Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 10.djvu/271

 EALSTON V. CEITTENDEN. 259 �certified to the governor of the state by the treasurer," the governor shall assign this statutory lien. �The object of this bill is to procure an assignment of the statutory lien, because the complainants say they have complied with the requirements that I have just read. It is their contention that when they paid the $3,000,000, which was the principal of all the bonds that the state was liable for on account of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Eailroad, and had paid the instalment of interest then just due and accrued, they had complied with this statute. Whatever opinion they may entertain now, that is certainly all they have done, and all they claim to have done. They do not claim that they have done anything more to relieve, remove, or discharge any other liability that the state may be under on account of those bonds. �Now, looking at the language of the statute critically, let us see if there are any other liabilities of the state on account of those bonds which these complainants ought to have extinguished or provided for before they could make this demand. The statute seems to have been drawn with a great deal of care; it seems to have been drawn by a man who evidently inew how to use words, for he uses them well; and applyingthe well-known rule, that every word in a statute, and espeoially in the important part of it, like this, ought to have a meaning, and a distinct meaning, if there is a place for it, we corne to this : What is it they are to do ? They are to "pay into the treas- ury of the state a sum of money equal in amount to all the indebt- edness due or owing" to the state. There bas been no comment here on those two phrases. It is obvious they have a different meaning. A man mayowe $10,000,000 and not a dollar of it may be due. It may be 10 years before a dollar of it is due, or before a cent of inter- est is due upon it, because if the interest falls due at odd times it is only by an express provision and not an implied one ; theref ore the drawer of this bill said : "AU indebtedness due," that bas to be paid; "all indebtedness owing," that has to be paid; and then "all liabili- ties incurred by the state by reason of having issued her bonds." It is my opinion that the interest was owing as much as the principal. I do not know but what that would have been the case if it had merely read, like an ordinary bond, that the state agreed to pay the bond and interest at the rate of 6 per cent., payable annnally. I do not know but what all of the interest up to the end of the time the bonds ran would be beld to be owing in that case. But, whether that be so or not, I am very sure that when the bond issued has a separate ��� �