Samuel Blatchford

“ The subjection of the bank to the penalty prescribed by the statute for its violation cannot operate to destroy the security for the debt created by the forbidden certification.
If the testator of the plaintiffs had pledged the bonds to the defendant, he could not, after receiving the defendant's money, have replevied the bonds; and, after possession of the bonds had been given by him to Capron & Merriam, and after they had been subsequently taken by the defendant in good faith, neither he nor his executors can set up the statute to destroy the debt. ”

“ Moreover, it has been held repeatedly by this court that where the provisions of the national banking act prohibit certain acts by banks or their officers, without imposing any penalty or forfeiture applicable to particular transactions which have been executed, their validity can be questioned only by the United States, and not by private parties. ”

“ In regard to the federal question involved, namely, the certification of checks by the defendant for Capron & Merriam without having on deposit an equivalent amount of money to meet them, and the contention that the defendant did not become a bona fide holder of the bonds in virtue of payments made in pursuance of the agreement with that firm, the court of appeals remarked, in its opinion, given by Ruger, C. J., that the statute of the United States affirmed the validity of the contract of certification, and expressly provided the consequences which should follow its violation ”