The United States v. Gabriel Irving, James Dekay, Francis Tillon, and Charles Clinch, Surviving Executors of the Last Will and Testament of Henry Eckford, Deceased

• Citation: 42 U.S. 250,1 How. 250,11 L.Ed. 120
• Parties: THE UNITED STATES v. GABRIEL F. IRVING, JAMES E. DEKAY, FRANCIS R. TILLON, AND CHARLES P. CLINCH, SURVIVING EXECUTORS OF THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF HENRY ECKFORD, DECEASED
• Decision Date: 01 January 1843
• Court: United States Supreme Court

42 U.S. 250

1 How. 250

11 L.Ed. 120

THE UNITED STATES v. GABRIEL F. IRVING, JAMES E. DEKAY, FRANCIS R. TILLON, AND CHARLES P. CLINCH, SURVIVING EXECUTORS OF THE LAST

WILL AND TESTAMENT OF HENRY ECKFORD, DECEASED.

January Term, 1843

THIS case came up from the Circuit Court for the southern district of New York, under a certificate of division in opinion between the judges of that court upon the two following points:

1. Whether the transcript from the books and proceedings of the Treasury, given in evidence on the part of the United States to show the indebtedness of Swartwout on the 28th day of March, 1834, on which day the second term of office of said Swartwout expired, was, in this case, competent and legal evidence for that purpose.

2. Whether the payments made by said Samuel Swartwout subsequently to the said 28th day of March, 1834, should be applied to the discharge of his indebtedness existing on said 28th day of March, 1834, or accruing during his second term of office, or whether such payments should be applied to the discharge of his indebtedness accruing after that time.

The facts in the case were as follows:

Swartwout was appointed collector at the port of New York on the 1st day of May, 1829; but his proceedings during this, his first term, have nothing to do with the present case.

On the 29th of March, 1830, his second term commenced, and he was appointed for four years.

On the 22d of June, 1830, he gave a bond for the faithful performance of his duties, in the mode prescribed by law, with several sureties, one of whom was Henry Eckford, whose executors are parties to this suit. The penalty of the bond was $150,000, and the condition ran thus: 'Now, therefore, if the said Samuel Swartwout hath truly and faithfully executed and discharged, and shall continue truly and faithfully to execute and discharge all the duties of the said office, according to law, then the above obligation to be void and of none effect; otherwise it shall abide and remain in full force and virtue.'

Quarterly accounts were rendered to the Treasury Department, according to law; but they continued to be made out, as they had been during his temporary appointment, running from the 1st of January to the 31st of March, from the 1st of April to the 30th of June, and so on. In these quarterly accounts were stated the various sums received by him on account of the government, and also the payments which he had made on behalf of the United States, although it often happened that the covering warrants

from the Treasury, the final vouchers for such payments, were not received in time to be returned with said quarterly accounts, in which case they were thrown into the next quarter, when the proper credits were given.

Swartwout's third term of office commenced on the 29th of March, 1834; and the bond which he gave contained a condition similar to the one which has been recited, but Henry Eckford was not one of his sureties. The time, therefore, covered by Eckford was from the 28th of March, 1830, to the 28th of March, 1834, inclusive of the latter day.

In his accounts for 1834, Swartwout continued to make them up for the quarters of the year, as he had done, and his account for the first quarter was brought up to, and ends on, the 31st March. No account was filed by him ending on the 28th of March. The one ending on the 31st shows a large balance of 'cash on hand.'

In adjusting this account, the auditor began with charging Swartwout with the balance as it stood against him in the preceding account, then charged him with all the moneys which he had received in that quarter. Having given him credit for various sums paid into the Treasury, and paid to individuals under proper authority, he strikes a balance in favour of the United States, which is stated to consist of bonds uncollected, not due, bonds in suit, general bonds for spirits, wines, &c., and cash on hand.

In adjusting the account for the ensuing quarter, ending on the 30th of June, 1834, the auditor brought forward the entire balance standing against Swartwout in the last account, and then proceeded to charge and credit him as before.

