The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-30
sUrnrnr ooUsr Drdfsrora.
rive Csurt or Ciairas Case. Decided In raves
or the eovprnrnent-A Lottery Case.

OF tire 8OvtFu"eAN-h Cone.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2e.-The Supreme Court
reassembled to. day after the Thanksgiving ro-
cess and disposed Of about q score Of easos, some
Of them among the oldest on the docket, but
only n few were Of Importance or interest out.
side the localities whero they originated.
Edgar VI. Wilson. administrator Of the estate
of Van Buren,, Consul. General at Yokohama
from 1874 TO 1885, sued the United States in
tho Court OF Claims to recover $4,000 of fees
collected by Van Buren, for certifying invoices
Of shipments originating In or passing through
Yokohama for the United States. No protest
was ever made by Van Buron against paying
these fees into the Treasury, and suit to recover
was not begun until three years after he had re-
tired from the post. Irrespective Of the ques-
ton whether or not the Consul.Genera would
have boon entitled to retain the fees had he
raised the point before paying them over, the
Court said their payment was entirely volun-
tary and tho money could not DO recovered.
Mrs. Elizabeth Mobiles. tho colored woman
sentenced to be hanged in Georgia for the muir
der Of her husband. will have to suffer the pen
atty imp osed by the State courts. Appeal was
made to the Supreme Court on tho ground that
the State court refused to examine Mrs. Mobiles
as to the, question OF, her sanity; after convic-
Mon ,J in the % WSiTs .S dssi FSat ~ X the her p% stt,G9ITnsy q
hanged in that state II the lawyers set up the
plea that their clients were insane.
Another Court Of Claims case was decided in
favor of the Government. G. M. Dennison,
nhisf, su of ysS S e hleI prSssnt ts5 t 4 iii NO oi fsea
in connection with the elections OF 1890 and
1892. amounting to about $4,000. All but
officers of the Treasury. s'and he sued for the
amount cut of: The Court of Claims gave him
p }%es%0 Court lGE S Bispio sha n Of i Ike Case 60 51s 7a,
Brown said the difficulty lay In the assumption
by tho Supervisor that every paper he issued,
however TEMPORARY its nature, constituted an
official record to bo copied and placed on file.
Many Of these were utterly useless and unneces:
sary, and the Government was not to be charged
with the expense Of reproducing them: Tho
Judgment of the Court of Claims was affirmed.
on Tss last sn ySsti sSe Of Sea liHt,ts1y Of n Tx Ke soaTa u dis ihs
case of J..J Douglass VS.: the. Commonwealth
Of Kentucky, announced by Mr., Justice Har.
1891. forbade lot eries, but Douglass asserted
his right to continue the operation OF one ,au:
the public schools Of Frankfort. Ho based his
claim on the ground that the new Constitution
was obnoxious to the provision Of the Federal
Constitution, forbidding legislation by any
State that would impair the obligation Of a con.
tract.
Justice Harlan said that the constitutional
protection to contracts did not extend to those
inimical to public health or morals. The Con-
ssita1 not in Of eon hdSetu %iiS t Be0se dbstitSti %lSst 81 tbs
United States.
Chief Justice Fuller threw an international
Venezuela in 1892 George f. Underhill. who
OF Bolivar, applied to Con. jose Manuel Her.
nandez,: in" command Of the city, for his pass
port, which was denied him for some days:
Later he secured it and came to the United
States, Of which he was q citizen. He sued
Hernandez for damages by his unlawful deten-
ton, but all along the line he has been unsuc-
c~essful. the courts uniformly holding that al
though Hernandez belonged to the revolution
airy and unsuccessful party, the act com .ilained
Of was in effect the act of Venezuela and not
subject to review in the courts Of any other
the Chief Justice pointed out. was through
diplomatic channels.