National Republican., 1885-08-10

especially for administrative affairs, are
10 be construed literally with reference
to the condition of things as they exist.
When a public officer, standing at the
chiefest turn Of the public wheel with
reference to the subject matter conlided
to his care, comes to the conclusion that
| 1t is for the public interest that an agree.
ment shall be entered into which is only
to be completed after considerable
period of time, but that it is for the public
interest that the agreement shall be made
now, he is within the limits of his au-
thority to treat that condition of things az
an eXigency andenter into the agreement.
The chief justice Of the court Of claims,
in the case 10 which | refer, uses this
language:
think tho officer charged with the duty Of
| buying tho supplies or making tho contract
| the President, the Secretary OF War, or tho
| general communding-is by tho law to judgo
whether the exigoncy docs or does not exist.
THE FOURTH AUDITORS DUTIES.
The duties of the fourth auditor are
| prescribed in section 277 Of the Revised
Statutes. | will not read them as they
are set forth, but / refer to the case of
| Ridgeway VS.. The United States. Court
of Claims Reports, vol. 18, page 7l5.
This case went to the Supreme Court, and
1t was overruled upon an exception
which does not touch this reading at all;
but the court held in that case where the
fifth auditor undertook TO prevent pay.
ment in q certain case, that the
action of the fifth auditor was immaterial,
since it is no part of the duty of.auditors,
excepting the sixth auditor, to make de.
81. -, l..
and their opinions and decisions upon
controverted questions, if they choose to
give them, have no official determining
force. They ore only to examine ac-
counts, certify balances, and transmit
them to the proper comptroller for his
decision thereon.
Now, in the light of these authorities,
and, | might venture to say, in the light
of the observations / have made, what
figure does Pay Director LOCKER cut in
regard to the voucher for $907? 1t
appears from the evidence that he ar.
rested the payment Of that voucher, al.
though there had been transmitted from
the Secretary of the Navy TO the Secre.
tary of the Treasury, and through all the
official personages entitled to have a
judgment upon the subject matter, q
requsition, and authority had been given
and the money had been put into his
hands. He refused to pay, and thus
might have done the same in some other
case. If he could do this, then, every
pay officer is entitled to do like thing.
and, for aught know, every paymaster's
clerk anywhere, on land or sea, is en-.
titled to arrest the payment of voucher.
| tl,np Iu
a matter of observation that business is
done in all cities, not by contractors
merely, but by everybody else, upon the
faith Of promises that when debt mature
thery are to be paid2 Otherwise all
men engaged in business would be bank.
rupted. 1t is only because they rely
upon the faith of those with whom they
do business that when obligations ma.
ture they are to be met. Here an obi.
CATION was assumed by the proper au.
thorities of the United States: it had the
Endorsement Of the Secretary of the
Navy, who had made the requisition; it
had the Endorsement of the Secretary of
Treasury, who said the requisition was
within the law; it had been passed by
the comptroller; the treasurer had issued
his warrran; the cashier had transmitted
the funds 10 Mr.. LOCKER, and sitting
down here in his office, having no au.
thority except to pay the legitimate de.
mands Of the government whenever
voucher properly certified was presented
TO him, he assumed to arrest the pro.
ceedings of this government. If that
can be done in time Of peace, cna it not
be done in time of war? Is it in the
nature of things for a government or.
ganized by supreme human wisdom,
matured through nearly century of ex.
perience in peace and in war, to leave to
q paymaster's clerk, or to paymaster,
or to an Inspector the power to arrest
the payment Of the public obligations, to
let the government 60 to protest, and
contractors to ruin? That is what that
man undertook upon small scale to do;
and he did it without authority of law,
in violation Of law, and that was time
when discipline should have been ad.
ministered.
refer to section 3G7G of the Revised
Statutes for the authority of the Secre.
tary of the Navy in regard to requisi'
tions. The section to which / intended
10 refer, but my notes are incomplete in
that respect, is that by which paymasters
who obey the instructions Of officers of
the navy, although those instructions
may involve expenditures not duly au.
thorized by law, are themselves exempt
from responsibility. That statute is
framed in conformity to the general
policy of the government, and is excep.
tional only in the circumstance that diff
fculty had arisen in consequence, in
some cases previous to 1S40, when the
statute was framed, of orders being given
by commanders abroad for purchases
that were not justified by law, and the
responsibility was transferred by that
statute from the paymasters who paid
the money to the commanders who gave
the orders. That was in conformity to
the general policy OF the law that the re.
sponsibility of a paymaster is limited
entirely to the authenticity of the
voucher. He has nothing to do with the
appropriations. He has nothing to do
with the legality of the purchase on
which the voucher rests. Nothing in
the world if the voucher is genuine
one; if it is forged one, he becomes
liable, and his sureties are liable, but
otherwise he is not liable.
EIGHTEEN YEARS PRECEDENTs.
In this connection may as well state
the fact that we had here Mr.. Moore,
who was deputy second comptroller for
eighteen years, and he testified that
vouchers such as these that are in con.
troversy had been passed again and
again. We had here Mr.. Doe, from the
Navy Department, who gave the same
testimony in regard TO vouchers there.
II is sufficient to say that those vouchers
cover three classes Of cases-cases where
contracts had been enlarged as to quan.
tity, cases where contracts had been ex
tended rs TO time, cases where q contract
was made in one fiscal year and the goods
delivered and paid for in o succeeding
fiscal year, and cases where contract
was made in one fiscal yearand the goods