by the disbursing clerks of said departments, except those vouchers heretofore prepared outside of Washington may continue to be so prepared and the disbursing officers shall make only such examination of vouchers as may be necessary to ascertain whether they represent legal claims against the United States. Act of Aug. 23, 1912 (37 Stat. 375).

199. Officers delinquent in rendering accounts.-The Secretary of the Treasury shall, on the first Monday of January in each year, make report to Congress of such officers and administrative departments and offices of the Government as were, respectively, at any time during the last preceding fiscal year delinquent in rendering or transmitting accounts to the proper offices in Washington and the cause therefor, and in each case indicating whether the delinquency was waived, together with such officers, including postmasters and officers of the Post-Office Department, as were found upon final settlement of their accounts to have been indebted to the Government, with the amount of such indebtedness in each case, and who, at the date of making report, had failed to pay the same into the Treasury of the United States. Sec. 4, Act of May 28, 1896 (29 Stat. 179).

200. Forms of keeping and rendering accounts to be prescribed by.-The Comptroller of the Treasury shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, prescribe the forms of keeping and rendering all public accounts, except those relating to the postal revenues and expenditures therefrom. Sec. 5, Act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 206.)

1 Section 260 of the Revised Statutes requires that the Secretary of the Treasury shall lay before Congress at the commencement of each regular session, accompanying his annual statement of the public expenditure, the reports which may be made to him by the Auditors charged with the examination of the accounts of the Department of War and the Department of the Navy, respectively, showing the application of the money appropriated for those Departments for the preceding year.

This provision replaces the requirement of section 12 of the act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 209), that "the Secretary of the Treasury shall, on the first Monday in January in each year, make report to Congress of such officers as are then delinquent in the rendering of their accounts or in the payment of balances found due from them for the last preceding fiscal year."

'Public accounts, within the meaning of section 5 of the act of July 31, 1894, which provides that the Comptroller of the Treasury shall "prescribe the form of keeping and rendering all public accounts," are accounts in which the United States is concerned either as debtor or creditor. (VI Comp. Dec. 35.)

Our scheme of government includes an accounting system, with proper officers thereof, and it seems reasonable to conclude that when the law provides for an accounting, and makes no special provision therefor, it was the legislative intent that the accounting should be done in the usual manner-that is, by the accounting officers of the Treasury Department. (Id. 283, 284.)

The act of July 31, 1894, specifically devolves upon the accounting officers of the Treasury the particular duties of examining the public accounts and certifying balances arising thereon; and their exercise of those duties, including the weighing of evidence, the construction of statutes, and the application of general principles of law in connection therewith, is exclusive. (V id. 410.)

All accounts for the expenditure of public moneys should be itemized so far as practicable, and a discretion given to the officer having control of an appropriation does not dispense with this requirement. (IV id. 159.)

201. Authorized to direct settlement of particular accounts.-The Comptroller of the Treasury, in any case where, in his opinion, the interests of the Government require it, shall direct any of the auditors forthwith to audit and settle any particular account which such auditor is authorized to audit and settle. Sec. 6, id.

202. Decisions to govern in settlements.-Disbursing officers, or the head of any Executive Department, or other establishment not under any of the Executive Departments, may apply for and the Comptroller of the Treasury shall render his decision upon any question involving a payment to be made by them or under them, which decision, when rendered, shall govern the Auditor and the Comptroller of the Treasury in passing upon the account containing said disbursement.1 Sec. 8, id.

