Vided always, that in case of the bankruptcy of any such agent the

owner of the goods which shall have been so redeemed by such

owner as aforesaid shall, in respect of the sum paid by him on ac-

count of such agent for such redemption, be held to have paid such

sum for the use of such agent before his bankruptcy, or in case the

goods shall not be so redeemed, the owner shall be deemed a credi-

tor of such agent for the value of the goods so pledged at the time

of the pledge, and shall, if he shall think fit, be entitled in either of

such cases to prove for or set off the sum so paid, or the value of

such goods, as the case may be."*

When an agent having a proper authority purchases in the

name of his principal, it is clear from what has been said, that the

principal is bound to the vendor : if, however, the vendor, prefer-

ring the credit of the agent to that of the principal, agree with the

former to accept him as his debtor instead of the latter, he cannot

afterwards alter his election, turn round and charge the principal. (o)f

But it often happens, that a broker purchases in his own name

without disclosing that he has any j^rincipal : v/here this takes

place, the broker is of course the person to whom the vendor o-iyes

credit; yet, if he afterAvards discover the j^rincipal, he may elect

to abandon the responsibility of his broker, and charge him : {p)

(o) Paterson v. Gandasequi, 15 East, 62. Addison v. Gandasequi, 4 Taunt. 5*74

2 Smith's l. C. 205.

{p) Railton v. Hodgson, 4 Taunt. 5Y6, n. "Wilson v. Hart, 7 Taunt. 295. The law

of evidence opposes no obstacle to the exercise of this election even where the con-

f

* The English statute has been retained in the text, because it is the basis of

Bimilar provisions in most of the States of the Union ; as for example, in New York

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ohio, Ac.

f In the case of Raymond v. Crown & Eagle Mills, 3 Met. 219, it was held that

this rule was confined to the case of a vendor, who at the time of sale to the agent,

had actual knowledge of his principal, and did not preclude a vendor who was

eimply possessed of the means of informing himself, and who originally credited the

ftgent, from subsequently resorting to the principal. The English authorities are

•oUectcd and reviewed by Mr. Smith, in vol. 2, page 222, of his Leading Cases.

188 Mercantile persons.

Rights of third Persons against Principal.

and so he may, if the broker, on making the purchase, stated him-

self to be an agent, but omitted to state the name of his principal,

which is afterwards discovered : {q) unless, in either of these cases,

the seller have suffered the time for payment to elapse, and the

principal to alter the state of his account with the broker in such

a manner that he would be a loser if called on to pay to the seller, (r)

for then, indeed, sooner than that the principal should be injured,

the seller will be taken to have selected the agent for his debtor, (s)

But if the time for payment have not elapsed, the principal cannot,

by prematurely settling with his agent, deprive the seller of hia

election, {i) It seems also to be a rule that whenever the agent