Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/555

FIRST NAT. BANK OP CINCINNATI ». 00ATE8. 64 i �on the fifth, sixth, and seventh days of August. Payment of these was refused and they were protested. �In September the Metropolitan Bank turned over to Coates, as assignee, the moneys in its hands. In accordance with the law of Missouri goveming voluntary assignments, the assignee gave notice that he would, on certain days, sit for the allowance of demands against the estate, on which days creditors were required to appeai and present their claims. The complainants appeared, presented their drafts, which were allowed by the assignee as general demands, without objection on their part, and they afterwards received from him two dividends, which were declared alike on all claims against the estate. Subsequently, these bills were filed to compel the assignee to pay to the complainants the full amount of the drafts ont of the moneys in his hands which he had received from the Metropolitan National Bank. About |80,000 of drafts drawn by the Martin Bank on the Metropolitan National Bank were outstanding and unpaid, but actions of this character for about $22,000 only, had, at the time of this hearing, been begun. On the hearing it was insisted on behalf of the assignee that the complainants were general creditors of the bank; that the funds received by him from the New York bank were a part of the general assets of the Martin Bank ; and, f urther, that having presented and obtained from the assignee a general allowance of their demands, on which they had accepted dividends, they had thus elected to be considered general creditors, and that Buch election prevented a recovery here, based on the assertion of a different remedy. �Gage e Ladd, for complainants. �Pratt, Brumback e Ferrey, for defendants. �MiLLBB, Justice, (orally.) . My first impression was that the paper which is called indifferently a draft, a bill, and a check, and on which these actions are founded, was in the nature of a bill of exchange, or draft, and not in the nature of a bank check; but the authorities looked at satisfied me that I was wrong. Even an inlantl bill of exchange is payable on demand, without days of grace, and is a check of one bank on another, and whatever may have been my original idea as to whether it was a bill of exohange or a check, the author- ities have settled that, and I must say it is a bank check. I think the authorities have also settled, perhaps not with unanimity, but with such weight as to guide us, that a bank check is drawn direetly against money in the hands of the bank which belongs to the drawer of the check as depositor ; not that any particular money is his, but ��� �