16 Pa. 151 | Pa. | 1851
The opinion of the court was delivered May 23, by
The auditor appointed to distribute the assets, in ascertaining the amount in the hands of the administrator, to be distributed, is confined to the decree of the Orphans’ Court. He cannot go behind the decree for the purpose of increasing or diminishing the sum there ascertained. This is indubitable, and therefore the only question here is as to the construction of the decree; that is, has the court decreed the sum to be paid as $3857.05, or have they decreed that sum with the addition of interest; the auditor, to ascertain the amount of the assets having reported that sum in the hands of accountant, as of the day of the exhibition of his account, to wit, the 18th day of November 1847. It is very certain that'the auditor might, if he had thought proper, have charged the accountant with interest on the money in his hands, and perhaps ought to have done so, particularly in the absence of proof that it had not been used by accountant, or that it was lying idle, leaving it open to the natural presumption that the money was applied to his own purposes. But although he might, yet it is clear he has not done so. He seems to have left the question of interest to be settled by the court. The charge of interest as against an administrator, is not a matter of right, a ne
But is the accountant chargeable with interest at all, and if so, from what time ? That an administrator is chargeable with interest from the decree cannot be doubted. In that respect a decree is like a judgment, to which interest, in this State, is a necessary incident. The decree of the Orphans’ Court was made the 20th August 1849; and from that time, the accountant is chargeable with interest on the sum of $3857.05, (the amount decreed to be paid,) up to the time of the affirmance of the decree, to wit, the 1st day of July 1850. The interest is thus to be calculated on the aggregate sum of principal and interest, from the said 1st July 1850, until this time. It seems that the administrator appealed on the 10th September 1849; and July 1, 1850, the decree was affirmed by the Supreme Court. It must be remarked that in this court, as well as in the Orphans’ Court, a loose practice has prevailed as to decrees on appeals, which ought to be corrected. Instead of ascertaining the amount due, and making a special decree, the decree is usually entered, “decree confirmed.” The proceedings are then
And now to wit, this 23d day of May 1851, after argument and due consideration, it is ordered and decreed that accountant be charged with the sum of four thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars and forty-one cents, principal and interest in his hands. Record remitted to the Orphans’ Court to carry this decree into effect, by distributing the amount so decreed to the persons entitled to the same according to the decree of the Orphans’ Court. Appellee to pay costs.