IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. JANUARY 19, 1857.-Read and referred to the Committee on Claims. The COURT OF CLAIMS submitted the following REPORT. To the honorable the Serate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled: The Court of Claims respectfully presents the following documents as the report in the case of J. BOYD vs. THE UNITED STATES. 1. The petition of the claimant. 2. Amended petition. 3. Documents referred by the House of Representatives to the Court of Claims and returned to that House. 4. Opinion of the Court refusing an order to take testimony. By order of the Court of Claims. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Court at Washington, this nineteenth day of January, A. D. 1857. [L. S.] SAM'L H. HUNTINGTON, To the Court of Claims: Claim-No. 1. The petition of the undersigned respectfully represents, that he was appointed assistant marshal on the eleventh day of June, 1850, to take the seventh census of the parish of Iberville, in the State of Louisiana. A few days after his appointment two crevasses took place at the Mississippi river, which caused three-fourths of the lands in said parish to be overflowed by water, from two to six feet deep. In consequence of this unforeseen and destructive calamity, he was obliged to hire two men and board them fifty-five days at $2 50 per day. Also hired boat at fifty cents per day; both amount to $275, and my own additional labor and expense, $100, making in all $375. The only method of travelling to and from the dwelling houses was in boats. This claim passed the Senate, January 4, 1853, allowing me $275.(See Senate Bill No. 86, as annexed.) Claim-No. 2. Your petitioner respectfully asks the honorable Court to pay the amount of the following bill: WASHINGTON, D. C., December 28, 1855. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, 4th AUDITOR'S OFFICE, To J. BOYD. For services rendered as a clerk in said office, from May 23, 1853, to June 30, inclusive, thirty-nine days, at $3 33 per day.... Add 20 per cent., as per act of Congress passed 17th July, 1851, allowing the clerks per centage upon the amount of their salaries.... $130 00 26 00 156 00 A certificate given by Mr. Dayton, 4th Auditor, stating the service rendered, and the amount due on the above claim, No. 2, are now in the hands of the Clerk of the House of Representatives of the United States of America. This claim was referred to the House, but never was acted upon. allow the above claims, $531, with DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Washington County, to wit: Committee on Claims in the lower He respectfully asks the Court to interest. J. BOYD, of Louisiana. On this 16th day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, before me, the subscriber, a justice of the peace in and for the county and District aforesaid, personally appeared J. Boyd, and made oath in due form of law that the foregoing and annexed statement of accounts, marked No. 1 and 2, and just and true. as therein stated, and that he hath not directly or indirectly received any part or parcel of the said claims or either of them, or other satisfaction, to the best of his knowledge and belief. Sworn before me. J. H. GODDARD, J. P. COURT OF CLAIMS. Amendment of the original petition. JEREMIAH BOYD vs. THE UNITED STATES. To the honorable Judges of the Court of Claims: Claim No. 1. Your petitioner, Jeremiah Boyd, is the sole owner and only person interested in said claim. This claim was referred to this honorable Court by resolution of the House of Representatives of 3d March, 1855. Claim No. 2. This claim is for services shown to have been rendered by your petitioner by the following copy of a certificate given by Mr. A. O. Dayton, Fourth Auditor of the Treasury of the United States, to wit: FOURTH AUDITOR'S OFFICE, January 5, 1854. "I hereby state that in May last Mr. J. Boyd proposed to me to render temporary clerical services in the office, and that I informed him that I had not the means of paying him, but that if he chose to render the services and rely for his compensation upon an application to Congress, I had no objection. Upon these terms he came into the office and served thirty-seven days, viz: fron the 23d of May to the 30th of June, excluding two days during which he was absent. A. O. DAYTON." If your petitioner had rendered such services under and by virtue of a regular appointment and qualification thereto and therefor, he would have been entitled by the laws of the United States to demand and receive of and from the government of the United States, the sum of three dollars and thirty-three and a third cents per day therefor, making $123 33 And 20 per cent. thereon by act of Congress, approved August 31, 1852, cl. 108, section 2, Statutes at Large vol. 10, p. 97 24 66 147 99 Your petitioner is the sole owner and only person interested in said claim. And your petitioner being remediless save in and through your honorable Court, where such matters are properly cognizable and relievable, prays your honors to examine the matters and things herein set forth, and report a bill to Congress, which, if adopted, will secure to him the payment of $375 with interest thereon from the year 1850, until paid; and the sum of $147 993 with interest thereon from the year 1853, until paid; and your petitioner, as in duty, &c. COUNTY OF WASHINGTON, 88. J. BOYD. On this 29th day of November, A. D. 1855, before me, J. H. Goddard, justice of the peace in and for the county aforesaid, personally appears the above named Jeremiah Boyd and makes oath on the Holy Evangely of Almighty God, that the facts set forth in the foregoing amendment of petition are true, according to the best of his knowledge and belief. M. THOMPSON, Of Counsel for Petitioner. J. H. GODDARD, J. P. J. BOYD vs. THE UNITED STATES. The opinion of the Court was delivered by Judge SCARBURGH. Claim 1. The first claim is stated as follows: "The petition of the undersigned respectfully represents that he was appointed assistant marshal on the 11th day of June, 1850, to take the seventh census of the parish of Iberville, in the State of Louisiana. A few days after his appointment two crevasses took place at the Mississippi river, which caused three-fourths of the lands in said parish to be overflowed by water, from two to six feet deep. In consequence of this unforeseen and destructive calamity, he was obliged to hire two men and board them fifty-five days, at $2 50 per day. Also hired a boat at fifty cents per day; both amount to $275, and my own additional labor and expense, $100, making in all $375. The only method of travelling to and from the dwelling houses was in boats. "This claim passed the Senate January 4, 1853, allowing me $275. (See Senate bill No. 86, as annexed.") On the 3d day of March, A. D. 1855, this claim was referred to this Court by a resolution of the House of Representatives. Claim 2. This claim consists of two items: The first is for clerical services rendered in the Fourth Auditor's Office in the Treasury Department, from the 23d day of May till the 30th day of June, A. D. 1853, inclusive-thirty-nine days, at $3 333 per day, $130; and the second, as stated in the petition, is "for twenty per cent., as per act of Congress passed 17th July, 1851, allowing the clerks per centage upon the amount of their salaries," $26. This claim arose as follows: In May, A. D. 1853, the petitioner proposed to A. O. Dayton, the Fourth Auditor, to render temporary clerical services in his office. The latter informed him that he had not the means of paying him, but that if he chose to render the services, and rely for his compensation upon an application to Congress, he (the Auditor) had no objection. Upon those terms the petitioner went into the office, and served thirty-seven days, viz: from the 23d day of May to the 30th day of June, A. D. 1853, excluding two days during which he was absent. As to the first claim, the fourth section of the act of May 23, A. D. 1850, is as follows: "That each marshal shall appoint an assistant for each subdivision, who is a resident therein, to whom he shall give a commission under his hand, authorizing him to perform the duties herein assigned to assistants, which commission shall set forth the boundaries of the subdivision, of which appointment so made, and the boundaries so specified, the marshal shall keep a true and faithful record."-(9 Stat. at Large, p. 428-9.) The twelfth and thirteenth sections of that act are as follows: "SEC. 12. That each assistant shall be allowed, as compensation for his services, after the rate of two cents for each person enumerated, and ten cents a mile for necessary travel, to be ascertained by multiplying the square root of the number of dwelling houses in the division, by the square root of the number of square miles in each division, |