The United States oracle of the day — Portsmouth, N.H., 1800-08-02 00:00:00, page 1

Sixth Congress of the United States,
/At the firfl session, begun and held at the city of
Philadelphia, in the state of Pcnnfylvania,
on Monday the id of December, I 799.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
✓fa ACTfa the better g% ernment of the
Net, of the United States.
See. I. T)E a enacted b, the Senate and Hovfe
of Rebrefentatives of the United States
of America, in Congress assembled. That from
and after the firft day of June next, the follow
ing rules and regulations be adopted and put
in force, for the government of the navy of the
.United States.
,Art. 1. The commanders of all ships and
vessels of war belonging to the navy, arc Acid
ly enjoined and required to ihew in themselves
a good example of virtue, honor, patriotism
and subordination ; and be vigilant in infpefl
ing the condud of all such as are placed under
their command ; and to guard against, and
furprefs all diffolutc and immoral practices, and
to correct all such as are guilty of them, accord
ing to the usage of the sea service.
Art. 11. Trc commanders of all ships ar^
vessels in the navy, having chaplains on board
fliall take care that divine service be perform
ed in a solemn, orderly, and reverent manner
twice a day, and a sermon preached on Sunday,
unless bad weather, or other extraordinary ac
cidents prevent it ; and that they cause all, or
as many of the fhip's company as can be spar
ed from duty, to attend at every performance
of the worship of Almighty God.
Art. 111. Any<officer, or other person in the
navy, who fhall.be guilty of oppression, cruelty
fraud, profane swearing, drunkcnnefs, or any
ether scandalous conduct, tending to the dc
ftrudion of good morals, shall, if an officer, be
eafhiered, or fuffer such other punishment as a
court martial shall adjudge; if a private, shall
be put in irons, or flogged, at the diferetion of
the captain, not exceeding twelve lashes; but
if the offence require severer punishment, he
dhall be tried by a court martial, and fuffer such
punishment as said court shall inflict.
Art. IV. Every commander or other officer
who shall, upon signal for battle, or on the
probability of an engagement, neglect to clear
hrs ship for action, or shall not use his utmost
exertions to bring his ship to battle, or shall
fail to encourage, in his own person, his inferi
or officers and men to fight courageously, such
offender shall fuffer death, or such other pun
ilhmcDt as a court martial shall adjudge ; or
any officer neglecting, on fight of any ves
sel or vessels of an enemy, to clear his ship for
action, shall fuffer such punishment as a court
•martial shall adjudge : And if any person in
the navy shall treacherously yield, or pufillani
mioufly cry for quarters, he Qall fuffer death,
on conviction thereof by a general court mar
tial.
Art. V. Every officer or private who shall
mot properly obfetve the orders of his com
manding officer, or shall not use his utmost ex
ertions to carry them into execution, when
•ordered to prepare for, join in, or when actu
ally engaged in battle; or shall, at such time
baftly desert his duty or station, either then,
or while in fight of an enemy, or shall in
duce others to do so, every person so offend
ing shall, on conviction thereof by a general
court martial, fuffer death, or such other pun
ishment as the said court shall adjudge.
Art. VI. Every officer or private who shall
through cowardice, negligence, or disaffection,
in time of action, withdraw from, or keep out
rtf battle, or shall not do his utmost to take
or destroy every vessel which it is his duty to
encounter, or shall not do his utmost endeavour
to aftord relief to ships belonging to the Unit
ed States, every such offender shall on con
vidlion thereof by a general court martial, fuf
fer death, or fitch other punishment as the
said court shall adjudge.
Art. VII. The commanding officer of every
ship or vessel in the navy, who shall capture, or
seize upon ary vessel as a prize, shall carefully
preserve all the papers and writings found on
board, and tranfmic the whole of the Originals
unmutilated to the judge of the diftria to
which such prize is ordered to proceed, and
shall transmit to the Navy Department, and to
the agent appointed to pay the prize money,
complete lifts of the officers and men entitled
to a share of the capture, inferring therein the
quality of every person rating, on pain of for
feiting his whole share of the prize money re
sulting from such capture, and fuffering such
further punishment as a court martial shall ad
judge.
Art. VUE No person in the navy shall
take out ofa prize, or veffcl seized as prize,
any money, plate, goods, or any part of her
r 'ggirg, 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 fame 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 fuffer such
further punishment as a court martial, or the
court of admiralty in which the prize is ad
judged, shall impose.
