the said documents, papers, or writings, the commissioners, or one of them nearest to the place where the captured property may be, or before whom the examination in preparatorio may have been already begun, shall give notice in writing to the delinquent, to forthwith produce the said documents, papers, and writings, and to bring forward his witnesses; and if he shall neglect or delay so to do for the period of twenty-four hours thereafter, such commissioner shall certify the same to this court, that such proceedings may thereupon be had as justice may require.

RULE 23.—If within twenty-four hours after the arrival within this district of any captured vessel, or of any property taken as prize, the captors, or their agents, shall not give notice to the judge or a commissioner, pursuant to the provisions herein made, or shall not, two days after such notice given, produce witnesses to be examined in preparatorio, then any person claiming the captured property and restoration thereof, may give notice to the judge or the commissioners as aforesaid, of the arrival of the said captured property; and thereupon such proceedings may be had by the commissioners in respect to the said property, and relative to the documents, papers, and writings connected with the said capture, which the claimant may have in his possession, custody, or power, and relative to the examination of witnesses in preparatorio, as near as may be, as is before provided for in cases where the captors shall give notice and examine in preparatorio. And the said claimant may in such cases file his libel for restitution, and proceed thereon according to the rules and practice of this court.

RULE 24.-As soon as may be convenient, after the captured property shall have been brought within the jurisdiction of this court, a libel may be filed, and a monition shall thereupon be issued, and such proceedings shall be had as are usual in conformity to the practice of this court, in cases of vessels, goods, wares, and merchandise seized as forfeited, in virtue of any revenue law of the United States.

RULE 25.-In all cases, by consent of captor and claimant, or upon attestation exhibited upon the part of the claimant only, without consent of the captor, that the cargo or part thereof is perishing or perishable, the claimant specifying the quantity and quality of the cargo, may have the same delivered to him, on giving bail to answer the value thereof if condemned, and further to abide the event of the suit; such bail to be approved of by the captor, or otherwise the persons who give security swearing themselves to be severally and truly worth the sum for which they give security. If the parties cannot agree upon the value of the cargo, a decree or commission of appraisement may issue from the court to ascertain the value.

RULE 26. In cases where there is no claim, an affidavit being exhibited on the part of the captor of such perishing or perishable cargo, specifying the quantity and quality thereof, the captor may have a decree or commission of appraisement and sale of such cargo, the proceeds thereof to be brought into court, to abide the further orders of the court.

RULE 27.-The name of each cause shall be entered by the clerk upon the docket for hearing in their order, according to the dates of the returns of the monitions, and lists of the causes ready for hearing are to be constantly hung up in the clerk's office, for public inspection.

RULE 28.-In all cases where a decree or commission of appraisement and sale of any ship and cargo, or either of them, shall have issued, no question respecting the adjudication of such ship and goods, or either of them, as to freight or expenses, shall be heard till the said decree or commission shall be returned, with the account of sales, and the proceeds according to such account of sales, be paid into court, to abide the order of the court in respect thereto.

RULE 29.-After the examination, taken in preparatorio on the standing interrogatories, is brought into the clerk's office, and the monition has issued, no further or other examinations upon the said interrogatories shall be taken, or affidavits received, without the special directions of the judge, upon due notice given.

RULE 30.-None but the captors can, in the first instance, invoke papers from one captured vessel to another, nor can it be done without the special mandate of the judge; and, in case of its allowance, only extracts from the papers are to be used.

RULE 31.-The invocation shall only be allowed on affidavit on the part of the captors, satisfying the court that such papers are material and necessary.

RULE 32.-Application for permission to invoke must be on service, at least two days previously, of notice thereof, and copy of the affidavit on the claimants, or their agent (if

known to be in this port); and after invocation allowed to the captors, the claimants, by permission of the judge, for sufficient cause shown, may use other extracts of the same papers in explanation of the parts invoked.

RULE 33.-But when the same claimants intervene for different vessels, or for goods, wares, or merchandise captured on board different vessels, and proofs are taken in the respective causes, and the causes are on the dockets for trial at the same time, the captors may, on the hearing in court, invoke, of course, in either of such causes, the proofs taken in any other of them; the claimants, after such invocation, having liberty to avail themselves also of the proofs in the cause invoked.

RULE 34.—In all motions for commissions, and decrees of appraisement and sale, the time shall be specified within which it is prayed that the commissions or decrees shali be made returnable.

