§ LORD MONTEAGLE moved the second reading of this Bill, which had been passed through the other House unanimously, and had received the support of persons of the greatest experience in the commercial world. He had not, however, taken charge of it until he had consulted some of his noble and learned Friends, and found there was no objection to it on their part. As their Lordships were aware, a custom had grown up of crossing cheques with the name of a banker, which was supposed to give a certain degree of security; but a recent decision of the Court of Queen's Bench had shown that feeling to be a fallacy. The object of the Bill was to legalise the custom, and enact that cheques so crossed should not be paid, except through a banker.
LORD CAMPBELLsaid, he had not the smallest objection to the Bill, which he thought would prove very harmless, and which he believed had, in the first in instance, been occasioned by a decision which he had given in the Court of Queen's Bench upon the subject of crossed cheques. The Bill did not affect that decision, but it would afford a limited security against a too easy negotiation of drafts, because it provided that the bearer or drawer of a 1056 draft on a banker might write "and Co." across it, in which case it would only be payable to a banker; but, at the same time, there was no doubt that the draft would be negotiable in the same way as any other security for money.
THE LORD CHANCELLORsaid, he was very glad that no opposition was offered to this Bill, which would, he believed, prove of great service by affording that limited check to which his noble and learned Friend had referred against the too great circulation of bills.
§ Bill read 2a, and committed to a Committee of the whole House on Monday next.