. CSH AHLEST ON, 'Scvemler ly
FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT.
ON Friday the 2ih u!t. in tue ffdcral
circuit court, held in this city, the im
portant caufe of William lliggmjon, lurviv
ing copartner of Greenwood and liigginfon,
of London, merchants ; and ViUiam Green
wood, furvivinjj co-partner offLegrr and
Greenwood vi Ciuririton, .and George
Crofts :mti C. of Georgetown-i-uas agam
argued, ar.d at length determined by a
jury. - ; .; ' . - ; -r . .' p
This fuit w:s originally inffirpted by a bin
inequity, againit the lurvivihg co partner,
and the e;ecitors of the-decealetlco partners,
lor the performance of controls and a ; chl
covery ot aflets.. A demurrer to the bill, and
a plea lo the juriJdiction of the court, was
argued at October term, 179 i;fthe pica and
demurrer werc'over-ruled, and the parties,
ordered to anfwer over. A writ of error
from this order was tendered at October term'
I792,a:ui the queftion or appealfully argued.
The jud es were of opinion thajt no appeal
ay to t:2 fupreme- court, but from final
judgments and decrees j and tliis being only
an inttriccutdry order, the fame ihould be
endoried 01 the writ (j error. ) Upon this
the defendants ieverallv filed anfwers to the
bill in equity, and at. lalt iJvjay term,
the counlcl for the defendants applied to the
court at Columbia to. have thiscdufe referred
to a jury, to find the quantumNcf.debt due ;
fuggclting, that as the object ofihe bill in e
quity was anfwered, (viz. adifcoveryof alfets)
therefore flain, aclequctc and cofiipUte remedy
could be now had at law. Jude Patterfon
was for retaining the caufe to he determined
in equity : Judge Becfor fendirigit to a jury ,
to ailVfs the balance then due. 1 he court be. '
ing divided, 'the motion fell to the ground .
and the ca Vc in equity was ijienindly argued
on the merits, which were'asifYPow : , .".
J l appeared, by the pleadings ;and the evi
dence, that iii ijji the defendants wrote to
the to:nplamauts to ilipply them; with goods,
.and a-reed to allow tne ufual ccmnuinrn on
the purchafes, and five per cent, intereft ;
thatthe accoudtsof the ccrnpiainants mould be .
fettled and balanced every year,-and intereft
charged on the fevera! invoices after a cer
'tain period from their relpeclivertfares ; and,
if not pa;d at the end or each year, ihchld be
added to the principal, and draw interelt ?1-
ib a: five per cent. . - ' , . ' ) -l " : .
1 Tins appeared te be according to the cuf
toai of xicrchants engaged in that trade at the
fame time. The dealings between the par
ties wre continued for? ieveralf years, and
the accounts of the complainants were hated
according to the agreement, andjient over to
the defendants, until the 31ft of December,
1 777, which they acknowledged to have re
ceived, and to be juft. "v;
.Mr. William Greenwood,- one of the de
fendants, and the only furviving 10 partner
of both the companies in America, was. put
on the confifcation lilt' in South-Carolina,
and his property fequefiered for the ule of
the Hate in 1782. He after wards went to En
gland, and the complainant there-applied to ,
him to acknowledge a ilated account againit
Leorer and Green wcod, which was -made
up to the amount of about 34,600!, in which .
compound mtereltwas charged for the whole
time. He defired this might be the purpofe
of recovering it of the.cbrnmifiloners of con.
fifcated property in South-Carolina, which
the defendant figned accordingly but, in his
anfwer 'to the bill, he avers that he was un
der a" durefs, and figned without examinati
on There was fome evidence to this point.
