Mallory v. Gillett

This case ought to be one of first impression. By the statute of frauds, all promises to answer for the debt of a third person are void, unless reduced to writing. One Haines owed the plaintiff a debt for repairs on a boat, for which the latter had a lien on the chattel; in consideration of the relinquishment of that lien, and of forbearance to sue the original ^debtor ’ ° # . j the defendant promised the plaintiff, without writing, to pay the debt at a certain future time. There is no pretence, that the defendant’s promise was given or accepted as a substitute for the original demand, or that such demand was in any manner extinguished. The promise was, therefore, to answer for the existing and continuing debt of another, or, in the language of the books, it was a collateral promise. The consideration was perfect, but as there was no writing, the case seems to fall within the very terms of the statute.

Authorities need not be cited, to prove that the suffi

There is sometimes danger of error creeping into the the laxv, through a mere misunderstanding or misuse of terms. The xvords “ original ” and collateral ” are not in the statute of frauds, but they xvere used at an early day —the one to mark the obligation of a principal debtor, the other that of the person who undertook to ansxver for such debt. This xvas, no doubt, an accurate use of language ; but it has sometimes happened that, by losing-sight of the exact ideas represented in these terms, the xvord “ original ” has been used to characterize any nexv promise to pay an antecedent debt of another person. Such promises have been called original, because they are nexv; and then, as original undertakings are agreed not to be xvithin the statute of frauds, so, these nexv promises, it is often argued, are not xvithin it. If the terms of the statute xvere adhered to, *or a more discriminating- use xvere made of xvords not contained in it, there xvould be no danger of falling into errors of this description.

What is a promise to ansxver for the “ debt or default ” of another person? Under this language, perplexing-questions may arise, and many have arisen, in the courts.

The language of the enactment is so plain, that there is no room for interpretation1; and its policy is equally clear. If A. say to B., “ If you will suffer C. to inciir a debt for goods, which you will now or hereafter sell and deliver to him, I will see you paid,” the promise is within the statute; this no one ever doubted. But if A. say to B., “ If you will forbear to sue G. for six months, on a debt heretofore incurred by him for goods sold and delivered to him, I will see you paid ”—is not the case equally plain? So if, in such a case, instead of forbearance, there is some other sufficient consideration, for example, forgiving a part of the debt or relinquishing some security for it, the difference is still one of circumstance, but not of principle. In the case first put, the consideration of the'guarantee is the original sale of the goods on the faith of it; in the other, it maybe forbearance or the relinquishment of some advantage, the original debt still remaining. Looking at the comparative merit of these considerations, it would seem to be the highest, in the first case, for the whole debt owes its origin to the collateral promise, while in the other, the debt remains as before, and only some collateral advantage is lost. But the application of the statute depends on no such test • these '^considerations are, all of them, sufficient, and amply sufficient, to sustain the auxiliary un

Such an extreme position has not been taken; but it is said, that the promise now in question need not be in writing, because it was new and original, and was founded on the relinquishment to the debtor of a security which the creditor held. To say that it was new and original, expresses no idea of any importance; every promise is new and original, that was never made before. An undetarking to answer for an old debt of a third person, certainly, has no more of originality than one to answer for a debt now contracted. As to the relinquishment of the lien or security, this, although a meritorious consideration, is, in judgment of law, no more so than any other which is sufficient to sustain a contract; forbearance to sue has the same legal merit, and so has the release of a part of the debt.

There is nothing so remarkable or peculiar about this case, that it may not be included in some general proposition which involves a principle of law. Now, one of these two propositions must, I think, be true: 1. The statute of frauds never applies to a promise, the subject of which is an antecedent debt of a third person to which it is collateral; or, 2. It applies to all such promises, where the consideration moves solely between the creditor and original debtor and the debt still remains. If the first be true, then the promise in question is valid, without a writing, and so would any such promise be, without regard to the particular nature of the consideration; it being necessary, of course, that there should be some sufficient consideration. If the first be not true, and the second is, then the promise in this case is void, because it falls directly within it. The first proposition cannot be true, upon the plain terms and evident policy of the statute; and no such doctrine was ever asserted. The universal truth of the second one necessarily follo'ws,

In this elementary view of .the question, [ do not understand that much difference of opinion exists. It is claimed, however, that the course of adjudication has been such, that we cannot determine the case before us, according to a consistent rule of law. This argument is founded in a misapprehension of the authorities, some reference to which will be necessary.

