1. Kinds Of Notes In His Custody

In the larger banks there is a note teller who receives the letters and money for all promissory notes liquidated at the bank. Of these there are two kinds, - notes discounted by the bank, and notes deposited by the owners for collection, and for which they are to receive credit when they are paid. The former are called bills discounted; the latter collection notes.

2. How They Are Entered

In large banks at the present day the note teller does not have charge of the maturing notes until the day of their maturity, when they are handed to him by the discount clerk. The note teller enters the notes in a book kept for that purpose, and in doing so arranges them in the order of the names of the payees. He is now prepared to receive payment whenever the makers appear. The notes payable at the bank are retained by the teller in his drawer, and those payable at other places in the city are sent out by messengers for presentation.

3. Entries Of Remittances

The note teller reaches the bank in time to make the entries of remittances by the morning's mail before the bank is opened to the public. He writes his initial as his receipt for each check that he takes from every letter of the remitting bank. In the same way all letters containing cash documents are passed into his hands and the proper entries are made from them.

4. Notices To Makers Of Notes

Some banks send notices of the time when a note falls due. This custom, which was once quite general, is now falling into desuetude. When notes are paid, a certified check may be used, or money. When a note is paid, the bank stamps thereon "Paid," with the name of the bank at which this was done.

5. Making Notes Payable At A Bank

Many incidents and irregularities happen in this department, perhaps more than in any other. Makers forget the day on which their obligations mature or the amount due. The practice is becoming common for persons to make their notes payable where they keep their bank account, which are paid by the institution and charged to their account, thus relieving the makers of all thought of them. The only thing for them is to keep a bank account ample enough to cover all contingencies. When this is done their bank will not hesitate to pay all obligations made payable there which are presented for payment and so their credit is easily preserved.1

6. Protest Of Unpaid Notes

When the day is over, all unpaid notes are delivered to a notary public for protest, except those having no indorser. As the object of protest is to hold the indorser, it follows that unindorsed notes need not be protested.

7. Mode Of Protesting

The protesting of a note consists in presenting it by the notary public at the place of business of the maker, or wherever it is made payable, and demanding payment. After his refusal to pay, the note is attached to a printed legal form containing the following particulars: first, a true description of the note fixing its identity; second, an assertion that it has been presented to the maker on the day of payment at the place therein mentioned and dishonored; third, that the holder looks to the person notified for payment. The notary then sends a notice to all the indorsers advising them of their liability. Should he neglect to send the notice, they would be discharged. When notes thus presented by the notary are paid, he returns the money to the bank the next morning.

1 Concerning the payment of notes by the bank at whichi they are made payable, see Chapter X, Section 28.

8. Liability Of Bank For Negligence Of Protesting Official

The courts are divided on the question of a bank's liability for the manner in which a notary discharges his duty in protesting bills and notes. The more general rule is, a bank which has exercised due care in selecting a notary has fulfilled the law and is not therefore responsible for his negligence. Wherever this rule prevails the notary is not a mere agent or servant of the bank, but a public officer. Says Justice Lumpkin: "He owes duties to the public which must be the supreme law of his conduct. Consequently, when he acts in his official capacity the bank has no longer control over him, and can not direct how his duties shall be done. If he is guilty of misfeasance in the performance of an official act, the bank is not liable. . . . That the notary is also an employee and agent of the bank does not alter the case. There is still a sharp dividing line between his duties as agent and his duties as a public officer. When his public service comes into play, his private service is, for the time, suspended."1

1 May v. Jones, 88 Ga. 308. For other points relating to protest, see Chapter X, Section 22.