As soon as, by reasonable exertion, confined to the object, a thing may be done. Thus, when a defendant is ordered to plead forthwith, he must plead within twenty-four hours. When a statute enacts that an act Is to be done “forthwith,” itmeans that the act is to be done within a reasonable time . 1 Chit. Archil. Pr. (12th Ed.)10-1; Pickerman v. Northern Trust Co., 170 U. S. 181, 20 Sup. Ct. 311, 44 L. Ed. 423;Faivre v. Manderscheid. 117 Iowa, 724, 90 N. W. 70; Martin v. Pifer, 90 Ind. 248.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
