Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/530

516 rSDEBÀL BBPOBTBB. �interesi and derive none from their irregular transaetîonff,— the moneys advanced or paid, on the one side or on the other, are not properly chargeable to the institutions which the dishonest ofScials represent. Expert accouîitants have been employed by both parties. It is to be lamented that the expert for the assignee died before the court could derive any benefit from his investigation of the transaction in con- troversy. �On the other hand, the expert of the bank has testified so fully, and given such plausible reasons for his opinions, that the claimants seem quite disposed to rest their claim upon his testimony alone. �On the argument the learned counsel for the assignee in- sisted — �1. That by the provisions of section 5081 of the bankrupt act the whole claim should be rejected. �The reason assigned was that the proof of claim, as origi- nally filed, contained items which the claimants subsequently acknowledged were a mistake, and the section provides that the court "shall rejeet ail claims not duly proved, or where the proof shows the claim to be grounded in fraud, illegality, or mistake." The phraseology of the section is strong, and doubtless authorizes the court to rejeet the claim on any of the grounds stated. But I have always, in practice, con- strued the clause to mean that, in the absence of fraud, it was competent for the court to correct any mere mistake, and to allow the proof to stand for any sum that, upon examina- tion, was found to be actually due. �It was further insisted by him — �2. Ttat, in the absence of proof to the contrary, the pay- ment of checks by a bank was always presumptive that the drawer had funds deposited for their payment. �This proposition will hardly be controverted. It la well settled that the mere paying and holding a eheck is no evi- dence of a loan of money by the drawee to the drawer, because the legal presumption is that auch payment is only a return of funds which had been before deposited by the drawer. Story on Prom. Notes, 641 ; Parsona on Bills, 83 , Fletcher ����