commonly called Sunday, and as public holidays or half-holidays; and all such bills, checks and notes otherwise presentable for acceptance or payment on any of the said days shall be deemed to be payable and be presentable for acceptance or payment on the secular or business day next succeeding such holiday; but in the case as a half-holiday shall be presentable for acceptance or payment at or before twelve o'clock noon of that day. Provided, however, that for the purpose of protesting or otherwise holding liable any party to any bill of exchange, check or promissory note, and which shall not have been paid before twelve o'clock at noon on any Saturday, a demand of acceptance or payment thereof may be made and notice of protest or dishonor thereof may be given on the next succeeding secular or business day. And provided, further, that when any person shall receive for collection any check, bill of exchange or promissory note, due and presentable for acceptance or payment on any Saturday, such person shall not be deemed guilty of any neglect or omission of duty nor receive any liability in not presenting for payment or acceptance or collecting such check, bill of exchange or promissory note on that day. And provided, further, that in construing this section every Saturday, unless a whole holiday as aforesaid, shall until twelve o'clock noon be deemed a secular or business day. And the days and half-days aforesaid shall be considered as the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, and as public holidays or half-holidays, for all purposes whatsoever as regards the transaction of business in the public offices of this State, or counties of this State. On all other days, or half-days, excepting Sundays, such offices shall be kept open for the transaction of business. (Laws of 1887, chap. 289; Rev. Stat. ed. 1889, p. 2505-6.)

2. Whenever the first day of January, the twenty-second day of February, the thirtieth day of May, the fourth day of July or the twenty-fifth day of December shall fall upon Sunday, the Monday next following shall be deemed a public holiday for all or any of the purposes aforesaid; provided, however, that in such case all bills of exchange, checks and promissory notes, made after the passage of this Act which would otherwise be presentable for acceptance or payment on the said Monday shall be deemed to be presentable for acceptance or payment on the secular or business day next succeeding such holiday. (Laws of 1887, chap. 289; Rev. Stat. ed. 1889, p. 2506.)

Until restrained by statute, the courts of New York required the demand for payment of paper subject to grace, to be made on the day before the holiday: Ransom v. Mack (1842), 2 Hill 587, 592; Cuyler v. Stevens (1830), 4 Wend. 566, 567; Lewis v. Burr (1796), 2 Caines Cases in Error 195.

The New York Statutes also provide—

3. No person shall fire, or discharge any gun, pistol, rocket, squib, cracker, or other firework, within a quarter of a mile of any building, on the twenty-fifth day of December, on the last day of December, on the first day of January, or on the twenty-second day of February, in any year; nor on the fourth day of July, or such other day, as shall, at the time, be celebrated as the anniversary of American independence, without the order of some officer of the militia, while in the cause of military exercises; every person offending against these provisions,

shall forfeit the sum of five dollars, to be recovered by any person who will prosecute in the name of the overseers of the poor, with their consent and under their direction, for the use of the poor. (1 R. L. 49; 4 Rev. Stat. ed. 1889, p. 2217.)

1. Ail bills of exchange and promissory notes made after the passage of this Act, except those payable at sight, or on demand, which shall be otherwise payable on any half-holiday Saturday, shall be deemed to be and shall be payable on the next succeeding secular or business day. (Laws of 1887, chap. 461; 4 Rev. Stat. ed. 1889, p. 2506.)

2. All bills of exchange, checks and promissory notes made after the passage of this Act, which by the terms thereof shall be payable on the first day of the week commonly called Sunday, shall be deemed to be and shall be payable on the next succeeding secular or business day. (Id.)

5. No Court shall be opened, or transact any business, in any city or town, on the day such [general] election shall be held therein, unless it be for the purpose of receiving a verdict or discharging a jury; and every adjournment of a Court in such city or town, on the day next preceding the day any such election shall be held therein, shall always be to some other day than the day of such election, except such adjournment as may be made after a cause has been committed to a jury. But this section shall not prevent the exercise of the jurisdiction of any single magistrate, when it shall be necessary in criminal cases to preserve the peace, or to arrest the offenders. (Rev. Stat. ed. 1889, p. 410.)

CHAP. 198. AN ACT supplementary to chapter 289 of the laws of 1887, etc., (approved April 26, 1889.)

