146 The law of agency.

It is probable that even an authority coupled with an

interest is revoked by the death of the principal.

Watson V. King (1815), 4 Camp, 272 ; here the sale

of certain shares of a ship, under a power of attorney

given to a creditor in discharge of his debt, was decided to

be void, although the creditor had received no notice of the

principal's death at the time of the transaction. In giving

judgment, Lord Ellenborough said ; " A power coupled

with an interest cannot be revoked by the person granting

It ; but it is necessarily revoked by his death."

In Story's Agency (9th ed. Sect. 483), however, we find

It stated that an authority coupled with an interest is

not revoked by the death of the principal.

With regard to the revocation of powers of attorney

by the death of the principal — vide sections 8 and 9 of

the Conveyancing Act, 1882, which are set out upon

pp. 136, 137, ante.

Section 47 of the Conveyancing Act, 1881 (44 & 45 Vict.

c. 41), also makes the following provisions regarding

the effect that a principal's death has vipon a power of

attorney.

Section 47. — (1) Any person making or doing any pay-

ment or act, in good faith, in pursuance of a power of

attorney, shall not be liable in respect of the payment or act

by reason that before the payment or act the donor of the

power had died or become lunatic, of unsound mind, or

bankrupt, or had revoked the power, if the fact of death,

lunacy, unsoundness of mind, bankruptcy, or revocation

was not at the time of the payment or act known to the

person making or doing the same.

(2) V>\xi tliis section sliall not affect any right against

the payee of any person i)itercstcd in any money so paid ;

and tliat person shall have the like remedy against the payee

US lie would have had against the payer, if the payment had

not been madc^ by liim.

DETERMINATION OF AGENCY. 147

(3) This section applies only to payments and acts

made and done after the commencement of this Act.

As a general rule, the death of an agent will terminate the

authority of any sub-agent whom he may have appointed ;

but this, of course, would not be the case where it had been

agreed with the principal that the sub-agent was to become

his sole agent — vide Story on Agency (9th ed. sect. 490).

The services of an agent being clearly of a personal

nature, it seems that the agency will be terminated by

the incapacitating illness of the agent.

Robinson v. Davison (1871), L. R. 6 Ex. 269 ; here a

pianist, who was incapacitated by a dangerous illness from

playing at a concert, as she had agreed to do, was held to

be discharged from her contract on the ground that, where

there is a contract to perform a personal service, which

cannot be performed by a deputy, and which in case of

death cannot be performed by the deceased's executors,

Incapacity of body or mind in the promisor, without any

default of his or her own, will excuse performance in the

absence of any special agreement that such incapacity shall

not excuse.

(e) It may be terminated by the bankruptcy of the

principal.

The bankruptcy of the principal at once terminates the

agent's authority with regard to all those proprietary rights

of which the bankrupt is divested, and which, under the

provisions of section 44 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883 (46 &