The caufe was argued with great ability,
learning and eloquence on both glides- "The
compUmants contended th3t they were en
titled, by virtue of the contrab and tne cuf-
torn of the trade, to theprincipal and intereft "
on their debt during the whole time, and in- r
terelt on the accumulation caclt year. Ma.
ny cales from the law were produced in fup-
pbrr cf . their claini; and the treaty of peace
l - - - i
Jel ves, jf poiiible, beyond their ufual endea
vors, in 1 favor 6f their refptclive-'dients.
i he court and jury attended with great fa
tisfactioii 10 thefe aronmi-ntc t.
continued for two davs. from mnrninT till
fun fet.i 1 ' - J -; r :
- Sn chjirging the jury judge Cuming was
clearly of opinion, that this :t rani action being
on a written cqntcift, in . the nature cf a
covenant, in , which intereit was expressly
ftipulated, thclamehould not be ccniidered
in the nature of tlani'ages, but that the one
was as much due as'.the other, : and of courfr.
tliat the Atn Arf irlf rf tK rrr nfip i .
plied fully ro the cafe as a bwa ide debt li,-re-tofore
coutrjC'red j that the fevcral cafes produced-
from thei lav cf nations, cuitoni cf
merchants and other, treaties, did not apply
in this inftance : he there.' ore -direfitd, the
jury to Cmd the fdlJuai denjanded, both prin-
: Judge Hee d.iferrd ; he was of opinicti
the ebntradi originally was entered into Icr
- the mutual .benefit. of the parties 5 that the
defendants being pre vers r ed trcrn perJormiug "
. their, part by -the iovereign power') of bofuf
nations nil it. appeaing particularly, that
property fhij?ped.by. the e'eiendanis in a cir-
cuitous voyage,; to remit m.orey to theplain
riffs, j had: been captured and .condemned in
; Ungiand,-. the mutual advantages of courle'
ccaied wen' hoftilhies commenced; as alio
mutual dealings ; and hence rr.e determina
tion in the ca-e of Sterling and Drumrnohd,
. in the hou'e of ., lords in ngland,tliat -no
conjpound intereft ihould he allowed. . 7 e
4th clauJeof the. treaty of peace had ever ap
peared to him.avehiefcy interfiled to prevent
: the paymentof debts in depreciated paper
.or any other than lterling money ; that inter- .
eit not being exprehly mentioned in the
treat v, the aliownnce or.i:ot was open todiif-
cpihoii, as 1 is laid down to be in the nature
of damages for ilie detention of a' debt, and
jiot a part cf the) debt itfeif ; that the lav
laid ddwnin 1 ft Brown, cz6. determined alfn
injihe houfc or ioitis'in Jthglhnd, -Viz. where
the product of funds ceale du,rinr a c'reat na-
ion,!i calamity, their intereir," aithcuch ex-'
reisly mpulaieu lor, ihculu ceaje, . otrght -
iu iu dwny iii -iivo uur iwut. :iiie rrn r.n .
itr this cauie might. et:'abi;ih a prcccccnt fcr
America, ,anu n ietnta 0:1 p:ncples recor .
ili-ed in England, wfccfe Lsvs ihc plainniis
"wtlre lubject to, no reafonabje tground for
;coh-piaint'ccuid remain lie ihereicre v.ifs
of t.D.nidh that the iorr. in" cofifulprirrr n'M-
was a nccriMry conftouence of the dbf- julr,. i-wm ft n,;u, 4.
and was intended byhc treaty of peace. or:nor, as ti.cyjiiouid think juii. ..Tj,e iury
1 ne court oeintr qinaea. no hnai decree r,ir u .n..f, . ' . i. t
The.no.tion for fe&n the caufe to rr in
ry, being renewed it this terra, , the matter
, i ... I i
The defendant icontendcxL rW '
I 1 - ., i .- ' fct i' V-17 ill-
pound intereit ought to Le allowed after the
minnai ceanngs or tne panics had ceafed -.;
and that no intereft at a ought to be-paid
during the Avar. jAs all communication was
j prphiDired by thfoversgn power of each
I nation, it.". was unfawf ul, ,and indeed impofli
1 bfi to make remittance; that the 'complu.
; nant being an i alien eneujy, had no power to
. fue, and had no deiBantl. diirinjr theuwar
thnjthis claim was 1 forfeited .. by the laws of
nations ; and that he treaty cf peace qnly
rcliored him to thvtmht he had at the com
j ir.encenient of the lv;r : that the word debts
in I the treaty did! ct include, intereit of
courle ; and that, h treaties where intereft
is intended to be ihc jded, it is always men-nop-d
: feveral eads from treaties Were
read in proof of thij That the atf of a
f overeign of a Ihte,; n the act of every indi
vidual who compdlesVt;; and that the com
plainant did,; in fat, Wider the defendant
fro n making "payjaiertj and therefore he
fhould not have irjterllf, yhich is damages
ot detaining the. deb ; hj fides, that I in a.1
great national calam y, here the defen
dants could receive o profits, no . intereft
ought in eqirty to ac :ruf. This appeared
to have been the law .1 '.Ireland, and ouglic
to be fo here, &c. ;-. '! V- . .; j ;:";
The jndges deliver I their fepen;te ppin-
ions with great clejrn fs and preciiiOn."
