Bayard v. United States Ex Rel. White

Citations

• 127 U.S. 246
• 8 S. Ct. 1223
• 32 L. Ed. 116
• 1888 U.S. LEXIS 1986

Syllabus

<p>In answer to a petition for a writ of mandamus to be issued to the Secretary of State'to compel him to pay to the petitioner part of an award made by the Mexican claims commission, the Secretary set up that he could hot recognize the claim of the petitioner without ignoring the conflicting claim of another person, between whom and the petitioner litigation in respect to the award was then, and had for a long time, been pending. On demurrer to the answer: Held, that it was sufficient.</p> <p>The Secretary, in view of the litigation, was not bound to decide between the conflicting claims.</p> <p>Whether it was a good answer to the petition, that the Secretary was nob invested with authority over the money independently of the President, and that it was the opinion of the President that the public interest forbade the making of payments to the petitioner, in the condition of things set forth in the answer, qwxre.</p>