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No. VII.

DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE MONEY.

ACT OF CONGRESS, JULY 17TH, 1862.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the proceeds of all ships and vessels, and the goods taken on board of them, which shall be adjudged good prize, shall, when of equal or superior force to the vessel or vessels, making the capture, be the sole property of the captors; and when of inferior force, shall be divided equally between the United States and the officers and men making the capture.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the prize money belonging to the officers and men shall be distributed in the following manner:

First. To the commanding officer of a fleet or squadron, one-twentieth part of all prize money awarded to a vessel or vessels under his immediate command.

Second. To the commander of a single ship, one-tenth part of all prize money awarded to the ship under his command, if such ship, at the time of making the capture, was under the immediate command of the commanding officer of a fleet or squadron, and three-twentieths if his ship was acting independently of such superior officer.

Third. The share of the commanding officer of the fleet or squadron, if any, and the share of the commander of the ship being deducted, the residue shall be distributed and apportioned among all others doing duty on board, and borne upon the books, according to their respective rates of pay in the service.

Fourth. When one or more vessels of the navy shall be within signal distance of another making a prize, all shall share in the prize, and the money awarded-shall be apportioned among the officers and men of the several vessels according to the rates of pay of all on board who are borne upon the books, after deducting one-twentieth to the flag-officer, if there be any such entitled to share.

Fifth. No commander of a fleet or squadron shall be entitled to receive any share of prizes taken by vessels not under his immediate command; nor of such prizes as may have been taken by ships or vessels intended to be placed under his command before they have acted under his immediate orders; nor shall a commander of a fleet or squadron, leaving the station where he had the command, have any share in the prizes taken by ships left on such station after he has gone out of the limits of his said command, nor after he has transferred his command to a successor.

Sirth. No officer or other person who shall have been temporarily absent on duty from the vessel, on the books of which he continued to be borne while so absent, shall be deprived, in consequence of such absence, of any prize money to which he would otherwise be entitled. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That a bounty shall be paid by the United States for cach person on board any ship or vessel-of-war belonging to an enemy at the commencement of an engagement, which shall be sunk or otherwise destroyed in such engagement, by any ship or vessel belonging to the United States, or which it may be necessary to destroy in consequence of injuries sustained in action, of one hundred dollars, if the enemy's vessel was of inferior force; and of two hundred dollars, if of equal or superior force; to be divided among the officers and crew in the same manner as prize money; and when the actual number of men on board any such vessel cannot be satisfactorily ascertained, it shall be estimated according to the complement allowed to vessels of their class in the navy of the United States; and there shall be paid as bounty to the captors of any vessel-of-war captured from an enemy, which they may be instructed to destroy, or which shall be immediately destroyed for the public interest, but not in consequence of injuries received in action, fifty dollars for every person who shall be on board at the time of such capture. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the commanding officer of every vessel, or the senior officers of all vessels of the navy, which shall capture or seize upon any vessel or vessels as a prize, shall carefully preserve all the papers and writings found on board, and transmit the whole of the originals, unmutilated, to the judge of the district to which such prize is ordered to proceed, with the necessary witnesses, and a report of the circumstances attendin the capture, stating the names of vessels claiming a share thereof; and the com

