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481, of the fund for paying the expenses of suits in which the United States is a party or is interested. § 7672. Recaptures: a w a r d of salvage, costs, and expenses (a) If a vessel or other property that has been captured by a force hostile to the United States is recaptured, and the court believes that the property had not been condemned as prize by competent authority before its recapture, the court shall award an appropriate sum as salvage. (b) If the recaptured property belonged to the United States, it shall be restored to the United States, and costs and expenses ordered to be paid by the court shall be paid from the Treasury. (c) If the recaptured property belonged to any person residing within or under the protection of the United States, the court shall restore the property to its owner upon his claim and on payment of such sum as the court may award as salvage, costs, and expenses. (d) If the recaptured property belonged to any person permanently residing within the territory and under the protection of any foreign government in amity with the United States, and, by the law or usage of that government, the property of a citizen of the United States would be restored under like circumstances of recapture, the court shall, upon the owner's claim, restore the property to him under such terms as the law or usage of that government would require of a citizen of the United States under like circumstances. If no such law or usage is known, the property shall be restored upon the payment of such salvage, costs, and expenses as the court orders. (e) Amounts awarded as salvage under this section shall be paid to the United States. § 7673. Allowance of expenses to marshals The marshal shall be allowed his actual and necessary expenses for the custody, care, preservation, insurance, and sale or other disposal of the prize property, and for executing any order of the court in the prize cause. Charges of the marshal for expenses or disbursements shall be allowed only upon his oath that they have been necessarily incurred for the purpose stated. §7674. Payment of witness fees If the court allows fees to any witness in a prize cause, or fees for taking evidence out of the district in which the court sits, and there is no money subject to its order in the cause, the marshal shall pay the fees. He shall be repaid from any money deposited to the order of the court in the cause. Any amount not so repaid to the marshal shall be allowed him as witness fees paid by him in cases in which the United States is a party. §7675. Commissions of auctioneers (a) The Secretary of the Navy may establish a scale of commissions to be paid to auctioneers employed to make sales of prize property. These commissions are in full satisfaction of expenses as well as services. The scale may in no case allow a commission in excess of— (1) 14 of 1 percent on any amount exceeding $10,000 on the sale of a vessel: and
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