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convention was concluded between the United | Concluded on the Fourth Day of July, Eigh
States and Mexico (15 Stat. at L. 679), providing teen Hundred and Sixty-eight," it was provided
for the adjustment of the claims of citizens of
either country against the other, under which
all claims on the part of citizens of either coun-
try upon the other, arising from injuries to
their persons or property by the authorities of
the other, which might have been presented to
either government for its interposition with the
other since the signature of the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo, of 1848, and which yet re-
mained unsettled, as well as any other such
claims which might be presented within the
time specified in the convention (but not cover-
ing any claim arising out of a transaction of a
date prior to February 2, 1848), were referred
to two commissioners, one to be appointed by
each government, and the two commissioners
to appoint an umpire to act in cases on which
they might themselves differ in opinion. The
decision on each claim was to be given in writ-
ing, and to designate whether any sum which
might be allowed should be payable in gold or
in the currency of the United States. It was
provided in the convention that each govern-
ment engaged "to consider the decision of the
commissioners conjointly, or of the umpire, as
the case may be, as absolutely final and con-
clusive upon each claim decided upon by them
or him, respectively, and to give full effect to
such decisions, without any objection, evasion,
or delay whatsoever." It was further provided
that the total amount awarded in all the cases
decided in favor of the citizens of one govern-
ment should be deducted from the total amount
awarded to the citizens of the other, and the
balance, to the amount of $300,000, should be
paid at the City of Mexico or at the City of
Washington, in gold or its equivalent, within
twelve months from the close of the commis-
sion, to the government in favor of whose citi-
zens the greater amount might have been
awarded, without interest or any other deduc-
tion than that specified in article 6 of the con-
vention; and that the residue of such balance
should be paid in annual installments, to an
amount not exceeding $300,000, in gold or its
equivalent, in any one year, until the whole
should have been paid. Article 6 provided for
the compensation of the commissioners, the
umpire, and the secretaries, and provided that
the whole expenses of the commission, includ-
ing contingent expenses, should be defrayed by
a ratable deduction on the amount of the sums
awarded by the commission, provided that
such deduction should not exceed 5 per cent on
the sums so awarded, and that the deficiency,
if any, should be defrayed in moieties by the
two governments. By successive conventions
(17 Stat. at L. 861, 18 Stat. at L. 760, 18 Stat.
at L. 833) the duration of the commission,
which had been originally limited to two years
and six months from the day of the first meet-
ing of the commissioners, was extended until
the 31st of January, 1876; and by a convention
concluded April 29, 1876 (19 Stat. at L. 642),
the time for decision by the umpire was exten-
ded until the 20th of November, 1876.

By an Act of Congress passed June 18, 1878, chap. 262, 20 Stat. at L. 144, entitled "An Act to Provide for the Distribution of the Awards Made under the Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Mexico, 127 U. S. U. S. Book 32.

(sec. 1) as follows: "That the Secretary of State
be, and he is hereby, authorized and required
to receive any and all moneys which may be
paid by the Mexican Republic under and in
pursuance of the conventions 'between the
United States and the Mexican Republic for the
adjustment of claims, concluded July fourth,
eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and April
twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and seventy-
six; and whenever, and as often as, any install-
ments shall have been paid by the Mexican
Republic on account of said awards, to distrib-
ute the moneys so received in ratable propor-
tions among the corporations, companies, or
private individuals respectively in whose favor
awards have been made by said commissioners,
or by the umpires, or to their legal representa.
tives or assigns, except as in this Act otherwise
limited or provided, according to the propor-
tion which their respective awards shall bear to
the whole amount of such moneys then held by
him, and to pay the same, without other charge
or deduction than is hereinafter provided, to
the parties respectively entitled thereto. And,
in making such distribution and payment, due
regard shall be had to the value, at the time of
such distribution, of the respective currencies
in which the said awards are made payable;
and the proportionate amount of any award of
which by its terms the United States is entitled
to retain a part shall be deducted from the pay-
ment to be made on such award, and shall be
paid into the Treasury of the United States as
a part of the unappropriated money in the
treasury." Sections 3 and 4 of the same Act
provided as follows: "Sec. 3. That out of the
payments and installments received from
Mexico, as aforesaid, on account of said awards,
and out of the moneys which shall be received
by the Secretary of State under the provisions
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall, when
and as the same shall be received and paid, and
before any payment to claimants, deduct there-
from, and retain, a sum not to exceed five per [238]
centum of said moneys awarded to citizens of
the United States, until the aggregate of the
amounts so deducted and retained shall equal
the sum of one hundred and fourteen thousand
nine hundred and forty-eight dollars and seven-
ty-four cents, being the amount of the expenses
of the commission, including contingent ex-
penses, paid by the United States in accordance
with article six of the Treaty, as ascertained
and determined in pursuance of the provisions
of the said Treaty; which said sums, when and
as the same are deducted and retained, shall be,
by the Secretary of State, transmitted to the
Secretary of the Treasury, and passed to the
account of, and be regarded as, unappropriated
money in the treasury. Sec. 4. That in the
payment of money, in virtue of this Act, to any
corporation, company, or private individual, the
Secretary of State shall first deduct and retain,
or make reservation of, such sums of money,
if any, as may be due to the United States from
any corporation, company, or private individ-
ual in whose favor awards shall have been made
under the said convention."