Art. IX. No person in the navy shall Grip
of their clothes, or pillage, or in any manner
maltreat persons taken on board a prize, on
pain offuch punishment as a court martial shall
adjudge.
Art. X. No person in the navy shall give,
held, or entertain any intercourse or intelligence
io or with any enemy or rebel, without leave
firm the President of the United States, the
Excretory of the Navy, the commander in chief
0 If the fleet, or the commander of a squadron ;
•1):in case of a vessel anting fingly,from his
e< rmmandin, officer, on pain of death, or such
, ler punishment as a court martial shall ad-
J- idge.
I Art. XT. If any letter or me.Tage from an
r ,my or rebel, be conveyed to any officer or
Laws of the Union.
Published by Authority.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Printed and Published every SATURDAY
the United States,
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR.
0e Witter States
OF ALL THE DISPOSITIONS AND HABITS WHICH LEAD TO POLITICAL PROSPERITY, RELIGION AND MQRALITY ARE INDI SYEN ST BLE SUPPORTS. WASHINGTON'S I^MCr.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1800.
private of the navy, and he shall not, within
twelve hours, make the fame known, Waving
opportunity so to do, to his superior or com
manding officer; or if any officer command
ing a ship or vessel being acquainted there
with, shall not, with all convenient speed, re
veal the fame to the commander in chief of
the fleet, Commander of a squadron, or other
proper officer whose duty it may be to take
cognizance thereof, every such offender shall
fuffer death, or such other punishment as a
court martial shall adjudge.
Art. XII. Spies, and all persons who shall
come or be found in the capacity of spies, or
who shall bring er deliver any seducing letter
or message from an enemy or rebel, or endeavor
to corrupt any person in the navy to betray
his trull, shall fuffer death, or such other pun
ishment as a court martial shall adjudge.
Art. XIII. If any person in the navy ihall
make, or attempt to make any mutinous assem
bly, he shall, on conviction thereof by a court
martial, fuffer death; and if any person as a
forefaid shall utter any seditious or mutinous
words, or shall conceal or connive at any mu
tinous or seditious practices, or shall treat with
contempt his superior, being in the execution
of his office ; or being witness to any mutiny
or sedition, shall not do his utmost to suppress
it, he shall be punished at the diferetion of a
court martial.
Art. XIV. No officer or private in the navy
shall disobey the lawful orders of his superior
officer, or strike him, or draw, or offer to draw,
or raise any weapon against him, while in the
execution of the duties of his office, on pain of
death, or such other punishment as a court mar
tial shall inflid.
Art. XV. No person in the navy shall quar
rel with any other person in the navy, nor use
provoking or reproachful words, gestures, or
menaces, on pain of such punishment as a court
martial shall adjudge.
Art. XVI. If any person in the navy shall
desert to an enemy or rebel, he shall fuffer
death.
Art. XVII. If any person in the aavy shall de
sert or shall entice others to desert, he shall fuffer
death, or such other punishment as a court
martial shall adjudge ; and if any officer, or
other person belonging to the navy shall receive
or entertain any deserter from any other vessel
of the navy, knowing him to be such, and shall
not with all convenient speed, give notice of
such deserter to the commander of the vessel to
which he belongs, or to the commander in
chief, or to the commander of the squadron, he
shall on conviftion thereof be cafhicred, or be
punished at the diferetion of a court martial.
All offences committed by persons belonging
to the navy while on shore shall be punished in
the fame manner as if they had been committed
at sea.
Art. XVIII. If any person in the navy shall
knowingly make or sign, or shall aid, abet, di
re&,or procure the making or signing of any
falfe muster, or shall execute, or attempt, or
countenance any fraud against the United States,
he shall, on conviaion, be cafoiered and ren
dered forever incapable of any future employ
ment in the service of the United States, and
shall forfeit all the pay and subsistence due him,
and fuffer such other punishment as a court
martial shall infli&.
Art. XIX. If any officer, or other person in
the navy, shall, through intention, negligence,
or any othtf fault, fuffer any vessel of the navy
to be stranded, or run upon rocks or shoals, or
hazarded, he shall fuffer such punishment as a
court martial ihall adjudge.
Art. XX. If any person in the navy shall
sleep upon his watch, or negligently perform
the duty assigned him, or leave his station be
fore regularly relieved, he shall fuffer death, or
such punishment as a court martial shall ad
judge ; or if the offender be a private, he may,
at the diferetion of the captain, be put in irons,
or flogged not exceeding twelve lashes.
