William Johnson

“ It will be discovered, by reference to dates, that the payments here made preceded the institution of the suit, and, although made by the sureties, they were made severally, for any thing that appears to the contrary from the verdict. Technically, then, the judgment to be entered would have been a judgment for the penalty of the bond, and, in applying the partial payment, the Court would have been governed by those principles which have been transferred in practice from the Courts of equity to the Courts of law, in deciding on what terms a party shall be released from the penalty of his bond. ”

“ We are unanimously and decidedly of opinion, that the ground assumed by the defendants below cannot be maintained. What was there in the resolutions of the parent bank to discharge the obligors at all from their liability? The resolution was only to suspend, and this implies the right to restore. The cashier's salary went on, and had the board rescinded their resolution, what necessity would there have existed for a redelivery of his bond? ”

“ There appear to have been various questions argued in the Court below, some of which were decided for the plaintiff, some for the defendant; but as the plaintiff below seeks an affirmance of the judgment, and has not sued out a writ of error, it follows, that we confine ourselves to those points only which were decided against the plaintiff here. These were two, one of them going to the whole right to recover, the other to the application of the payments towards the discharge of the sum of be recovered. ”