203. Recovery of money-Institution of suits for.-Whenever any person accountable for public money neglects or refuses to pay into the Treasury the sum or balance reported to be due to the United States upon the adjustment of his account, the Comptroller of the Treasury shall institute suit for the recovery of the same, adding to the sum stated to be due on such account the commissions of the delinquent, which shall be forfeited in every instance where suit is commenced and judgment obtained thereon, and an interest of six

'Paragraph 6, section 8, of the act of July 31, 1894, does not authorize the Comptroller to render a decision in advance of the, settlement of accounts, except upon questions presented by disbursing officers or the heads of Executive Departments involving payments to be made by them. (1 Comp. Dec., 1; see also id., 87, 139, 411, 431, 500; III Id., 529; IV Id., 332.) Nor is the Comptroller authorized to render such advance decision until the head of a Department, having control of an appropriation, determines to apply it to a particular purpose. (1 id., 89.) The Comptroller has no jurisdiction to entertain such an application when made by the head of a bureau in an Executive Department. (1 id., 199.) Nor when the request comes from the head of one Executive Department in respect to an appropriation under the head of another Executive Department. (1 id., 317.)

Requests for the decision of the Comptroller, under section 8 of the act of July 31, 1894, must be made by the disbursing officer himself and not by an attorney authorized to represent him in the settlement of his accounts. (I id., 502.)

When an expense has not yet been incurred, and a decision of the Comptroller is desired for the guidance of a Department, the request therefor should be presented by the head of the Department having control of the appropriation, and not by the disbursing officer. (I id., 500.)

The Comptroller of the Treasury is not authorized to render decisions to disbursing officers upon questions of law pertaining to payments which have been made by them. (V Comp. Dec., 727.)

The Comptroller of the Treasury is not authorized to render to the heads of Departments advisory opinions upon questions of law not involving payments to be made by or under them. (Id., 653.)

A statement by the Comptroller of the Treasury in an advance decision, upon a statement of facts submitted by a disbursing officer, which is broader than the facts stated rendered necessary, is a mere dictum and is not binding upon the Auditor or the Comptroller in the settlement of the account of the disbursing officer. (V id., 562.)

Under the act of July 31, 1894, the Auditors of the Treasury are not authorized to render decisions in advance of the settlement of accounts, such authority being, by section 8 of said act, granted only to the Comptroller of the Treasury. (I id.. 94.)

per centum per annum from the time of receiving the money until it shall be repaid into the Treasury. Sec. 3624, R. S., as amended by Sec. 4 of the Act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 205).

(See U. S. v. Gaussen, 19 Wall., 198, and U. S. v. Verdier, 164 U. S., 213, 219.) 204. Auditors for the War and Navy Departments-Duties.-The Auditors charged with the examination of the accounts of the Departments of War and of the Navy shall keep all accounts of the receipts and expenditures of the public money in regard to those Departments, and of all debts due to the United States on moneys advanced relative to those Departments; shall receive from the Comptroller the accounts which shall have been finally adjusted, and shall preserve such accounts, with their vouchers and certificates, and record all requisitions drawn by the Secretaries of those Departments, the examination of the accounts of which has been assigned to them. They shall annually, on the first Monday in November, severally report to the Secretary of the Treasury the application of the money appropriated for the Department of War and the Department of the Navy, and they shall make such reports on the business assigned to them as the Secretaries of those Departments may deem necessary and require. Sec. 283, R. S.

205. Auditor for the War Department-Duties.-Accounts shall be examined by the Auditors as follows: Second. The

Auditor for the War Department shall receive and examine all accounts of salaries and incidental expenses of the office of the Secretary of War and all bureaus and offices under his direction, all accounts relating to the military establishment, armories and arsenals, national cemeteries, fortifications, public buildings and grounds under the Chief of Engineers, rivers and harbors, the Military Academy, and to all other business within the jurisdiction of the Department of War, and certify the balances arising thereon to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, and send forthwith a copy of each certificate to the Secretary of War. Sec. 7, Act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. 206).

206. Recovery of debts-Superintendence of.-The Auditors, under the direction of the Comptroller of the Treasury, shall superintend the recovery of all debts finally certified by them, respectively, to be due to the United States. Sec. 4, id.