8

Among the awards made by the commission was one to the legal representatives of Austin M. Standish, of $42,486.30; one to the legal

113

representatives of Monroe M. Parsons, of $50,828.76; and one to the legal representatives of Aaron A. Conrow, of $50,497.26,-those three persons having been citizens of the United States who were unlawfully killed in Mexico, in 1865, by the Mexican authorities. The awards were made in 1874 or 1875. The bill avers that, in 1869 or 1870, the plaintiff was authorized by powers of attorney from the legal representative of Standish, Parsons, and Conrow to prosecute their claims for such unlawful killing, before the commission; that the powers of attorney to the plaintiff stipulated that he should be entitled, as compensation for his services and expenses in the prosecution of the claims, to one half of whatever sums might be awarded by the commission to such legal representatives; that he prosecuted the cases with success, and paid or assumed to pay all the necessary expenses thereof; that, by virtue of his contract, he became entitled to the [239] one half of the sums awarded, and the legal representatives of the parties recognized his right to such moieties, and respectively claimed for themselves only the one half of the awards; that there was at the time of the filing of the bill, in December, 1880, in the custody of the Secretary of State of the United States, something over $20,000 applicable to the moieties of the plaintiff upon the three awards, and the Secretary was ready and willing to pay the same whenever it should be determined who was entitled thereto; that the plaintiff had, in 1876, borrowed from the defendant, $5,000, and given him, as security, a lien upon the moiety of the plaintiff in the Parsons award, and a power of attorney to collect such moiety; that, in 1877, he borrowed from the defendant $2,500 more, and executed to him an absolute assignment of the plaintiff's moiety of the Standish award, with the agreement that, although such assignment was absolute in form, it was to be simply a security for the money borrowed and for services to be performed by the defendant in collecting the moieties for the plaintiff; that the Secretary of State had refused to pay the plaintiff his interest in the awards until the rights of certain parties who had filed claims with the Secretary upon the plaintiff's interest in the fund should be settled; that the defendant represented to the plaintiff that he (the defendant) could procure the payment of his interest in the awards, if the plaintiff would authorize him to do so, and that, believing such representation, he gave to the defendant "power of attorney to collect not only the Standish and Parsons cases, which had been assigned to him, but gave him also the said Conrow case, in which the defendant had no interest whatever;" that the defendant was now claiming that he was the absolute owner of the two moieties in the cases of Parsons and Standish, while his only real claim upon the same was on account of his loan of the $7,500; that the defendant also refused to recognize the right of the plaintiff to the moiety of the Conrow claim, falsely alleging that he had purchased the plaintiff's interest therein from one Richard H. Musser, who set up a false claim to the one half of the plaintiff's moiety of the Conrow claim; that the Secretary had decided that none of the claimants had any lien upon [240] the fund except the plaintiff and the defend

ant, and was ready and willing to pay the amount which was in his control, applicable to the three moieties, upon the joint receipt of the plaintiff and the defendant; and that, inasmuch as the defendant held absolute assignments for the Parsons and Standish cases, the Secretary would not undertake to decide the rights be tween the plaintiff and the defendant, but left them to settle their controversy by adjustment, or by the determination of a court of competent jurisdiction.

The bill waives an answer on oath, and prays for a decree that the defendant holds the assignment of the plaintiff's moieties in the cases of Standish and Parsons as security for the plaintiff's indebtedness to him for money borrowed, and for no other purpose and in no other right; that he may be ordered to cancel the moieties or reassign them to the plaintiff, upon the payment to him by the plaintiff of the amount of money, with interest, which the court may find that the plaintiff owes to him; and that he may be decreed to empower the plaintiff to collect from the Secretary the amount of the installments in his hands applicable to all three of the cases. The bill also prays for such other and further relief as may be necessary.