In this state, an, early case, and one of very high authority, is that of Leonard v. Vredenburg ( 8 Johns. 29 ), in which Chief Justice Kent divided the cases on this branch of the statute of frauds into three classes, as follows: 1. Where the promise is collateral to the principal contract, but is made at the same time, and becomes an essential ground of the original credit. 2. Cases in which the collateral undertaking is subsequent to the creation of the debt, and was not the inducement to it, though the subsisting liability is the grpund of the promise. “Here,” the Chief Justice observed, “ there must be some further (or new) consideration shown, having an imme

The classification referred to, on a casual reading, is perhaps open to some misapprehension, and I think, it has been occasionally misapprehended. What, then, is the true distinction between the second and third classes? ' They are both of them promises, in form, at least, to pay the antecedent debt of a third person, and in that respect they are alike. The distinction, therefore, is in the consideration of the promises which belong to the two classes; not in respect to its particular nature or kind, but in respect to the parties between whom it moves. In the one class, the consideration is characterized as a “ further one, having immediate respect to the (original) liability” of the debtor; in the other, as “ new and original, moving, ^e*ween newly-contracting parties.” In the second class, the new or “ further ” consideration moves to the primary debtor. It may consist of forbearance to sue him, of a release to him of some security, or of any sufficient benefit to him, or harm to the creditor, but in which the collateral promissor has no interest or concern. In the third class, the consideration, whatever its nature, moves to the person making the promise, and " that also, as in all other cases of contract, may consist of benefit to him or harm to the party with whom he is dealing.

This distinction is also dxtremely well expressed by Ohief Justice Shaw, of the supreme court of Massachusetts? One class of cases (within the statute), he says, is, “ where the direct and leading object of the promise is to become the surety or guarantor of another’s debt;” the other class (not within the statute) is, “ where, although the effect of the promise is to pay the debt of another, yet the leading object of the undertaker is to subserve or promote some interest or purpose of his own.” (Nelson v. Boynton, 3 Metc. 396 -400.) Ohief Justice Savage, in this state (Farley v. Cleveland, 4 Cow.

In one respect, this language of Chief Justice Savage has greater precision than that of Chief Justice Kent. The latter speaks of the consideration as “ moving between the newly-contracting parties; ” the former characterizes it as moving to the party making the promise. This description is more exact, as well as more comprehensive, because it includes a variety of cases found in the books, where the new consideration spring's from the original debtor, and not the creditor; as, for example, where the debtor, by conveyance of property or otherwise, places a fund in the hands of a third person, the latter promising, in consideration thereof, to pay the debt. But the difference is not one of principle, because there is a sense in which, *even in such cases, the new consideration moves from the creditor, through the debtor, to the person making the promise, and on that ground, many cases hold, that the creditor may himself sue on the promise, although it was made to the debtor. (Lawrence v. Fox, 20 N. Y. 268 , and the cases cited.) Where the promise, in this particular description of cases, has been made directly to the creditor, the only question has been on the statute of frauds; -and the rule is very properly settled, that they are not within the statute. The cases of Farley v. Cleveland (supra), Gold v. Phillips ( 10 Johns. 412 ), and Olmstead v. Greenley (18 Id. 12), belong to this class.

Omitting, then, the first class of collateral undertakings (I mean those made at the same time with the creation of the debt), as having nothing to do with the present question, there are two kinds of prom

With this classification before us, it will be proper to notice more in detail the cases cited on the argument, and others not cited. In Skelton v. Brewster ( 8 Johns. 376 ), the promise was held not within the statute, because the debtor had delivered goods to the defendant, as the consideration of the undertaking, and the plaintiff, the creditor had discharged the debt.. For two reasons, therefore, the promise by paroi was good; first, it was founded on a new consideration received by the promissor, and, secondly, as it was accepted as a substitute for the original debt, it could not be collateral.

In Myers v. Morse ( 15 Johns. 425 ), the plaintiffs were liable as indorsers of a note of one H. Morse, and they held a note of the same person, indorsed by the defendant. The declaration set forth that the plaintiff's had agreed not to hold the defendant liable on his indorsement, in consideration of which, the defendant agreed to indemnify them against one-third of any loss they might sustain on their own indorsement of the same person’s note. A plea of the statute of frauds was held bad. This was plainly a case where the consideration moved to the defendant himself, and, therefore, it was held to *fall within the third class of cases, according to Gthe distinction which has been explained. The definition of Chief Justice Kent, in Leonard v. Vredenburg, was expressly adopted and applied to the facts.

In Olmstead v. Greenly ( 18 Johns. 12 ), the plaintiff.was an accommodation indorser on the note of B., and B. also owed him a sum of money; B. thereupon placed money and property in the hands of the defendant to provide for paying the note and the debt, and upon that consid

It cannot fail to be seen, that nearly all the cases which have been mentioned, in-fact all of them which exhibit a promise to pay or answer for the debt of another person, are essentially of one type. With great variety in the circumstances, one controlling characteristic pervades them all. In every instance, the consideration of the promise was beneficial to the person promising; this was the feature which imparted to the promise the character of originality, as that term is used' with reference to the statute of frauds. In not one of them, is it true, that the undertaking was entered into upon a consideration merely beneficial to the debtor, but of no concern to the promissor; and I can confidently say, that not one of those cases contains even a dictum which, being understood, countenances the doctrine contended for on the part of the plaintiff in this case. The principle involved is the same which runs through other cases that have not been cited. For example, A., holding the note of B., transfers it to 0., upon a consideration moving from 0. to him, and with a paroi guarantee of the payment. This, in a merely formal sense, is a promise to answer for the debt of the maker of the note, and it has been strenuously contended that such a promise is within the statute. But the rule is otherwise; it being considered, that such transactions, however close to the letter, are not within the intent of the statute; because they have their root in a new dealing which concerns the promissor, and in a new consideration which moves to him. Brown v. Curtiss ( 2 N. Y. 225 ) was such a case, in which Judge Bronson remarked: “ This belongs to the third class of cases mentioned by Kent, C. J., in Leonard v. Vredenburg: there was a