207. Balances, when certified, final, except that they are subject to revision by Comptroller.-The balances which may from time to time be certified by the Auditors to the division of bookkeeping and warrants, or to the Postmaster-General, upon the settlement of public accounts, shall be final and conclusive upon the executive branch of the Government, except that any person whose accounts have been settled, the head of an Executive Department to which the account. pertains, or the Comptroller of the Treasury, may, within a year,

obtain a revision of the said account by the Comptroller of the Treasury, whose decision upon such revision shall be final and conclusive upon the executive branch of the Government: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury may, when in his judgment the interests of the Government require it, suspend payment and direct the reexamination of any account.' Sec. 8, id.

208. Acceptance of payment under settlement.-Any person accepting payment under a settlement by an auditor shall be thereby

1 Under section 8 of the act of July 31, 1894, an appeal will not lie to the Comptroller of the Treasury except from the final certificate of an auditor. A suspension of action upon a case by an auditor is not a final decision of such officer. (Id., 381). An appeal to the Comptroller from the action of an auditor will not lie until the auditor has taken final action in the case. A suspension for further evidence is not a final decision upon which an appeal can be based. (I Comp. Dec., 448, 500.)

(1) The Auditor, in the first instance, has the original and exclusive jurisdiction to receive, examine, and settle all accounts.

(2) The Comptroller is without jurisdiction to entertain any claim not previously passed upon and settled by the Auditor, and, until the Auditor has settled the account, the Comptroller is without jurisdiction to revise it.

(3) The settlement of an account by the Auditor, so far as the claimant's right or power before the accounting officers is concerned, is final and conclusive, except that any person whose account may have been settled by the Auditor may, within a year, obtain a revision of said account by the Comptroller.

(4) The person who may obtain such revision is the person whose account has been settled by the Auditor. (V Comp. Dec., 333, 334.)

The Comptroller has the exclusive right to reopen an account which has been revised by himself or his predecessors. (IV Comp. Dec., 303.) After the expiration of a year from the date of settlement an Auditor has the exclusive right to reopen an account settled by himself or his predecessors. (Id.) Before the expiration of a year the right of revision by the Comptroller is exclusive, and an Auditor can not reopen an account within that period. (Id.) After the expiration of six months from the date of settlement by the Second Auditor, under the act of July 1, 1892 (27 Stat., 194), no appeal having been taken within that period, the Auditor for the War Department has the exclusive right to reopen the settlement. (Id., 471.)

Section 8 of the act of July 31, 1894, specifies the officers and persons by whom the revision of accounts by the Comptroller may be obtained, and it must be construed to be exclusive. (IV Comp. Dec., 723.) Under section 8 of the act of July 31, 1894, the Comptroller of the Treasury is authorized to revise, upon his own motion, all items embraced in an account, including items upon which payment has been accepted; and in particular instances, where justice requires it, such authority may be exercised in favor of a claimant. (Id., 622.)

The accounting officers are not authorized to reopen accounts which have been settled, except for the purpose of correcting mistakes of fact arising from errors of calculation, or upon the production of newly discovered material evidence. (VI Comp. Dec., 236.) The accounting officers are not authorized to reopen accounts for the purpose of correcting decisions upon questions of law subsequently held to be erroneous. (Id., 91.)

The right of the accounting officers to reopen accounts which have been settled, either by themselves or their predecessors, for the purpose of correcting mistakes of fact arising from errors of calculation, or upon the production of newly discovered material evidence, or for fraud or collusion, has received the sanction of the courts and of the law-making power. The act of July 31, 1894, does not take away or modify that right. (IV Comp. Dec., 303.)

Where the Comptroller has made a final settlement of a claim from the War Department, an order of the Secretary that the accounts be reexamined has no validity. (B. & O. R. R. Co. v. U. S. 31, Ct. Cls., 484.)