A demurrer to the bill was overruled, and the defendant put in an answer. The substance of the answer is that, in 1869 or 1870 the legal representatives or next of kin of the three persons referred to made written executory contracts with Musser, whereby he undertook to furnish the necessary money and do the necessary legal work to establish the claims, and the claimants undertook, on such services and money being furnished, to pay him a fee which should equal the moiety of any award in the premises, in each case; that, in pursuance of such contracts, the claimants executed powers of attorney whereby Musser was constituted attorney in fact, irrevocable, with a statement that the power of attorney was coupled with an interest; that, about that time, there was a verbal contract made between Musser and the plaintiff, whereby it was agreed that the plaintiff should furnish the money and Musser should do the legal work, and the two should divide the fees of Musser under the contract; that the plaintiff failed to furnish the money to carry on the suits, and undertook to dismiss Musser from the cases, leaving Musser with the responsibility of furnishing money and doing the legal work; that, in the discharge of his duties under his agreements with the claimants, Musser retained the legal firm of Pike & Johnson, and the claimants agreed in writing that that firm should receive 25 per cent of the resulting awards, to be taken from Musser's moiety; that, on the making of the awards, the several claimants executed assignments to Musser and Pike & Johnson, for a moiety of each of the awards; and that, on the 12th of February, 1879, Musser and Pike & Johnson, for the consideration of $30,000, sold and assigned such moiety to the defendant in his own right. There are other allegations in the answer, which it is unnecessary to set forth, in the view we take of the case.

A replication was put in to the answer, and proofs were taken on both sides. The court, in special term, in February 1883, made a de

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and the same is hereby, vacated, annulled, and
held for naught, and the bill herein is dismissed;
and that the defendant, Stephen V. White, do
have and recover of the plaintiff, Richard H.
Porter, his costs herein expended, taxed at $;
and that he have execution therefor as in a suit
of law; and to said order the plaintiff prays an
appeal to the Supreme Court of the United
States, which is allowed."

did not appeal from the decree of the court in
special term, and is therefore concluded by the
failure of that decree to award relief to him in
respect to the Parsons and Standish claims,
and that the dispute in this court is limited to
his right to one half of the fees in the Conrow
case. Therefore, although the decree of the court
in general term finds that the awards in favor
of the Parsons and Standish claims were not
assigned and delivered by the plaintiff to the
defendant as security for the return of money;
and although that decree further finds that the
defendant is the assignee in his own right of a
moiety of each of those two awards; as well as
of a moiety of the Conrow award, and although
the plaintiff appeals generally from that decree,
no question arises in this court as to any claim
of the plaintiff to any share of the Parsons and
Standish awards, but the only portion of the
decree of the court in general term drawn in
question is that which declares that the plaint-
iff is not the assignee of any portion of the Con-
row award, but that the defendant is the as-
signee in his own right of a moiety of that
award.

cree as follows: "The court finds that the
plaintiff is entitled to the one full, equal half
of the attorney's fees in the awards against
Mexico by the joint United States and Mexican
commission in the case of Mary Ann Conrow,
referred to in the bill and proceedings in this
case, and the defendant is entitled to the other
half. It appearing to the court that the de-
fendant White has been recognized by the
State Department as entitled to the whole of the Although the plaintiff has appealed from the
said attorney's fees in said award, and that he whole of the decree of the court in general term,
has already been paid by the State Depart-it is stated in the brief of his counsel that he
ment, from the installments heretofore paid by
Mexico upon said award, the following sums,
at the times following, to wit: on the 5th day
of May, 1881, $8,896.81; on the 11th day of
April, 1882, $1,806.06; and that there is now
on hand in the State Department the sum of
$1,806.06, applicable to said attorney's fee in said
Conrow case, and that there are seven more
annual installments to be paid by Mexico upon
said award, it is, this 27th day of February,
1883, ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the
said defendant do, within five days of this date,
pay to the solicitors of said complainant Porter
the one half the said sums by him heretofore
received upon said awards, with interest there-
on at the rate of six per cent per annum from
the times of payment to him as aforesaid, to
wit, $4,448.41, with interest from the 5th day
of May, 1881, and $903.03, with interest there-
on from the 11th day of April, 1882; that said
defendant assign and transfer to the plaintiff,
by such form of conveyance as will be recog-
nized by the State Department, the one equal
half of the payments yet to be made by Mexico
upon said award applicable to attorney's fee,
including the amount now in said Department The claim of Porter in respect to the Conrow
applicable to said purpose, and that the defend-award is based upon the contention that he pro-
ant pay the costs of this suit within ten days, or cured Musser to obtain, for a compensation to
that in default thereof, as well as in default or be paid to him by the plaintiff, powers of attor
the payment of the amount found due to the ney from the legal representatives of the three
said Porter, execution do issue therefor, as men who had been killed, to prosecute the claims,
upon judgment at law."
the powers of attorney and contracts to con-
tain the plaintiff's name as attorney in fact,
with a power of substitution; that Musser pro-
cured the powers of attorney, and contracts in
writing, in each of the cases, for one half of
the recovery as a fee, but procured the name of
Musser to be inserted as attorney, instead of that
of the plaintiff; that, on the plaintiff's complaint
of this, Musser substituted the plaintiff as at-
torney in each of the three cases, by an indorse-
ment on the power of attorney itself; that the
legal effect of those substitutions was to make
the plaintiff the attorney in all three of the
cases, instead of Musser; that, under these sub-
stitutions, the plaintiff employed attorneys in
Washington, who with him prosecuted the
cases to success, Musser aiding in taking testi-
mony; that the plaintiff paid Musser in full for
all his services; that Musser had no interest in
the fees secured under the contracts with the
claimants; and that Musser disputed this, and,
in 1872, employed the firm of Pike & Johnson,
after the evidence in the cases had been closed,
and the printed arguments had been filed, and
the cases were awaiting a hearing.

