2 Ames, Bills & N. 863. It is usual, also, for the notary to serve notices of the protest on all the parties to the bill. The notice contains a description of the bill, including its date and amount, the fact of demand and refusal, and that the holder looks to the person notified for payment. A waiver of notice of protest by an accommodation endorser 38 months after maturity of the note with full knowledge that demand had not been made or notice of protest given, is binding without a new consideration; Burgettstown Nat. Bk. v. NRI, 213 Pa. 456, 63 Atl. 386, 3 L. R. A. (N. S.) 3079, 110 Am. St. Rep. 554, 5 Ann. Cas. 476; notice of protest to a drawer who executed an assignment for the benefit of creditors is sufficient to bind the estate in the hands of the assignee; Moreland’s Adm’r v. Bank, 114 Ky. 577, 71 S. W. 520, 61 L. R. A. 900, 102 Am. St. Rep. 293. Taylor, 2 H. & J. (Md.) 399, 3 Am. Dec. 554; Nicholls v. Webb, 8 Wheat. (U. S.) 333, 5 L. Ed. 628. Protest is said to be part of the constitution of a foreign bill; and the form Is governed by the lex loci contractus; Bank of Rochester v. Gray, 2 Hill (N. Y.) 227; Tickner v. Roberts, 11 La. 14, 30 Am. Dec. 706; Townsley v. Sumrall, 2 Pet. (U. S.) 179, 180, 7 L. Ed. 386. Story, Bills 176 (by the place where the protest is made; Benj. Chaim. Bills, art. 180). A protest must be made by a notary public or other person authorized to act as such; Benj. Chaim. Bills, art. 177; but it has been held that the duties of a notary cannot be performed by a clerk or deputy; Ocean Nat. Bank v. Williams, 102 Mass. 141. Inland bills and promissory notes need not be protested; Bailey v. Dozier, 6 How. (U. S.) 23, 12 L. Ed. 328; see Tresbrey v. Thomas, 1 App. D. C. 171; but the term protest, as applied to inland bills of exchange, includes only the steps necessary to charge the drawer and indorser; Wood River Bank v. Bank, 36 Neb. 744, 55 N. W. 239. Protest is unnecessary to fix the liability of an indorser on a non-negotiable instrument; Kampmann v. Williams, 70 Tex. 568, 8 S. W. 310. By the Negotiable Instruments Act a foreign bill, if dishonored by non-acceptance, or, after acceptance, by non-payment, must be protested; if not, the drawer and endorsers are discharged. The protest must be annexed to the bill, or must contain a copy thereof, under the hand and seal of the notary making it, and must specify the time and place of presentment^ the fact and manner thereof, the cause or reason for protesting the bill, and the demand made and the answer given, if any, or the fact that the drawee or acceptor could not be found. Protest may be made by a notary; or it may be by any respectable resident of the place of dishonor, in the presence of two or more credible witnesses. Protest must be made on the day of dishonor, but is dispensed with by any circumstances which woulc^ dispense with notice of dishonor. See Presentment. It must be at the place of dishonor, except that when a bill drawn at the place of business or residence of some person other than the drawee, has been dishonored by non-acceptance, it must be protested for non-payment at the place where it is expressed to be payable, and no further presentment 4or payment to, or demand on, the drawee is necessary. After protest for non-acceptance a bill may be protested for non-payment. Where the acceptor has been adjudged bankrupt or insolvent, or has assigned for creditors, before the bill matures, it may be protested for better security against the drawer and indorsers. protest may be on a qopy or written particulars thereof. Where a defendant 'negligently caused an original note to be protested after he had received a renewal note, the maker of the note can recover in tort for the damage to his credit; State Mutual Life Ass’n v. Baldwin, 116 Ga. 855, 43 S. E. 262. See Acceptance; Bills of Exchange; Notice of Dishonor; Presentment. In Legislation. A declaration made by one or more members of a legislative body that they do not agree with some act or resolution of the body: it is usual to add the reasons which the protestants have for such a dissent See 2 Redlich, Proc. in H. of C. 233, as to protest in the House of Lords. In Maritime Law. A writing, attested by a justice of the peace, a notary public, or a consul, made and verified by the master of a vessel, stating the severity of a voyage by which a ship has suffered, and showing that it was not owing to the neglect or misconduct of the master. See Richette v. Stewart, 1 Da 11. 317, 1 L. Ed. 154; Fleming v. Ins. Co., 3 W. & S. (Pa.) 144, 38 Am. Dec. 747. It cannot be made by a notary except under the lex mercatoria, or by statute; Patterson v. Ins. Co., 3 liarr. & J. (Md.) 71, 5 Am. Dec. 419. The protest is not, in general, evidence for the master of the vessel or his owners in the English or American courts; yet it is often proper evidence against them; Abb. Sh., 13th ed. 457.

