UNITED STATES.

156

1. A bill of exchange endorsed
to the Treasurer of the Unit-
ed States, may be declared on
in the name of the United
States, and an averment that
it was endorsed immediately
to them will be good. Jacob
Barker v. United States.
2. Inconvenience of allowing
agents of the United States, to
sue in their own names. Dan-
ger of set-off in such cases. ib.
3. An act of Congress is not ne-
cessary to enable the United
States to sue. They can, like
individuals, sue in their own
names unless a different mode
is prescribed by law.
ib.
4. Whether the United States
are bound by a statute of set-
off of the state in which the
suit is brought? Quere. ib.
5. The fourth section of the

ib.

"act for the more effectual
settlement of accounts be-
tween the United States and
receivers of public money,"
embraces suits between the
United States and any indivi-
duals, whatever may be the
cause of action. The subjects
of the act are not all compre-
hended in the title.
6. A set-off, therefore, in a suit
by the United States on a bill
of exchange against a private
individual, where the course
required by this act had not
been pursued, was rejected. ib.
7. The provision in the 2d sec-
tion of the act of the 3d of
March, 1797, as to the admis-
sion in evidence of authenti-
cated copies of bonds, con-
tracts, and other papers, is not

8. Where a Battalion Quarter-
Master gave a bond to the
United States, conditioned “to
expend faithfully all public
monies and to account for all
public property," it was held,
that he was bound to account
not with the Quarter-Master
General, but the Treasury
Department, and that this ob-
ligation extended to public
monies as well as public pro-
perty, and to monies expend-
ed by him while acting as a
deputy of the Quarter-Master
General; and a claim for cre-
dit which had never been pre-
sented at the Treasury, was
rejected.
ib.

9. Utility of the law requiring
accounts against the United
States to be presented at the
Treasury, before they can be
used in a suit.
ib.

10. Under the 3d section of the
4th article of the constitution
of the United States, no pro-
perty belonging to the United
States can be disposed of ex-
cept by the authority of an act
of Congress. United States v.
Nicoll.
646

11. The War Department has
no authority, express or im-
plied, to sell the public pro-
perty put under its manage-
ment and superintendence ;
nor is any such power vested
in the Treasury Department.

ib.

12. A commandant of an arsenal
of the United States sold a
quantity of lead, belonging to
the United States, and placed
in the arsenal, to the defend-
ants, but afterwards, by a
fraudulent collusion with the
defendants, converted the
sale into a loan of the lead to
a third person, who was in a few
months to return it to the arse-
nal, the defendants guarantee-
ing its return: On a suit by
the United States for the price
of the lead, held,-that the
commandant was a mere agent
for safe keeping, and that the
sale by him was a tortious
act, and the subsequent loan
void but that as no agent or
Department of the United
States had power to sell ori-
ginally, they could have no
power to waive the tort and
affirm the sale for the United
States, as in cases of individu-
als; and that as the Treasury
Department had no such au-
thority to sell, their directing
the suit to be commenced was
not an affirmance of the sale.
ib.

:

Vide ACTION, 1, 2. ATTORNEY.
EVIDENCE, 5, 6, 7. EXECU-
TIONS. PRINCIPAL AND AGENT,
2. PRIORITY of U. S. SHE-
RIFFS. SURETIES, 1-10.

WAR.

A citizen of the United States
may lawfully, during a war
with a foreign country, draw
a bill on one of its subjects-
such an act not leading to any
injurious intercourse, nor
amounting to a trading with
the enemy. Jacob Barker v.
United States.
156

WAR DEPARTMENT.

Vide PRINCIPAL and AGENT, 2.
SURETIES, 1-10. UNITED
STATES, 10-12.

WITNESSES.

Vide EVIDENCE, 2, 3.

WRITINGS.

Vide BONDS, 5. CONSTRUCTION
of Writings.