This decree was a decision in favor of the plaintiff in regard to the Conrow award only. It did not grant the relief prayed by the bill in respect to the Parsons and Standish awards, and decreed nothing in favor of the plaintiff in regard to those awards. There is nothing in the record to show that either party appealed to the general term of the court; but there appears in the record a decree of the court in general term, made December 24, 1883, which reads as follows: "This cause came on to be heard at this term, and was argued by counsel: and thereupon, on this 24th day of December, A. D. 1883, upon consideration thereof, it is found by the court that the equities thereof are with the defendant, and that the respective awards of S. Kearney Parsons against Mexico and Mildred Standish against Mexico were not assigned and delivered by the plaintiff to the defendant as security for the return of money, and that the plaintiff is not the assignee of any portion of the award of Mary Ann Conrow against Mexico, but that the defendant, Stephen V. White, is the assignee in his own right of a moiety of each of the said three awards: wherefore it is ordered, adjudged, and decreed, by the court, that the judgment and decree heretofore entered in favor of plaintiff against the defendant on February 27, 1883, in the special term, be,

It is further urged, on the part of the plaintiff, that it is admitted in the answer of the defendant that there was a verbal contract between Musser and the plaintiff that the plaintiff should furnish the money and Musser should do

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the legal work, and that the two should divide
the fees of Musser under the contract with the
claimants; and much stress is laid upon the de-
cision of this court in Peugh v. Porter, 112 U.
S.737 [28:859], made January 5, 1885, after the
decree of the court in general term in this suit,
in which it is said that the agreement between
Musser and Porter was "that each should have
an equal interest in the prosecution and pro-
ceeds of the claims in case of recovery;" and
upon the fact that White was a party to that
suit.

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Mandamus, when proper-when not issuable.

1. The writ of mandamus is a remedy to compel the party seeking relief has no other legal remedy, the performance of a duty required by law, where and the duty sought to be enforced is clear and indisputable. Both requisites must concur in every

case.

2. The writ should not issue to compel the Secretary of State to pay a sum of money in his hands to one party, where there is a conflicting claim made ties there is a litigation in respect to their rights in to the money by another party, between which parthe fund.

But there is no evidence in the case that Por-
ter had any assignment in writing of any in-
terest in the Conrow award, or any written in-
strument creating any lien upon it, or its
proceeds, by way of fee or otherwise, from
either the claimants of that award or from Mus-
ser. The power of attorney from the widow of
Conrow to Musser, dated December 10, 1869,
-contains no assignment of any specific interest
in the claim, and the substitution of Porter by
Musser, indorsed on such power of attorney,
and dated July 4, 1870, only states that "Rich-IN ERROR to the Supreme Court of the Dis-

ard H. Porter is substituted and authorized to
act under the powers hereinabove given."

