William Strong

“ Those courts are creatures of statute, and they have only so much of the judicial power of the United States as the acts of Congress have conferred upon them. The Judiciary Act of 1789, which established them, by its 11th section, enacted that they shall have original cognizance, concurrently with the courts of the several States, of 'all suits of a civil nature at common law, or in equity,' between a citizen of the State in which the suit is brought and a citizen of another State, or where an alien is a party. ”

“ While it may be admitted that, in some senses, the writ of mandamus may properly be denominated a suit at law, it is still material to inquire whether it was intended to be embraced in the gift of power to hear and determine all suits at common law, of a civil nature, conferred by the Judiciary Act. ”