Cook

These are appeals from judgments rendered in favor of the plaintiffs upon the defendants’ default in answering after their demurrers to the plaintiffs’ complaints had been disallowed, in two actions wherein the plaintiff prayed for judgment against the defendant Cook for the recovery of certain sums of money aggregating $5,854.50, collected by him as fees during his incumbency of the office of county clerk of the county of Alameda, and against the corporation defendant, as surety upon his official bond. One action was for the recovery of that part of the aggregate amount collected by said Cook during the years 1907 to 1911, and the other action was for the recovery of the balance of said aggregate sum collected by him during his term of office commencing in the year 1911. Both cases being between the same parties and involving identical questions of law and" fact, the appeals were presented and argued together, and will therefore be discussed and decided as one.

The sums of money in suit were alleged to have been collected by the defendant Cook as county clerk of Alameda County, under an act of Congress which provided that the clerk of any court collecting such fees was…