Contract

It was a principle of the substantive law of contract that accrued rights were not lost by reason of the subsequent termination of the contract consequent upon a repudiation of the contract. The termination operated prospectively, not retrospectively. That would suggest that deposits which had fallen due for payment remained payable notwithstanding that the contract was terminated after the deposit fell due. A deposit was different from a part-payment of a price. If a contract came to an end by reason of a buyer’s breach, he had to forfeit his deposit because it was paid as an earnest of his performance. But he might be able to recover a part-payment of the price because the price was no longer payable. The recoverability of the payment therefore depended upon the construction of the contract and, in particular, upon the purpose for which the payment was made. The question was whether the payment made by the buyer was unconditional or conditional upon performance of the