Case: The United States, Plaintiffs in error, v. The Bank of the United States
Abbreviation: United States v. Bank of the United States
Decision Date: 1847-01
Docket Number: 
Citation: 5 How. 382
Volume: 46
Reporter: United States Reports
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Parties: The United States, Plaintiffs in error, v. The Bank of the United States.
Judges: Mr. Justice WAYNE also dissented from the .opinion of the court.
Pages: 382–410

Head Matter:
The United States, Plaintiffs in error, v. The Bank of the United States.
In the case of The United States». The Bank of the United States (2 Howard, 711), the oourt is of opinion that the question on the structure of the bill is an open question, and for the first time presented to this court for decision.
The statute of Maryland of 1785, in its terms, does not embrace a bill of exchange drawn on a foreign government.
A bill of exchange in form, drawn by one government on another, as this was, is not and cannot be governed by the law merchant, and therefore'is not subject to protest.and consequential .damages. •
This case was brought up, by writ of error, from- the Circuit Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,. and was a continuation of the same case, between the same parties, which was reported in 2 Howard, 711.
Being sent back to the Circuit Court, it came up for trial in' No-Vember, 1844, when .the.'jury, under the instructions of the court, found a verdict for the defendants below, viz. the bank.
At the .trial, the following bill of exceptions was filed, which brought the case again to this court.
Bill of Exceptions,
Be it remembered, that at the sessions of April, A. D. 1838, came the- United Státes of America into the Circuit Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and iiri-Íleaded the President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the inited Statesj in a certain plea of trespass in the case, &c,, in which the said plaintiffs declared (prout narr.) and the said defendants pleaded (prout pleas). And'thereupon issue was joined between them,
' And afterwards, to wit, at a session of said court, held at" the city of Philadelphia, before the Honorable Archibald Randall^ judge of the said court, on the day of November, A. D. 1844, the, aforesaid issue between the said parties came to be tried by a jury of the said district, duly impanelled (prout jury), at winch day came as well the plaintiff, as the said defendant, by- their respective attorneys ; and the jurors aforesaid, impanelled to try the issues aforesaid, being also called,' came, and were then and there in due manner chosen and sworn, or affirmed, to try the said issues ; and, upon the trial, the counsel of the said plaintiffs stated their demand to be for $ 170,041.18, with interest, — the balance unpaid,— due to the plaintiffs as holders of 66,692 shares of the capital stock of defendants, of $ 3.50 per share, being the amount of a dividend of half-yearly profits declared by the defendants in the month of July, A. D. 1834. And to maintain the said issue on the part of the plaintiffs, proved that they were then the holders of said shares of stock, and gave in evidence a resolution of the directors of the said defendants made on the 7th July, 1834 (prou), and their advertisement in one of the daily' newspapers of Philadelphia (prout), and the account of the said defendants in their books with the plaintiffs for the first half-year of 1833 (prout).
And the defendants, to maintain the said issue on their part, gave in evidence a bill of exchange, drawn and dated at the treasury department of the United States, Washington, 7th February, 1833, by the Secretary of the Treasury on the Minister and Secretary of State for the Department of Finance of the kingdom of France for 4,856,666iGKj francs, payable at-sight,to the order of defendants’ cashier (prout bill) ; and the several indorsements thereon, (prout) ; and a writing of the same date with the said bill, under the seal of the United States and hand of the President, dated at Washington (prout) ; and the presentment and refusal of payment.and protest of said bill, at Paris, on the 22d of March, 1833 (prout) ; protest,, and a notice thereof by defendants, through their cashier,- to the said Secretary of the Treasury, in a letter of 26th April, 1833 (prout) ; and the return of said bill and protest, to the said- Secretary of the Treasury, in a letter from the said defendants’'cashier, dated 13 May, 1833, with an-account annexed'; in which letter and account demand was made, of the payment of the principal of the said bill, with costs and charges of protest and interest^ thereon, and damages on said principal, at fifteen per cent, (prout letter and account) ; and proved the then, rate of exchange to have ' been as therein stated ; arid gave in evidence a statute of the State of Maryland (prout), passed in 1785, and an article of the commercial code of France (prout) ; and the correspondence (prout) betwéen the Secretary of the Treasury and the defendants, concerning said bill, before and after the drawing thereof, and proved the allowance by. the Secretary of the Treasury of a credit for, and payment thus made, of the principal of said bill and further proved the presentment to the accounting officers of the treasury, and their rejection and disallowance of a claim on the part of the defendants, for a credit of the said fifteen per cent, thereon, and said cost and charges of protest (prout exemplifiation); and the said defendants’claimed on the said trial a credit for and to set off defalk.: the same claims being, as they alleged, in amount equal to the claim of the plaintiffs.
And the said plaintiffs, to rebut the aforesaid claim of the said defendants to a.set-off, relied upon and gave in evidence a convention between the United States of America and France, made the 4th day of July, A. I). 1831, and ratified the 2d day'of February, A. D. 1832 (prout same), together with an-act of Copgress passed the" 13th day of July, 1832 (prout), by the seventh section of which it was made the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury “ to cause .the severaFinstalments, with the interest payable thereon, payable to the United States, in virtue of the said, convention, to be received from the French government and transferred to the1 United States in such a manner-as he may deem best, and the net proceeds thereof to be paid into the treasury.” And also a letter of Edward Livingston, Department of State, dated Washington, 8th' February, 1833, to Nathaniel Niles,’Esq., Paris. (Prout same.)
