DIGEST OF CASES DECIDED IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES,

DECEMBER TERM, 1867.

ACT OF CONGRESS.

Evidence of the year in which an act was signed "Approved, December 24. Abraham Lincoln," is admissible. - Gardner v. The Collector, 6 Wallace, 499. ADMIRALTY.-See BLOCKADE; COLLISION; CONFISCATION, 1; JURISDICTION, 2, 8; PLEADING AND PRACTICE, 12, 13; PRIZE.

ALIEN.

Until office found, an alien may hold land against all but the sovereign. His naturalization is a waiver of forfeiture of lands previously held by him. - Osterman v. Baldwin, 6 Wallace, 116.

ALTERATION OF INSTRUMENT.-See BILLS AND NOTES, 1.

APPEAL.

AMNESTY.-See CONFISCATION, 2, 3.

-See CONFISCATION, 1; COURT OF CLAIMS, 1; HABEAS CORPUS;
JURISDICTION, 7; PLEADING AND PRACTICE, 2, 3.

ASSUMPSIT. See JOINT CONTRACTOR.

D. gratuitously made to a third party a loan of T.'s money, secured by a mortgage, which D. did not have recorded, but which was in T.'s hands long before a second mortgage was recorded. Held, that D. was not liable to T.Turton v. Dufief, 6 Wallace, 420.

BANK.-See CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, 3-5; CORPORATION.
BILL OF EXCEPTIONS. See PLEADING AND PRACTICE, 1.

BILL OF SALE.-See LIEN, 1.

BILLS AND NOTES.

1. An erasure and change of the date of a note, delaying the time of payment, by one of two makers before parting with it, but after the signature, and without the knowledge of the other, a surety, discharges the latter. - Wood v. Steele, 6 Wallace, 80.

2. The payee of several Louisiana notes, secured by mortgage, indorsed one of them in blank, and intrusted it to a bank for collection. Plaintiff bought it

when overdue and dishonored. The proceeds of the mortgage did not pay the other notes. Held, that plaintiff could not charge said proceeds in the payee's hands. Foley v. Smith, 6 Wallace, 492.

BLOCKADE.

1. Liability of a vessel for a breach of blockade ends with the return voyage. A vessel which there were strong grounds to suspect, restored to the Lairds for want of legal proof. - The Wren, 6 Wallace, 582.

2. A vessel was condemned for intended breach of blockade on the facts. It was doubtful whether she was captured in neutral waters. Semble, if she were, that would not be a ground for the owners to claim restitution. - The Adela, 6 Wallace, 266.

3. A neutral vessel was cleared from Vera Cruz to New Orleans, but was captured out of its course in a position to go to Galveston, then blockaded. Restitution was decreed on the facts (heavy weather). — The Sea Witch, 6 Wallace, 242.

1. A grant of land in Upper California, by a Mexican governor, dated before July 7, 1846, held to have been made after that date, and therefore void. — Stearns v. United States, 6 Wallace, 589.

2. A military governor had not power to grant lands.

Flats below high-water mark pass to a State on her admission to the Union. Under the California Water-lot Act of 1851, a deed to S. F. is prima facie evidence of a confirmation by the ayuntamiento.

Duplicates of deeds, folded up, indorsed, and kept in bundles, are "books" within said act; they being capable of being bound, and afterwards, being, in fact, bound. — Mumford v. Wardwell, 6 Wallace, 423.

3. A so called appeal from the Board of Land Commissioners in California is a new suit, and opens the whole case.

The United States appealed from a decree of the Circuit Court, reserving to them land previously "reserved or dedicated to public uses by the United States." Held, that, so far as the decree was in favor of the appellants, it was final.

The land in question was reserved for public uses, by the President. Semble, he had authority; but, if not, held, that the title of the pueblo of S. F., not having been completed by assignment, was subservient to that of the United States. Grisar v. McDowell, 6 Wallace, 363.

CASES FOLLOWED OR DENIED.

1. The decision of Gaines v. Hennen, 24 How. 553, affirmed, on a reconsideration of the facts (GRIER, SWAYNE, and MILLER, JJ., dissenting). — Gaines v. New Orleans, 6 Wallace, 642. See Gaines v. De La Croix, ib. 719.

2. An order of sale, under a New York special Act of March 29, 1816, and preceding acts, held to be valid; also, to have been determined, by necessary intendment, in Clarke v. Van Surlay, 15 Wendell, 447, and Towle v. Forney, 14 N.Y. 426.

Suydam v. Williamson, 24 How. 427, declaring acts discharging certain trustees at their own request, and substituting another, to be constitutional, affirmed. - Williamson v. Suydam, 6 Wallace, 723.

3. Sheehy v. Mandeville, 6 Cranch, 253, denied in Mason v. Eldred, 6 Wallace, 231.

See JOINT DEBTOR.

CHARITY.-See WILL.

CIRCUIT COURT.-See CONFISCATION, 1; PARTITION.

CLAIMS, COUrt of. - See COURT OF CLAIMS.

COLLISION.

1. The usual path of steamers ascending the Hudson is east of the centre of the channel. A steamer came up on the west side, and ran into a descending boat. Held, that the steamer was liable.

Objections to the amount of damages overruled, the commissioner's report in the District Court not having been excepted to. - The Vanderbilt, 6 Wallace, 225.

2. A case of collision between a river propeller and schooner decided against the propeller on the facts (want of proper lookout, slowing instead of stopping, &c., although the schooner displayed no lights).— The Hypodame, 6 Wallace,

216.

COMPANY. See CORPORATION.
CONDITION.-See INSURANCE, 2.

CONFEDERATE STATES. See INSURANCE, 1.

CONFISCATION.