I have not yet referred to the case of Slingerland v. Morse ( 7 Johns. 463 ), which seems to be much relied on; but it does not present the question now before us. The plaintiff had distrained the goods of his tenant for rent, but did not remove them; thereupon, the defendants signed a writing in these words: “We do hereby promise to deliver to Peter Slingerland all the goods and chattels contained in the within inventoiy, in six days after demand, or pay the said Peter $450.” Looking at the face of that writing, it is only surprising, that any one could ever think it was within the statute of frauds. In its very terms, it was original, and not collateral; it discloses no debt of any one else than the defendant who signed it. Looking outside of it, we learn, there was, at least, a claim made for rent due from another person, but it is quite obvious, that, as a substitute for that claim, the creditor accepted the original promise of the defendant to deliver the goods or pay a sum of money. This is the evident import of the agreement itself, for it recognises no continuing debt or liability of the tenant, nor does it undertake to pay his debt or answer for him in any way. The goods were the fund; the defendant took them-under his own control (a fact which the agreement assumes), and upon that consideration made himself the primary debtor, and not the guarantor or surety. I think, the case was well decided, although it is very obscurely and scantily reported.

So far, then, we find no cases or dicta in point. Yet, it would not be true, to say that the plaintiff’s position is wholly unsupported by any authority in the courts of the state. In Mercein v. Andrus ( 10 Wend. 461 ), Savage,

The plaintiff’s counsel has been able, however, to cite one case which is entirely to his purpose. In Fay v. Bell (Lalor 251), the plaintiff had a lien on a pair of boots which he had mended, and in consideration of releasing that lien and giving up the boots, the defendant promised to pay his demand, which amounted to fifty cents; so far as appears, the debt still remained. The case went up from a justice’s court, through the common pleas, to the supreme court, where the question was disposed of with the single observation, that the promise was “ a new undertaking, founded on a new and distinct consideration, the relinquishment by the plaintiff of his lien on the boots, and which was sufficient to uphold the promise made.” The remark, as made, is strictly true; the con

'Un all the judicial history of this state, then, there is but one adjudged case which sustains the doctrine contended for, and that is one entitled to no great consideration. I will now refer to several of a very decisive character, which furnish a true exposition of the statute, and show that the rule is the other way. One case I have just mentioned, which is directly in point, and is of a date comparatively recent. Going hack to an early day—in Simpson v. Patten ( 4 Johns. 422 ), the plaintiff forebore to sue his debtor, and upon that consideration the defendant promised to pay the debt, as soon as he could sell a piece of land which belonged to the debtor. The promise ivas held void within the statute of frauds, the court observing: “ A promise to pay the debt of a third person must be in writing, notwithstanding it is made on a sufficient consideration.” I have some hesitation in citing Jackson v. Rayner ( 12 Johns. 291 ), because it seems to me to have gone too far. The defendant had received an assignment of the debtor’s property, and upon that consideration, as well as forbearance, the defendant promised to pay the demand. The court regarded the unconditional promise as evidence that the fund was adequate. Upon the discrimination made in the later cases (heretofore cited), the conveyance of. the property to the defendant was a new consideration, moving to him

In Smith v. Ives ( 15 Wend. 182 ), the declaration was on a written guarantee of a note, the consideration alleged being forbearance to sue the maker: plea, that no consideration was expressed in the writing. The plea was held good; the court saying: “ Forbearance has never been considered a new consideration passing between the neidy-contracting parties, so as to take the case out of the statute.” In Packer v. Wilson ( 15 Wend. 343 ), a guarantee of the same nature, and upon the same consideration, was again held to be void. In Watson v. Randall ( 20 Wend. 201 ), these propositions were expressly affirmed: 1. An agreement to forbear to sue a debtor is a good consideration for the promise of a third person to pay *the debt, but, to render the promise obligatory, it must be in writing. 2. While the debt remains a subsisting demand against the original debtor, the promise of a third person is collateral, and must be in writing.