And the counsel for the said plaintiffs requested the learned judge to charge the jury, —
1. That the evidence in,the cause does not show a contract between the government and the bank for the sale of a bill of exchange, but an' undertaking or the part.of the defendants, as the agents of the plaintiff, to transfer to the United States the first in-' stalment due under the treaty with France, and that, the bill was only one of the instruments for carrying the same into effect. And further, that the question of agency is for the jury to decide.
2. That the act of Maryland of 1785, under which the. defendants claim damages, does riot extend to the United States.
3. That the bill in. question", being drawn by one government upon another, and upon a particular fund, is nota bill of exchange within the legal meaning of the terms, and is not embraced by the. statute.
-4. .That ihe defendants, being indorsers of the bill, -and not the holders or owners at the time of protest, are not entitled to the damages, since they have-not.paid them.
But the court refused to instruct the - jury as requested by the plaintiffs’ counsel, and charged them as follows, to wit t —:
It'is admitted, that if this was a suit between individuals, and the' defendant was the actual owner of a bill of exchange drawn by the plaintiff on a foreign country, and protested for non-payment, he would be entitled to the damages now claimed by the bank ; but it is contended, 1st, that the evidence in this cause does not show a sale of the bill of exchange to the bank, but an agency on the part of the bank to assist in procuring the transfer of the funds to the United States. The whole of the evidence on this subject is in writing, and therefore a matter of law, and, in my opinion, estaba lishes a clear and unequivocal ■ sale by the United States, and purchase and payment for the bill by the bank ; and that in the en-deavoürs to collect it there was no other agency than always exists between the owner and other parties to a bill of exchange. Again, it is sáid, that if this was a purchase of the bill by the bank, yet the defendants cannot set off this claim, because the act of Maryland' of 1785 does, not extend to bills drawn by the government of the United States, When the United States, by its authorized officer, become- a party to negotiable paper, they have all the rights, and incut- all the responsibility, of individuals who are parses to such instruments ; there is no-difference, except that the United Státes carinot be sued; and from the unavoidable use of commercial paper by the United States, they are as much interested as the community at large in maintaining this principle.
In the present case, the United States do not sue for a debt due to them as a government, but as stockholders or copartners for their proportion of the profits accruing on the use of their nioney, which they have invested in the stock of the corporation, and are to be treated in all respects like any- ordinary stockholder, -who would be bound to pay a debt due to the bank. before he could sustain an action for his dividends.
The remaining objections are,-that if the Maryland act of 1785 does embrace bills drawn by government,’ then this, being a bill drawn on a particular fund, is not a bill of exchange in the legal meaning of the term ; and that if it is such a bill, the bank was not the holder or owner of-it at the time" of protest, and therefore is not entitled to'the damages given by the statute.
These questions appear to me to have been determined by the Supreme Court of the United States in the present cause in favor of the defendants ; whether they were rightly determined, it is not for us to inquire ; that determination is'binding on us, and until reviewed by themselves must be. considered the law of the land. . If I have mistaken their views on this, or erred in any other point of the cause, it will be corrected by a reexamination of the case in that court; but a construction of their opinion, given by the jury, is-only capable of being reexamined in this court, which may lead to a new trial and lengthened litigation, to the disadvantage of, all parties, as it will undoubtedly be only finally determined in the court of the last resort. This being, then, my view of- the law, in my opinion the defendants are entitled to the verdict.
And thereupon the counsel for. the plaintiffs excepted.
The cause was argued by Mr. Clifford (the Attorney-General) and Mr. Nelson, for the United States, the plaintiffs in error, arid by Mr. Sergeant, for the Bank.
Mr. Clifford assigned five causes of error,
viz. : —
1st. That the bill upon which the damages in controversy are claimed by the defendants in error, under the circumstances stated in the record, is not a bill of exchange and- embraced by the Maryland statute of 1785.
2d. That if a bill of exchange within the terms of that statute, the statute does not extend to the United States, so as to render them liable to the payment of the fifteen per cent, damages cláimed by the defendants.
■ 3d. That the evidence in the cause does not show a contract between the plaintiffs and the defendants for the sale of a bill of exchange, but an undertaking on the part of the defendants, as the agents of the government, to transfer to the-United Statea the-first instalment due under the treaty with the King of the French of the 4th July, 1831, and that the bill in question was one of the instruments for accomplishing that object.
4th. That the defendants, being indorsers of the bill, and not owners or -holders at the time of protest, are not entitled to damages, since they have not paid' them.
5th. That there was error in the charge of the court below in having instructed the jury that the defendants weré entitled to their verdict,- thus withdrawing from the consideration of the jury the facts which they alone were competent to find.
•After stating these points, the Attorney-General proceeded with the argument.-
. The demand of the plaintiffs is not-the subject of dispute. The questions to be determined grow out of the set-off filed by the defendants. That claim had its origin in an unsuccessfúl.attempt of the Secretary of the Treasury, through the medium of-the Bank of the United States, to transfer to this country the first instalment payable to . this government by France, under the convention of the 4th July, 1831. He proposed to discuss very briefly the several, points taken in the bill of exceptions, at the last trial in the court below. He had no doubt be might properly do so, notwithstanding the cause was formerly, before the court on a previous occasion., when a decision was pronounced upon the points then presented under the bill of exceptions at that term.- See 2 Howard, 711;' If it .were not apparent then, the facts now disclosed afford Convincing proof, that the record in the former cause was in many respects incom- píete. Fortunately for both parties, the present record is sufficiently full, and the exceptions broad enough, to open the whole merits of the dispute, and to warrant the parties in submitting the cause to a final decision.
