Bayard v. United States White

• Decision Date: 23 April 1888
• Citation: 127 U.S. 246,8 S.Ct. 1223,32 L.Ed. 116
• Parties: BAYARD, Secretary of State, v. UNITED STATES ex rel. WHITE
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

8 S.Ct. 1223

127 U.S. 246

32 L.Ed. 116

BAYARD, Secretary of State, v. UNITED STATES ex rel. WHITE.

April 23, 1888.

Asst. Atty. Gen. Maury, for plaintiff in error.

S. V. White and W. Hallett Phillips, for defendant in error.

BLATCHFORD, J.

This is a writ of error to the supreme court of the District of Columbia, brought by Thomas F. Bayard, secretary of state of the United States, to reverse a judgment rendered by that court in general term, on the 7th of March, 1887, awarding to Stephen V. White a writ of mandamus, commanding the secretary to pay to White certain sums of money, specifically on hand, computed and set apart by the proper auditing officer of the state department, on account of certain awards mentioned in the petition for the mandamus, namely, on account of the Conrow award, $1,806.06; on account of the Standish award, $1,519.55; and on account of the Parsons award, $1,817.92. The petition of White, which was filed April 23, 1886, sets forth that under the joint convention between the United States and Mexico, concluded July 4, 1868, (15 St. 679,) such proceedings were had that an award was made to Mary Ann Conrow for $50,497.26, another to S. Kearney Parsons for $50,828.76, and another to Sarah Mildred Standish for $42,486.30; that, before the payment of any part of the awards, White became the assignee of one-half of each of them; that the department of state had recognized White as such assignee, and had paid to him nine installments hitherto paid by Mexico and distributed by the secretary of state; that on the 31st of January, 1886, a tenth installment was paid by Mexico to the defendant, as secretary of state of the United States, and he had made a ratable distribution of it, having paid other claimants, and especially Parsons and Conrow and Standish, the moieties which they had not assigned to White; that by the first section of the act of June 18, 1878, c. 262, (20 St. 144,) it was made the duty of the secretary to ratably apportion and pay to the claimants or their assigns each installment of money when received from Mexico; that of the tenth installment there was due to White, on account of the Conrow award, $1,806.06, on account of the Standish award, $1,519.55, and on account of the Parsons award, $1,817.92, which sums were specifically on hand, and the amounts had been computed and set apart by the proper auditing officers of the state department, but the defendant refused to pay to White those sums of money. The material provisions of the joint convention referred to, and of the act of June 18, 1878, are set forth in the case of Porter v. White, ante, 1217.

The answer of the secretary of state to the petition is as follows: 'This respondent, answering, saith that it is true that awards were made by the commission established by the treaty between the United States and Mexico of the 4th of July, 1868, for the amounts and in favor of the parties named in the said petition, and this respondent is advised that the said relator, Stephen V. Whit, doth claim an interest in the one-half part of each of the said awards, and this respondent doth admit that the rights and interests claimed by said White as aforesaid were recognized by one, although not recognized by another, of the predecessors of this respondent, and payments made to him accordingly, but this respondent saith that he finds it impossible, as the matter now stands, to recognize the claims and pretensions of the said White to the...