Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1833-12-27

them Ii may be said With commence tha' 'ne
Legislature has not passed an act which ought W
its construction, to be more strictly eonhheu u
its letter. BY this rule its words VIII De eHau'n'
ed. a..
The first objection to this warrant is that Mr..
Randolph is not one Of those persons On whom 'ne
law was designed to operate. =.
The act does not declare that every DEBTOR OF
the public shall be subject to this summary pro.
cess. The particular persons against whom II
NAV he used are enumerated. Those stated IN
the Cd Sec. are, "any collector OF the revenue
receiver Of the public money, or any other oiheer
who shall have received the public money before
it IS paid into the Treasury OF the United States.
The obvious construction of these words H.
think, that they describe persons who hold ofhces
under government, to whose hands the puOlic
money comes before it reaches the Treasury -
A collector Of the revenue is an officer OF ms
descriptions; SO is a receiver OF the public money;
and the following words, "Or other ofhcer VINO
shall have received the public money before 1t Is
paid into the Treasury of the United States" de-
mons,rste the kind of persons who were 10 the
mind of the Legislature. The subsequent words
preserve the idea that regularly appointed officers
only were intended. The word officer is retain.
ed, and is regularly used throughout the section,
showing plainly that no other debtor than one
who was properly designated BY the term officer
was contemplated by the act. Throughout the
section too, the sureties of such officer are regu.
lary connected with him, and subjected to the
same process, so far as respects their property
do not mean TO say that the liability oil the otfser
is made to depend on his having actually exeeu'
ted an official bond with suretles. l do not mean
10 saw that an officer, regularly appointed, VINO
should receiv. the money OF TIE puoiic Deiore
the execution of his bond, might not ne ia
BILE to this Treasury execution. But mean 10
say that this language proves lncontesuo'y 'hat
the Legislature contemplated those officers only
who were required to give bond with surety as
the objects Of The law The su'et.es are spoken
Of throughout as inseparable from the oilcer, as
existing whenever the officer, exists
This section does not comprehend the case OF
purser in the navy, but | have thought il neces-
sary 10 enter into its exposition because It has q
material bearing on the Sd section which does
comprehend persons of that description.
The Sd Section enacts, that ell any officer
em,loyed or who has heretofore been employed
ia the civil, military or naval departments OF the
Government, to disburse the public money ap-
proprialed to the service of these departments,
shall fail TO render his accounts or to pay over IN
the manner and in the times required by law, or
the regulations Of the department TO which he IS
accountable, any sum OF money remaining In
the hands Of such officer, il shall be the duty"
SC.
To what persons does the word officer, as used
in this section apply: Is IT TO every commission
ed officer in the army or navy OF the Y. >. 10
whose hands any public money mHy be entrust-
ed? or is it to those officers only whose regular
duty IT to receive and disburse the public money
aud who are appointed for that pulpose3 The
language of the sentence think answers these
questions to reasonable certainty. II is "any
officer employed to disburse the public money
appropriated TO the service Of these departments
respectively A military or naval "thcer Is
employed for military or naval duties. not to dis
burse the public money appropriated to the ser
vice OF his department! | cannot suppose that
military or naval officer to whose hands money
belonging to the public may come, is, hon the
words Of the act, more liable to this summary
and severe proceeding than any individual not
bearing a commission, to whom the same money
might be confded for similar purposes. The
subsequent Worlds of the sentence, =" shall fail to
render bis accounts, or to pay over IN the man
ner and in the times required by law, or The reg
ulatons of the department. to which he is account
able" SC. also convey the idea that regular
disbursing officer whose duty was prescribed bv
law teSuIdliOHS VI Tue uSpdit"ep'3 was WI
This idea is still more strongly sup.
ported by that part of the section which adopts
all the provisions Of the second section, and ap-
plies them to the sureties of the officer who is
designated by the act, as wei! as to the officer
himself. l think then the fair construction of
tie law Is that regularly appointed officers who
are required 10 give official bonds, were alone
contemplated by the legislature. II we take in.
10 consideration the character and operation OF
the act, the extreme severity Of ITS provisions.
that it departs entirely from the ordinary course
of judicial proceeding and prescribes an ex
treme remedy which is placed under the absolute
control Of mere ministerial officer, that IN such
case the ancient established rule is in favor OF
a strict construction, my own judgment is salts
fed that this is the true construction.
Was Mr.. Randolph an officer Of this descriP'
ton?
The process By authority of which he is in
prison, designates hun as "Robert B Randolph.
late acting Purser Of the United States frisate
Constitution" The word acting, qualities the
word Purser. and shews that he did not hold
that office under regular appointment. but for