by John Marshall Harlan

“ The same statute also provides that, in order to authorize a judgment in favor of any citizen of the United States, it shall be set forth in the petition that the claimant, and the original and every prior owner thereof, where the claim has been assigned, has at all times borne true allegiance to the government of the United States, and, whether a citizen or not, that he has not in any way voluntarily aided, abetted, or given encouragement to the rebellion against the government, which allegation may be traversed by the government ”

“ It has no more authority to ingraft that disability upon the statute than a disability arising from sickness, surprise, or inevitable accident, which might prevent a claimant from suing within the time prescribed. Appellant's claim, if any he has or had, accrued, within the meaning of the statute, when the government came under a legal obligation to pay the amount thereof. In other words, it accrued against the government when, had the transaction recited in the petition occurred with a citizen, it would have accrued against that citizen. ”

“ We said in McElrath v. U.S. 102 U.S. 440, that the government could not be sued except with its consent, and that it may restrict the jurisdiction of the court of claims to certain classes of demands. ”