People v. Van Ness

Citations

• 79 Cal. 84
• 21 P. 554
• 1889 Cal. LEXIS 676

Syllabus

<p>' Official Bond — Commissioner of Immigration — Evidence of Conversion, — When the commissioner of immigration, upon being required to . render immediately to the controller a detailed statement of receipts, and to pay the same into the state treasury, replies that he had received no moneys belonging to the state, such reply is evidence of a conversion of all moneys of the state, which had theretofore come to • his hands, as fast as received, and such conversion was a breach of his official bond, which was in force at the time of the receipt of the moneys.</p> <p>Id. — Statute of Limitations. •— The statute of limitations for breach of an official bond does not commence running until the expiration of the official term, and the period thereafter required to effect a bar is four years.</p> <p>Id.—Delivery of Official Bond—Approval. — An official bond, like every other deed, is not operative until a delivery, nor are the sureties liable thereon for any breach until after its delivery. There can be no delivery of an official bond until its approval by the proper authority.</p> <p>Id.—Fees Illegally Collected by Commissioner of Immigration-— Rights of State. — Fees collected by the commissioner of immigration for administering oaths to masters of vessels, when making the reports required by section 2949 of the Political Code, were collected without authority of law, and the money thus collected belonged to the ship-masters who paid it; but having been collected in the name and by the authority of the state, the state was the proper custodian of the moneys. The commissioner had no right to retain them, and having paid them to the state, cannot claim a credit therefor on a judgment for breach of his official bond.</p>