DAYS of Grace

DAYS of Grace, in commerce, are a customary number of days allowed for the payment of a bill of exchange, &c. after the same becomes due.

Three days of grace are allowed in Britain; ten in France and Dantzic; eight at Naples; six at Venice, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Antwerp; four at Frankfurt; five at Leipzig; twelve at Hamburg; six in Portugal; 14 in Spain; 30 in Genoa, &c.

In Britain the days of grace are given and taken as a matter of course, the bill being only paid on the last day: but in other countries, where the time is much longer, it would be reckoned dishonourable for a merchant to take advantage of it; bills are therefore paid on the very day they fall due.