I. He submitted first the proposition, that the evidence in the cause does not show a contract between the plaintiffs and the defendants for the sale of a bill of exchange, but an undertaking on the part of the defendants, as the agents of the government, to transfer to the United States the first instalment due under the treaty, and that the bill in question was one of the instruments for accomplishing that object.
Whatever the forms may have been, this was a public transactibn between two sovereign independent nations, for the purpose of carrying into effect a treaty stipulation. In this general' view the real parties are,.— 1st. The United States ; 2d. The government of France ; 3d. The Bank' of the United States, at that time the fiscal agent of the government, and authorized and commissioned to demand and receive Irom France a certain fund, and to transfer the same to this country. Such was the purpose. The instruments executed were such as the President of the United States, the Secretary of the - Treasury, and the president of the bank deemed sufficient, and best calculated to effect this object. Leaving out of view the parties to the bill in London and Paris, and supposing it to have been presented by the cashier of the bank, in whose favor it was drawn, and protested for non-payment as in this case, but without intervention, — which is the strongest view that can be taken ■ of the case for the bank, —still the letters of the parties, and other instruments executed at the date of the bill, would determine the character of the contract. The act of Congress of the 13th July, 1832 (4 Statutes at Large, 574), 'made it “ the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to cause the several instalments, with the interest thereon, payable' to the United States, .in virtue of the said convention, to be received from the French government, and: transferred to the United States in such manner as he may dee.rh best.” Congress conferred the power to cause the fund to be received and transferred. Under this act the Sécretary had no right to deal in exchange, or even to draw a bill except as a means to accomplish the purpose described in the act itself. The Secretary of the Treasury took this view of the law in his letter to the president of the bank of the 31st October, 1832. He commences by referring to the convention, and remarks, — “ The Secretary of the Treasury being charged by the act of the 13th July last with transferring to the United States the several instalments receivable under the convention, I am desirous of effecting that object in such a manner as may be most beneficial to the interests of the claimants for whom the money is to be received, and with this view I shall be glad to-receive yóur suggestions in régard to the transfer of the first instal ment.” The bank was thus officially apprized of the convention creating the fund to be transferred, and its attention specially directed to the act of Congress devolving that duty upon” the Secretary of the Treasury. It was equally well advised, that the sole purpose of the head of that department was to effect the -transfer of the first instalment, in a manner most beneficial to the claimants. The president of the bank, in his reply of the 5th of November, evidently regarded the proposition as one invoking the agency of the bank. He expresses himself as very willing to offer such suggestions as occur to him, in regard to the' transfer ;of the first instalment. “ After examining the subject in all its relations, with an anxiety to make the transfer - on such- terms as would merely prevent a loss to the bank,” &c. ■ Having given various suggestions, he concludes by saying, that the bank “is influenced exclusively by the belief that any other arrangement would be less advantageous to the treasury.” On the 26th January, 1833, the treasury department ’ notify the president of the bank of their readiness to' draw .on the French government for the first instalment payable under the convention. On the 30th January, the reply, marked confidential, aftér assigning reason for increasing the rate, adds, — “ Without looking, therefore, to any profit on the operation, but merely, with the expectation of incurring no loss upon.it.” On the 6th of February, the Secretary, of the Treasury accepts the terms.. The bill was drawn on the 7th, and refers to thé convention in these words : — “Being.the amount of the first- instalment to be paid to- the United Státes, under the convention concluded between the 'United States and France, of the 4th July, 1831 (after déducting the amount of the first instalment to be reserved' to France under the said convention), and. the additional sum-of nine hundred and forty thousand francs,' being one year’s interest at four per cent, on all the instalments payable to the United States, from the day of the exchange of the ratifications to the 2d February, 1833.”
Memorandum indorsed on the Bilk
Total amount of indemnity payable to the United States, ...... jfs.25,000,000 00
Less amount of indemnity to be reseryed to France,.. . 1,500,000 00
23,500,000 00
One year’s interest, from 2d Feb. 1832, to 2d Feb. 1833, at 4 per cent., . .... O O o O O © © .
First instalment payable to the United States, to to to to to t¿r © go'
Amount of bill, ....
On the same day the President'of the United Statés executed an instrument in the nature of a power of attorney to the cashier of the bank, authorizing, him' or his assignee to receive the amount of the bill, and, on the receipt of the sum therein specified, to give full receipt and acquittance to the government of France for the first in-stalment. This instrument recites the convention creating the fund, — the law, of Congress providing for its transfer, — the bill of exchange as the means of effecting that object, —and, being in itself a power of attorney, establishes the agency of the bank. Then follows the official despatch of the. Secretary of State of the 8th February, advising the acting charge des affaires in Paris that the bill had been drawn in favor of the cashier of the bank, and that it was accompanied by a full power from the President of the United States, authorizing and empowering him to give the necessary receipt and acquittance to the French government, according to the provisions of the convention, and directing the chargé des affaires to apprize the French government of this arrangement.
