A public officer whose function is to attest and certify, by his hand and official seal, certain classes of documents, in order to give them credit and authenticity in foreign jurisdictions; to take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, and certify the same; and to perform certain official acts, chiefly in commercial matters, such as the protesting of notes and bills, the noting of foreign drafts, and marine protests in cases of loss or damage. See Kirk- sey v. Bates, 7 Port. (Ala.) 531, 31 Am. Dec. 722; First Nat. Bank v. German Bank, 107 Iowa, 543, 78 N. W. 195, 44 L. R. A. 133, 70 Am. St. Rep. 216; In re Huron, 58 Kan. 152, 48 Pac. 574, 36 L. R. A. 822, 62 Am. St. Rep. 614; Bettman v. Warwick, 108 Fed. 46, 47 C. C. A. 185.