RULE 35.-The commissioners shall make regular returns on the days in which their commission or decrees are returnable, stating the progress that has been made in the execution of the commission or decrees, and, if necessary, praying an enlargement of the time for the completion of the business.

RULE 36. The commissions shall bring in the proceeds which have been collected at the time of their returns; and they may be required from time to time to make partial returns of such sums only as are necessary to cover expenses.

RULE 37.-On the returns of commissions or decrees, the commissioners or the marshal must bring in all the vouchers within their control.

RULE 38.-All moneys brought into court in prize causes shall be forthwith paid into such bank, in the city of New York, as shall be appointed for keeping the moneys of the court, and shall only be drawn out on the specific orders of the court, in favor of the persons respectively having right thereto, or their agents or representatives, duly authorized to receive the same.

RULE 39.-At every stated term of the court, the clerk shall exhibit to the court a statement of all moneys paid into court in prize cases, designating the amount paid in each particular case, and at what time.

RULE 40. The statement, when approved by the court, shall be filed of record in the clerk's office, and be open to the inspection of all parties interested, and certified copies thereof shall be furnished by the clerk, on request, to any party in interest, his proctor or advocate.

RULE 41.—When property seized as prize of war is delivered upon bail, a stipulation, according to the course of the admiralty, is to be taken for double its value.

RULE 42.-Every claim interposed must be by the parties in interest, if within convement distance or in their absence, by their agent or the principal officer of the captured shipand must be accompanied by a test affidavit, stating briefly the facts respecting the claim, and its verity, and how the deponent stands connected with or acquired knowledge of it. The same party who may intervene is also competent to attest to the affidavit.

RULE 43.-The captors of property brought in or held as prize, or which may have been carried into a foreign port, and there delivered upon bail by the captors, shall forthwith libel the same in fact, and sue out the proper process. The first process may, at the election of the party, be a warrant for the arrest of the property or person, to compel a stipulation to abide the decree of the court, or a monition.

RULE 44.-The monitions shall be made returnable in ten days, and if the property seized as prize is in port, shall be served in the same way as in the case of monitions issued on the instance side of the court of admiralty on seizure for forfeiture under the revenue laws. In case the property claimed as prize is not in port, then the monition is to be served on the parties in interest, their agent or proctor, if known to reside in the district, otherwise by publication daily in one of the newspapers of this city, for ten successive days preceding the return thereof.

RULE 45.—Whenever the jurisdiction of the court is invoked upon matters as incident to prize, except as to the distribution of prize money, there must be distinct articles or allegations in that behalf in the original libel or claim on the part of the party seeking relief. But in case the matter have arisen or become known to the party subsequent to presenting his libel or claim, the court will allow him to file the necessary amendments.

RULE 46.-No permission will be granted to either party to introduce further proofs until after the hearing of the cause upon the proofs originally taken.

479

RULE 47.-In case of captures by the public armed vessels of the United States, and a proceeding for condemnation against the property seized as prize jure belli, or in the nature of prize of war, under any act of Congress, the name of the officer under whose authority the capture was made must be inserted in the libel.

RULE 48.-A decree of contumacy may be had against any party not obeying the orders or process of the court, duly served upon him; and thereupon an attachment may be sued out against him. But no constructive service of a decree or process viis et modis, or publica citatio, will be sufficient, unless there has been a publication thereof in a daily paper in this city, at least ten days immediately preceding the motion for an attachment.

RULE 49.-When damages are awarded by the court, the party entitled thereto may move for the appointment of three commissioners to assess the same; two persons approved by the court will thereupon be associated with a standing commissioner of the circuit court, the clerk or deputy clerk of this court, if not interested in the matter, whose duty it shall be to estimate and compute the damages, in conformity to the principles of the decree, and return a specific report to the court of the amount of damages, and the particular items of which they are composed.

RULE 50.-Any party aggrieved may, have such assessment of damages reviewed in a summary manner by the court, before final decree rendered thereon, on giving two days' previous notice to the proctor of the party in whose favor the assessment is made, of the exceptions he intends taking, and causing to be brought before the court the evidence given the commissioners in relation to the particular excepted to.