The judge in the court below erred in refusing the first instruction prayed for on the part of the United States, and instructing as he did. The agency appears .from, 1st. The act of Congress,— “ cause the several instalments to be received and transferred to the United States.” 2d. The letter of the-Secretary of the Treasury of the 31st October, — “I am desirous of effecting that object” (the transfer). 3d. The reply of the president of the bank, of the 5th November, in which he refers to the transfer, and speaks of a bill as the means. 4. The subsequent letters following out the idea, — “ withput looking, therefore, to any profit on the operation, but merely with the expectation of incurring no loss.” 5th. The power of attorney from the President of the United States to the.' cashier of the bank, to receive the money and execute a discharge. 6. The despatch from the Secretary of State. These several instruments were legally admissible to explain and qualify the bill, and constitute a part of the original contract between the parties. Leeds v. Lancashire, 2 Camp. 205 ; Hartley v. Wilkinson, 4 M. & S. 25 ; Chitty and Hulme, 10th American, from 9th London ed. 140 ; Bay ley on Bills, 17 ; Story on Bills, § 34. A bill may be written in part on one paper and in part on another separate and detached paper, if the memorandum on each be contemporaneous, and both be designed to constitute but one entire contract. The contract may thus be qualified, restrained, or enlarged. In one case it is said the paper between the original parties was but an agreement, while in the hands of an innocent holder it might become a valid negotiable security. Bills of exchange and promissory notes, like every other contract, are to be construed in sucli a manner as if possible to give effect to the intention of the parties. Chitty and Hülme, 167.
2. The second proposition submitted. That the bill upon which the .damages in controversy are claimed by the defendants, under the circumstances stated in the record, is not a bill of exchange and embraced by the Maryland statute of 1785
■ Supposing the bill in this case to be subject to the same rules of law as .are rnade applicable to paper between persons dealing in exchange, still the defendants’ claim cannot be sustained. The money must be- payable at all events, not dependent on any contingency, either with regard to event, or with regard to the fund out of which payment is to be made, or the parties by or to whom payment is to be made. Chitty on Bills, 134 ; 1 Stephens’s IN. P. 777. The writers upon the law of bills of exchange usually refer to a class of cases to illustrate what is meant by a bill or note payable eventually or upon condition, each of them instancing some few of the cases which have been presented for judicial determination. The principle is well stated in Carlos v. Fancourt, 5 T. R. 482, by Mr. Justice Ashhurst and Lord Kenyon : — “ Unless they carry their own validity on.the face of them,-they are not negotiable.” “ It would perplex the commercial transactions of mankind, if paper securities of this kind were issued out into the world encumbered with conditions and contingencies, and if the .persons to' whom they were offered in negotiation were obliged to inquire when these uncertain events would probably be reduced to a certainty.” Courts best' promote the interest of a mercantile community by adhering strictly to the rules implied in the definition „of a bill of exchange, rejecting every contingency. Before proceeding to discuss the contingency appearing on the face of the bill in this'case, it is proper to state the nature of the contract of the drawer of a bill. “ The drawing of a bill of exchange implies, on the part of the drawer, an undertaking to the payee, and to every other person to whom the bill may be afterwards transferred, that the drawee is a person capable of making himself responsible for the due payment thereof; that he shall, upon due presentment, if-applied to for the purpose, express in Writing upon the face of the bill an acceptance or undertaking to pay the same when it shall become payable ; that he, the acceptor, shall pay' the same when it becomes payable, upon due. presentment thereof for that purpose ; and that if the drawee shall not accept it when so presented, or shall not so pay it wpep it becomes payable, and the payee- or other holder shall give him 'the drawer, due notice thereof, then he will pay the sum or amount stated in the bill to the payee or other holder, together with such damages as the law prescribes or alio’ws- in such cases’ as an indemnity.” Story on Bills, § 121. These are general principles, but every general principié has its exceptions. It appears on the face of the instrument in this case, that it was drawn by the Secretary of ,the Treasury, on behalf of the United States, upon the Minister and Secretary of State for the Department of Finance-of the government of France, to secure the fulfilment of a treaty stipulation. The answer of the officer- of the French government, to whom the bill was presented for payment, as stated in the protest, shows the contingency ; he answered., — “ that having had the orders of the Minister and Secretary of State for the Department of Finance, he is instructed to say, that diplomatic treaties which, impose engagements on the French treasury, to be discharged, do not become obligatory upon it until the Chambers have sanctioned the financial dispositions which are therein embraced ; therefore, the treaty concluded with the United States not being yet sanctioned by the legislature, the Minister of Finance cannot at present make any payment to avail upon the .obligations contracted by the said treaty.” Suppose a bill to have been drawn by a citizen of France on the treasury of the United States. The federal constitution provides, — “No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law.” A bill drawn upon the treasury is subject to the contingency of that provision, as much so as if the provision itself were incorporated..into the bill; and would it be said, that the drawer contracted against that provision, or that the appropriation had been made when Congress had not assembled ? Hence it has been decided in Reeside v. Knox, 2 Wharton, 233, that every bill drawn upon government is drawri upon a fund. A public officer may doubtless draw or receive bills to facilitate the business of his department, but he would transcend his- power did he attempt to pledge the responsibility of the government as a merchant or banker.