Art. XXI. The crime of murder, when
committed by any officer, seaman, or marine,
belonging to any public ship or vessel of the U
nited States, without the territorial jurifdi&ion
of the fame, may be punished with death by the
sentence of a court martial.
Art. XXII. The officers and privates of ev
ery ship or vessel, appointed as convoy to mer
chant or other vessels, shall diligently and faith
fully discharge the duties of their appointment,
nor shall they demand or exa& any compensa
tion for their services, nor maltreat any of the
officers or crews of such merchant or other ves
sels, on pain of making such reparation as a
court of admiralty may award, and of fuffering
such further punishment as a court martial shall
adjudge.
Art. XXIII. If any commander or other of
ficer shall receive or permit to be received, on
board his vessel, any goods or merchandize,
other than for the foie use of his vessel, except
gold, silver, or jewels, and except the goods or
merchandize of vessels which may be in distress,
or Shipwrecked, or in imminent danger of be
ing shipwrecked, in order to preserve them for
their owner, without orders from the President
of the United States or the Navy Department,
he shall, on conviaion thereof, be cashiered,
and be incapacitated forever afterwards, for any
place or office in the navy.
Art. XXIV. If any person in the navy shall
waste, embezzle, or fraudulently buy, fell, or
receive any ammunition, provisions, or other
public flores ; or if any officer or other person
shall, knowingly, permit through design, negli
gence, or inattention, any such waste, embez
zlement, sale or receipt, every such person shall
forfeit all the pay and subsistence then due him,
and fuffer such further punishment as a court
martial shall direst.
Art. XXV. If any person in the navy shall
unlawfully set fire to or burn any kind of public
property,not then in the possession of an enemy,
pirate, or rebel, he shall fuffer death : And if
any person shall, in any other manner, destroy
such property, or shall not use his bed exertions
to prevent the definition therof by others, he
shall be punished at the diferetion of a court
martial.
Art. XXVI. Any theft not exceeding twen
ty dollars may be punished at the diferetion of
the captain, and above that sum, as a court mar
tial shall direa.
Art. XXVII. If any person in the navy shall
nally paid off, he shall attend in person, or ap
point a proper officer, to fee that juflice be done
&the men, and to the United Stat es, in the
settlement of the accounts : Any commanding
officer, offending herein, shall be punished at the
diferetion of a court martial.
Art. XXXIII. All officers, not holding com
missions or warrants, or who are not entitled
to them, except such as are temporarily ap
pointed to the duties of a commissioned or war
rant officer, are deemed petty officers.
Art. XXXIV. Any person entitled to wag
es or prize money may have the fame paid to
his assignee, provided the alignment be attested
by the captain and purser; and in case of the
alignment of wages, the power shall fpecify the
precise time they commence. But the com
mander of every vessel is required to difeourage
his crew from felling any part of their wages
or prize money, and never to attest any power
of attorney, until he is fatisfied that the fame
is not granted in consideration of money given
for the purchase of wages or prize money.
Naval General Courts Martial.
Art. XXXV. General courts martial may
be convened as often as the President of the U
nited States, the Secretary of the Navy, or the
commander in chief of the fleet, or commander
ofa squadron, while aiding out of the United
States, shall deem it necessary . ■ Provided, that
no general court martial shall consist of more
than thirteen, nor less than five members, and
as many officers shall be summoned on every
such court as can be convened without injury
to the service, so as not to exceed thirteen, and
the senior officer shall always preside, the oth
ers ranking agreeably to the date of their com
missions ; and in no case, where it can be avoid
ed without injury to the service, shall more than
one half the members, exclusive of the President,
be junior to the officer to be tried.
Art. XXXVI. Each member of the court,
Art. XXXII. All crimes committed by
persons belonging to the navy, which are not
fpccified in the foregoing articles, shall be pun
ished according to the laws and customs in
such cases at sea.
tails, to be used on board his ship; nor shall
any officer who may command by accident, or
in the absence of the commanding officer (ex
cept such commander be absent for a time by
leave) order or inflia any other punish
ment than confinement, for which he shall ac
count on the return of such absent commanding
officer. Nor shall any commanding officer re
ceive on board any petty officers or men turned
over from any other vessel to him, unless each
of such officers and men produce to him an ac
count signed by the captain and purser of the
vessel from which they came, fpecifying the date
of such officer's or man's entry, the period and
terms of service, the sums paid and the balance
due him, and the quality in which he was rat
ed on board such ship. Nor shall any com
manding officer, having received any petty of
ficer or man as aforefaid, rate him in a lower
or worse station than that in which he former
ly served : Any commanding officer offending
herein, shall be punished at the diferetion of a
court martial.
