Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
a tract of land, the receipt being equally appli-
cable to each and all of the notes and for a less
sum than the amount due upon any one of
them, and afterwards when a controversy arose
as to the balance unpaid, the creditor produced
MECHANIC'S LIEN—ILLINOIS LAW.
two of the notes and the debtor one of them,
The Supreme Court of Illinois held, in the none of them being credited with the amount
recent case of Williams vs. Vanderbilt, that the covered by the receipt. The court held that in
statute of the state which gives a mechanic's the absence of any explanatory evidence the
lien is in derogation of the common law, and presumption was that in taking up the note
must receive a strict construction, and will not produced by the debtor the amount embraced
be applied by the courts to cases which do not in the receipt was treated as a payment upon
fall within its provisions. The court held in that note.
this case that a mechanic's lien which attaches
to a leasehold estate is subject to the conditions
ASSIGNMENT—INSOLVENT—PREFERENCES.
of the lease, and may be defeated by a forfeit-
The New York Court of Appeals held, in the
ure, and that when default in payment of the
case of The Central National Bank of New
rent is ground for forfeiture without notice the
York vs. Seligman, reported in the Albany Law
lessor may declare the same, and thereby defeat
Journal, that a preference exceeding in amount
a mechanic's lien growing out of a contract
one-third of the assets of an insolvent who had
with the lessee.
made an assignment for the benefit of creditors,
PRINCIPAL AND AGENT- EVIDENCE.
given either in the assignment itself or by a
According to the decision of the Supreme separate instrument, which may be construed
Court of Georgia, in the case of McCamy vs. as part of the assignment, did not, under the
Cavender, a general agent in the transaction of provision of the General Assignment act of
his principal's business is not incompetent un- 1887 (chapter 503, laws 1887), prohibiting such
der the act of 1889 to testify to a particular a preference, in the absence of any question as
transaction or communication, at which he was to whether the debt preferred was bona fide or
present, but in which he took no part as agent any claim of fraud, render the assignment
or otherwise, between his principal and her wholly void. The court held that the statute
debtor, since deceased, but as to transactions operated upon the preference only, not upon the
or communications between himself as agent assignment itself or the title of the assignee,
and the debtor he is incompetent to testify. It and only operated to reduce the preference to
appeared in this case that at the time of making one-third, and this, although the assignor and
a partial payment for the amount of which a the preferred creditor were, when the act was
receipt was taken, the creditor most probably done operating as a preference, cognizant of
held three promissory notes of the same date the fact that it would exceed the statutory
given by the debtor for the purchase money of limit, and that in case of such an unlawful
RECENT LEGAL
_DECISIONS.
preference the rights of creditors could only t e
asserted by the assignee or by an action in aid
of the assignment for the benefit of all the
creditors. The court said : "The object of the
act is plain and unmistakable. It was interded
to insure to the general body of the creditors
of an insolvent debtor upon a transfer of his
property by general assignment the right of
participation in the distribution of the debtor's
property to the the extent of at least two-thirds
of the assets of the insolvent after certain
deductions. In order to secure this result the
act declares that ' any preference ' contained in
a general assignment other than for wages or
salaries of employees ' shall not be valid except
to the amount of one-third of the assigned es-
tate left after deducting such wages or salaries
and the costs and expenses of executing such
trust.' The statute tjtisUf M < J '^' 1 ' '
ence only, and not upon the assignment or the
title of the assignee. It does not undertake to
destroy or affect the assignment except in so
far as it provides for preferences beyond the
prescribed limit. "When the preferences made
exceed this limit the statute intervenes and de-
clares the consequence. It reduces the prefer-
ence to the limit mentioned in the statute. The
' preference,' it declares, shall not be valid ' ex-
cept ' to the amount of one-third of the assets.
The statute enacts a rule for the administration
of the trust in case of preferences. * * *
The statute, we think, only operates to scale
down the preference, if in excess. This con-
struction accomplishes the purpose of the
statute.''—Bradstreets.
MUSICIANS of Erie, Pa., receive Uo per week.
they have no union there.
SCHD
A NAME NOTED IN MUSICAL HISTORY.
A N a m e XToted i n Modern P i a n o Making.
In the Schubert Piano of to-day are incorporated inventions
which give it a distinct individuality.
The "Triple Bearing Bridge"
is an advance in piano construction.
The Schubert Piano alone
contains it.
SCHUBERT PIANO COMPANY, MANUFACTURERS,
(PETER DUFFY, President.)
535, 537, 539 AND 541 EAST 134ih STREET,
YOEK CITT".