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If, before it came to the person who presents it to the acceptor

for payment, it had passed through the hands of several other

persons, who had successively advanced to one another the

contents of it, either in money or goods, and who, to express

that each of them had in his turn received those contents, had

all of them in their order indorsed, that is, written their names

upon the back of the bill; each indorser becomes in his turn

liable to the owner of the bill for those contents, and, if he

fails to pay, he becomes too, from that moment, a bankrupt.

Though the drawer, acceptor, and indorsers of the bill, should

all of them be persons of doubtful credit; yet, still the

shortness of the date gives some security to the owner of the

bill. Though all of them may be very likely to become bankrupts,

it is a chance if they all become so in so short a time.