In Barker v. Bucklin ( 2 Denio 45 ), a new trial was ordered, upon a point not now material; but the present question was quite fully examined by Mr. Justice Jewett. According to his views, the promise in this case is clearly void. If I were to criticise his opinion, I should say, he goes somewhat too far, by reason of not discriminating so as to uphold promises where (the original debt still remaining) the new consideration moves from the creditor to the promissor, as well as from the primary debtor. In Kingsley v. Balcome ( 4 Barb. 131 ), the principal cases were reviewed by Mr. Justice Sill, and his conclusion is thus stated: “ The true rule is, that the new original consideration spoken of must be such as to shift the actual indebtedness to the new promissor, so that, as between him and the original debtor, he must be bound to pay the debt as his own, the latter standing to him in

These numerous authorities are decisive. They all present examples where the collateral undertaking was founded on a consideration sufficient to sustain the promise, but of no personal concern to the promissor; yet the promises were void, because they fell within the precise terms and the undoubted policy of the statute of frauds. Certainly, that statute was not enacted for *cases where the promise would be void at the common law for want of a consideration to sustain it. If it was not enacted for the very cases where a new consideration arises, additional to the original debt, that being insufficient according to all authority, then why was it ever passed? Indeed, the struggle in the courts has been to withdraw from its influence, not such cases as these, but others having a close formal resemblance, yet' distinguishable, not because there is a consideration, but because it moves to the promissor, and so gives to his undertaking an original character. A person who receives a consideration may be bound by any lawful promise founded upon it, and that promise may as well lie to pay another man’s debt as to do any other act. The success of this struggle, in a variety of instances not within the intent of

This discussion Avould be incomplete, Avithout referring to the rule elsewhere than in this state. I have already mentioned the case of Nelson v. Boynton ( 3 Metc. 396 ), Avhich may be regarded as settling the question in Massachusetts. The creditor, in that case, sued his debtor and seized his property under an attachment; the defendant promised to pay the debt, in consideration of a discontinuance of the suit; the suit Avas discontinued accordingly, and the lien of the. attachment Avas thereby lost, but the debt remained against the original debtor. It Avas held, upon the fullest consideration, Chief Justice Shaav giving the opinion, that the promise Avas void because it Avas not in Avriting. I regard the decision as of great value, because the cases Avere examined, and the discrimination" between the different classes was made Aidth entire accuracj'.

Upon the argument of the present case, a passage from an English text-book was read (Addison on Contracts, p. 38), to the effect that, if the creditor has a lien or security Avhich he is induced to part with, on the faith of a promise of another person to pay the debt, the promise so made is not Avithin the mischief intended to be provided against by the statute of frauds, and may be good by paroi. This extract, according to its apparent meaning, seemed to indicate that in England the '^statute of frauds was essentially disregarded. The authorities referred to by the Avriter to sustain the proposition, are Barker v. Birt (10 Mees. & W. 61); Haigh v. Brooks (10 Ad. & E. 309-335); Barrell v. Trussel (4 Taunt. 117); Meredith v. Short (1 Salk. 25); Castling v. Aubert (2 East 325); and Walker v. Taylor (6 Carr. & P. 752). I have looked at these cases, and find that none of them have the slightest connection Avith such a proposition, except the last two, Avhich áre alike, and do not sustain it. In the last case, the creditor had the possession

■ The early case, in England, of Williams v. Leper (3 Burr. 1886), is cited and relied on to sustain the plaintiff’s position; and it is, perhaps, the only one in the English courts capable of a misinterpretation; but the case does not, in fact, sustain any such doctrine, and it has never been so understood in the courts of that country. One Taylor owed the plaintiff 45Z. for rent.; he conveyed all his effects for the benefit of his creditors, who employed Leper, the defendant, to sell them; and he advertised them for sale accordingly; the plaintiff then came to dis-train, and the defendant promised to pay the rent, if he would not distrain; and he desisted accordingly. Lord Mansfield said, the defendant Avas a trustee for all the crec^ors> *and Avas obliged to pay the landlord, AArho had the prior lien. Justice Wilmot said, the defendant became the bailiff of the landlord, and, Avhen he had sold the goods, the money was the landlord’s, in his own bailiff’s hands; therefore, he said, an action would have lain ‘against the defendant for money had and received to the plaintiff’s use. Justice Yates

The cases also cited of Houlditch v. Milne (3 Esp. 86), Castling v. Aubert (2 East 325), Edwards v. Kelly (6 M. & Sel. 204), Bird v. Gammon (3 Bing. N. C. 883), Bampton v. Paulin (4 Bing. 264), Walker v. Taylor (6 Car. & P. 752), and Stephens v. Pell (2 Cromp. & Mees. 710), differing only in immaterial circumstances, all involved the same general principles as Williams v. Leper. In each of them, the creditor relinquished some lien or advantage incident to his debt; but, in each of them, whatsoever he relinquished was acquired by the defendant—either as a matter of personal interest and concern to himself, or to *other parties whom he represented—and on that consideration he promised to pay. In none of them, was any such doctrine asserted as the plaintiff con

Referring now to Read v. Nash (1 Wils. 305), it was the case of a promise to pay to the plaintiff a certain sum, if the latter would withdraw his record in an action of assault and battery against another person, and would not proceed to trial. This promise ivas held not to bo within the statute of frauds; the decision being placed on the ground, that the person sued for the assault was not a debtor at all, within the meaning of the statute, and could not be so considered, until after verdict against him. “ For aught we can tell," the court said, “ the verdict might have been in his favor.” The promise, therefore, stood as at the common Iaiv. In Goodman v. Chase, a debtor, taken on a ea. sa. at the suit of the plaintiff, was discharged with the plaintiff's consent, on the defendant's promise to pay the debt. This was held an original promise, because the debt itself ivas extinct and satisfied by the ca. sa. and its discharge; and the principle of the decision is a very plain one.

