808 THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 174. 1864. a member of the bar of the court, of not less than three years’ standing, and acquainted with the taking of depositions. Duty ofprize Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the prize commissioners, or °°""m"*°”°”‘ one of them, shall receive from the prize master the documents and papers, and inventory thereof; and shall take the affidavit of the prize master hereinbefore required, and shall forthwith take the testimony of the witnesses sent in, separate from each other, on interrogatories prescribed by the court, in the manner usual in prize courts; and the witnesses shall not be permitted to see the interrogatories, documents, or papers, or to consult with counsel, or with any persons interested, without special authority from the court; and the witnesses who have the rights of neutrals shall be discharged as soon as practicable. The prize commissioners shall also take depositions de bene esse of the prize crew and others, at the request of the district attorney, on interrogatories prescribed by the court. They shall also, as soon as any prize property comes within the district for adjudication, examine the same, and make an inventory thereof, founded on an actual examination, and report to the court whether any part of it is in a condition requiring immediate sale for the interests of all parties, and notify the district attorney thereof; and if it be necessary to the examination or making of the inventory that the cargo be unladen, they shall apply to the court for an order to the marshal to unlade the same, and shall, from time to time, report to the court anything relating to the condition of the property, or its custody or disposal, which may require any action by the court, but the custody_of the property shall be only in the marshal. They shall also seasonably return into court, sealed and secured from inspection, the documents and papers which shall come to their hands, duly scheduled and numbered, and the other preparatory evidence, and the evidence taken de bene esse, and their own inventory of the prize property; and if the captured vessel, or any of its cargo or stores, are such that, in their judgment, may be useful to the government in war, they shall report the same to the Secretary of the Navy. Marshal to Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the marshal shall safely ms§;§; Pgjff keep all prize property under warrant from the court, and shall report to ’ ’ the oo1u·t any cargo or other property that he thinks requires to be unladen and stored, or to be sold. He shall insure prize property if, in his judgment, it is for the interest of all concerned. He shall keep in his to ke? WEP custody all persons found on board a prize and sent in as witnesses, until 2::f§§y_ ?" m they are released by the prize commissioners or the court. If a sale of property is ordered, he shall sell the same in the manner required by the court, and collect the purchase-money, and forthwith deposit the gross proceeds of the sales with the assistant treasurer of the United States nearest the place of sale, subject to the order of the court in the particular cause; and each marshal shall forward to the Secretary of the Navy, whenever and as often as he may require it, a full statement of _ the condition of each prize and of the disposition made thereof. WEB Pm6b Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That, whenever any prize property gi)? y may ° shall be condemned, or shall at any stage of the proceedings be found by the court to be perishing, perishable, or liable to deteriorate or depreciate, or whenever the costs of keeping the same shall be disproportionate to its value, it shall be the duty of the court to order a sale thereof ; and whenever, after the return day on the libel, all the parties in interest who have appeared in the cause shall agree thereto, the court is authorized to make such order, and no appeal shall operate to prevent the making or execu- Auctioneers tion,of such order. The Secretary of the Navy shall employ an auctioneer or auctioneers of known skill in the branch of business to which any Mode <>f¤¤1¤· sale pertains, to make the sale, but the sale shall be conducted under the supervision of the marshal, and the collecting and depositing of the gross proceeds shall be by the auctioneer or his agent. Before any sale the
