A vow to dif-
charge a debt
is fulfilled by
difcharging
it in lig h t or
b a fe money,
or in money
belonging to
a n o th e r ,
or b y means
o f liq u id a t io n :
If a man make a vow, faying “ I will discharge my debt, owing
“ to fuch an one, this day,” and he pay the debt upon that day accordingly,
and fome of the money in which he has paid it ihould afterwards
prove light, or bafe, or the right o f another perfon, yet the
vower is not forfworn ; becaufe lightnefs is only a 1lefeEt, which does
not deftroy the fpecie, (whence it is that if one of the parties, in a eonr-
tradt of S ir f fale, fhould through negligence receive bafe metal in
return for pure metal, the exchange is completely fulfilled,— and Idaho,
the feller is fully paid his price, in a contract of Sillim fale, where hie
receives bafe coin in place of pure coin,)— and fuch being the cafe, the
condition of fulfilment (namely the payment o f the debt) is accom-
pliflied: the vower, therefore, is not forfworn; the receipt of the money,
alfo, where it is the right ofa third perfon, is valid neverthelefs, and the
fulfilment thus eftablifhed is not afterwards affedt’ed by the reiteration
of the fame to that third perfon. (If, however, any o f the money, after
payment, fhould appear to be compofed of pewter, or tin, the vower
is forfworn; becaufe thofe metals are not regarded as fpecie, whence,
if through negligence they fhould be accepted in a Stllim or S ir f con-
trad!, it is not a lawful payment.) If, alfo, the vower fhould fell his
Have to his creditor, within the courfe of the day, in lieu of the debt,
and the creditor accept of the fame, the fulfilment of the vow
is accomplifhed; becaufe liquidation is one mode o f difcharging
debts;— that is, the debt due to one party ceafes In lieu of the debt
due to the other; (for the creditor is refponfible for whatever he receives,
as he receives it on his own account by becoming proprietor
of it, and thus the fame obligation refts upon the creditor in behalf of
his debtor as already refts upon the debtor in behalf of the creditor;)
a mutual liquidation, therefore, takes place between them, and the
debt of each is remitted in lieu of the debt of the other. (This mode
of difcharging the debt by liquidation is becaufe the aElual difcharge
is inconceivable, as the debtor does not here offer any thing but fub-
fa n ce, and the right of the creditor is not to fubjlance, but is merely
to the debt which has been incurred by the other; and hence the
learned
learned in the law fay “ a debt niuft be difcharged with its like.'")
Liquidation, therefore, being one mode of difcharging debt, the fulfilment
of the vow, in the cafe in queftion, is eftablifhed, becaufe the
liquidation is eftablifhed upon the inftant of the fale of the Have.
O b j e c t i o n .— T h e liquidation being eftablifhed upon the inftant
of -fale, why is the purchafer’s feizin of the flave made a condition?
R e p l y .— Seizin is made a condition in order that the debt due to
the feller, namely the price of the flave, may. be fully confirmed and
eftablifhed, becaufe although it be incumbent upon the purchafer from
the inftant of fale, yet it ftands within the poflibility of ceafing, as it
is poflible that the article fold may perifh before feizin; but by feizin
the debt is fully confirmed and eftablifhed upon the purchafer.
■— I f the creditor make a gift of the debt to the debtor within the
courfe of the day, the fulfilment of the vow is not eftablifhed; becaufe
repayment has not taken place; and alfo, becaufe the difcharge of
the debt is an aft of the debtor alone, and the gift of the debt implies
that the creditor relinquifhes his right to. it, which is an aft of the
creditor, and not of the debtor, wherefore the condition of fulfilment
(namely, the aft of the debtor) is not accomplifhed. It is here to be
obferved, however, that although the fulfilment be not accomplifhed,
yet the vower is not forfworn, but the vow becomes void; becaufe
the vow was reftrifted to that day, and the creditor having remitted
the debt within that day, the fwearer is thereby effeftually precluded
from the fulfilment of his vow before the expiration of its term, which
does not take place until the end of the day, whence the vow becomes
void, in the fame manner as in the cafe of the veffel of water *.
Ip a debtor were to make an offer, faying to his creditor “ I will
“ difcharge my debt to you, by partial payments,” and the creditor
fhould reply, with an oath, faying “ I will not thus receive my due
“ by accepting part, and not the whole," and he fhould afterwards
but not by the
g i f t o f the
c r e d ito r .
A vow not to
accept reim-
burfement o f
a d e b t in p a r ~
t i a l payments
is not violated
until the 'w h o le
See Chap. V I . p. 524.
take