I have now referred to all the decisions in the English courts which can be supposed to favor in any degree the doctrine on which the plaintiff in this case-relies; and I think, it may be safely affirmed, that no case has ever been determined in those courts, tending to the proposition that a paroi promise to pay the debt of another person is valid, where the consideration is beneficial only to the debtor, and where there is a debt which still remains against him. I will now mention a few cases, among many others, which show what the law of England is upon the precise question now to be decided.

If we go beyond these exceptional and peculiar cases,. and withdraw from the statute all promises of this nature,, where the debtor alone is benefited by the consideration of the new undertaking, and the debt still subsists, then-we leave absolutely nothing for the statute to operate-upon. The judgment should be affirmed.

(Dissenting.)—This case presents a single question, and a proposition apparently so simple, that the first emotion is perhaps one of surprise,. that there could be any question in regard to it, since, in the multitude of decisions with which the books are filled touching'the construction of the statute of frauds,, it would seem, that the rule applicable to a case which, in its essential features, must so often have arisen, must be settled by authority. My own conviction is, that the rule which governs this case has been long and well established, in opposition to the conclusion of the referee- and the judgment of the supreme court; but, at the same-time, it may readily be admitted, that reservations and doubts have been suggested, and discriminations attempted, from time to time, that, if they have served no-other purpose, have at least involved the matter in some-obscurity.

“ Every special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another person,” the statute declares “ shall be void, unless such agreement, or some note or memorandum thereof, expressing the consideration, be in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged therewith.” (2 R. S. 135, § 2.) This statute, as is well known,.

*It would probably have been better, if there had been less of what may, perhaps, without irreverence, be called legal, and even judicial tampering with the Avords of the statute, to force, at times, a construction seemingly at Avar Avith its natural and more obvious import. But all regrets on this subject are vain, ¡since the business of construction began with the infancy ■of the larv, and has not yet ceased, and will doubtless attend it even down to old age. One of the earliest attempts to create and define a distinction, by Avhich agreements Avere to be held Avithin, or without, the scope of the statuté, was to express them by the term's “ original” .and “ collateral.” It is true, that neither of these Avords ;is to be found in the statute, but they have been so long ■employed in connection Avith it, as to have attached to them an (established and recognised meaning; and the (Struggle ahvays is, in determining the validity of such an agreement as seems to fall Avithin the general purviejw of the law, to ascertain Avhether it is collateral and ancillary to the principal contract, having no aliment AAdrateAmr in-

An attempt was made, as early as 1811, by Chancellor Kent, then Chief Justice of the supreme court, in the well-known case of Leonard v. Vredenburg ( 8 Johns. 29 ), to arrange into three classes the cases avhere a promise to be answerable for the debt of another, was within, or without, the statute. They are familiar to the profession, and for a long time stood their ground as a just exposition of the law.' The third class, in which he held that a promise to pay the debt of another was not within the statute, “ when it arose out of some new and original consideration of benefit or harm moving between the newly-contracting parties,” has been subjected to much criticism; and it may be fairljr admitted, that it is not now, in the naked and unqualified terms in which it is expressed, to be received as the true construction of the statute. And yet this rule did obtain, and was followed in several well-considered cases in *our own courts. Thus, in Farley v. Cleveland ( 4 Cow. 432 ), the classification of Kent was stated and re-affirmed, and the case then on argument held to fall within his third class; and the court lay down the broad proposition, that, where a promise to pay the debt of a third person arises out of some new consideration of benefit to the promissor, or harm to the promissee, moving to the promissor either from the promissee or the original debtor, such promise is not within the statute. And it is added, that this is so, although the original debt still subsists, and is entirely unaffected by the new agreement. This case was carried up to the court of errors, and was there affirmed. ( 9 Cow. 639 .) The doctrine of the supreme court is reiterated in the precise language of the marginal note in the 4th of Cowen, and by an entirely undi

In Meech v. Smith ( 7 Wend. 315 ), the same rule is again repeated, and the court say, that it has long been settled, that, althoug'h the promise be by paroi, yet, if it arises out of some new and original consideration of benefit or harm moving between the newly-contracting parties, the case is not within the statute. Alluding to Leonard v. Vredenburg, and the above cited case of Farley v. Cleve land, the court say: “ This rule has been recognised by all writers upon contracts, and bjr the highest court in the state, and is, therefore, as much the law of the land as the statute itself.” The authority pf Leonard v. Vre denburg, and especially the third class of Chancellor Kent, has been cited approvingly and followed in the courts of several of our sister States; and in the case of De Wolf v. Babaud ( 1 Peters 476 ), the judgment of the supreme court of the United States proceeded substantially upon an affirmance of the authority of Leonard v. Vredenburg, as a just construction of the statute of this state.