In a case where the Auditor for the War Department disallowed the claim of a soldier for pay and allowances upon the ground of desertion, and, subsequent to said settlement, the Secretary of War has removed the charge of desertion and issued a discharge certificate under the act of March 2, 1889: Held,

precluded from obtaining a revision of such settlement as to any items upon which payment is accepted; but nothing in this act shall prevent an Auditor from suspending items in an account in order to obtain further evidence or explanations necessary to their settlement. When suspended items are finally settled, a revision may be had as in the case of the original settlement. Action upon any account or business shall not be delayed awaiting applications for revision:

That the application for pay and allowances upon said amendment of record is a new claim, coming within the jurisdiction of the Auditor for the War Department, and is not to be regarded as an appeal under section 8, act of July 31, 1894, or an application for a rehearing. (III Comp. Dec., 144; IV id., 303, 332, 471, 622, 723.)

Under the act of July 31, 1894, an auditor has no jurisdiction to review his own final action in the settlement of an account, but such settlement can be reopened only on a revision thereof by the Comptroller of the Treasury within a year, as provided in section 8 of said act. (I Comp. Dec., 27. See, also, id., 31, 78, 87, 139, 199, 317, 381, 448, 500, 502; II Id., 4, 401, 510.)

Under section 8 of the act of July 31, 1894, appeals from disallowances by the auditors must be taken within a year from the date of the settlement. If taken after the expiration of a year, the Comptroller is without jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. (Id., 510.)

This paragraph expressly repeals section 1 of the act of March 30, 1868 (sec. 191, Rev. Stat.). The clause "shall be conclusive upon the Executive Departments of the Government," which formed a part of the repealed section, was enacted to settle a long-pending dispute between the accounting officers and the heads of departments as to their respective powers over claims and accounts. and has been interpreted to relate "only to matters of accounting in the Treas ury Department, and of ascertaining the balance in each particular account which shall be drawn from the Treasury. * It makes conclusive upon

the executive branch of the Government only the balances' stated by the accounting officers and their decision thereon' for the purpose of determining for what amounts, if any, warrants may be drawn on the Treasury. It does not make such decisions conclusive upon the head of a department in the exercise of his discretion as to orders to be issued to his subordinates in such connections as the one now under consideration." (Billings v. U. S., 23 Ct. Cls., 166; McKee v. United States, 12 id., 504.) It was held in the case of Surgeon Billings (23 Ct. Cls., 166) that the War Department had authority to send a surgeon to the International Medical Congress at London at the expense of the Government, that being a military service which a surgeon could be required to render. In the case of Paymaster Smith (24 Ct. Cls., 209) it was held that the employment of experts before a court-martial was within the legal and proper discretion of the Secretary of War. In the case of the United States v. Jones (18 How., 92, 95) the court held "that the Secretary of the Navy represents the President and exercises his power on the subjects confided to his Department. He is responsible to the people and to the law for any abuse of the powers intrusted to him. His acts and decisions on subjects submitted to his jurisdiction and control by the Constitution and laws do not require the approval of any officer of any other department to make them valid and conclusive. The accounting officers of the Treasury have not the burden cast upon them of reviewing the judgments, correcting the supposed mistakes, or annulling the orders of the heads of departments." (See, also, U. S. v. McDaniel, 7 Pet., 1, 14; U. S. v. Eliason, 16 Pet., 291; Brown v. U. S., 113 U. S., 568, 571; Edwards v. Darby, 12 Wheat., 206; U. S. v. Pugh, 99 U. S., 265; Parkhurst v. U. S., 29 Ct. Cls., 399.)

When the Government is estopped from further controverting a question adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction it is the duty of the accounting officers to follow the decision in subsequent settlements of the parties' accounts. The legislation of Congress and the decisions of the Supreme Court unmistakably indicate that judgments of this court, not appealed from, are obligatory upon the Government as upon the claimant, and are intended to be guides and precedents for the Executive Departments. (Meigs v. U. S.. 20 Ct. Cls., 181; U. S. v. O'Grady, 22 Wall., 641; Wis. Cent. R. R. Co. v. U. S., 164 U. S., 190.)