The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-05-21

trouble to pass law authorizing and re-
CURING" the Secretary of the Treasury to
'sexamine and ADJUST" and to pay the
amount which he might find due of
a hguidated claim! If they intended to
authorize and require the Secretary to pay
the principal only, why did they not spe-
city the amount, which had been ascer-
tanned to a cent, and authorize its pay
mentl What need was there for erami-
nation and adjustment, on the part of the
accounting officers of the Government
What need was there for gravely author
izing and requiring the Secretary Of the
Treasury to 60 to work, and with the help
of his accounting officers and their subor-
dinates, all skilled in figures and calcula-
tons, to find out what was due, and to
pay it, when the precise amount was per-
fectly well known, and had been actually
liquidatedl In this view of the subject,
we are borne out by no less authority than
Mr.. WALKER, the late Secretary of the
Treasury, in whose opinion the act Of l84S
Recognised the claim, and the United
States became bound to pay ii, a0hatsver ii
might be-"
| Having thus recognised the claim, and
bound the United States to pay it, what
ever it might be, Congress, instead Of TAX
ing upon itself the trouble of fixing the
amount, turned it over to the Secretary Of
the Treasury, and directed him to examine
into the matter, and to pay whatever, in
his opinion, was due. Whether or not
interest was due, was question which
Congress had committed to the discretion
of the Secretary. 1.-The found it to be due,
if he should be Of opinion it was due, he
was bound to pay the was required by
act of Congress to pay it. This obliga-
ton, imposed by Congress, the present
Secretary of the Treasury, upon his en-
trance into Office, found devolved upon
him. The principal had been allowed,
and paid by his predecessor, and the
question Of interest expressly left open
by the latter-one of the accounting Off
GERS, the First Auditor, having reported
in favor of it, and the First Comptroller
adversely to it. Much of the clamor and
indignation, we may remark, in passing,
which has been gotten up on the occasion
of the payment of this claim, was profess
eddy founded on the allegation that it had
been rejected under the preceding admin
istration. The allegation is wholly untrue.
The question of interest was expressly left
open by Mr.. WALKER, with view to fur
Their consideration and action. II was &C
cordingly recommitted to Mr.. McCUbLoH,
then First Comptroller, by the present
Secretary of the Treasury, soon after he
came into Office. Mr.. McCULLoH, with
out having finished his review of the case,
went out of Office; but subsequently, at
the request of the Secretary, completed
his review, filed it with the present First
Comptroller, by whom it was examined,
and submitted to the Secretary with his
own report, which last was adverse to the
payment of interest. The Secretary then
referred the matter to the Attorney Gene
raj, who, after careful examination, gave a
written opinion in favor of allowing interest.
That opinion the Secretary of the Treasury
deemed it his duty to respect. II is the
usage of the Government for heads of De-
partment, after submitting a question of
law TO the Law Officer of the Government,
to abide by and carry out his decision.
But one instance, it is confidently believed,
exists where head of Department failed to
act in conformity with this rule, and that
occurred in the Post Office Department
some twenty years ago. The exception
strengthens the rule.
Much stress has been laid on the al
legged refusal of the late First Comptroller
and Secretary Of the Treasury to allow
interest in this case. Now, the first of
these officers, Mr.. McCULLoH, in his re-
view, reported in favor Of the allowance
Of interest from ITS to 1902, and stood
ready to testify on oath, before the COM
mittee, that, if the same arguments had
been used with him in favor Of interest,
as were subsequently urged with his sue
cessor, he would have reported in its
favor; and he has so declared repeatedly,
as we are informed, in private converse
ton.
Mr.. WALKER, in his testimony before
the committee, says, eff the claimant had
presented to him such an argument as
that Of the opinion of the Attorney Gen
the Attorney General, and been guided,
he thinks, by his opinion"
Great misapprehension exists, even in
the minds of well-informed men, with re-
gard to the payment Of interest by the
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