(DOWNLOAD) "Commonwealth v. Boutwell" by United States Supreme Court " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Commonwealth v. Boutwell
- Author : United States Supreme Court
- Release Date : January 01, 1871
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 57 KB
Description
The answer of the respondent must, in the state of the pleadings, be taken as true, so far as its statement of facts is concerned, and, therefore, presents a complete defence against the demand of the writ. It seems very clear, if no warrant were ever issued, and the condition of the law on the subject at the present time does not authorize the secretary to issue one, that the prayer of the petition cannot be granted. If it be conceded, as is argued by the counsel for the petitioner, that the decision of the accounting officers was conclusive upon the secretary, and that he should have paid the money, if applied to in proper season, still the fact exists that he was not asked to pay the money until the time limited in the law for the appropriation to take effect had expired. It will not do to say that the proceedings by the acting secretary vested a right in the State, which could not be defeated by the refusal of the secretary to approve the prepared warrant, because the validity of this proceeding depended entirely on the future action of the secretary. By the very terms of the agreement the warrant was to be retained in the office, subject to the approval or rejection by the secretary on his return to Washington. If the acting secretary had the power, in the absence of his principal, to sign and deliver the warrant–a point on which we express no opinion–he did not choose to exercise it, but preferred in a matter of such consequence to leave the ultimate decision of the question to the secretary himself. Nothing fairer than the arrangement which was made could have been expected of a subordinate officer, anxious to preserve the rights of all the parties concerned, but unwilling to take the responsibility of paying so large a claim during the temporary absence of the head of the department, and nothing better for the interest of the State could have been looked for under the circumstances. As the appropriation was not available after the 30th of June, the papers were arranged to save it, if the secretary should on his return approve the warrant, and order it to be issued. On the contrary, if the transaction did not meet with his approbation the warrant was to be cancelled and held for nought. In this state of case, it is quite clear, that the warrant could have no effect without the secretary's approval, and as he decided adversely so soon as his attention was called to the subject, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that this warrant, if it had any life before, ceased to have it after this decision was made, and that the allegation in the petition, that the warrant was wrongfully withheld from the relator, is not sustained.