ACCOUNTS AND ACCOUNTING OFFICERS.
1. The accounting officers will not be justified in admitting as an offset to an
amount due from an individual on a contract with the Navy Department,
an amount found due to such individual by a jury in Kentucky. The finding
of the jury is not per se such an establishment of a claim against the United
States as to justify accounting officers in admitting it as a set-off. United
States vs. Ward & Johnson, 589.
2. To allow a set-off is in effect to make payment of the claim set up against a
debt due the United States; and unless the accounting officers would be jus-
tified in paying it as a separate and independent claim, they cannot properly
allow it as a set-off. Ibid.
3. The Fourth Auditor is not authorized to consider security offered for a debt,
however ample it may be, a payment of a debt due the government. Gen.
Swartwout's case, 592.
4. The accounting officers have the right to adopt the report of a committee of
Congress upon which a given law was reported and passed, for the principles
which are to govern in the settlement of accounts under the law. The pas
sage of a bill, accompanying a written report, may be considered the adop-
tion of that report. D. D. Tompkins's case, 596.
5. The accounting officers may also receive depositions taken on notice, as proof
of the items of an account. Ibid.
6. The accounts of the Vice President should be settled on principles of equity
and good conscience, subject to the revision and final decision of the Presi-
dent. Ibid.
7. The accounting officers must act upon the accounts in the first instance. They
must pass upon them, so that there shall be decisions to be approved or dis-
approved by the President, whose power is only appellate in its nature, to
be exercised after the accounting officers shall have exercised their preroga-
tives in the matter. Ibid.
8. The report of a committee, accompanying a bill which has passed into a law,
may be referred to, as well by the President whilst exercising his revising
power, as by the accounting officers in their examination of the accounts
submitted, for the principles to govern settlements under such law. Ibid.
9. Accounting officers may re-examine any case where judgment has been ren-
dered by a court and jury before the passage of the act of 1st March, 1822,
where the defendant, against whom the judgment has been rendered, has
any solid ground on which to ask a court of law for a new trial. Captain
Saniford's case, 598.
10. Where it shall appear to an accounting officer that there is newly-discovered
evidence, of which the defendant was wholly and innocently ignorant at
the time of the trial, and which, if he had had the benefit of it, would
probably have produced a different result, and that it is such as may be
given in courts of justice, he may open the matter and give the party the
benefit of it. Ibid.
11. But accounting officers are to re-examine and admit no claims under said act
where suits have been commenced, unless where new evidence is adduced
other than that of the party interested. Ibid.
12. The laws regulating the settlement of the public accounts under which the
Treasury Department is organized, require the Auditors to receive and ex-
amine accounts, and to certify them to the Comptrollers, who also examine
ACCOUNTS AND ACCOUNTING OFFICERS (Continued.)
and pass upon them, and certify the balances thereon to the Register; and
give no power of appeal to the President, except in particular instances,
like that of the accounts of Daniel D. Tompkins, where the power of re-
Vi ion and final decision by the President was expressly conferred by the
act. Major Wheaton's case, 624.
13. Although it is the duty of the President to take care that the laws be faith-
fully executed, he is not required to execute them himself. He is not re-
quired to audit and allow public accounts, but to see that the officers assigned
to that duty perform it faithfully. The Auditors and Comptrollers are as-
signed to that duty. They constitute the accounting department; and so
long as they continue to discharge their duties faithfully, the President has
no authority to interfere. Ibid.
14. The settlement of an account by the proper accounting officers is FINAL AND
CONCLUSIVE, SO far as concerns the executive department of the government.
If the individual whose account has been thus settled conceives himself in-
jured by such settlement, his recourse must be to the judiciary or to Con-
gress. Ibid.
15. If a balance be found against him by the disallowance of credits which he
deems just, he may refuse payment and abide a suit; in which case he will
have the benefit of the opinion of a court and jury. Ibid.
16. If a balance be found in his favor, but smaller than he thinks himself entitled
to, his appeal is to Congress, where the representatives can pass upon his
claim. Ibid.
17. The President cannot interpose in the settlement of accounts before the
Comptroller, and require that officer to allow a credit to an individual in the
settlement. Joshua Wingate's case, 636.