As to what is contingent, or conditional. . “ The payment of a bill must not rest on any contingency, except the failure of the general personal credit of he person drawing or negotiating the instrument.” 3 Kent, 76. “ The sum to be paid must not only be in money, and certain in amount, but it must be payable absolutely ■and at all events. If it be payable out of a particular fund only, or upon an event which is contingent, or if it. be otherwise conditional, it is not in contemplation of law a bill of exchange, or in its essential character negotiable.” Story oii Bills, §§ 55; 56. Other cases illustrating what is a contingency or condition : — A note promising to pay plaintiff or order on demand a certain sum, or to surrender the body of A. B. Smith v. Boheme, 3 Lord Raym. 67. A promise to pay T. M. so much money, if my brother .doth not pay it within such a time. Appleby a.Biddolph, cited in 8 Mod. 363. I, John Conner, promise to pay to John Ferris or his order fifty pounds ; signed John' Conner, or else Henry Bond. Ferris v. Bond, cited in Bayley on Bills, 17, and in Stephens’s N. P. 777. We promise to pay A. B. a. certain sum on the death of C. D., provided he leaves either of us sufficient to p^y the said sum, or if he shall be otherwise able to pay it. Roberts ». Peake, 1 Burr. 323. A promise to pay within so many days after the defendant should marry. Beardesley v. Baldwin, 2 Stra. 1151. Out of my growing subsistence. Josselyn v. Lacier, 10 Mod.’ 294. Out of the fifth payment when it should become due. Haydock v. Lynch, 2 Lord Raym. 1563. Out of A. B.’s money, as soon as he should receive it. Dawkes. v. De Lorane, 3 Wilson, 207. Out of moneys in A. B.’s hands belonging to the' proprietors of the Devonshire mines, being part of the consideration-money for the purchase of the manor of West Buckland. Jenny v. Herle, 1 Stra. 591, 592 ; 2 Lord Raym. 1361. On the sale or produce immediately when sold of the White Hart, St. Albans, and the goods, &c. Hill v. Halford, 2 Bos. & Pul. 413. • Pay A. B. one month after date two hundred pounds, on account of freight of the Veale Galley. Banbury v. Lisset, 2-Stra.'1211. Borrowed and received of A. B. in three drafts by C. D. payable to us, which we promise to pay unto the said A. B. with interest. .Williamson v. Burnett, 2 Camp. 417. Being the amount of the purchase-money for a quantity of fir belonging to D. H. and then lying in the parish of Fillingham. Upon the note was the following indorsement : — “ This note is given oh condition that, if any dispute shall arise between Lady Wray and D. H. respecting the sale of the within-mentioned fir, then the note to be void.” Hartley v. Wilkinson, 4 Camp. 127. On demand, we promise to .pay to A. B. or his order a certain sum, for value received in stock of ale, brewing-vessels, &c., this being intended to stand against me, the undersigned C. D., as a set-off for that sum left me in my father’s will above my sister’s share. Clarke' v. Percival, 2 Barn. & Adolph. 660. Out of my half-pay, addressed to a navy agent. Stevens v. Hill,. 5 Espin. N. P. C. 247. An order to pay. one thousand dollars, or what might be due after deducting all'advances and expenses. Cushman v. Haynes, 20 Pick. 132. A promise to pay a certain sum- provided the ship Mary arrives at a European port of discharge free from, capture and condemnation by-the British. Coolidge v. Ruggles., 15 Mass. 387. The sum must be certain, not susceptible of contingent or indefinite additions ; therefore, in the case of an instrument promising to pay A. B. the sum of sixty-five pounds,' with lawful interest for the same, and all other sums which should be due to him, Lord Ellenborough held that it was not a promissory note even for the sixty-five pounds. Smith v. Nightingale, 2.Stark. 375. I promise to pay, with interest at five per cent. I also promise.to pay the demands of the sick club at H. in part of interest, and the remaining stock and interest to be paid on demand. Bolton v. Dugdale, 4 Barn. & Adolph. 619. Nor to indefinite and contingent deductions.. Thus, where the'defendant promised to pay four hundred pounds to the representatives', of A. B., first deducting thereout any interest or money A. B. might owe. tó defendant. Barlowr v. Broadhurst, 4'Moore, 471; An order payable, provided the terms mentioned in certain letters written by the drawer were complied with. Kingston v. Long, cited in Bayley on Bills, 14. At thirty days after the arrival of the ship Paragon at Calcutta, pay this my first of exchange to the order of A. B. Palmer v. Pratt, 2 Bing. 185.
3. The third point submitted. That if a bill of exchange within the terms of the statute of 1785, that statute does not extend to the. United States, so as to render them liable to the payment of the fifteen per cent, damages claimed by the defendants.
The words of the act of Maryland are, — “ That upon all bills of exchange hereafter drawn in this State,.on any person, corporation, company, or society in any foreign country, and regularly protested, the owner or holder of such bill, of the person or persons, company, society, or corporation entitled to, the same, shall have the right to receive and recover so much current money as will purchase a good bill of exchange of the same time of payment, and upon the same -place, at the current exchange of such bills, .and also fifteen per cent, damages upon the value of the principal siim mentioned in such bill, and costs , of protest, together with legal interest upon the value of the principal mentioned in such bill from the time of protest until the principal and damages are paid and satisfied.” The United States' are not named in this act, and it therefore does not extend to them. The king shall not be bound by a statute, whether affirmative or negative, which does not expressly naine him ; yet if there be equivalent words, or if the prerogative be included by necessary implication, it would seem to admit of a different construction. 2 Dwarris, 670; Com. Dig. voce Parliament, B. 3j 8 ; Murray v. Ridley, 3 Har., & McHen. 171 ; Contee v. Chew, 1 Har. & Johns. 417 ; State v. Bank of Maryland, 6 Gill & Johns. 226 '; The King v. Wright, 1 Adolph. & Ellis, 434 ; 3 Coke’s Reports, Part V. 14 b, 26 ; 6 ibid., Part XL 70 b, 132 ; The King v. Archbishop of Armagh, 8 Mod. 8 ; 1 Stra. 516. As analogies: — A statute of limitation's does not run against a State, unless it is expressly named. Lindsey v. Miher, 6 Pet. 666 ; State v. Arledge, 2 Bailey, 401 ; Weather-hqad v. Blédsoe, 2 Overton, 352 ; People v. Gilbert, 18 Johns. 227; State Treasurers. Weeks, 4.Vermont R..215; Stoughton v. Baker, 4 Mass. R. 522-528 ; Nimmo v. Commonwealth, 4 Hen. & Munf. 57 ; Bayley v. Wallace, 16 Serg. & Rawle, 254 ; Commonwealth v. Baldwin, 1 Watts, 54 ; Wallace v. Mercer, 6 Ham. 366. A statute of limitations does not affect the United States. United States v. Hoar, 2 Mason, 311.