Art. XXXI. Any master at arms, or other
person of whom the duty of mailer at arms is
required, who shall refufe to receive such pri
soners as shall be committed to his charge, or
having received them, shall fuffer them to es
cape, or dismiss them without orders from pro
per authority, shall fuffer in such prisoners
Head, or be punished otherwise at the diferetion
of a court martial.
Art. XXX. No commanding officer shall,
of his own authority, discharge a commissioned
or warrant officer, nor strike, nor punish him
otherwise than by fufpenfton or confinement,
nor shall he of his own authority, inflict a
punishment on any private beyond twelve lash
es with a cat-of-nine-tails, nor shall he fuffer
any wired, or other than a plain cat-of-nine-
condition of the provisions, and use every pre
caution for its preservation. He ihall, when
ever he orders officers and men to take charge
ofa prize, and proceed to the United States,
and whenever officers or men are sent from
his ship for whatever cause, take care that
each man be furnifhed with a complete state
ment of his account, fpecifying the date of his
enliftmenc, and the period and terms of his ser
vice ; which account Ihall be signed by the
commanding officer and purser. He shall cause
the rules for the government of the navy to be
hung up in some public part of the ship, and
read once a month to his fhip's company. He
shall cause a convenient place to be set apart
for sick or disabled men, to which he shall have
them removed, with their hammocks and bed
ding, when the surgeon shall so advise, and
shall direct that some of the crew attend them
and keep the place clean ; and if necessary, shall
dire& that cradles, and buckets with covers, be
made for their use : And when his crew is fi-
when on shore, plunder, abuse, or maltreat a
ny inhabitant, or injure his property in any
way, he shall fuffer such punishment as a court
martial Ihall adjudge.
Art. XXVIII. Every person jn-th© navy
shall use his utmost exertions to deted appre
hend, and bring to punishment all offenders,
and- shall at all times, aid and assist all persons
appointed for this parpofe, on pam of such
punishment as a court martial shall adjudge.
Art. XXIX. Each commanding officer shall,
whenever a seaman enters on board, cause an
accurate entry to be made in the fhip's books,
of his name, time, and term of his service; and
before failing transmit to the Secretary of the
Navy, a complete lift or muller roll of the of
ficcrrffid men under his command, with the
d^tc of their entering, time and terms of their
service annexed; and shall cause similar lifts
to be made out on the firft day of every second
month, to be transmitted to the Secretary of
the Navy, as opportunities Ihall occur ; ac
counting in such lifts or muster rolls, for any
casualties which may have taken place iince the
ldfllift or muster roll. He shall cause to be
accurately minuted on the fhip's books, the
names of, and times at which any death or de
sertion may occur ; and in case of death, shall
take care that the purser secure all the proper
ty of the deceased for the benefit of his legal
reprefentativc or representatives. He shall
cause frequent infpetlions to be made into the
No. 42. amx
Morning, by CHARLES PEIRCE, Printer of the Laws &c. of
in New-Hampshire.
Art. XXXVIII. All charges, on which an
application for a general court martial is so und
ed, shall he exhibited in writing to the proper
Officer, and the person demanding the court
shall take care that the person accused be fur
nished with a true copy of the charges, with
the fpecifications, at the time he is put under ar
rest, nor shall any other charge or charges,
than those so exhibited, be urged against the
person to be tried before the court, unless it ap
pear to the court that intelligence of such charge
had not reached the person demanding the
court, when the person so to be tried was put
under arrest, or that some witness material to
the support of such charge, who was at that
time absent, can be produced ; in which case
reasonable time shall be given to the person to
be tried to make his defence against such new
charge. Every officer so arrested is to deliver
up his sword to his commanding officer, and to
confine himfelf to the limits assigned him under
pain of difmiffion from service.