RULE 51.-Every appeal from the decrees of this court must be made within ten days from the time the decree appealed from is entered, otherwise the party entitled to the decree may proceed to have it executed. No appeal shall stay the execution of a decree, unless the party, at the time of entering the appeal, gives a stipulation, with two sureties, to be approved by the clerk, in the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, to pay all costs and damages that may be awarded against him, and to prosecute the appeal to effect.

RULE 52.-If the party appealing is afterwards guilty of unreasonable delay in having the necessary transcripts and proceedings prepared for removing the cause, it will be competent to the other party to move the court for leave to execute the decree, notwithstanding the appeal.

RULE 53.—In all cases of process in rem, the property after arrest is deemed in the custody of the court, and the marshal cannot surrender it on bail, or otherwise, without the special order of the court.

No. III.

STANDING INTERROGATORIES TO WITNESSES EXAMINED IN PREPARATIO.

Let each witness be interrogated to every of the following questions, aud their answers to each interrogatory be written down under his direction and supervision:

1. Where were you born, and where do you now live, and how long have you lived there. Of what prince or state are you a subject or citizen, and to which do you owe allegiance. Are you a citizen of the United States of America. Are you a married man, and, if married, where do your family and wife reside?

2. Were you present at the capture or taking of the vessel, or her lading, or any of the goods or merchandises concerning which you are now examined?

3. When and where was such seizure and capture made, and into what place or port were the same carried. Had the vessel so captured any commission, or letters, authorizing her to make prizes. What and from whom. For what reasons or on what pretence was the seizure made?

4. Under what colors did the captured vessel sail. What other colors, had she on board, and for what reason had she such other colors?

5. Was any resistance made at the time of the capture, and by whom. Were any guns fired, how many, and by whom. By what ship or ships was the capture made. Were any other and what ships in sight at the time of the capture. Was the vessel captured a mer

chantman, a ship of war, or acting under any commission as a privateer or letter of manue and reprisal, and to whom did such vessel belong. Was the capturing vessel a ship of war, a letter of marque and reprisal, or privateer, and of what force?

6. Had the capturing vessel or vessels any commission to act in the seizure or capture of the vessel inquired about, and from whom, and by what particular vessel was the capture made. Was the vessel seized condemned, and if so, when and where, and for what reason and upon what account, and by whom, and by what authority or tribunal was she ocademned?

7. What was the name of the vessel taken, and of her master or commander. Who appointed him to the command of the said vessel, and where. How long have you known the vessel and him, and when and where did he take possession of her, and who by name delivered the same to him. Where is the fixed place of abode of the master, with his wife and family, and how long has he lived there. If he has no fixed place of abode, where was his last place of residence, and how long did he live there. Where was he born. Of what country or state is he a subject or citizen?

8. Of what tonnage or burden is the vessel which has been taken, and about which you are examined. What number of the vessel's company belonged to her at the time she was seized and taken, and how many were then actually on board her. What countrymen are they. Did they all come on board at the same port and time, or at different ports and times, and when and where. Who shipped or hired them, and when or where?

9. Did you belong to the company of the vessel so captured at the time of her seizure. and in what capacity. Had you, or any of the officers, or mariners, or company, belonging to the said vessel at the time of her capture, any part, share, or interest in the same, or in the goods or merchandise laden on board her, and in what particular, and what was the value thereof at the time the said vessel was captured, and the said goods scized?

10. How long have you known the said vessel. When and where did you first see her. How many guns did she carry. How many men were on board of her at the beginning of the engagement, before she was captured. Of what country build was she. What was her name, and how long was she so called. Whether do you know of any other name she was called by, and what were such names, as you know or have heard?

11. To what ports and places was the vessel concerning which you are now examined bound, on the voyage wherein she was taken and seized. Where did the voyage begin, and where was the voyage to have ended. What sort of lading did she carry at the time of her first setting out on the voyage, and what particular sort of lading and goods had she on board at the time she was taken and seized. In what year and in what month was the same put on board. Do you or not know she had on board during her last voyage, and when, goods contraband of war, or otherwise prohibited by law, and what goods?

12. Had the vessel of which you are examined any passport or sea-brief on board, and from whom. To what ports or places did she sail during her last voyage, before she was taken. Where did her last voyage begin, and where was it to have ended. Set forth the kind of cargoes the vessel has carried to the time of her capture, and at what ports such cargoes have been delivered. From what ports, and at what time, particularly from the last clearing port, did the said vessel sail, previously to the capture?