4. That the defendants, being indorsers of the bill, and not owners or- holders at the time of protest, are not entitled to damages, since they have not paid them.
The act of Maryland, after the words, recited under the last point, reads thus :;— “ And if any indorser of' such bill shall pay to .the holder, or- the person or persons, company, society, or corporation entitled to the. same, the value, of the principal and the damages and interest as aforesaid, such indorser shall have a right to receive and-recover the sum paid.,-with legal interest upon the same, from the drawer,, or any other person or persons, company, society, or corporation liable to such indorser on such bill of exchange.” Messrs. Hottinguer, by paying the bill supra protest for the honor of the bank, became indorsees', and acquired all the rights' and were entitled to all fhé'remedies against the bank and-prior parties which the holder had, whom they paid without any indprsement or formal transfer, of -the bill. These rights they might have asserted to their full extent, or they were at liberty to limit and narrow them. Chitty ánd Hulme, 509 ; Mertens v. Wjnnington, 1 Esp. R. 112. They became the holders as indorsees by the law merchant. ■ Konig v. Bayard, 1 Pet. 250. An acceptor for the honor of an indorse! is, .after payment' by him, the holder. Bayley on Bills, 339 ; and hé refers to Louviére v. Laubray, 10 Mod. 36, as authority-. -See also Story on Bills, §§. 124, 125 ; Byles. on .Bills, 83. ■ Chancellor K,ent says, — “If he tákés up- the bill for:the honor of the-indorser, he stands in the right of an in-dorsee paying full value for the bill, and has the same remedies to which-an-indorsee would be entitled against all-prior parties.” 3 .Kent, 87; Mutford ®. Walcot,. ! Lord Raym. 574 ; Cox e. Earíe, 3 Barn.; $. Aid. 430 ; Alvord v. Baker, 9. Wend. 323; Schimmelpenmch v. Bayard, 1 Pet. 264. As illustration : — A person .who accepts, for. honor-is only liable if be original drawee' do not pay, and-to'charge' such acceptor there.must be a presentment for payment to' such original .drawee. • Hoare v. Cazenove, 16 East,-391.; ; Williams v. Germaine, 7 Bam. & Cres. 468; Bayley on Bills, 159. See also Ex parte Wackerbarth, 5 Yes. 574; Ex parte Lambert,' 13 Yes.’179; Vandewall ®. Tyrrell, 1 Moody Malk. 87. Messrs. Hottinguér were therefore in no . sense agents of the bank, /but became etc vi termini the holders of the bill.* If they, were the.holders in the legal sense, then the bank , at the time held only the character of indorsers ; they were the sureties of the drawer. Story on Bills,. §§’ 1.08, 120. The bank did not pay the fifteen per cent.' damages to Messrs. Hottinguer, therefore they cannot claim them from the United States!
As to the law governing the contract, see Bronson v. Kinzie, 1 How. 329; McCracken a. Hayward, 2 ibid. 612.

Opinion:
Mr. Justice CATRON
delivered the opinion of the court.
The United States sued the Bank of the United States for a dividend on stocks held by'the government in the bank, and the defendant pleaded-and relied in defence on a set-off, being the .damages, claimed .by the defendant of fifteen per cent, on a protested draft in the form of a bill of exchange, drawn by the government of the United States on the government of France, for a. Sum of money due from the latter government to the former, by treaty stipulations, to obtain possession of which the. draft was drawn. The bank was the payee and original holder. The holders at the time of protest (Messrs. Rothschilds of Paris) caused it .to be protested for non-payment; and Hottinguer & Co. intervened immediately after, and took up the draft for the honor of the bank. The corporation refunded to Hottinguer & Co. the amount advanced, including interest and charges, together with one half per cent, commissions, and thus again became possessed of the draft.