18. It is not consistent with the relation between the government and its officers
for the former to make itself a creditor of the latter without their consent,
and to detain their salaries in the discharge of debts so acquired. Advice,
676.
19. The accounts of an army contractor should be settled by the accounting of-
ficers. If they have any doubts on questions of law arising in the course
of the settlement, they will state them to the head of the department, who,
if he please, may call for the opinion of the Attorney General. Anderson's
case, 678.
20. The interference of the President in any form with the settlement would be
illegal. He has no official connexion with the settlement of such accounts;
and so far from being called upon to interpose any directions to the ac-
counting officers, it would be an unauthorized assumption of authority for
him to interfere at all. Ibid.
21. The government cannot legally retain, out of the moneys directed by the act
of Congress of May 24, 1824, to be paid to certain assignees and repre-
sentatives, a bill against the creditor, assigned to the Treasurer under pro-
test. Case of assignees of Piatt, 700.
22. The law of set-off is limited to mutual debts between the same parties. If
it be departed from at the treasury, there will be no other definite rules for
the regulation of its practice. Case of Smith & Buchanan, ibid.
23. The accounting officers cannot set off against A's trustees a debt owing by
A to the assignees of B, who was a debtor to the United States. Ibid.
24. The President cannot legally interfere with duties belonging to the account-
ing officers. Gen. Hall's case, 705.
25. The President cannot legally interfere with the accounting officers whilst in
the discharge of their duties. Col. McKenney's case, 706.
26. The Secretary of the Treasury has no power to correct an alleged error of a
court of the United States, and to refund a sum of money sud to have been
improperly paid in consequence of such alleged error. Redress in such a
case can be made only by Congress. Homer's case, 405.
27. The act of 24th April, 1816, authorizing certain charges for forage, for horses,
servants, &c., for certain officers, is prospective in its operation, and refers
only to the act of 3d March, 1813, for a standard to govern the subject in
future. Gen. Jackson's case, 468.
28. No claims for losses sustained by officers, volunteers, rangers, or others en-
gaged in the campaign against the Seminole Indians, are to be allowed, ex-
cept those which took place in consequence of the government of the United
ACCOUNTS AND ACCOUNTING OFFICERS (Continued.)
States failing to supply sufficient forage, and to such claimants only as can
furnish the evidence called for by the proviso of the act of May 4, 1822.
Advice, 543.
29. Interest is in the nature of damages for withholding money which the party
ought to pay, and would not or could not; but where the holder of a claim
omits for a long space of time to make application for the payment, and the
act of Congress directing payment is silent as to interest, he does not come
within the reason of the rule. Giles's case, 268.
30. Mrs. Charlotte Thornton, of London, formerly of Northumberland, widow
of Colonel Presley Thornton, and devisee under his will of an annuity
charged upon his estate in Northumberland and Culpeper-which estate,
subject thereto, was devised to the testator's two sons in moieties-is enti-
tled to certain arrears of such annuity, although she left this country in
1775, from political hostility to the principles of the American Revolution
the estate has been partitioned among the heirs, and one moiety conveyed
to another person or persons, and by him or them to the United States, and
even though it may have been for the time suspended or extinguished by
the confiscating and sequestrating laws of Virginia. Thornton's case, 494.
31. Although the annuity is charged on the profits of the estate, it was clearly
the testator's intent that it should be paid in any event, and be charged on
the land; and as the deed of the moiety of one of the two sons to the per-
son from whom the United States derived their title refers to the will cre-
ating such annuity, the latter must be considered as taking title with notice
that they were charged therewith. Ibid.
32. As to interest on arrears, it not appearing that the claimant had any known
agent in this country to demand or receive payment prior to the time of the
filing of her bill, there is nothing requiring its payment for time antecedent;
yet, upon the filing of her bill, she became entitled to demand as well inter-
est as the annuity withheld, until the period of her death. Ibid.
1. The late governor of Guadaloupe, who had caused a vessel to be seized and
condemned by authority assumed as such officer, being prosecuted in the
court of Pennsylvania, whilst here as a prisoner of war on parole, is not
more exempt than any other foreigner not a public minister from suit and
arrest. Collot's case, 45.
