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beloved in Christ, CD, a literate person, now residing at Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, health and grace: We being willing, by reason of your merits, to confer on you a suitable title of promotion, do create you a Public Notary, previous examination and the other requisites to be herein observed having been had; and do, out of our favor toward you, admit you into the number and society of other notaries, to the end that you may henceforward, in all places, (except within the jurisdiction of the incorporated Company of Scriveners of London) exercise such office of notary, hereby decreeing that full faith ought to be given, as well in judgment as thereout, to the instruments to be from this time made by you, the oaths hereunder written having been by us, or our Master of the Faculties, first required of you, and by you taken.

"Provided always, that these presents do not avail you anything, unless duly registered and subscribed by the Clerk of her Majesty for Faculties in Chancery. Given under the Seal of our Office of Faculties at Doctors' Commons, this

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in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and in the year of our translation.

J. H. T. MANNERS SUTTON,

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§ 12. Appointment in the United States.—In a majority of our States, the governor has the power of appointing notaries, without the nomination being submitted to or passed upon by the senate. In some places, the appointment is made after a previous recommendation of the applicant. Thus, in Illinois, the governor appoints by and with the consent of the senate, and none are to be appointed except on a petition of fifty legal voters of the place where the applicant resides.1 In Indiana, notaries are appointed by the governor upon a certificate of qualifications and moral character from the judge of the Circuit or Common Pleas Court of their counties respectively. So in Ohio, the governor appoints, but each applicant is to produce a certificate from a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, residing in the same county and district, stating that the applicant is of good moral character, and an elector in the State.3

1 Rev. Stat. 1874, p. 721.

21 G. & H. 445.

31 Swan & C. 872.

In the following States the appointment is made by and with the advice and consent of the senate: Arkansas,1 Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Texas.8

3

5

In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the governor appoints by and with the advice of his council.9

In Tennessee, notaries are appointed by the justices of the County Court, three for each county.10 So in Vermont, the judges of the County Court may annually appoint as many as the public good may require, to hold office for one year. The certificate of appointment must be signed by two or more judges of the County Court, and recorded.11 In Rhode Island, notaries are elected.12

There is a somewhat singular law in Georgia. The governor is authorized to appoint a notary for each militia district, who is to be ex officio a justice of the peace. And another class is appointed, termed "commercial notaries," by the judges of the Superior Court.13

In Mississippi, before 1872, the duties of notaries were dis charged by justices of the peace, but by Act of April 5th, 1872, it is provided, Sec. 1, that "all justices of the peace in this State, mayors of any incorporated city, and the clerks of the Circuit and Chancery Courts, shall be notaries public by virtue of their office." In Sec. 2, the "governor may appoint one notary public for each incorporated city or town having a population of three thousand from the qualified voters."

1 Gantt's Dig. Sec. 4297.

2 Gen. Stat. 1873, p. 676.
3 Dig. of Stat. 1870, p. 272.

4 Gen. Laws, p. 468.

51 Bissell's St. 205.

Comp. Laws, 1871, p. 261.

71 Rev. Stat. 6th Ed. p. 379.

8 Pascal's Dig. p. 788; by and with the advice of two-thirds of the senate. It seems that the governor's appointment of a notary public is inoperative without

the advice and consent of the senate. Brown v. State, 43 Tex. 478.

Gen. Stat. 1860, p. 32; Gen. Stat. N. H. p. 62

10 1 Thomp. & S. Sec. 1792.

11 Gen. Stat. p. 97.

12 Gen. Stat. 1872, p. 68.

13 Code 1873, Sec. 1497.

§ 13. Qualifications for appointment.-It is essential in every place that the notary be a citizen of the State, and that he be a person of good moral character. In some States, a certain length of residence is required before one can be qualified. Thus, in Maryland, the applicant must have had a residence of two years in the State.1 In Pennsylvania, the applicant must have resided two years in the Commonwealth, and one in the city and county.2 It is required in some States, before a notary's certificate is issued, that he file a bond conditioned for the faithful discharge of his duties. This is required in those States where notaries are intrusted with very responsible duties, and to whose office a certain dignity and deference is attached. There is a very loose method of appointment in some States: the appointments are not restricted in number, and no bond is exacted, and it is there found that notaries perform their duties very carelessly.3

In Alabama, notaries are required to give a bond of $2,000, to be approved by the probate judge.4

In California, "each notary must execute an official bond in the sum of $5,000, which bond must be approved by the county judge of his county, and filed and recorded as other official bonds of county officers."5 And in Wisconsin, a bond of $500 is required.

In Pennsylvania, by Act of February 19th, 1873, the governor is authorized to appoint as many notaries as he deems necessary; but, before a commission is issued, the appointee must pay twenty-five dollars for the use of the Commonwealth.

In Iowa, before any commission is delivered to a notary, he must qualify as follows: 1. Procure a seal, on which shall be engraved the words "Notarial Seal," and "Iowa," with his surname at length, and at least the initials of his Christian name. 2. He must execute a bond in the amount of $500. 3. He shall

1 Gen. Laws, p. 468.

2 Purdon's Dig. p. 758.

This is the case in New York, where no bond is required, and where appoint ments are made very indiscriminately. A large proportion of the members of the bar in New York city are notaries.