The Circuit Court, on a former trial, held that the damages claimed as a set-off depended on a statute of Maryland of 1785 ; that by the statute the holder at the time of protest alone could demand damages from any previous party to a bill, and that if he failed to do so, and recovered less from any previous indorser, the latter could only recover the amount actually paid (with interest and charges, accruing subsequently) from the drawer ; and therefore the bank could set up no claim by force of the statute of Maryland, taking its own assumption to be true, that this was a legal bill of exchange, and properly subject to protest. This instruction altogether rejected the defence relied on, and the jury found for the plaintiffs; and from that decision the defendants prosecuted a writ of error to this court. When the cause came* before us in 1844 (2 Howard, 711), this single question was presented for our determination ; nor could this court decide any other question ; and such was the unanimous opinion of the court,,although the judges then present differed as regarded the true construction of the .statute of Maryland ; the majority holding the construction of the Circuit Court to have been erroneous, and .that the bank, as payee, on taking up the draft from Hottinguer & Co., had the same right to -demand damages under the statute that the holder had at the time of protest. The court, however, when giving its opinion, threw out some suggestions on the structure of the bill; first remarking, that, "before we consider the rulings of the court excepted to, it may not be improper to notice the structure of the bill, which has been much comménted on by the counsel^ though, not having been excepted to by the government, it is not a matter for decision." The instruction given cut off every other question the government might have raised in opposition to the set-off claimed ; and as this court, when acting as a court of errors, can only legitimately revise the questions of law that have been raised and decided in the Circuit Courts, it must of necessity, orí a second writ of error being prosecuted, have power to revise such rulings of the court below on the second trial as affect the merits of the. controversy, and to pass on the questions not previously presented, as open questions, in the particular cause. However high the regard of judges that did not conóur may be for the views entertained and expressed by other judges, on a question of law not brought up for decision, still it is impossible to recognize such views as binding authority, consistently with the due administration of justice ; as by doing so the merits of .the controversy might be forestalled, without proper examination. We therefore feel ourselves at liberty to treat of th,e structure and character of the instrument before us as an open question. And so, also, we deem the question open, whether the statute of Maryland subjected to protest and damages a government. The statute provides, — "That upon all bills of exchange hereafter drawn in this State on any person, corporation, company, or society in any foreign country, and regularly protested, the owner'or holder of such bill shall have a right to so much money as will purchase a good bill of the same time of payment, and upon the same place, at the current rate of exchange of such bills ; and also fifteen per cent.' damages upon the value of the principal sum mentioned in such bill, with costs of protest, together with legal interest," &c. The United States refunded to the bank, on the return of the draft, the principal sum, together with all the charges actuálly incurred by the bank, and the interest accruing from the date of drawing to the time when the money was refunded ; but refused to pay the fifteen per cent, damages claimed by the bank. This refusal was not founded on the true construction of the Maryland statute ; the government insisting it had- no application to the transaction, but that the drawing was of nation upon nation, and not governed by the láw merchant ; and that the form of one of the instruments making up the transaction did not and could not alter its character or legal effect, so as to bring it within the law merchant. That the government was only bound to do equity to the bank to the extent of the amount refunded to Hottinguer & Co. "And .these conflicting assumptions make up the question we are now called on to determine, as will be seen by referring to the third and fourth instructions asked to be given to the jury, on part of the plaintiffs, on .the second trial; they are as follows : —
" 3. That the- bill in question, being drawn by one government upon another, and upon' a párticular fund, is not a bill of exchange within the legal meaning of the terms, and is not embraced by the statute.
" 4. That the defendants, being indorsers of the bill, and not the holders or owners at the time of protest, are not entitled to the damages, since they have not paid them."
Being refused,--the judge stated to the jury, that " these questions appear to me to have been determined by the Supreme Court of the United States in the present cause, in favor of the defendants " ; and -further remarking, that, " if I am mistaken in their views on this, it will be corrected by a reexamination of the cause in that court."
That the judge was mistaken as regarded the questions arising on the third instruction, we have already stated ; but in regard to the fourth instruction, the charge was proper, as the question presented by it had been decided.
Suppose, then, a bill of exchange could be drawn by the government of Maryland, or by the government of the United States in this District, as the successor of Maryland, on the government of France ; would the statute of Maryland give damages to a holder in case die' bill was dishonored by France,.and formally protested? The statute provides for damages upon all foreign bills drawn in that State, " on any person, corporation, company, or society."
Is the government of France either a person, corporation, company, or society, within the meaning of the act ? If it is, and was indebted, and could be drawn on and protested, then it follows that the drawer of the bill (in such an instance as this), on taking it up and- paying the damages, could, lawfully deinand from France, as drawee, the damages paid, and rightfully enforce the demand by the sword, if payment was refused ; as the demand would be a perfect right, and this the ultimate remedy. In our opinion, Maryland, by her act of 1785, never contemplate^ the idea that a foreign government should be subject to be drawn upon by bills of exchange, and to protest and damages as incidents, like individual persons, or trading companies, or corporations ; but that the statute had reference to the latter only ; and. that therefore this bill, on its face, " is hot embraced by the statute," in the language of the rejected instruction.
The second consideration arising on the instruction involves the structure and .character of the instrument, not so much in form, as in substance ; for the name. of the instrument cannot change its nature and character. The draft was drawn by one government on another, and of necessity accompanied by other documents, and the question is, was it a negotiable bill of exchange, in the legal meaning of the terms. The Circuit Court held that it was ; and. this is the-prominent legal point in the cause, or at least has been só treated at die bar, and on which this court has bestowed much consideration.
A bill of exchange is an instrument governed by the commercial law ; it must carry on its face its authority to command the money drawn for, so that the hojder, or the notary, acting as his agent, may receive the money, and give a discharge, on presenting the bill and receiving payment; or, if payment is refused,, enter' a protest, from, which follows-the incident of damages. But if no demand can be made on the bill standing alone, and it depends on other papers or documents to give it force and effect, and these must necessarily accompany the bill and be presented with it, it cannot be a simple bill of exchange, that circulates from hand to hand, as the representative of current cash.
The draft in question was drawn for 4,856,666.66 francs ; being moneys owing and shortly to become due from France to the United States, according to a treaty stipulation; and diese facts are distinctly set forth on the face of the draft, and by indorsements on it- The paper was signed by ihe Secretary ef the Treasury of the United States, and addressed to the Minister and Secretary of State for the Department of Finance of the'kingdom of France, and was payable to the order of Samuel Jaudon, cashier, &c. The mere signature of our Secretary of the Treasury Could not be recognized by the French government as conferring-authority"on the holder to' demand payment. The transaction being one ol nation with nation, he who demanded payment must have had not only the authority of this nation before he could have approached the French government, but that authority must have been communicated by the head of this government through the proper department carrying on .ouf national intercourse, which was the State Department. - Accordingly, of even date with the draft (7 February, 183g), an instrument was drawn up reciting the fact of indebtment, and cause thereof ; the amount due ; the authority conferred by an áct of Congress on' the Secretary of the Treasury to apply for the money in such manner as he might deem best; the fact and. manner of drawing for itand then comes the official authority to the payee to receive the money, in these' terms : —
££ Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, do ratify and confirm, and approve the drawing of the said bill by the Secretary of the Treasury aforesaid,- and do hereby authorize- the said Samuel Jaudon, or his assignee of the said bill, to receive the amount thereof; and on receipt of the sum therein mentioned, to give' full receipt and acquittance to the government of France for the said first instalment, and the interest due on all the instalments, payable on the said second day, of February, by virtue of the said convention ; and I, Andrew Jackson, President as aforesaid, do hereby ratify and confirm all that may be lawfully done in the premises.
