Circuit Court of the
United States, are regulated by different laws, and stand upon entirely
different principles. And in a writ of error to a Circuit Court of the
United States, the whole record is before this court for examination and
decision; and if the sum in controversy is large enough to give
jurisdiction, it is not only the right, but it is the judicial duty of
the court, to examine the whole case as presented by the record; and if
it appears upon its face that any material error or errors have been
committed by the court below, it is the duty of this court to reverse
the judgment, and remand the case. And certainly an error in passing a
judgment upon the merits in favor of either party, in a case which it
was not authorized to try, and over which it had no jurisdiction, is as
grave an error as a court can commit.

The plea in abatement is not a plea to the jurisdiction of this court,
but to the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court. And it appears by the
record before us, that the Circuit Court committed an error, in deciding
that it had jurisdiction, upon the facts in the case, admitted by the
pleadings. It is the duty of the appellate tribunal to correct this
error; but that could not be done by dismissing the case for want of
jurisdiction here--for that would leave the erroneous judgment in full
force, and the injured party without remedy. And the appellate court
therefore exercises the power for which alone appellate courts are
constituted, by reversing the judgment of the court below for this
error. It exercises its proper and appropriate jurisdiction over the
judgment and proceedings of the Circuit Court, as they appear upon the
record brought up by the writ of error.

The correction of one error in the court below does not deprive the
appellate court of the power of examining further into the record, and
correcting any other material errors which may have been committed by
the inferior court. There is certainly no rule of law--nor any
practice--nor any decision of a court--which even questions this power
in the appellate tribunal. On the contrary, it is the daily practice of
this court, and of all appellate courts where they reverse the judgment
of an inferior court for error, to correct by its opinions whatever
errors may appear on the record material to the case; and they have
always held it to be their duty to do so where the silence of the court
might lead to misconstruction or future controversy, and