manding officer of every vessel in the navy entitled to, or claiming an award of prize money, shall, as early as practicable after the capture, transmit to the navy department a complete list of the officers and men of his vessel, entitled to share, inserting thereon the quality of every person rating, on pain of forfeiting his whole share of the prize money resulting from such capture, and suffering such further punishment as a court-martial shall adjudge.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That any armed vessel in the service of the United States which shall make a capture, or assist in a capture, under circumstances which would entitle a vessel of the navy to prize money, shall be entitled to an award of prize money in the same manner as if such vessel belonged to the navy, and such prize money shall be distributed and apportioned in the same manner and under the same rules and regulations as provided for persons in the naval service, and paid under the direction of the secretary of the navy.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That no person in the navy shall take out of a prize, or vessel seized as a prize, any money, plate, goods, or any part of her equipment, unless it be for the better preservation thereof, or absolutely necessary for the use of any of the vessels or armed forces of the United States, before the same shall be adjudged lawful prize by a competent court; but the whole, without fraud, concealment or embezzlement, shall be brought in, and judgment passed thereon, upon pain that every person offending herein shall forfeit his share of the capture, and suffer such further punishment as a court-martial shall adjudge.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That no person in the navy shall strip off the clothes, or pillage, or in any manner maltreat, persons taken on board a prize, on pain of such punishment as a court-martial shall adjudge.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That all ransom money, salvage, bounty, or proceeds of forfeiture or confiscation, accruing or awarded to any vessel of the navy, shall be distributed and paid to the officers and men entitled thereto, in the same manner as prize money, under the direction of the secretary of the navy.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That any person entitled to wages or prize money may have the same paid to his assignee, provided the assignment be attested by the captain and paymaster; and in case of the assignment of wages, the power shall specify the precise time they commence. But the commander of every vessel is required to discourage his crews from selling any part of their wages or prize money, and never to attest any power of attorney, until he is satisfied that the same is not granted in consideration of money given for the purchase of wages or prize money.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That all money accruing or which has already accrued to the United States from sale of prizes shall be and remain forever a fund for the payment of pensions to the officers, seamen, and marines who may be entitled to receive the same; and if the said fund shall be insufficient for the purpose, the public faith is hereby pledged to make up the deficiency; but if it should be more than sufficient, the surplus shall be applied to the making of further provision for the comfort of the disabled officers, seamen, and marines.

No. VIII.

DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR LETTERS OF INSTRUCTION TO NAVAL COM

MANDERS.
(CIRCULAR.)

NAVY DEPARTMENT,
May 14, 1862.

Commanding officers of vessels of the navy will, in cases of captures made by them, be held to a strict observance of the requirements of law in relation to captured vessels.

The first section of the "Act for the better government of the navy of the United States," approved April 23, 1800, provides that

"ART. 7. The commanding officer of every ship or vessel in the navy, who shall capture or seize upon any vessel as a prize, shall carefully preserve all the papers and writings found on board and transmit the whole of the originals, unmutilated, to the judge of the district to which such prize is ordered to proceed, and shall transmit to the navy department complete lists of the officers and men entitled to a share of the capture, inserting therein the quality of every person rating, on pain of forfeiting his whole share of the prize money resulting from such capture, and suffering such further punishment as a court-martial shall adjudge." "ART. 8. No person in the navy shall take out of a prize, or a vessel seized as a prize, any money, plate, goods, or any part of her rigging, unless it be for the better preservation thereof, or absolutely necessary for the use of any of the vessels of the United States, before the same shall be adjudged lawful prize by a competent court; but the whole, without fraud, concealment, or embezzlement, shall be brought in and judgment passed thereon, upon pain that every person offending herein shall forfeit his share of the capture, and suffer such further punishment as a court-martial, or the court of admiralty in which the prize is adjudged, shall impose."

"ART. 9. No person in the navy shall strip off their clothes, or pillage, or in any manner maltreat persons taken on board a prize, on pain of such punishment as a court-martial shall adjudge.'

Whenever it shall be necessary to take any part of the captured property for the use of the United States, a correct inventory shall be made of property so taken, and, also, a careful appraisement of its value, by suitable officers qualified to judge of such value; the inventory and appraisement to be made in duplicate-one part to be transmitted to the navy department, and the other to the judge or United States attorney of the district into which the prize is sent.

If, from unavoidable circumstances, it should become necessary to sell any portion of the captured property, a full report of the facts shall be made to the United States attorney or judge of the district into which the prize is sent, and any proceeds of sale shall be held subject to the order of the district court.

