Page:United States Reports, Volume 2.djvu/110

 ro4 Casas ruled and adjudged in the 1789. bowells of the countzy, without bringing any money into it. tgvsa It is well known, that e hills drawn by e Brirylo army were the principal bills that were bought and fold; tbofe drawn by . _ Amerkan citizens were generally protclted. It has been laid, that it might have been paid to Slrdlle: But that depended upon his pleafure, whether he chofe to all as at- torney or uot. i I han fearched for precedents both in the civil law, and in the hoolts of reports; but could lind none. Ve, therefore, deter- mine on principle and analogy, and are unanimoully of opinion, that the plaintif is not entitled to intercll: from the roth Sephar- kr, 177;, to roth Marek, 1783; butduring the reltof the time ` he mult be allowed full interell. The ]ury adopted the principles of the charge; but llruck of 8 r-2 years interelt.' • Since the decilion of this cafe, the abatement of interell, during the war, in all ailions for the recovery of Bririsb debts, anteecdently due. has been the uniform praélice in the Courts of Penngrbunia; but it has been alledged, that in one of the Cimrir Curr: a dilli-rent ick has been adjudged. Ant. Foscrryl cr al. e. Nagle. It appears, however, that Mr. jejes-son, when'Secretary of State, ably main- tained, on behalf of the Federal Government, a doclrine lirnilar to that expnelfed by the Court, in the aborc report; agreeaHy tc the _fubjoined extra& from his celebrated reply to hir. Ezrnmmrd, the Bririsb Miniller Plenipntentiary. “ The reafons on which the denial of interdl is grounded shall be {lated fummarily, yet fnliiciently to jullify the integrity of the judge, and even to induce a prefumptiou, that they might be extended to that of his fcieuce alfo, were that material to the prefent object. " S. Sh The treaty is the text of the law in the prefent cafe, and its words are, that there shall be no lawful impediment: to the recove- ry of bona lide debts. Nothing is l°aid ofintcrest on thol°c debts : And the l'ole quellionis whether, where a debt is given, interest thereon flows from the general principles of the law I Interell is not a part of the debt, but fomething added to the debt, by way of damagefor the detention of it. This is the definition of the English lawyers themfelves, who Tay, " Interellis recovered by way ofd.·:mage.r(a._) ratirme derentlnnir debiri." 1 Sir!}. 622, 6;;. Formerly all iuterell wah conlidcred as unlawful, iu every country of Europe: his llill lb in Roman Catholic countries, and countries little cormnercial. From this, as ageneral rule, a few lpecial cafes are excepted. In France particularly the exceptions arethofe of minors, marriage portions, and money, the price of lands. So thoroughly do their laws conderun the allowance of iuterelt, that a party who nas paid it voluntarily, may re- cover it hack again whenever he plrulhs. Yet this has never been taken up as a grofs and ilagrant denial ol`jullitc,authm·iii ng national complaint · inll (lr.) On accmensq rb: d:::n:5t·n »y":l·c dtd:. ap

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