Art. XXXIX. When the proceedings of ti
ny general court martial shall have commenc
ed, they Ihall not be suspended or delayed on
account of the absence of any of the members,
provided five or more be assembled , •but the
court is enjoined to fit from day to day, Sundays
excepted, until sentence be given; And no
member of said court Ihall after the proceed
ings are begun, absent himfelf therefrom, un
ki sin case of sickness, or orders to go on du
ty from a superior officer, on pain of being
cashiered.
Art. XL. Whenever a court martial shall
sentence any officer to be suspended, the court
shall have power to suspend his pay and emolu
ments, for the whole, or any part of the time
of his suspension.
Art. XLI. All sentences of courts martial,
which shall extend to the loss of life, shall re
quire the concurrence of two-thirds of the mem
bers present; and no such sentence shall be car
ried into execution, until confirmed by the Pre
sident of the United States; or if the trial take
place out of the United States,until it be confirm
ed by the commander of the fleet or squadron ;
All other fentenees may be determined by a
majority of votes, and carried into execution on
confirmation of the commander of the fleet, or
officer ordering the court, except such as go to
the difmiffion of a commissioned or warrant
officer, which arc firft to be approved by the
President of the United States.
A court martial shall not, for any one of
fence not capital, inflid a punishment beyond
one hundred lashes.
Art. 11. The proceedings of courts of enquiry
shall be authenticated by the signature ofthe pre
sident of the court'and judge advocate, and shall
in all cases not capital, or extending to the dif
miffion ofa commissioned or warrant officer, be
" I A. B. do swear or affirm, that I will truly
try, without prejudice or partiality, the case
now depending^according to the evidence which
shall come before the court, the rules for the
government ofthe navy, & my own confcicnce ;
and that I will not by any means divulge or
disclose the fehtence of the court, until it shall
have been approved by the proper authority,
nor will I at any time* divulge or disclose the
vote or opinion of any particular member of
the court, unless required so to do before a
court of juflice in due course of law."
This oath or affirmation being duly admin
istered, the President is authorized and requir
ed to admitlifter the following oath or af
firmation to the Judge Advocate, or person
officiating as such.
“ I, A. B. do swear or affirm, that I will
keep a true record of the evidence given to and
the proceedings of this court ; nor will I divulge
or by any means disclose the sentence of the
court until it shall have been approved by the
proper authority ; nor will I at any time di
vulge or disclose the vote or opinion of any
particular member of the court, unless required
so to do before a court of jufticc in due course
of law."
Art. XXXVII. All testimony given to a
general court martial shall be on oath or affir
mation, which the President of the court is
hereby authorized to administer, and if any
person shall refufe to give his evidence as aforA $
said, or shall prevaricate, or shall behave with'
contempt to the court, it shall abd may be law
ful for the court to imprison such offender at
their diferetien ; provided that the imprison
ment in no case shall exceed two months; And
every person who shall commit wilful perjury
on examination on oath or affirmation before
such court, or who shall corruptly procure, or
fubarn any person to commit such wilful perju
ry, shall and may be prosecuted by indi&ment
or information, in any court of juflice of the U
nited States, and shall fuffer such penalties as
are authorized by the laws of the United States
in cases of perjury or the subornation thereof;
And in every pro fecution for perjury o, the
subornation thereof under this at, it shall be
fufficient to set forth the offence charged on the
defendant, without setting forth the authority
by which the court was held, or the particular
matters brought or intended to be brought be
fore the said court.
Sec. 2. Art. I. And be ft further enaßed, That
courts of enquiry may be ordered by the Presi
dent ofthe United States, the Secretary of the
Navy.or the commander of a fleet or squadron,
provided such court shall not consist of more than
three members who shall be commissioned offi
cers, and a judge advocate, or person to do duty
as such; and such courts shall have power to
summon witnesses, administer oaths, and punish
contempt in the fame manner as courts martial.
But such courts shall merely (late fadls, and hot
give their opinion, unless exprefsiy required so
to do in the order for convening; and the party
whose condua shall be the fubjed of enquiry,
shall haye permission to crofe examine all the
witnesses.
Art XLII. The President of the U. States,
or when the trial takes place out of the United
States, the commander of the fleet or squadron,
shall possess full power to pardon any offence
committed against these articles, after convic
tion, or to mitigate the punishment decreed by
a court martial.
®rade of t¥)t B
before proceeding to trial, shall take the follow
ing oath or affirmation, which the Judge Advo
cate, or person officiating as such, is hereby au
thorized to administer.