1. Under the Act of Aug. 6, 1861, the Circuit Courts have jurisdiction of proceedings instituted there for the confiscation of land. The proceedings in this case having been according to the course of admiralty, an appeal was allowed (by a majority of the court) only to direct a new trial, with a jury, &c., as in cases of seizure upon land. Union Insurance Co. v. United States, 6 Wallace, 759; Armstrong's Foundry, ib. 766; St. Louis Street Foundry, ib. 770. See United States v. Hart, ib. 770, 772.

2. A full pardon granted, accepted, and its conditions complied with by the owner of property libelled under the Act of Aug. 6, 1861, relieves him of so much of the forfeiture as would have accrued to the United States (MILLER, J., dissenting). Armstrong's Foundry, 6 Wallace, 766.

3. Semble, so the President's Amnesty of Dec. 8, 1863.- St. Louis Street Foundry, 6 Wallace, 770.

CONFLICT OF FEDERAL AND STATE AUTHORITY.

Under Iowa laws, the way of paying certain county bonds was for the commissioners to levy a tax, which was voted at the time of issuing said bonds. Judgment was recovered on such bonds, and nulla bona returned to the execution. Thereupon the State court, holding said bonds void (as issued in aid of a railroad, the statute only allowing aid to " any road"), enjoined the commissioners from levying the tax. Held, that a mandamus might be issued by the Circuit Court, and that the previous injunction was no answer to it (CHASE, C.J., GRIER, and MILLER, JJ., dissenting).- Riggs v. Johnson County, 6 Wallace, 166; Webber v. Lee County, ib. 210; United States v. Council of Keokuk, ib. 514, 518.

CONSIDERATION.-See SALE, 2.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.

1. A State law, entitling the master and wardens of the port of New Orleans to five dollars, whether called on to perform any service or not, for every vessel arriving in that port, is unconstitutional. - Steamship Co. v. Portwardens, 6 Wallace, 31.

2. A State law, enacting that a tax of one dollar on every person leaving the State by any vehicle employed in the business of transporting passengers for hire should be paid by the proprietors, &c., so engaged, is unconstitutional. - Crandall v. State of Nevada, 6 Wallace, 35.

3. A tax on savings banks of "a sum equal to three-fourths of one per cent on the total amount of deposits" in the same, is a tax on the franchise, and not on property, and valid, although part of such deposits are invested in United States securities exempted from State taxation (CHASE, C.J., GRIER, and MILLER, JJ., dissenting). - Society for Savings v. Coite, 6 Wallace, 594; Provident Institution v. Massachusetts, ib. 611; Hamilton Company v. Massachusetts, ib.

632.

66

4. So a tax on the "excess of the market value of all the capital stock" of a corporation over the value of its real estate and machinery" (CHASE, C.J., GRIER and MILLER, JJ., dissenting).-Hamilton Company v. Massachusetts, 6 Wallace, 632.

5. A decision, that such a tax is a tax on a franchise, and valid under the State Constitution, in a case not re-examinable here, is binding on this court. Provident Institution v. Massachusetts, 6 Wallace, 611; Hamilton Company v. Massachusetts, ib. 632.

6. The Acts of March 3, 1863, and of May 11, 1866, so far as they allow the removal of cases from the State to the United States courts, are constitutional. - The Mayor v. Cooper, 6 Wallace, 247.

See ACT OF CONGRESS; CASES FOLLOWED OR DENIED, 2; JURISDICTION, 1.

CONTRACT.

That a river embankment is not built for Government by the day named, does not authorize it to use the same as a roadway, and to compel the contractor to dump loose earth into the current.

Payment being by the cubic yard, the loss of extra embankment, made necessary by the settling of the batture beneath, falls on Government.

The work was to be done "at such places as shall be directed by the" Government engineer. Quære, on whom loss by shrinkage, and the action of the current, fell. Clark v. United States, 6 Wallace, 543.

See ILLEGAL CONTRACT.

CONVERSION.-See SALE, 1.

CORPORATION.

R. was appointed trustee of a bank deprived of its charter on quo warranto to collect debts due the same, and apply the proceeds in payment of debts of said bank. After R. had paid said debts, he was ordered to pay the surplus to F., as receiver for the stockholders, which he did, including notes of L. given to R. for a debt due said bank. Held, that L.'s debt was not extinguished by the forfeiture of the bank's charter, and that F. could sue in R.'s name. Lum v. Robertson, 6 Wallace, 277.

See CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, 3-5.

COSTS.

When a case is remanded from a court for want of jurisdiction, costs in said court cannot be decreed. - The Mayor v. Cooper, 6 Wallace, 247.

COURT OF CLAIMS.

1. Under the act of March 3, 1863, § 5, the right of either party to appeal from a judgment of the Court of Claims to the Supreme Court of the United States is absolute.

By the third rule of the Supreme Court on the subject, the limitation of time ceases to run after a sufficient indication of intent to exercise said right, although the appeal be not completed by the finding of the facts, &c., and by its allowance by the Court of Claims till afterwards.

An appeal may be taken by filing an application for its allowance with the clerk, either in session, recess, or vacation.

A finding set out the evidence in extenso, without determining the conclusions established by the same, as required by the rules of the Supreme Court. The case was remanded without dismissal.

A finding that an allegation of fraud is not sustained by the evidence without setting out the evidence, is of the character required by the rules. - United States v. Adams, 6 Wallace, 101.

2. After a claim to a military bounty land warrant had been rejected by the Commissioner of Pensions and Secretary of the Interior, the Court of Claims decreed that the claimant recover such a warrant. Held, that, by act of March 3, 1863, § 7, it could only give judgments for money. The cause was afterwards re-instated on motion of the United States under the act of March 3, 1863, § 5. - United States v. Alire, 6 Wallace, 573.