Page images
PDF
EPUB

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 excep tions 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. and for what reason had she such other colors?

What other colors had she on board,

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 marque 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 condemned?

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 seized?

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,

seized as prize and condemned as such? If yea, set forth into what port she was carried, and by whom, and by what authority, or on what account she was condemned.

26. Have you sustained any loss by the seizing and taking the vessel concerning which you are now examined. If yea, in what manner do you compute such your loss. Have you already received any indemnity, satisfaction, or promise of satisfaction, for any part of the damage which you have sustained, or may sustain, by this capture and detention, and when and from whom?

27. Is the said vessel or goods, or any, and what parts, insured. If yea, for what voyage is such insurance made, and at what premium, and when and by what persons, and in what country was such insurance made?

28. In case you had arrived at your destined port, would your cargo, or any part thereof, on being unladen, have immediately become the property of the consignees, or any person, and whom. Or was the lader to take the chance of the market for the sale of his goods?

29. Let each witness be interrogated of the growth, produce, and manufacture, on board the vessel; of what country and place was the lading concerning which they are now interrogated, or any part thereof.

30. Whether all the said cargo, or any and what part thereof, was taken from the shore, or quay, or removed, or transshipped from one vessel to another, from what and to what shore, quay, and vessel, and when and where was the same so done.

31. Are there in any country besides the United States, and where, or on board any and what vessel, or vessels, other than the vessel concerning which you are now examined, any bills of lading, invoices, letters, instruments, papers, or documents, relative to the said vessel or cargo, and of what nature are they, and what are their contents?

32. Were any papers delivered out of the said vessel, and carried away in any manner whatsoever, and when, and by whom, and to whom, and in whose custody, possession, or power, do you believe the same now are?

33. Was bulk broken during the voyage on which you were taken, or since the capture of the said vessel, and when, and where, by whom, and by whose orders, and for what purpose, and in what manner?

34. Were any passengers on board the aforesaid vessel; were any of them secreted at the time of the capture. Who were the passengers by name. Of what nation, rank, profession, or occupation. Had they any commission--for what purpose, and from whom. From what place were they taken on board, and when. To what place were they finally destined, and upon what business. Had any, and which of the passengers, any and what property, or concern, or authority, directly or indirectly, regarding the vessel and cargo. Were there any officers, soldiers, or mariners secreted on board, and for what reason were they secreted. Were any citizens of the United States on board, or secreted, or confined, at the time of the capture. How long, and why. Whether any persons on board the said vessel, at the time of her capture, were citizens or residents of any state or territory of the United States, then in a state of war or rebellion against the United States, its government and laws. If so, who by name, and of what state or territory. What was their employment on board the vessel, and what their destination?

35. Were and are all the passports, sea-briefs, charter parties, bills of sale, invoices, and papers, which were found on board, entirely true and fair, or are any of them false or colorable. Do you know of any matter or circumstance to affect their credit. By whom were the passports or sea-briefs obtained, and from whom. Were they obtained for this vessel only, and upon the oath or affirmation of the persons therein described, or were they de livered to or on behalf of the person or persons who appear to have been sworn or to have affirmed thereto, without their having ever, in fact, made any such oath or affirmation. How long a time were they to last. Was any duty or fee payable and paid for the same, and is there any duty or fee to be paid on the renewal thereof. Have such passports been renewed, and how often, and has the duty or fee been paid for such renewal, Was the vessel in a port in the country where the passports and sea-briefs were granted, and if not, where was the vessel at the time. Had any person on board any passport, license, or letters of safe conduct. If yea, from whom, and for what business. If it should appear that there are in the United States, or in any other place or country besides the United States, any bills of lading, invoices, instruments, or papers, relative to the vessel and goods concerning which you are now examined, state how they were brought into such place or country. In wliose possession are they, and do they differ from any of the papers on board,

or in the United States, or elsewhere, and in what particular do they differ. Have you written or signed any letters or papers concerning the vessel and her cargo. What was their purport. To whom were they written and sent, and what has become of them? 36. Toward what port or place was the vessel steering her course, at the time of her being first pursued and taken. Was her course altered upon the appearance of the vessel by which she was taken. Was her course at all times, when the weather would perimit, directed to the place or port for which she appears to have been destined by the ship papers. Was the vessel, before or at the time of her capture, sailing beyond or wide of the said place or port to which she was so destined by the said ship papers. At what distance was she therefrom. Was her course altered at any, and what time, and to what other port or place, and for what reason?

37. By whom and to whom hath the said vessel been sold or transferred, and how often. At what time and at what place, and for what sum or consideration, has the same been paid or satisfied. Was the sum paid, or to be paid, a fair and true equivalent, or what security or securities have been given for the payment of the same; and by whom, and where do they now live. Do you know, or believe in your conscience, such sale or transfer has been truly made, and not for the purpose of covering or concealing the real property. Do you verily believe that if the vessel should be restored, she will belong to the persons now asserted to be the owners, and to none others?

38. What guns were mounted on board the vessel, and what arms and ammunition were belonging to her. Why was she so armed. Were there on board any other guns, weapons, warlike arms, or armament of any name or description, and if any, what. Were there any

parts of warlike arms, not put together or finished, or any ammunition, fixed or unfixed, or any balls, shells, rockets, hand grenades, flints, percussion caps, or any other thing known to be intended for military equipment. Were there any belts, ball moulds, saltpetre, nitre, camp equipage, military tools, uniforms, soldiers' clothing, or accoutrements, or any parts of them, or any sort of warlike or naval stores. Were any of such warlike or naval stores, or things, thrown overboard to prevent suspicion at the time of the capture; and were any such warlike stores, before described, concealed on board under the name of merchandise, or any other colorable appellation, in the ship papers. If so, what are the marks on the casks, bales, and packages in which they were concealed. Are any of the before-named articles, and which, for the sole use of any fortress or garrison in the port or place to which such vessel was destined. Do you know, or have you heard of any ordinance, placard, or law, existing in such country or state, forbidding the exportation of the same by private persons, without license. Were such warlike or naval stores put on board by any public authority. When and where were they put on board?

39. What is the whole which you know or believe, according to the best of your knowledge and belief, regarding the real and true property and destination of the vessel and cargo concerning which you are now examined, at the time of the capture?

40. Did the said vessel, on the voyage in which she was captured (or on), or during any or what former voyage or voyages, sail under the convoy of any ship or ships of war, or other armed vessel or vessels. For what reason or purpose did she sail under such convoy. Of what force was or were such convoying ship or ships, and to what state or country did the same belong. What instructions or directions had you or did you receive on each and every of such voyages, when under convoy, respecting your sailing or keeping in company with such armed or convoying ship or ships; and from whom did you receive such instructions or directions. Had you any, and what directions or instructions, and from whom, for resisting, or endeavoring to avoid or escape from capture, or for destroying, concealing, or refusing to deliver up your vessel's documents and papers; or any, and what other papers, that might be or were put on board your said ship. If so, state the tenor of such instructions and all particulars relating thereto. Are you in possession of such instructions, or copies thereof? If so, leave them with the commissioner, to be annexed to your deposition. 41. Did the said vessel, during the voyage in which she was captured, or on making any and what former voyage or voyages, sail to, or attempt to enter any port under blockade by the arms or forces of any, and what belligerent power. If so, when did you first learn or hear of such port being so blockaded, and were you at any, and what time, and by whom warned not to proceed to, or attempt to enter into, or to escape from, such blockaded port. What conversation or other communication passed thereon. And what course did you pursue upon and after being so warned off?

« PreviousContinue »