; Judge Bee was of ojinion,. that the com
plainanu Ihould recotr in ten it, according
to the contract, tilt I 77; on both debts
thai the interefl hiofld then-ceafe till No
vember, 178c, the t tie of figning the pro
vifipnal articles of th reaty of peace, and
Ihould then commehc (according to the con
travjt, and ccn tinuet I -paid. j
Jndge Paterlbn v cf opinion, that! the
compound intereft Ifruld b paid on both
debts, dui ing the tmftthe parties had mum-
at dealings, to wi ion thei6,ccoi. j till
1777. due from G
men to uraw timnjeii
paid, that being th'e
eu ; ana tnat tne
intereft till Decern
lie Crofts & Co. land'
creft at 5 per cent till ,
me the dealings ceaf.
ol. draw compound
r , lit - J ' mVi nib
dealing witbjLeger: Greenwood cea fed,
from which time it fmlrWlr-jv firnrl ;n
elt at 5 per cent. ftiipaid. He was of. opin.
ion, : that the treatjfiaf peace refiored j :he v
complainants to all thenghts they would have
had if no war had beer; and that the intereft
a;
was fully argued
the judges were di
.May term lalt, the
ed as in the fame
then ; and on the
of opinion for dire
fay the quantum o
the conn fel on each
fide. The court we of opinion, that as
aed on both points at
ule mould be coiilkjer-
uation now that it was
rits of the niotton; wre
ac an lfliie to a jury Ho
debt now duf? frmn , the
defendants to the cfta!clair.ant r which iHiip
being accordingly i:de up, the caufe - came
on for argument, m ITinrJday, the 20th ulr.
before a ibecial iurl. fum'monfH Slid imrrjii-
i . , j '
nelled, . by coDlent M parties, agreeably to
ine nioue -fprauitci m me uaic courts ot
South.Carolma. o
trentlemen :
David Alexant er, Johna- f Iargreaves
Robert Henry Rol rrt h
ervey, 2-John Black
James Bulgin, Da ilel Defaufiure, Edward
Darrtll, Edward Kprth,Jaines M'Cail,
William Somerfall Joleph: Vefey the fi?c
firft I being Brjtilh jiettled here ilnce the
peace ; the latter Americans. '.-y-i i ;
The fame grour ds of rgutnent tfi3t were
infilled on at Col irnbia. in Mav bit were
gone over again J With great clearnefsand
precifion, and ; mar.y new ones adduced by
the counfel on botli fides, who exerted them
upon their verdicts, which were levied op
and delivered ha to toiirt the next morning,
in the following woros : .
V.lliam Higgiidbn, furvivor of Greenwccd
iand i Higgmicn, vtrj'us- JWiiiiam Green
vvocd, lurviyor ot Leger & Greenwood.
We find for - the plantiti,' Eighty-fevcit
tthouland nin? hundred and eighteen dollarsji
"and lixtv-five cents;. : '.'
! Di DESAVSSURE, Foreman. ,
William Greenwood, furvivor of Greenwood
and' Higginfoif,: vtrfus William Green--wood;,
furvivor .of George Crohs & Co.
;V, e 'find for the . plaintiff, Hfty-three
thuuiand nine hundred and two dollars and
for tyieight cents. . . '
U. C. DESAUSSURE, Foreman..
The jury, at the time of cielivcnn in the
'above verdicts, informed the court, that they
had difallb.ved intereit during the wir," on
the debts aid credits, and allowed finrpe in
tereit of five per cent." fince the peace.
L O N"D O NVi
k IRISH HOUSE -of- LCRDSv-
THE h'oufe refclved ltflf into a c6nrmJttre' "
on the'bill to prevent xheeldtibn and appdint-J
ment ofcenvehtiens : v'-1-- ' '.' - -
The lord chancellor moved an amendment
I -