Under these views, the plaintiff has failed to
establish any equitable lien on the Conrow fund,
by showing any distinct appropriation of a part
of that fund in his favor by the widow of Ĉon-
row, either directly or indirectly, or any agree-
ment, direct or indirect, that the plaintiff should
be paid out of that fund. Wright v. Ellison,
68 U. S. 1 Wall. 16 [17:555]; Trist v. Child, 88
U. S. 21 Wall. 441, 447 [22:623]; Peugh v. Por-
ter, 112 U. S. 737, 742 [28:859, 860]. On the
contrary, the evidence shows that the widow of
Conrow, recognizing her agreement with Mus-
ser that he should have as compensation one
half of the money which should be awarded to
her on the claim, executed, on the 28th of
March, 1872, a written power of attorney to the
firm of Pike & Johnson, to prosecute her claim,
which power revoked all prior powers executed
by her in that behalf, a like power being exe-
cuted at the same time by the son of the de-
ceased Conrow; that Mrs. Conrow at that time
agreed with Musser and the firm of Pike &
Johnson that that firm and Musser should have,
between them, as compensation, the one half of
whatever should be awarded to her on the
claim; that, on the 19th of December, 1878, she
made a written request to the Secretary of State
to pay one half of the award to herself, one
fourth of it to Musser, and one fourth of it to
the firm of Pike & Johnson, and that, on the 12th
of February, 1879, Musser and the firm of Pike
& Johnson, by a written instrument executed
by them, assigned to the defendant all their in-
terest in the Conrow claim, the award on that
claim having been made to Mrs. Conrow.

It is very clear that the plaintiff has no title to any relief against the defendent, whatever he may have against Musser, who is not a party to this suit. There is nothing in the case of Peugh v. Porter which can affect the claim of the plaintiff against the defendant.

The decree of the Court below in General Term is affirmed.

[No. 938.]

Argued Oct. 11, 12, 1887. Decided April 23, 1888.

trict of Columbia to review a judgment awarding a writ of mandamus, commanding the Secretary of State to pay the relator certain moneys on account of certain awards. Reversed.

Opinion below, 7 Cent. Rep. 341, 5 Mackey,

428.

The facts are set forth in the opinion.
Mr. William A. Maury, Asst. Atty-Gen.,
for plaintiff in error:

No case for a mandamus is made in the
record.

Marbury v. Madison, 5 U. S. 1 Cranch, 137
(2:60).

Repeals by implication are not favored.
Chew Heong v. U. S. 112 U. S. 536 (28:770);
Blake v. U. S. 103 U. S. 227 (26:462); Red Rock
v. Henry, 106 U. S. 596 (27:251); Mississippi v.
Johnson, 71 U. S. 4 Wall. 475 (18:437); Georgia
v. Stanton, 73 U. S. 6 Wall. 50 (18:721); Gaines
v. Thompson, 74 U. S. 7 Wall. 347 (19:62); U.
8. v. Bayard, 4 Mackey, 310; U. S. v. Schurz,
102 U. S. 378 (26:167).

Messrs. Stephen V. White and W. Hallett
Phillips for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice Blatchford delivered the opin-
ion of the court:

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'This is a writ of error to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, brought by Thomas F. Bayard, Secretary of State of the United States, to reverse a judgment rendered by that court, in general term, on the 7th of [247] March, 1887, awarding to Stephen V. White a writ of mandamus commanding the Secretary to pay to White certain sums of money, specifically on hand, computed and set apart by the proper auditing officer of the State Department, on account of certain awards mentioned in the petition for the mandamus, namely: on account of the Courow award, $1,806.06; on account of the Standish award, $1,519.55; and on account of the Parsons award, $1,817.92.

The petition of White, which was filed April 23, 1886, sets forth that, under the Joint Convention between the United States and Mexico, concluded July 4, 1868, 15 Stat. at L. 679, such proceedings were had that an award was made

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to Mary Ann Conrow for $50,497.26, another | the order and control of the President of the
to S. Kearney Parsons for $50,828.76, and United States, and are disposable by this re-
another to Sarah Mildred Standish for spondent at the discretion of the President only,
$42,486.30; that, before the payment of any
part of the awards, White became the assignee
of one half of each of them; that the Depart-
ment of State had recognized White as such
asignee, and had paid to him nine installments
hitherto paid by Mexico and distributed by the
Secretary of State; that on the 31st of January,
1886, a tenth installment was paid by Mexico
to the defendant as Secretary of State of the
United States, and he had made a ratable dis-
tribution of it, having paid other claimants,
and especially Parsons and Conrow and Stand-
ish, the moieties which they had not assigned to
White; that by the first section of the Act of
June 18, 1878, chapter 262, 20 Stat. at L. 144,
it was made the duty of the Secretary to ratably
apportion and pay to the claimants or their as-
signs each installment of money when received
from Mexico; that of the tenth installment
there was due to White, on account of the
Conrow award, $1,806.06, on account of the
Standish award, $1,519.55, and on account of
the Parsons award, $1,817.92, which sums
were specifically on hand, and the amounts had
been computed and set apart by the proper au-
diting officers of the State Department, but the
defendant refused to pay to White those sums
of money.