If these cases are to be received as approved law, at the present day, they decide more than enough to reverse the judgement now before us;, and there need be no furexainina'f'ion *of authorities upon the discussion which this case has opened. But it is unimportant to a just appreciation of the ground upon which, as I suppose, the agreement in this case, and the consequent right of the plaintiff to recover, is to be upheld, to notice the several cases in which the discrimination between original and collateral promises has been established, or affirmed by the courts. This discrimination will be found to exist, I think, and the requirements of the statute not to apply, under four conditions, within some one of which most of the authorities upon

1. Where the primary agreement has been in effect extinguished, and the promise superseded, by the new agreement and promise, which have taken their place, and the credit is given wholly to the new promissor.

2. Where a fund has been provided, or property has been placed in the hands of the newly-contracting party, from which the means are to be procured to pay, or the promissor derives an equivalent or advantage therefrom.

, 3. 'Where the purport and intent of the agreement is to accomplish the payment of the promissor’s own debt, although the effect is to pay the debt of another, and where that debt is used to measure the extent of the liability; as where A. owes B., and C. is indebted to A., and in consideration of that liability, promises, at A.’s request, to pay B. the debt A. is owing him.

4. Where the creditor, in consideration of the promise, surrenders some pledge, or relinquishes some lien actually held by him and capable of enforcement, and by means of which the original debt was rendered secure.

In all these classes, excepting the first, it does not afi feet the liability of the newly-contracting party that the original debt subsists and the liability of the debtor remains in full force. Wherever the conditions exist, which I have arranged under these four heads, there is not only a sufficient consideration for the promise to pay another’s debt, but the promise is good, although by paroi.

^Numerous illustrations might be gathered from the authorities, under these several heads; and although it must be admitted, that the current of decisions is not uniform, and some apparently irreconcilable cases may be found, I am persuaded, that a careful sifting of the facts, and an attention to the proper discriminations which should be made, would reconcile many which stand seemingly in conflict, and in the result, make this

And, first, as to the condition of the English law upon this subject. One of the earliest cases to be found in the books is Tomlinson v. Gill, decided by Lord Hardwicks, in 1756, and reported in Ambler 330. That case ivas briefly this: Gill, the defendant, promised the widow and administratrix of the intestate that, if she would permit him to be joined with her in the letters of administration, he would make good any deficiency of assets to discharge the debts of the intestate; and the action Avas brought by a creditor, to enforce that agreement. The defendant insisted that the promise was void by the statute of frauds; it Avas holden to be not within the statute. Here ■ Avas the relinquishment by the Aiddoiv of a part of her exclusive lien upon and interest in the goods and effects of her husband, and Aldrich Aimre a fund in her hands for the payment of the debts of the estate, and the defendant, by the agreement acquired that interest. Lord Hardwicks goes even further than this in his decision, Avherein he says it is not Aid thin the statute, “ for there is,” he adds, “ a distinction betAveen a promise to pay the original debt and on the foot of the original contract, and Avhere it is on a new’ consideration; here is quite a neAV consideration.”

There is a short case reported in Snlkeld, standing apparently upon the same ground. It Avas to this effect: The sheriff took goods upon an execution, and a stranger promised the officer to pay the debt, in consideration that he AA'ould restore them. The action Avas brought upon that

. The next case, and the one, perhaps, most frequently cited and commented on, in connection with the particular question we are considering, is Williams v. Leper, (3 Burr. 1886), and reported also more briefly in 2 Wilson 308. The case was tried before Lord Mansfield, at Guildhall, and a verdict taken for the plaintiff upon the following state of facts: One Taylor was indebted to the plaintiff in the sum of 45Z. for rent of premises he held of him as his landlord. Taylor, becoming insolvent, conveyed his- property to the defendant, Leper, for the benefit -of his creditors. Leper took possession, when the plaintiff came, as landlord, to distrain for the rent due him; whereupon Leper promised that if he would desist from distraining, he would pay the debt. The plaintiff, accordingly, in consideration of this promise, refrained from enforcing his distress, and the action was brought upon that agreement. In the court of king’s bench, all the judges gave brief opinions. Lord Mansfield said, emphatically: “The case has nothing to do with the statute of frauds. The landlord had a legal pledge; he enters to distrain, and has the pledge in his custody; the defendant agrees that the goods shell be sold, and the plaintiff be paid in the first place; the goods are the fund. *Leper was obliged to pay the landlord, who had the prior

The" case of Houlditch v. Milne (3 Esp. 86) presents the point more clearly, and is a very decisive authority on the proposition we are discussing. The plaintiff had repaired carriages for one Cofey, and charged the account to him; the defendant sent an order to have them packed and sent on board a ship, and promised to pay the bill. On the trial, the defendant's counsel asked that the plaintiff be nonsuited, on the ground that the promise being to pay a debt of Cofey, who was himself liable, and not being in writing, it was void by the statute; but Lord Eldon refused to nonsuit the plaintiff, and held that it was an original undertaking. He cited the case of Williams v. Leper, saying, that it appeared to apply precisely to the case then before him. “ The plaintiff,” he adds, “ had, to a certain extent, a lien upon the carriages, which he parted with on the defendant’s promise to pay; this took the case out of the statute, and made the defendant liable.”