I. A formal declaration made by a person interested or concerned in some act about to be done or already performed, and in relation thereto, whereby he expresses his dissent or disapproval or affirms the act to be done against his will or convictions, the object being generally to save some right which would be lost to him if his implied assent could be made out or to exonerate himself from some responsibility which would attach to him unless he expressly negatived his assent to or voluntary participation in the act. 2. A noinrial act, being a formal statement in writing made by a notary under his seal of office, at the request of the holder of a bill or note, in which such bill or note is described, and it is declared that the same was on a certain day presented for payment, (or acceptance, as the case may be,) and that such payment or acceptance was refused, and stating the reasons, if any, given for such refusal, whereupon the notary protests against all parties to such instrument, and declares that they will be held responsible for all loss or damage arising from its dishonor. See Annville Nat. Bank v. Kettering, 106 Pa. 531, 51 Am. Rep. 536; Ayrault v. Pacific Bank, 47 N. Y. 575, 7 Am. Rep. 489. A formal notarial certificate attesting the dishonor of a bill of exchange or promissory note. Benj. Chaim. Bills & N. art. 176. A solemn declaration written by the notary, under a fair copy of the bill, stating that the payment or acceptance has been demanded and refused, the reason, if any, assigned, and that the bill is therefore protested. Dennistoun v. Stewart, 17 How. 607, 15 L. Ed. 228. "Protest," in a technical sense, means only the formal declaration drawn up and signed by the notary; yet, as used by commercial men, the word includes all the steps necessary to charge an indorser. Townsend v. Lorain Bank, 2 Ohio St 345. 3. A formal declaration made by a minority (or by certain individuals) in a legislative body that they dissent from some act or resolution of the body, usually adding the grounds of their dissent. The term, in this sense, scorns to be particularly appropriate to such a proceeding in the English house of lords. See Auditor General v. Board of Sup'ra, 89 Mich. 552, 51 N. W. 483. 4. The name "protest" is also given to the formal statement, usually In writing, made by a person who is called upon by public authority to pay a sum of money, in which he declares that he does not concede the legality or justice of the claim or his duty to pay it, or that he disputes the amount demanded; the object being to save his right to recover or reclaim the amount, which right would be lost by his acquiescence. Thus, taxes may be paid under "protest" See Meyer v. Clark, 2 Daly (N. Y.) 509. 5. "Protest" is also the name of a paper served on a collector of customs by an importer of merchandise, stating that he believes the sum charged as duty to be excessive, and that, although he pays such sum for the purpose of getting his goods out of the custom-house, he reserves the right to bring an action against the collector to recover the excess. 6. In maritime law, a protest is a written statement by the master of a vessel, attested by a proper judicial officer or a notary, to the effect that damage suffered by the ship on her voyage was caused by storms or other perils of the sea, without any negligence or misconduct on hls own part. Marsh. Ins. 715. And see Cudworth v. South Carolina Ins. Co.., 4 Rich. Law (S. C.) 416, 55 Am. Dec. 692.

— Notice of protest. A notice given by the holder of a bill or note to the drawer or indorser that the bill has been protested for refusal of payment or acceptance. Cook v. Litchfield, 10 N Y. Leg. Obs. 338; First Nat. Bank v. Hatch, 78 Mo. 23; Roberts v. State Bank, 9 Port. (Ala.) 315.

— Supra protest. In mercantile law. A term applied to an acceptance of a bill by a third person, after protest for nonacceptance by the drawee. 3 Kent, Comm. 87.

— Waiver of protest. As applied to a note or bill, a waiver of protest implies not only dispensing with the formal act known as "protest," but also with that which ordinarily must precede it, viz., demand and notice of non-payment. See Baker v. Scott, 29 Kan. 136, 44 Am. Rep. 628; First Nat. Bank v. Hartman, 110 Pa. i96, 2 Atl. 271; Co.ddington v. Davis, 1 N. Y. 186.

