The United States, Plaintiffs in Error v. Andrew Hack

This cause comes up on a writ of error, from the circuit court of the United States for the district of Maryland. The action in the circuit court was, for the recovery of a sum of money, which came into the hands of the defendants, as assignees of John and Jacob Stouffer, who were partners in trade, and had become insolvent. The material facts in the case, as agreed between the parties are:–That John Stouffer, one of the partners, is largely indebted to the United States on sundry judgments rendered against him on customhouse bonds. That at the date of said bonds, and at the time of the rendition of the judgments, he was a partner in trade with Jacob Stouffer, and so continued until the 19th day of May 1832, when they became embarrassed and insolvent, and executed a deed of trust, to and in favour of the defendants, for all their joint and partnership property, for the benefit of their joint and partnership creditors, they having no private or individual estate. The property then assigned, is not sufficient to pay the partnership creditors; but the undivided half of John Stouffer, now in the possession of the defendants, amounts to nine hundred and seventy-four dollars and seventy one cents.