Castling v. Aubert (2 East 325) presented the following-facts : The plaintiff Avas a broker, and had in his hands policies of insurance, upon which he had a lien for certain acceptances he had given for one Grayson; the de

A distinction had crept into the books, founded upon a remark of BulLer, in Matson v. Wharam (2 T. R. 80), to the effect that, if the person to Avliose use goods are furnished, or property delivered, is liable at all, any other promise by a third person to pay that debt must be m AA-riting, otherwise it is void by the statute of frauds; and upon this distinction the case of Croft v. Smallwood (1 Esp. 121) Avas decided. But this distinction was repudiated in the cases already cited, in all Avhich it is manifest that the original debt Avas still subsisting and remained unaffected by the nexv undertaking; and in this state that precise point has been expressly adjudged in the case of Farley v. Cleveland, heretofore referred to, and in Rogers v. Kneeland ( 13 Wend. 114 ).

The principle of the cases I have thus cited has been affirmed, and the doctrine fully recognised, in two or three modern English cases; among Avhich are Edwards

. In view of these authorities, I think it may be safely affirmed, that the rule in England is too well settled to admit of question, that the promise in this case is not within the statute of' frauds. No case that fairly holds the contrary has been produced, or even referred to, on the argument; and so well established does this doctrine seem to be, that the elementary writers substantially concur in the principle derived from them. Thus, Clxitty says: “Although the debt of another form the subject matter of the defendant’s undertaking, still, if he promised to pay the debt upon some new consideration raised by himself, and the consideration be the resignation of a charge or lien which afforded a remedy, or fund, to enforce the payment, the case does not fall within the statute.” (Chit. Cont., Springfield ed. of 1851, p. 446.)

Thus, also, Burge on Suretyship, 26, expresses in substance the same proposition: “Though the debt of another may have been the original cause of the promise, A-et, if the person to whom it is made relinquishes some

The rule is, perhaps, still more clearly and strongly stated by Addison, in his recent treatise on Contracts, who, on a collation of the authorities, both ancient and modern, states his Conclusion in the following terms: “ A contract or promise, although made concerning the debt or default of a third party, may yet be an original promise, not within the statute. If the plaintiff has a lien upon the property of his debtor in his his possession, or holds securities for the payment of his debt, and is induced to give up the lien,, or part with his securities, upon the faith of the defendant’s promise to pay the debt, the promise so made is not within the mischiefs provided against by the statute, although the amount promised to be paid, on the. surrender of the securities, may be the subsisting debt of the third party due to the plaintiff, and the possession of the promise may have the effect of discharging the debt.” (Add. on Gont, 38, 39.)

To the English cases above cited and commented on, I add'that of Barrell v. Trussell (4 Taunt. 117), where the same point is adjudged. It was a case where the plaintiff was about to sell the property of one Abbott, under a bill of sale executed to him by Abbott. Having taken the property, the defendant, in consideration that the plaintiff would relinquish the possession to Abbott, promised verbally to pay the plaintiff 122?., being the debt of Abbott due to the plaintiff, and to collect which the plaintiff was about to make the sale. The plaintiff obtained a verdict, but, on a rule to show cause, the defendant insisted that the plaintiff was not entitled to recover, because this rvas an agreement to answer for the debt

The cases decided in this state, with perhaps an occas*ana*' *excepfi°n! affirm the same rule, even if they do not carry the doctrine somewhat further. It will be sufficient for our present purpose, however, if they shall be found to be substantially in accordance with the English cases. I will examine them very briefly:

Slingerland v. Morse [ 8 Johns. 463 ) is the earliest reported case where this question was presented. The plaintiff in that case had distrained the goods of his tenant for rent; the defendant agreed that he would deliver the goods in six days, or pay the amount of the rent, and thereupon the distress was abandoned and the goods left Avith the tenant. This avbs held to be an original, and not a collateral undertaking, and that no Avriting was therefore- necessary ; it Avas decided, substantially, upon the authority of Williams v. Leper. It has been said, in regard to this •case, that it may perhaps be sustained on the ground that the goods Avere a fund in the hands of the defendant, from the possession of Avhich his liability resulted. But, in answer to this, it is only necessary to say, that no such reason is given for the decision, and in the case it is expressly stated that the goods Avere left Aidth the tenant.

