Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 (1892)
U.S. Supreme Court
Field v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 (1892)
Field v. Clark
Nos. 1052, 1049, 1050
Argued November 30, December 1-2, 1891
Decided February 29, 1892
143 U.S. 649
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
Syllabus
The signing by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and by the President of the Senate, in open session, of an enrolled bill is an official attestation by the two Houses of such bill as one that has passed Congress, and when the bill thus attested receives the approval of the President and is deposited in the Department of State according to law, its authentication as a bill that has passed Congress is complete and unimpeachable.
It is not competent to show from the journals of either House of Congress that an act so authenticated, approved and deposited, did not pass in the precise form in which it was signed by the presiding officers of the two Houses and approved by the President.