The law requires that the master of the captured vessel shall be sent in, his evidence being considered primary; and as many of the officers and crew of the captured vessel as can properly be taken care of should be sent forward, in custody of the prize master, who will report immediately on his arrival to the United States attorney, as well as to the department.

The prize master will vigilantly guard the captured property intrusted to his care from spoliation and theft, such offences leading to a forfeiture of the prize money, both of the crew and the prize master.

A full report will be made to the navy department of all the material facts attending a capture, and the report will state particularly what public ships or vessels were in sight at the time of capture, and entitled to share in the prize; and the commanders of all vessels entitled to share will transmit complete prize lists to the navy department.

G. V. FOX. Acting Secretary of the Navy.

(CIRCULAR.)

NAVY DEPARTMENT,

November 6, 1861.

The attention of commanding officers in the navy is called to the following extract in relation to their duties, from the 29th article of the act of April 23, 1800, for the better government of the navy:

"He shall, whenever he orders officers and men to take charge of a prize and proceed to the United States, and whenever officers and men are sent from his ship, for whatever cause, take care that each man be furnished with a complete statement of his account, specifying the date of his enlistment and the period and terms of his service, which account shall be signed by the commanding officer and purser."

These requirements must be strictly complied with, and, in addition, duplicate statements

must be forwarded to the paymaster of the vessel or station to which the men are sent, together with a descriptive list of the men sent, according to the form here annexed:

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her, together with the accompanying papers (which are all that were found on board) and the persons retained as witnesses, to the judge of the U. S. District Court, or to the U. S. prize commissioners at that place, taking his or their receipt for the same. You will not deliver either her, the papers, or the witnesses, to the order of any other person or parties unless directed to act otherwise by the navy department or flag-officer commanding the squadron.

The

was seized by this vessel, under my command, on the day of 186 off this port, for violating the rules governing the blockade at present instituted by the United States; and of the circumstances attending the case you are sufficiently aware, and will communicate them when required to do so by competent authority.

On your arrival at -, and immediately after you have visited the judge or prize commissioners, you will call upon the J. S. district attorney thereat, show him these instructions, and give him any information concerning the seizure he may solicit. Then you will next report yourself, in person, to the commanding officer of the navy yard thereat, show him also these instructions, and ask his directions, when needed, as to the disposition of yourself and the rest constituting the prize crew. Finally, when duly notified by the judge, prize commissioners, or district attorney, that your services are no longer wanted by the court, you will at once return to your vessel, taking with you the men under your command and the receipt above alluded to, unless otherwise ordered by superior authority.

You will receive herewith a communication for the secretary of the navy, giving him a detailed account of the prize. This you will mail immediately on your arrival at

Your attention is called to the annexed " Circular," lately issued from the navy depart. ment, to which have been added, since it was issued, the words, in the last paragraph, beginning with "together with a descriptive list," &c.; which you will see is complied with, in every particular, before sailing with your prize.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Commanding U. S. S.

To

No. IX.

PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States of America, and Commander-inChief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare, that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and the people thereof in which states that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed; that it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all the slave states so called, the people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which states may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, the immediate or gradual abolishment of slavery within their respective limits; and that the efforts to colonize persons of African descent with their consent, upon this continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, will be continued.

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sirty-three, all persons held as slaves within any state or any designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever, free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the states and parts of states, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any state, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections, wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such state shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such state and the people thereof have not been in rebellion against the United States.

That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled "An act to make an additional article of war," approved March 13th, 1862, and which act is in the words and figures following:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter the following shall be promulgated as an additional article of war for the government of the army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such.

"ARTICLE. All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor who may have escaped from any person to whom such service or labor is claimed to be due, and any officer who shall be found guilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service.

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SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, that this act shall take effect from and after its passage.'

Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved July 17th, 1862, and which sections are in the words and figures following:

"SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the United States, or who shall, in any way, give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the United States, and all slaves of such persons found in (or being within) any place occupied by rebel forces and afterward occupied by the

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