The cases of Skelton v. Brewster ( 8 Johns. 376 ), and Gold v. Phillips (10 Id. 412 ), I do not cite in this connec

The case of Chapin v. Merrill ( 4 Wend. 657 ) was an agreement to indemnify another for becoming the guartor of a third; and it was held not to be within the statute, and is in point to show that it is not necessary that the defendant should receive any benefit from what was done by the plaintiff, the considertion in that case being purely harm to the plaintiff.

Jackson v. Raynor ( 12 Johns. 291 ) is sometimes cited as conflicting with the prior cases of Skelton v. Brewster and Gold *v. Phillips, and with the distinction I am seeking to illustrate. It clearly does not with the latter, for no lien was surrendered or benefit waived by the plaintiff. The case came fairly within that class, where the agreement is valid by reason of property being placed in the hands of the promissor to pay the debt, in consideration of which he agrees to discharge it. The court put the decision, however, upon the express ground that the original" debt was still subsisting; a distinction which is no longer recognised. There cannot be a doubt that, on the precise state of facts disclosed in that case, the decision would now be the other way.

In the case of Gardiner v. Hopkins ( 5 Wend. 23 ), the plaintiff had a lien upon the sheets of a law-book he was printing for one Wiley, and the defendant promised that if he would deliver the sheets, he would pay the balance of his account—the claim against Wiley still remaining "in force. The case, as stated, leaves it a little uncertain, whether the delivery was made to Wiley, or to the defendant, who was his assignee. The decision proceeded

The case of Mercein v. Mack ( 10 Wend. 461 ) presented the precise point. The plaintiff had a levy by virtue of an execution upon the property of one Reed; and one of the defendants agreed that, in consideration of the release of the levy, the defendants would pay the plaintiff $150, at the expiration of some eighty days, or’give their note for that amount. The judge, at the trial, ruled that a promise founded upon the consideration of surrendering up property levied on by execution, is an original undertaking and need not be in writing; and on the other ground, of the partnership liability, he left it to the -jury to say, upon the evidence, whether the firm was bound by what had been shown upon that point. A new trial was granted for a misdirection of the court upon this branch of the *case; but upon the other, Chief Justice Savage stated that the ruling was right, and that a promise made upon such a consideration as appeared in the case, was not within the statute of frauds. In reference to this case, it- is said, in the able opinion of the supreme court given in the present case, at the general term, that what ivas said by Judge Say-age in his decision on this point was entirely obiter, and that he cited no authority to support his conclusion. I cannot agree with the learned justice who gave the opinion, on this point; so far from the remark being obiter, the precise question was presented. If the ruling at the circuit had been wrong, that would have been an end of the case, and a new trial would have been, perhaps, unnecessary on the other ground. If, however, it was to be sent back, it ivas equally necessary to determine the

Indeed, so well had the rule been established, that in the case of Smith v. Weed ( 20 Wend. 184 ), the point was not even raised by the counsel on the argument. It presented the case of a naked paroi promise of a third person to pay the debt to the plaintiff, in consideration of the release of an attachment which the plaintiff had levied on the property of his debtor ■ and the court held, without any hesitation, that the lien was valid, and the release thereof constituted a sufficient consideration for the undertaking of the defendant to pay the debt. Being an original promise, it was, of course, not within the statute.

The last case which has arisen in our. courts where this precise question has been presented, is Fay v. Bell (Lalor 251). The decision is brief, but emphatic, and is given by an able and eminent judge, who, until his recent lamented decease, continued with intellectual vigor unimpaired, and “ natural force ” almost unabated, by his large learning and ripened experience, to enlighten the tribunal over which "*he once presided. The facts were briefly these: One Daharch had employethe plaintiff to mend a pair of boots; the work had been done, and the boots remained in the posssession of the plaintiff, and he had, of course, a lien for the amount of his charge; upon the promise of the defendant to pay the demand, the boots were delivered to Daharch. There was a recovery, and on appeal, it was insisted, that the promise was within the statute of frauds; but the court held otherwise. Beardsley, J., rvho g'ave the decision, enters upon no argument to vindicate it; he simply says: “ It was a new undertaking, founded on a new and dis

I need scarcely add, that the cases of Barker v. Bucklin ( 2 Denio 45 ), and Brewster v. Silence ( 8 N. Y. 207 ), to which we have been referred by the defendant’s counsel, hold no doctrine whatever inconsistent with the great “ cloud of witnesses ” that have been summoned to the stand. The former case was where property had been sold to the defendant, in consideration of which he promised to pay the debt of the party delivering the ^property, to the plaintiff. It was not a promise to pay the debt of a third party merely, but was, in effect, an agreement to pay the defendant’s own debt. The case was rightly decided upon all the authorities, and it was unnecessary to go beyond this simple and plain proposition to uphold the recovery. The case of Brewster v. Silence is purely that of a naked written guarantee to pay another’s debt, expressing no consideration. The

My opinion is, that the judgment should be reversed;, and a new trial granted, with costs to abide the event.

Davies and Wright,, JJ.,, also, dissented.

Judgment affirmed,