2. If the circumstances attending the seizure were such as will constitute a de-
fence, they must be pleaded in the action. If the seizure were an official
act, done by the defendant under color of the powers vested in him as gov-
ernor, they will be an answer, as the extent of the defendant's authority
can be determined only by the constituted authorities of his own nation.
Ibid.
3. The government will not interfere with a private action against a foreigner
for receiving a negro on board his ship. Capt. Cochran's case, 49.
4. The defendant in such a case is on a footing with every other foreigner not a
public minister, in respect to his suability, and he must answer or demur
to the allegations against him. If he have a good defence under the treaty
of peace, he must plead it in the usual course of judicial proceedings; and
until the regular course of such proceedings shall have failed to do justice
to a foreigner, there can be no just ground of complaint to the President.
Ibid.
5. The term "prosecutions," employed in the sixth article of the treaty with
Great Britain, imports a suit against another in a criminal cause; such
prosecutions being conducted in the name of the public, the ground of them
being distinctly known as soon as they are instituted, and being always
under the control of the government. Capt. Cochran's case, 50.
6. The President will not interfere with judicial proceedings between an indi-
vidual and the commissioner of a foreign nation where the controversy may
have a legal trial. But a person acting under a commission from the sov-
ereign of a foreign nation is not amenable for what he does in pursuance of
his commission to any judicial tribunal in the United States. Sinclair's
case, 81.
7. The United States may maintain an action of debt on the bond given by a
marshal for misfeasance of himself or deputies, and a jury may assess the
damages. Individuals injured by his official misconduct may use the name
of the United States in prosecuting a suit on the bond to recover satisfac-
tion. Advice, 92.
8. If money has been fraudulently obtained from the United States, an action
in the name of the United States will lie to recover it back. Advice to Ho.
of Reps., 210.
9. The Uni ed States may recover back money fraudulently obtained from the
treasury, upon making out a case to the satisfaction of a jury. Quarter-
master Thomas's case, 253.
10. The late collector at Savannah being indebted to the government, and the
amount of such indebtedness being reported by the district attorney below
that standing against him on the treasury books, an action at law should be
brought against him for the apparent balance due. Bullock's case, 639.
ADMINISTRATORS.
1. The pay of an officer in the navy cannot be stopped on account of a balance
due to the government from an estate of which that officer is the adminis-
trator. Major Gamble's case, 675.
1. The President of the United States, having the foreign intercourse fund un-
der his direction, may advance to a minister going from the United States
to Chili such part of his salary as he shall deem necessary to the proper ful-
filment of public engagements in respect to him. Advice, 620.
AIDS-DE-CAMP.
1. The act of 11th January, 1812, does not provide pensions for aids-de-camp,
as such, regulated by their pay as such; and therefore, until further legis-
lation, they can receive only the pensions to which their commissions en-
title them. Capt. White's case, 413.
1. An alien can inherit, carry away, and alienate personal property, without
being liable to any jus detractus; but not real estate. Gahn's case, 275.
ALLOWANCES.
See CLAIMS, COMPENSATION, and INTEREST.
1. An appeal lies to the Supreme Court from the decree of a district judge, de-
ciding that he has no jurisdiction over a particular subject. District judges
are not the exclusive judges of their own jurisdiction: if the Supreme
Court be of opinion that they have jurisdiction, they must conform to its
judgment. Appeal from district judge of Georgia, 56.
2. Appeals and writs of error to the Supreme Court of the United States are
founded only upon errors in points of law properly raised in the courts be-
low for decision. Ward and Johnson's case, 614.
1. The President cannot app int a commissioner to make a treaty with Indians,
for the purpose of extinguishing their title to lands within the United States,
without the advice of the Senate. Advice, 65.
2. It has been the practice of the Executive to appoint the three judges having
common-law jurisdiction for the Northwestern Territory, from an implied
power; yet, as the implication does not extend beyond these, the governor
is justified in appointing all other officers for that Territory. Advice, 102.
3. Where an act of Congress gives the President power to appoint an officer,
without defining the tenure by which the office is to be held, a commission
may legally issue to the officer to hold the office during the pleasure of the
President. Case of register of wills in Washington, 212.
