Smith Thompson

“ If it should be admitted, that the defendant had what is usually called a place of business in the city of Washington, and that notice served there would have been good; it by no means follows, that service at his place of residence, in a different place, would not be equally good. Parties may be and frequently are so situated, that notice may well be given at either of several places. But the evidence does not show that the defendant had a place of business in the city of Washington, according to the usual commercial understanding of a place of business. ”

“ We do not mean to say no such cases can arise, but they will seldom, if ever, occur, and at all events such a course ought not to be required of a holder, except under very special circumstances. Some countenance has lately been given to this practice in England in extraordinary cases, by allowing the holder to recover of the endorser the expenses of serving notice by a special messenger. ”

“ Nor is a post-office the proper place to leave a notice not intended to be conveyed from it; as post-offices are places from which letters are to be forwarded, and it is not their duty to receive, or are they responsible for letters which are to be left in them.
The expense of sending a special messenger is to be paid by the party to whom he is sent, and as the defendant was not a resident of Georgetown, such a messenger should have been employed to give the notice. ”