by his bank,
it would be regarded as having knowledge of the defect, because it
was the cashier's duty to inform the proper officials before they
discounted it.

The death of either agent or principal terminates the agency except in
cases of personal interest. And when an agent has appointed a
substitute or subagent without direct authority, and for his own
convenience, the agent's death annuls the authority of the subagent or
substitute, even though the agent was given the right of substitution.
But if the subagent's authority is derived directly from the
principal, it is not affected by the agent's death.

=Agreement to Purchase Land.=--An agreement to purchase land must be
in writing to be valid. Oral or parol agreements may be made to do
many things, but everywhere the law makes an exception of agreements
relating to land purchases. A statute that is quite similar in the
states requires this agreement to be in writing and signed by the
party against whom it is to be enforced. Thus if the seller wishes to
enforce such an agreement, he must produce a writing signed by the
purchaser; if the latter wishes to hold the seller, he must do the
same thing. The better way is to have the writing signed by both
parties.

How complete must the writing be? It need not mention the sum to be
paid for the land; it can be signed with a lead pencil: a stamp
signature will suffice. The entire agreement need not be on one piece
of paper. If it can be made out from written correspondence between
the two parties this will be enough.

To this rule of law are some exceptions. Therefore if an oral
agreement for the sale of land is followed by putting the buyer into
possession, the law will compel the seller to give him a deed. The
proceeding would consist of a petition addressed to a court of equity,
which would inquire into the facts, and if they were true, would
compel the seller to give the purchaser a deed of the land. The reason
for making this exception is, the purchaser would be a trespasser had
he no right to be there: to justify his possession the law permits him
to prove, if he can, his purchase of the land; and if he has bought
it, of course he ought to have a deed of his title.

Once, a purchaser who made an oral agreement and paid part of the
purchase money could compel the seller to give him a deed, and many
still think such action is sufficient to bind the bargain. This is no
longer the law. The practice gave rise to