THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. Sess. III. Ch. 86. 18 63. 759 Cru?. LXXXVI. -—An Actfurther to regulate Procwdings in Prize Cases, and to amend March 3, 1863. varzous Acts of Congress in Relazion thereto. "_’"" Be it enacted.by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever any prize prop- Sale or prize erty shall be condemned in any district or circuit court, or shall at any P'°P°’*Y· “'h°“ stage of the proceedings be found by the court to be perishing, perish- °°`"M° mm' able, or liable to deteriorate or depreciate, or whenever the costs of keeping the same shall be disproportionate to its value, or whenever all the parties in interest who have appeared in the case shall agree thereto, it shall be the duty of the court to order a sale thereof, and no appeal shall oper- Appeal not to ate to prevent the making or execution of such order. And upon any P’"**¤*~ sale, it shall be the duty of the marshal forthwith to deposit the gross pro- Proceeds of ceeds of the sale with the assistant treasurer of the United States nearest ”1°` to the place of sale, and subject to the order of the court in the particular case; and the court may at any time order the payment from such de- Payment of _ posit of the expenses and disbursements necessarily incurred in the cus- f)"l‘°;‘;‘;;;“d d’“' tody, preservation, and sale of said property, audited and allowed by the m ` court in the manner provided by law. And when a decree of condemna· com, rm, and tion shall be made in any cause, the court may, in like manner, order the <=h¤¤‘8°& payment from said deposit of the costs, fees, and charges decreed in the cause. And on a final decree of distribution, after the payment of such costs, fees, and expenses, the residue of the deposit shall, by order of the Residue to be court, be paid into the treasury of the United States for distribution Paid mm the according to the decree. And the clerk of the court shall forthwith “°@;“"y‘ . erk to transtransmlt to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of the Navy mucopges of final certified copies of said final decree of distribution ; and in case the final d¤¢r¤¢· decree shall be for restitution without costs, the costs, fees, and disburse- gosmhcw Paid ments allowed by the court and unpaid shall be a charge upon the fund when decree is for defraying the expenses of suits in which the United States is a party or interested. And the Treasury Department shall credit the Navy Those in ,,3,,,,1 Department with the amount held for distribution ; and the several service entitled officers, marines, sailors, and other persons in the naval service entitled fgozfylfgzgg to share in the prize money, shall be credited in their accounts with the credited them- Navy Department with the amount to which they are respectively en- with titled. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Navy or the Captured ves— Secretary of War shall be, and they or either of them are hereby, authorized fgé; ’;;”l:ki‘:‘;.0r to tH.kG {lily captured vessel, any HPHIS OX` munitions Oi‘W3.X`, OI` 0d1C!' \'Tl}l.i',€I`l3.l, government use. for the use of the Government; and when the same shall have been taken, Proceedings iu before being sent in for adjudication, or afterwards, the department for ¤“°h °”"·· whose use it was taken shall deposit the value of the same in the treasury of the United States, subject to the order of the court in which prize proceedings shall be taken in the case; and when there is a final decree of distribution in the prize court, or if no proceedings in prize shall be taken, the money shall be credited to the Navy Department to be distributed according to law. Sec. 3. And be it further emzctecL That the Secretary of the Navy Secretary of shall employ an auctioneer or auotioneers of established reputation in that gb: f; ;;; branch of merchandise, to make sales of all prize goods, under the direc- to Sou orizo goods tion of the marshall of the district in which the property shall be ordered under the directo be sold, and at a rate of compensation not to exceed in any case one ;l;’£'°‘°‘h€ ‘“*“' and one fourth per centum upon the gross amount of the sales; and such Poo sales shall be advertised in the fullest and most conspicuous manner, and Advmisomom to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Navy; and any fraud, collu- _ Collusion, &e., sion, or combination, or any act or fraudulent device or contrivance in the Salssnzogeftaud sale and disposition of any prize property, by which the captors or the mfoo oyolooyy Government are or may be defrauded, shall be, and is hereby, declared to and how punbe a felony ; and any public officer or agent, or any other person engaged ’“‘°d therein, upon oonviction thereof by or before any court of competent juris-
