William Burnham Woods

“ If we yield to the contention of the appellant, we should be required to hold that an officer of the navy could, without inspection or appraisement, trade off to a contractor in payment of the money due him on his contract, not only materials of every description, but even the vessels of the United States when, in his judgment, they could not be advantageously used, repaired, or fitted out. ”

“ In the latter part of March, or early in April, 1875, the appellant had an interview, in the city of Washington, with Isaiah Hanscom, chief of the bureau of construction and repair in the navy department, at which the two came to some verbal understanding that the appellant was to do the necessary plumbing on the United States steam-ship Quinnebaug, which was then on the ways in the Philadelphia navy yard, and that Hanscom gave the appellant verbal instructions to go on with the work. ”

“ The fact that the account had been settled by the officers of the navy department did not cure the unauthorized acts. Both the disposition of the property and the settlement of the account were without authority of law, and not binding on the government. ”