The motion to vacate the attachment should have been granted. The authority given to the District Court to proceed against a party by attachment is derived from the act of 1831 (L. 1831, pp. 403, 404, 405) and the act of 1857 (L. 1857, Yol. I., pp. 713, 714, c. 344, §§ 20-23) ,• and the authority can be exercised onlj'" in the cases, and in the manner provided for in these statutes. By the act of 1857 (§ 21), the party applying must prove by affidavit, to the satisfaction of the court, the amount of his debt or claim, “over all payments and set-offs.” All that was stated in the affidavit was, that the defendants were indebted to the plaintiffs in the sum of two hundred and fifty. The word “ dollars ” was, no doubt, intended to have been inserted; but if it had been, the affidavit would still have been defective, for the want of the averment that the debt or claim was the amount stated, “ over all payments and set-offs.” The affidavit, which is a printed form, was the one in use under the act of 1831, and follows the words of that act, “ over and above all discounts.” Whereas, the sub
Van Hoesen, J., concurred.
Judgment reversed.