4 Code, Sec. 1080.

5 Political Code, Sec. 799.

61 Rev. Stat. 283.

write on said bond his signature, and place on it an impression of his seal. 4. He shall file the bond and papers in the Secretary of State's office. 5. Remit to the Secretary of State the fee required by law.1

§ 14. Period for which appointed. In a few of our States, notaries are appointed to hold office during good behavior. This is the case in Florida,2 South Carolina, West Virginia, and was in Virginia, until the Act of March 8, 1873, authorized the gov

1 Code, 1873, p. 42.

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In the following States, in addition to those named above, notaries are required to give bonds for the faithful discharge of their duties :

FLORIDA. $500 to governor, filed in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court. (Bush's Dig. p. 613.)

ILLINOIS. $1,000 to the people, to be approved by the governor. (Rev. Stat. p. 721.)

INDIANA.-$1,000. (1 G. & H. 445.)

KANSAS. $1,000 to the State, with one or more sureties, to be approved by county clerk. (Gen. Stat. 1868, p. 597.)

KENTUCKY.-Bond required, amount not stated. (Gen. Stat. 1873, p. 667.) LOUISIANA. $5,000 for the parish of Orleans; $1,000 elsewhere. (Rev. Stat. 1870, Sec. 2503.) And he must have resided in the parish five years before appointment.

MARYLAND.-$2,000 to State, approved by the governor. (Gen. Laws, 1860, p.

469.)

MICHIGAN. $1,000 to the people, with sureties approved by the county clerk. (Comp. Laws, 1871, Sec. 600.)

MINNESOTA.-$2,000 to State, approved by the governor. (1 Bissell's Stat. p.

205.)

MISSISSIPPI.-$2,000. (Act April 5th, 1872.)

MISSOURI.-$500 to the State, with two good sureties; notaries in St. Louis to give bond in $2,000. (2 Wagner's Stat. p. 959.)

NEBRASKA.-$2,000, with two sureties. (Gen. Stat. p. 492.)

NEVADA. $2,000, to be approved by district judge. (Comp. Laws, Sec. 331.) ОнIO.-$1,500, approved by the governor. (1 Swan & C. 873.)

OREGON. $500 to the governor, with sufficient sureties. (Gen. Laws, p. 689.) PENNSYLVANIA.-Give a bond himself in £600, and two sureties £300 each. (Purdon's Dig. p. 758.)

(Rev. Stat. 1871, Sec. 1794.) (Paschal's Dig. p. 261.)

TENNESSEE.—$5,000 to State, with good security. TEXAS.-$2,000, approved by the County Court. VIRGINIA. Not less than $500, within four months from the date, or more than $1,000 of his commission. (Act of March 8th, 1873.)

WEST VIRGINIA.-Not less than $250, or more than $1,000. (Code 1868, p. 80.) WISCONSIN.-$500 to the governor, with sufficient surety, and pay $2 into the treasury. (1 Taylor's Stat. p. 284.)

In Georgia, it is provided that the appointee must be twenty-one years old, or an attorney-at-law, and of good moral character. (Code 1873 Sec. 1503.)

2 Thomp. Dig. p. 240.

3 Rev. Stat. 1873, p. 113.

4 Code 1868, p. 386.

ernor to appoint one notary for every five hundred of the population, to hold office for four years. In a great many States four years is the period for which the appointment is made.1 In other States it is two years, as in Connecticut, where they hold office from the 4th of July of the year in which they are commissioned;2 Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, and California. In Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, the appointment is for three years. In Missouri and Nebraska, the period is six years. The longest definite period is seven years, as in Delaware and Massachusetts. In New Hampshire, the period is five years.7

§ 15. Notaries in France are divided into three classes, according to the extent of district in which they may exercise their functions. Those of the first class are nominated for towns, or seats of an imperial Court; those of the second class are nominated for towns, or seats of a tribunal of first instance; and those of the third class are nominated for all other places; but an act duly authenticated by a notary is valid without regard to the domicile of the party, or whether or not the notary has drawn it within the extent of his jurisdiction.8

1 This is the period in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, and Colorado.

2 Gen. Stat. 1875, p. 21.

8 Iowa, Code 1873, Sec. 258; Penn. Purdon's Dig. p. 758; 1 Swan & C. 872.

4 Wagner's Stat. p. 959; Neb. Gen. Stat. 1873, p. 280.

5 Rev. Code, 1874, p. 182.

6 Gen. Stat. 1860, p. 32.

7 Gen. Stat. p. 62.

8 E. Clerc, Notariat en France, Tome 1, p. 3.

This writer gives the fullest account of notaries in France, in a work consisting of four volumes, in addition to two of forms. He points out (pp. 1, 2) that before the time of the Revolution the office was, like many others in France, hereditary, and one of great emolument. The first change was made by a law of Sept. 29th, 1791, which attempted to organize the notaries into classes. But the law which defined the powers and duties and jurisdiction of notaries was that of the twenty-fifth Ventose in the year XI, passed in 1793. The law is divided into three titles: The first regulates the functions, jurisdiction, and duties of notaries, and the manner in which their acts are to be performed in regard to keeping a register, making copies and duplicates; the second determines the number, their residence, security to be given by them, the mode of nomination and condition of admission, the institution of chambers of discipline, and the keeping and transmission of records; and the third relates to general matters in connection with the office. The number is thus determined by the law of the twenty-fifth Ventose: In every city of a hundred thousand inhabitants or over.

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