PRICE I DOLLAR 50 CENTS Per Annum
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TWELFTH YEAR.
to enquire into the loss of such ship or vessel ;—-
and if by the sentence of such court, or other fat
isfaSory evidence, it shall appear that all or an,
of the officers and men of such ship's company
did their utmost to preserve her, and after the
loss thereof behaved themselves agreeably to the
discipline of the navy, then the pay and emolu
ments of such officers and men, or such of them
as shall have done their duty as aforefaid, shall
go on until their discharge or death ; and every
officer or private who shall, after the loss of fith
vessel, at contrary to the discipline of the navy,
shall be punished at the diferetion of a court
martial, in the fame manner as if such vessel
had not been so loft.
Sec. 4. And be it farther enacted. That
all the pay And emoluments of such of
ficers and men, of any of the ships or
vessels of the United States taken by
an enemy, who shall appear by the sen
tence of a court martial, or otherwise,
to have done their utmost to preserve
and defend their ship or vessel, and af
ter the taking thereof, have behaved
themselves obediently to their superiors,
agreeably to the discipline of the navy,
shall go on and be paid them until their
death,exchange, or discharge.
Sec. 5. And be it farther enaded. That
the proceeds of all ships and vessels,
and the goods taken on board of them,
which Ihall be adjudged good prize,
shall, when of equal or superior force
to the vessel or vessels making the cap
ture, 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 mak
ing the capture.
Sec. 6. And be enafled. That the
prize money, belonging to the officers
and men, shall be distributed in the fol
lowing manner :
I. To the commanding officers of
fleets, squadrons, or single ships, three
twentieths, of which the commanding
officer of the fleet or squadron shall
have one twentieth, if the prize be taken
by a ship or veffelanting under his com
mand, and the commander of single
fliips, two twentieths ; but where the
prize is taken by a ship acting inde
pendently of such superior officer,
the three twentieths shall belong to her
commander.
zes as may have been taken by (hips
or vcffels intended to be placed under
his command, before they have acted
under his immediate orders ; nor Ihall
a commander of a fleet or squadron,
VI. To seamen, ordinary seamen,
marines, and all other persons doing
duty on board, seven twentieths.
VII. Whenever one or more public
ships or vessels are in fight at the time
any one or more ships are taking a prize
or prizes, they shall all share equally
in the prize or prizes, according to the
number of men and guns on board each
ship in fight.
No commander of a fleet or squadron
shall be entitled to receive any share of
prizes taken by vessels rot kinder his
immediate command ; nor of such pri-
IV. To midshipmen, surgeons mates,
captains clerks, fehoobnafters, boatswains
mates, gunners mates, carpenters mates,
fliips Rewards, fail makers, masters at
arms, armourers, cockfwains, and coo
pers, three twentiethsand an half.
V. To gunners yeomen, boatswains
yeomen, quarter masters, quarter gun
ners, fail makers mates, ferjeants and
corporals of marines, drummers, fifers
and extra petty officers, two twentieths
and an half.
11. To sea lieutenants, captains of
marines, and failing makers, two twen
tieths ; but where there is a captain,
without a lieutenant of marines, these
officers shall be entitled to two twenti
eths and one third of a twentieth,
which third, in such case, shall be de
duced from the share of the officers
mentioned in article No. 111, of this
fedion.
111. To chaplains, lieutenants of
marines, surgeons, pursers, boatswains,
gunners, carpenters, and masters mates,
two twentieths.
-evidence before a court martial, provided oral
testimony cannot be obtained.
Art. 111. The judge advocate, or person of
ficiating as such, shall administer to the mem
bers the following oath or affirmation.
" You do swear, or affirm, well and truly to
examine and enquire according to the evidence,
into the matter now before you, without partial
ity or prejudice."
After which the president shall administer to
the judge advocate, or person officiating as such,
the following oath or affirmation.
“ You do swear, or affirm, truly to record
the proceedings of this court, and the evidence
to be given in the case in heating."
Sec. ;. And be it farther enaaed. That in al!
cases, where the crews of the ships or vcdels of
the United States shall be separated from their
vessels, by the latter being wrecked, 101 l or de
stroyed, all the command, power, and authori
ty, given to the officers of such ships or vessels,
shall remain and be in full force as effectually as
if such ship or vessel were not so wrecked, loft,
or destroyed, until such ship's company be regu
larly difeharged from, or ordered again into the
firvice, or until a court martial shall be held