13. What lading did the vessel carry at the time of her first setting sail in her last voyage, and what particular sort of lading and goods had she on board at the time she was taken. In what year and in what month was the same put on board? Set forth the different species of the lading and the quantities of each sort.

14. Who were the owners of the vessel and goods concerning which you are now examined, at the time of their capture and seizure. How do you know they were owners thereof at that time. Of what nation or country are they by birth, and where do they live with their wives and families. How long have they resided there. Where did they reside previously, to the best of your knowledge. Of what country or state are they subjects or citizens?

15. Was any bill of sale given, and by whom, to the owners of the said vessel, and in what month and year. Where, and in presence of what witnesses was it made. Was any, and what engagement entered into concerning the purchase, further than what appears upon the bill of sale. Where did you last see it, and what has become of it?

16. In what port or place, and in what month or year, was the lading found on board the vessel, at the time of her capture or seizure, first put on board her. What were the names

of the respective laders or owners, or consignees thereof. What countrymen are they. Where did they reside before, to the best of your knowledge, and where were the said goods to be delivered, and for whose real account, risk or benefit. Have any of the said laders or . consignees any and what interest in the said goods. What were the several qualities, quantities, and particulars of the said goods, and have you any and what reason to know or fully believe that if the said goods shall be restored and unladen at the destined ports, they did, do, and will belong to the same persons, and to none others?

17. How many bills of lading were signed for the goods seized on board the said vessel. Were any of those bills of lading false or colorable, or were any bills of lading signed which were different in any respect from those which were on board the vessel at the time she was taken. What were the contents of such other bills of lading, and what became of them?

18. Have you in your possession, or were there on board of the said vessel, at the time of her capture, any bills of lading, invoices, letters, or other writings, to prove or show your own interest, or the interest of any other person, and of whom, in the vessel or in the goods concerning which you are now examined? If in your power produce the same, and set forth the particular times when, where, and in what manner, and upon what consideration, you became possessed thereof. If you cannot produce such paper evidences, then state in whose possession you last saw them, or where you know or believe they are kept, and when, and by whom they were brought or sent within this district, and also set forth the contents or purport of such papers.

19. State the degrees of latitude and longitude in which the said vessel and her cargo were captured, as also the year, month, and day, and time thereof, in which such seizure was made, and in or near what port or place, and whether it was a port of any state or territory of the United States of America, and what one. Was any charter party for the voyage upon which the said vessel was captured, signed, and executed, and by whom and when? If in your possession, produce the same. If not, set forth its contents and state what has become of it.

20. What papers, bills of lading, letters, or other writings relating to the vessel or cargo, were on board the vessel at the time she took her departure from her last clearing port, before she was taken as prize. Were any of them burnt, torn, thrown overboard, destroyed, or cancelled, or attempted to be concealed, and when, and by whom, and who was then present?

21. Did you or the owner, master, or person having command of the said vessel or her navigation, at the time and place of her capture, know or have notice that such place or port was in a state of war with the United States, and that the naval forces of the United States held such a port in a state of blockake. How, when, or where had you such knowledge or notice, and when and where did the master or commandant of said vessel obtain it?

22. Was such port under an order of blockade by the government of the United States, at the time the said vessel entered or made an attempt to enter the same. Had warning or notice of such blockade been given to, or received by the owner, master, or commandant of said vessel, before or at the time she entered, or attempted to enter said port, and when, and in what manner. Had notice in writing been endorsed on the register or other ship's papers of the said vessel, and when, where, and by whom, of an existing blockade of such port, before she entered, or attempted to enter the same, or before the time of her sailing, or attempting to sail therefrom?

23. Was the register of the vessel, about which you are examined, shown to, or examined by any officer of the United States navy, or by any revenue officer of the United States, before she was captured and taken, and before she entered the port at, or near which, she was taken and seized, and was the register, or other ship's papers, endorsed by said United States officer? Declare fully all you know, or have reason to believe, respecting this interrogatory, stating the persons, times, and places connected therewith.

24. Do you know, or do you believe from information, and if the latter, from what information, and when and how was it obtained, that the vessel inquired about, at any time or times, after the blockade of the said port, and with notice thereof, and when, attempted covertly and secretly to enter the said blockaded port, or to sail therefrom, without success? Disclose fully all your knowledge, information, and belief thereon, with the particulars upon which the same is founded.

25. Has the vessel, concerning which you are now examined, been at any time, and when,