4. The President has power to fill, during a recess of the Senate, by temporary
commission, a vacancy that occurred by expiration of commission during a
previous session of that body-the term in the constitution "may happen
during the recess" being equivalent to "may happen to exist during the
recess," without which interpretation it could not be executed in its spirit,
reason, and purpose. Gen. Swartwout's case, 631.
5. The act of 3d March, 1823, was a permanent and general amendment of the
pre-existing judiciary system, affecting not only the judges then in office,
but all who should thereafter come into office in the Territory of Michigan.
Judge Doty's case, 696.
1. The arrest of the domestic of a public minister is illegal; all process, there-
fore, is forbidden, and the persons concerned in any such process are liable
to fine and imprisonment. Van Berckel's case, 26.
2. If, however, the domestic be an inhabitant of the United States, and shall
have contracted debts, prior to his entering into the service of the minister,
which are still unpaid, he is not entitled to the benefit of the act concerning
crimes that gives this immunity; nor shall any person be proceeded against
for such arrest, unless the name of the domestic be registered in the Secre-
tary of State's office, and transmitted to the marshal of the district in which
Congress shall reside. Ibid.
3. The arrest is regulated by act of Congress: the entering a public minister's
house to serve an execution will either be absorbed in the arrest, as being
necessarily associated with it, if that be found criminal, or, if the arrest be
admissible, must be punished, if at all, under the law of nations. Ibid.
4. The late governor of Guadaloupe, who had caused a vessel to be seized and
condemned by authority assumed as such officer, and being here as a pris-
oner of war on parole, is not more exempt from arrest than any other for-
eigner not a pubiic minister. Collot's case, 45.
5. A vessel under arrest, to prevent her from cruising against belligerent powers,
may be discharged on the order of the Executive, communicated to the
marshal having her in custody. Case of sloop Republican, 48.
6. The expenses occasioned by the arrest should be paid by the owner, and be
made a condition of the delivery; and the suit commenced by him ought to
be withdrawn before any indulgence is granted. Ibid.
7. Arrest for trial is a proceeding belonging to the judiciary, not to the execu-
tive branch of the government; and the warrant of arrest must be founded
on an information on oath. Obed Wright's case, 229.
8. The President has no power to cause an arrest to be made, except upon prob-
able cause, supported by oath or affirmation. (Vide article VI of Amend-
ments to the Constitution.) Ibid.
9. The President may issue his proclamation against an offender who has once
been regularly arrested and made his escape; for, in such case, the regularity
of the arrest implies that the probable cause has been furnished on oath,
according to the constitution. Ibid.
1. Where an assignee of a government contract to build a fortification executes
a bond to the government, with sureties, conditioned that he fulfil the ori-
ginal contract, he and his sureties are as much bound to the performance of
the original contract as they would be in the case of a contract wholly ori-
ginal. Hawkins's case, 402.
2. Payment under the act of May 24, 1824, "for the relief of the assignees and
legal representatives of John H. Piatt," may be made to the assignees to
the amount of their assignment; and as the amount for which the claim
was assigned was not fixed in the assignment, it having been given for ad-
vances "made and to be made," the accounting officers must examine into
and ascertain the amount actually due the assignees thereon. Assignees of
Piatt, 692.
3. Notes of the assignor, exhibited by the assignees, are prima facie evidence
of the debt; yet the administrators have the right to controvert it. Ibid.
ASTOR, JOHN JACOB.
1. It would be unlawful to grant permission to John Jacob Astor to send a ves-
sel in ballast to Michiliackinac to bring away skins and furs. Advice, 175.
ATTORNEY GENERAL.
1. The Attorney General is bound to give his opinion to the President and heads
of departments on a case stated in writing; but he will not act as arbitrator,
nor render an award. Advice, 209.
2. The Attorney General is not authorized to give an official opinion in any
case, except on the call of the President or some one of the heads of de-
partments. Subordinate officers of the government, who desire an official
opinion, must seek it through the head of the department to which such
subordinate is accountable. Advice, 211.
3. It is the duty of the Attorney General to give his advice on questions of law
only when required by the President and heads of departments—not to in-
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