SECTION 1. The Governor, in issuing any proclamation or proclamations, appointing or recommending any day or days as a day or days of thanksgiving, or fasting and prayer, or other religious observance, under or in pursuance of chapter 289 of the laws of 1887, and the acts amendatory thereof, is authorized, in his discretion, to limit or restrict the effect and operation of such proclamation or proclamations, to any city or cities, county or counties, to be designated by him in such proclamation or proclamations, and the day or days so appointed or recommended for the purposes aforesaid, shall be deemed to be public holidays for the purposes mentioned in said Act only within the city or cities, county or counties, so specified in such proclamation or proclamations. (Laws, p. 34.)

The Code of North Carolina, enacted March 2, 1883, provides

SEC. 3784. The first day of January, twenty-second day of February, tenth day of May, twentieth day of May, fourth day of July, and the day appointed by the Governor as a thanksgiving day, and the twenty-fifth day of December of each and every year, are declared to be public holidays; and whenever any such holiday shall fall upon Sunday, the Monday following shall be a public holiday, and papers due on such Sunday shall be payable on the Saturday preceding; and papers which would otherwise be payable on said Monday, shall be payable on the Tuesday thereafter. (Chap. 61, p. 574.)

SEC. 3785. Whenever either of the above-named days falls on Saturday, the papers due on the Sunday following, shall be payable on the Monday succeeding. (Id.)

SEC. 3786. Whenever either of the above-named days shall fall on Monday, the papers which should otherwise be payable on that day, shall be payable on the Tuesday succeeding. (Id.)

The Revised Statutes of Ohio (ed. 1890, Vol. 1), provide—

SEC. 3177. The following days, namely, the first day of January, the fourth day of July, the twenty-fifth day of December, the twenty-second day of February, the thirtieth day of May, and any day appointed and recommended by the Gover nor of the State or the President of the United States, as a day of fast or thanksgiving, shall for all purposes whatsoever of presentment for payment or acceptance and the protesting or the giving of notice of nonacceptance or of nonpayment of all such instruments, be considered as the first day of the week; but if the first day of January, the fourth day of July, the twenty-fifth day of December, or the twentysecond day of February, or the thirtieth day of May, be the first day of the week, the succeeding Monday shall for the same purpose be considered as the first day of the week. (p. 780.)

SEC. 4015. Teachers employed in the common schools, may dismiss their schools, without forfeiture of pay, on the first day of January, the twenty-second day of February, the thirtieth day of May, the fourth day of July, the twenty-fifth day of December, and on any day set apart by proclamation of the President of the United States, or the Governor of this State, as a day of fast or thanksgiving. (p. 1013.)

Oregon enacts (Codes and Gen. Laws, ed. 1887)—

928. The courts of justice may be held, and judicial business transacted, on any day, except as provided in this section. No court can be opened, nor can any judicial business be transacted, on a Sunday, on the first day of January, on the first Saturday in June, on the fourth day of July, on Christmas day, on the thirtieth day of May, on a day on which a general election is held, or on a day appointed by the executive authority of the United States or of this State as a day of fasting or thanksgiving, except for the following purposes: 1. To give instructions to a jury then deliberating on their verdict. 2. To receive the verdict of a jury. 3. For the exercise of the powers of a magistrate in criminal actions, or in proceedings of a criminal nature. (p. 86.)

3543. The following days shall be, and are hereby declared legal holidays in this State, viz: Every Sunday, the first day of January, the twenty-second day of February, the thirtieth day of May, the fourth day of July, the twenty-fifth day of December, and every day appointed by the President of the United States, or by the Governor of this State, for a public fast, thanksgiving, or holiday. Negotiable instruments payable on a holiday become due the next business day. (p. 1539.)

3544. The first Saturday in June of each and every year be, and the same is hereby set apart and declared to be a public holiday under the name of Labor day. (p. 1539.)

519. The time within which an act is to be done, as provided in this code, shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day fall upon a Sunday, Christmas, or other nonjudicial day, in which case the last day shall also be excluded. (p. 466.)

VOL. XXXVIII.-12.

Pennsylvania provides for her legal holidays, by a series of Acts of Assembly—

No. 374. AN ACT, etc. (Approved, April 11, 1848.)