In April, 1839, these accounts were re-stated by order of the first comptroller, so as to make the first account end on the 28th of March, 1834, instead of the 31st. The re-statement begins on the 28th of March, 1830, and runs through the whole four years of Eckford's suretiship, ending on the 28th of March, 1834, and shows a balance of cash due to the United States, of $486,455 24 cents. A certified copy of this paper is the transcript mentioned in the certificate of division of opinion in the court below.

Legare, attorney-general, on behalf of the United States.

Lord and Silas Wright, for the defendants.

The points presented by the counsel, were—for the plaintiffs:

1. That this transcript is competent and legal evidence to show that Swartwout was, on the 28th March, 1834, indebted to the United States.

2. That the payments made by Swartwout, subsequent to the 28th March, 1834, should not be applied to discharge his debt incurred before, but to discharge that incurred after, that date.

On the part of the defendants the points were as follows:

I. Preliminary references:

1. The form of the collector's bonds is prescribed by law, and expressly assumes the past as well as prospective accountability of the collector. Act 1799, 3 U. S. Laws, 237.

2. The law obliged one collector, once in every three months, and oftener if required, to transmit his accounts, for settlement, to the officers of the Treasury. Act 1799, sec. 21, 3 U. S. Laws, 157; Act 1820, May 15, sec. 2, 6 U. S. Laws, 521.

The law also bound him, as a disbursing officer, to the same duty. Act 1823, Jan. 31, sec. 2, 7 U. S. Laws, 113.

3. The law required the officers of the Treasury Department to examine the accounts submitted, and to state and certify the balances thereof. Act 1817, March 3, sec. 4, 8, and 9, 6 U. S. Laws, 199; and also the references under the preceding proposition.

4. The accounts rendered quarterly to the Treasury, there examined, corrected, and returned to the collector, are binding upon both parties as to all the items embraced in the accounts and included in the adjustment at the Treasury.

II. The balances in the quarterly accounts are to be taken as cash funds, or cash on hand; if so, every consideration, equitable as well as legal, requires them to be treated as the primary fund for subsequent payments, and these payments to be applied accordingly.

III. If the quarterly balances are presumed to be arrears, or defaulting balances, nevertheless the mutual rendering of accounts between the collector and the Treasury Department, to each other, was an appropriation of the payments to the charges, in the order of time in which they stand in those accounts.

IV. The sureties in posterior bonds of collectors of the customs have no equity to be taken into view, even in respect to an appropriation of payments, by mere implication of law.

V. If the sureties on such posterior bonds should be deemed to have an equity against an application of payments, made after the date of their bonds, and during the period covered by it, to an antecedent balance, such application might have the effect to discharge such sureties; the United States cannot, for such a cause, without the consent of the anterior sureties, recall such application, made by accounts rendered, adjusted, and settled, according to law and long usage, and binding as between the United States and the collector.

VI. The re-statement of the account from 1830 to 1834, made at the Treasury in 1839, after the rendering and the settling, at the time of the quarterly accounts, was without authority of law, if it was to affect any previous appropriation of payments; if it was not, it was immaterial and irrelevant. It was in every view without authority of law.

Legar e, for plaintiffs.

1. Whether transcript is evidence.

2. As to the application of payments.

1. The act of 3d March, 1797, 1 Story, 464, declares that a transcript of the account shall be evidence. It is objected that this is not such, because the account is re-stated. But if an account has been once stated, why not state it again? Accounting officers are not judges. Need not re-state, unless some error. Time does not discharge sureties. United States v. Kirkpatrick, 9 Wheat. Government is not estopped if new evidence be discovered. 1 Domat, Public Law, title 6. An error may be corrected in a patent. Grant v. Raymond, 6 Peters, 241. Where a contract requires to be severed, court will sever it, as with rent. Co. Litt. 742, 215, A; Litt. sec. 244; 1 Roll's Abr. Apportionment, D. So in partnership cases. 3 Bro. Ch. Cases, 4, 44.

As to the second point.

If the opposite doctrine be correct, neither set of securities is responsible, because there is no default in the second term, and the first is paid. 1 Mer. 529, 572. If the debtor does not apply the payment himself, the court will apply it where the security is most precarious. 6 Cranch, 27. Civil law stated in 1...