A declaration against an act done or to right or evade a liability; a formal declaration notary, under seal, that a bill or note was or payment which was refused, protesting loss or damage; a declaration by a master of a or other proper officer, of the causes of the under which he has been compelled to put into tion.

1.

In the most general sense, signifies any formal or officially authenticated declaration; conveying, however, usually, the idea of an adversary declaration; an objection. Burrill defines it exceedingly well, as being a solemn declaration against an act about to be done, or already done, expressive of disapprobation or dissent, or made with the view of preserving some right which, but for such declaration, might be taken to be relinquished, or of exonerating the party protesting from some liability which might otherwise attach to him. 2. In the parlance of deliberative and legislative bodies, of corporate and public meetings, a protest is a formal notice which one or more members sometimes make, and ask to have incorporated in the minutes, of their objection to some act or vote of the majority. 3. In a very frequent and important use relating to bills of exchange, protest, in legal strictness, means the formal declaration drawn up and signed by the notary, that he presented the bill for acceptance, or for payment, and that it sory notes; for, as to these, no presentment by notary, acting ofl Scially, is, by the general mercantile law, necessary. Any one may make the necessary demand; though, under statutes allowing the notary's certificate to be read in evidence of demand and refusal, the employment of one is usual and convenient. But " protest," in the broader and looser sense in which it is generally employed among merchants, signifies dishonor of mercantile paper. One's commercial obligations are said to go to protest when they are not paid at maturity, the observance of necessary steps to charge indorsers being rather taken for granted than necessarily implied; and in this use " protest " may well be understood as applying to notes as well as bills. It may also embrace all the steps needed to charge indorsers, as well as mere presentment and official declaration of dishonor. A promise to " waive protest " of a note ought to be construed as binding the promisor to waive proof of demand and of notice to indorsers, and not as confined to mere dispensing with presentment by a notary. Coddington a. Davis, 1 N. Y. 186; 3 Den. 16. Protest, applied to commercial paper, means a demand of payment in proper form, and at a proper time; and, in case of nonpayment, due and reasonable notice to the indorsers by any suitable person. This is the usual and popular meaning of the term, as used even among merchants, and the sole meaning as used by non-commercial and unlearned men. Ayrault v. Pacific Bank, 47 N. Y. 570. Protest, in a technical sense, means only the formal declaration drawn up and signed by the notary; yet, as used by commercial men, the word includes all the steps necessary to charge an indorser. Townsend v. Lorain Bank, 2 Ohio St. 345. The admission of a party to a note, that he knew the note had not been " protested." is for the jury to construe whether he intended the word to be taken in its technical sense, or in its popular sense, including demand and notice. Brannon i;. Hursell, 112 Mass. 63. 4. In maritime law, a declaration made on oath before a magistrate, consul, or notary-public, in any distant port, of the damage likely to ensue from a ship's delay, is termed a protest; and so is a solemn account, authenticated before a notary, of the vessel and her cargo, or sel, reasons compelling the master to make sale of the ship abroad, or the like. 5. Under the acts of congress regulating the collection of duties, whenever an importer, charged with what he deems an excessive duty on particular goods, desires to pay it for the purpose of withdrawing the goods from customhouse, but to reserve his right to bring an action to test the question and recover back the excess from the collector, he must, at the time of paying the duties, serve upon the collector a written notice of his objection. This is called his protest. 6. The objection of a person making a payment that he disputes the obliga^ tion or the amount, stated for the purpose of reserving a right of reclamation, is called a protest. As far as form is concerned, almost any which is distinct and certain, and gives the creditor or claimant means of reducing the demand to limits within which it can be sustained, is sufficient; though we do not understand that making a protest against a demand by an ordinaiy creditor, or even by an official collector, gives a right to sue to recover back the money paid, unless the payment was made under compulsion, or to avoid or release some duress. But the expression making payment "under protest" means only "under objection," under notice that it will be reclaimed, and does not import any official authenticar tion of the objection or notice.

mar. law, is a writing, attested by a justice of the peace or a consul, drawn by the master of a vessel, stating the severity of a voyage by which a ship has suffered, and showing it was not owing to the neglect or misconduct of the master. Vide Marsh. Ins. 715, 716.