" In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the seventh day of February, in [L. s.] the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, and of the independence of the United States- of America the fifty-seventh. '. T
AndR-ew Jackson,
£t By the President: Edw. Livingston,
Secretary of - State."
This accompanied the draft, and was placed in the hands of the payee, and no doubt passed through the hands of the different indor-sees. "'Still, neither the power more than the draft could be-presented to the French government by a mere individual who was holder, or by a notary public, and therefore, on the next day after the draft and power bear date, the Secretary of State of our government addressed a despatch to. our charge d'affaires and representative at the French court, in the following terms :— 1
" Department of State, Washington, 8th February, 1833.
" Nathaniel Niles, Esq. ,' Paris.
Sir :— The Secretary of the Treasury, in Conformity with the. provision of a law of the last session of Congress, yesterday drew a bill upon the Minister of State and Finance of fhe French government, for the first instalment and the1 interest thereupon, and for the interest upon the remaining-instalments ; which interest is stipulated to be paid by that government to this in twelve months from .the date of the exchange of the ratification of the late convention between the United States and his Majesty the King of-.the French'. The bill is drawn in favór of Samuel*Jaudon,. cashier of the Bank of the United States, or order, and will go accompanied, to the .assignee thereof in France, by a full power 'from the President, authorizing and• empowering hini, upon* the.due payment'of the same, to give the necessary receipt and acquittance to the French-government, . according to the provision of the convention referred to.
" You will take an early opportunity, therefore, to apprize the French government of this arrangement.
" I am,' Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,
Enw. Livingston.7'
Until the French government was thus officially advised, die bill and accompanying power combined were valueless in the hands of the -holder, as- against France.
It follows, as we suppose, from the character, of the drawer and the drawee,' and the nature of the fund drawn upon, that this transaction could not be governed by the commercial law; much less by a statute of Maryland, which happened to be in force in. the District of Columbia, where the draft was drawn.
But it is insisted, and. with much plausibility, that as between the bank as payee, and .the United States as drawer, no such objections can be alleged by the United States ; they having assumed the draft to be a bill of exchange, and dealt with' it as commercial paperj are bound by the. assumption. Still, the question meets us, that no form of draft could authorize,a legal demand upon the drawee (France) on the face of the draft. So far from being á simple paper, carrying its authority to receive the. money with it, the parties now before the court conceded, at the time the drawing took place, by obtaining the power, that the right to receive the money did mainly depend, and must dépend, on the power signed by the President, and countersigned by the Secretary of State, with the seal of the United States attached, and the communication of the facts in official form, and through the proper channel, to the government of France, that is, through its-Department of Foreign Affairs. These were • the conditions and contingencies with which the draft was encumbered. They were legal consequence's, apparent on its face, and are yet more apparent by the accompanying facts that took place at the time of drawing.
Again. This controversy is between the .original parties ; the law governing the dealing, each was bound to know ; the facts they did know equally well; and if a mutual mistake was made in supposing that a negotiable commercial instrument could be founded on our claim against France, this mistake cannot change the commercial law, which in our opinion couid not be made to apply to the subject-matter of drawing, nor in any form of instrument' founded on the subject-matter.
The principal argument adduced to sustain the set-off claimed is founded on the fact, that by an act of Congress' the Secretary of the Treasury had a discretion to adopt any appropriate means to obtain the money, and that a bill of exchange was an appropriaté means. To this assumption it may be answered, that France was not bound by the act of Congtess, but by the treaty ; it stipulated, " that the indemnity of twenty-five millions of francs should be paid, in six annual instalments, into the hands of such person or persons as should be authorized to receive it." We repeat that this authority was to come from our government to the French government ; was to pass through the Department of State here, and through the Department of Foreign Afiairs there, and thus only could it reach the Minister of Finance, M. Humann. Our Secretary of the Treasury could not communicate with the Minister of .Finance, nor with any other functionary of the French government, and therefore the bill drawn by Mr. McLane on M. Humann, standing alone, was idle as waste paper, notwithstanding the act ,of Congress, in so far as the French government was concerned. Nor had M. Hu-mann any power to pay the money, had it been in the treasury, until instructed to do so by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
1. For these reasons-, we are of opinion that the question on the structure of the bill is an open question, because for the first'time presented to this court for decision.
2. That the statute of Maryland, of 1785, in its terms, does not embrace a bill of exchange drawn on a foreign government.
3. That a bill of exchange in form, drawn by one government on another, as this was, is not, and cannot be, governed by the law merchant; and that therefore it is not subject to protest and consequential damages.
And on these grounds we order that the judgment of the Circuit Court be reversed, and that the cause be- rénaanded to that court for another trial thereof, on the principles stated in this opinion.
Mr. Chief Justice TANEY
filed the following memorandum : —
Thé Chief Justice withdrew from the bench in the argument of 'this case,'having given an official opinion, when he was Attorney-General of the United States, against the claim made by the bank, and concurring altogether with the above opinion given by the court.