This section is from the book "The Law Of Contracts", by William Herbert Page. Also available from Amazon: Commercial Contracts: A Practical Guide to Deals, Contracts, Agreements and Promises.
A rule sometimes laid down, though rarely observed, is that in case of conflict between two clauses that first in place is to control.1 This rule has little to recommend, as a contract is entered upon as an entirety and not word by word. It is used to justify meanings reached by the application of other principles of construction, and its practical value is slight.
 
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