The material provisions of the Joint Convention referred to and of the Act of June 18, 1878, are set forth in the case of Porter v. White, ante, 112.

and that, as this respondent is advised and be-
lieves, there is no law, as hath been mistakenly
supposed by the said relator, by which this re-
spondent is invested with authority over the
said sum of money independent of the Presi-
dent of the United States; and, it being the
opinion of the President that the public inter-
ests forbid the making of payments to the said
relator in the present condition of things, as
herein before set forth, this respondent submits
that he is not subject to the process of man-
damus in the premises, and he therefore prays
that he may be discharged from the said rule,
with his proper costs in this behalf sustained."
To this answer White demurred, assigning,
in the demurrer, the following reasons for the
insufficiency of the answer: "1. It does not
deny that the relator, S. V. White, is assignee
of the moieties of the awards in controversy.
2. The President did not have any supervisory
power under the Act of June 18, 1878, except
in the two cases named in the fifth section there-
of, known as the La Abra and the Weil cases.
On the hearing of the demurrer, the judgment
above mentioned was entered. The opinion of
the general term is reported in 5 Mackey, 428.
[7 Cent. Rep. 341.]

We are of the opinion that the demurrer to
the answer should have been overruled; that
the answer showed sufficient cause for a refusal
to issue the writ; and nat the petition should
have been dismissed.

The answer of the Secretary of State to the The answer sets forth that the Secretary of
petition is as follows: "This respondent, an- State "finds it impossible, as the matter now
swering, saith that it is true that awards were stands, to recognize the claims and pretensions
made by the commission established by the of the said White to the moieties of the said
Treaty between the United States and Mexico awards, without ignoring the conflicting claims
of the 4th of July, 1868, for the amounts and in and pretensions of a certain Richard H. Porter,
favor of the parties named in the said petition, between whom and the said White litigation in
and this respondent is advised that the said re- respect to the said award is now, and for a long
lator, Stephen V. White, doth claim an inter- time has been, pending;" and that he has "al-
est in the one half part of each of the said ways been, and is now, willing to pay whatever
awards, and this respondent doth admit that sum or sums may be due on the said moieties,
the rights and interests claimed by said White out of moneys received, under the said Treaty,
as aforesaid were recognized by one, although from the Republic of Mexico, on an order and
not recognized by another, of the predecessors acquittance signed by all the rival claimants of
of this respondent, and payments made to him the said moieties," which he "submits is as
accordingly; but this respondent saith that he much as could be done by him without em-
finds it impossible, as the matter now stands, to broiling the United States in a litigation in
recognize the claims and pretensions of the said which it has no interest whatever." This is ad-
White to the moieties of the said awards, with- equate ground for a refusal on the part of the
out ignoring the conflicting claims and preten- Secretary of State to pay the money in question
sions of a certain Richard H. Porter, between to White. The answer alleges that the claims
whom and the said White litigation in respect and pretensions of Porter to the moieties of the
to the said awards is now, and for a long time awards conflict with the claims and pretensions
has been, pending. And this respondent fur- of White to the same. This is a sufficient aver-
ther saith that he hath always been, and is ment that the claims of Porter are of the same
now, willing to pay whatever sum or sums may character and extent with those of White. The
be due on the said moieties, out of moneys re- answer also avers that litigation in respect to
ceived, under the said Treaty, from the Repub- such awards was then pending between White
lic of Mexico, on an order and acquittance and Porter. This allegation necessarily im-
signed by all the rival claimants of the said plies that the litigation was in respect to the
moieties, which your respondent respectfully conflicting claims of the two parties to the
submits is as much as could be done by him moieties of the awards, inasmuch as the petition
without embroiling the United States in a liti-states that White is the assignee of one half
gation in which it has no interest whatever.
And this respondent, further answering, saith
that the several sums of money mentioned in
said petition, and claimed to be due and pay-
able to the relator, are held by him subject to

of each of the awards. The Secretary of State,
in view of such litigation, was not bound to de-
cide between such conflicting claims, after he
had notice of them and that they were in liti-
gation, and when his decision might, perhaps,

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