SECTION 3. Payment of all notes, checks, bills of exchange or other instruments negotiable by the laws of this commonwealth, and becoming payable on Christmas day, or the first day of January, the fourth day of July, or any other day fixed by the law, or by the proclamation of the Governor of this commonwealth as a day of general thanksgiving, or for the general cessation of business in any year, shall be deemed to become due on the secular day next preceding the aforementioned days respectively; on which said secular days demand of payment may be made, and in case of nonpayment or dishonor of the same, protest may be made and notice given in the same manner as if such notes, checks, bills of exchange or other instruments fell due on the day of such demand, and the rights and liabilities of all parties concerned therein shall be the same as in other cases of like instruments legally proceeded with. Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to render void any demand, notice or protest made or given as heretofore, at the option of the holder, nor shall the same be so construed as to vary the rights or liabilities of the parties to any such instruments heretofore executed. (P. L. p. 539.)

Washington's Birthday was made a legal holiday by the Act of May 7, 1864, P. L. 889, which used identical language with that fixing the other days, as above.

No. 26. AN ACT to declare Good Friday, a public holiday. (Approved, April 12, 1869.)

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That from and after the passage of this Act, Good Friday, in each and every year, shall be deemed and proclaimed as a public holiday, and shall be duly observed as such; the payment of all notes, checks, bills of exchange or other instruments negotiable by the laws of this commonwealth and becoming due on said Good Friday, shall be deemed to become due on the secular day next preceding the aforementioned day [etc., literally as in the Act of 1848, supra]. (P. L. 26.)

Not content with this plain enumeration of holidays, the legislature proceded to pass (without the repealing clause which might have given some excuse)—

No. 34. AN ACT defining what days shall constitute legal holidays. (Approved, April 2, 1873)

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the following days, namely: First day of January, the twenty-second day of February, the fourth day of July, the twentyfifth day of December, and any day appointed or recommended by the Governor of this State, or the President of the United States, as a day of fasting or thanksgiving, or for the general cessation of business, shall be regarded as legal holidays, and shall, for all purposes whatsoever, as regards the presenting for payment or acceptance, and of the protesting and giving notice of the dishonor of bills of exchange, bank checks, drafts and promissory notes, made after the passage of this

Ac, be treated and considered as is the first day of the week commonly called Sunday.

SECTION 2. Whenever the first day of January, twenty-second day of February, the fourth day of July, or the twenty-fifth day of December, shall, either of them, occur on Sunday, the following day, Monday, shall be deemed and declared a public holiday; and all bills of exchange, bank checks, drafts or promissory notes falling due on either of the Mondays, so observed as a holiday, shall be due and payable on the Saturday preceding such holidays; and such Mondays, so observed, shall for all purposes whatever, as regards the presenting for payment or acceptance, and of the protesting and giving notice of the dishonor of bills of exchange, bank checks, drafts and promissory notes, made after the passage of this Act, be treated and considered as is the first day of the week commonly called Sunday.

SECTION 3. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the making or demand of any promissory note, draft, checks and bills of exchange, falling due on said Mondays, thus observed as holidays, on the day upon which such bills of exchange, drafts, checks and promissory notes shall be due. (P. L. 58.)

This Act omits Good Friday, but the holiday remains, as there is no repealing clause, or other indication that the number of days was to be diminished.

Decoration Day was next made a holiday with the peculiarity of celebration on the previous day, when the thirtieth of May falls on Sunday, instead of the following day, as is the case with all other legal holidays in Pennsylvania, by

No. 145. AN ACT making decoration day a legal holiday. (Approved, May 25, 1874.)

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the thirtieth day of May, commonly called decoration day, or when that day falls on the first day of the week, the day preceding it, shall be a holiday.

SECTION 2. It shall be lawful to require payment of all notes, checks and bills of exchange due and payable on such holidays, to be made on the secular day next previous thereto; and in default of such payment, the same may be protested, and such protest shall be as valid as if made on the day on which such note, check or bill became due by its own terms. (P. L. 222.)

No. 122. AN ACT to regulate the computation of time, under statutes, rules, orders and decrees of court, and under charters and by-laws of corporations, public and private. (Approved, June 20, 1883.)

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That where by any existing law or rule of court, or by any law or rule of court that may hereafter be enacted and made, the performance or doing of any act, duty, matter, payment or thing shall be ordered and directed, and where any court shall, by special or other order, direct the performance or doing of any act, matter, payment, sentence or decree, and the period of time or duration for the performance or doing thereof shall be prescribed and fixed, such time in all cases shall be so computed as to exclude the first, and