The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-14 00:00:00

wishedtheir countrytobereannexedto theMonarehy. rather than a practical view of the question. Ile
There are many reasons why this belief should have sees it as a lawyer, and not as a statesman. The
prevailed at Madrid. The troubles through which the Government of a great and powerful country will
Spanish American Republics have passed, sometimes always be ready to make allowance for circum-
ending, as inMexico, in downright anarchy,, naturally stances stated and proved which rendered it impos-
led the Spanish Government of the day to trust the as- Bible to adopt a course of procedure prescribed for
surances of those who asserted that the Dominicans observance in ordinary cases. Mr. Benjamin quali-
all.but a feeble section of Radicals, desired nothing fies his instruction to take out and destroy goode ;
so much as the protection of the prosperous and contraband of war from a neutral vessel, by refer-
advancing Monarchy from which they had been un- ring to the notification issued by neutral Powers,
happily severed. Though the military instincts of declaring that their subjects will not be protected
Spain may have been roused by the enterprise, we in a contraband trade, and by pointing out that the
can readily agree that the expedition was not exactly owner of any vessel having such goods destined for
"an ambitious war of conquest." The result, how- the enemy's country forfeits the neutral character ;
ever, shows how dangerous is the belief that popula- so that the entire ship and cargo might be dealt
tions which have once tasted the sweets of independ- with as belonging to the 'enemy. He yields this
once will willingly return to colonial subjection. The right, however, of dealing with the entire ship and
Mexicans themselves would probably have fought the cargo ; and out of consideration for the neutral, and
French for years, had it been proposed to make their because, perhaps, of the difficulty of adopting the
country a French or Spanishprovinee. The Domini- usual course of procedure for adjudication, he only
cans soon gave the Queen's Government reason to takes out the goods. We confess we think neutral
know that the assurances it had received were quite Powers have no legitimate ground of complaint
delusive. They rose against the Spanish troops, and against this instruction, unless the officers in carry-
the war hasbeen going on ever since. Battle and apes- ing them out should use harshness or unnecessarY
tiferous climate, as the Bill truly declares, are making violence, or strain them, in their application, to
terrible ravages in the ranks of the invaders. cases of doubtful breach of neutrality. With re-
The sanguinary struggle uselessly expends the public spect to the third point—the case of a vessel osten-
treasures and consumes the products of the colonies. sibly neutral, but really hostile, and carrying frau -
This is the Ministerial description of the state of dulent papers—Mr. Benjamin Erects the attention
affairs, and it will be, no doubt, duly confirmed by of commanders of cruisers to cases only of attempts
the votes of the Cortes. It is acknowledged that to screen vessels from capture by fraudulent or pre-
" the annexation had not that spontaneous and tended sale to a neutral. In these cases if the fraud
unanimous support upon which it was based." But should be clearly established as a mere device to
when the warhad once begun it was too late to recede. evade capture, the captain of the cruiser is to deal with
It was thought the duty of the Government to aster- thr vessel as an enemy, leaving-the Government to
taro whether the opposition did not proceed merely explain the matter to the neutral Power whose flag
from a discontented few. This information has been was so used in fraud. "Historicus" states that frauds .
sought during the last three years by a war which of this description have produced some of the most
has exhausted the Treasury of Spain and filled every perplexing cases thathave been decided in Admiralty
Spanish community of America with freshdislike and Courts,' and that the captains of cruisers are no fit '
distrust of the old country. At last a Government, judges of such cases, and therefore that a seizure '
presided over by a manwho would be the last to yield of this description will not be tolerated by any
hastily to popular clamour, solemnly declares, " That neutral Power. It is very true that captains of
it was a delusion to believe that the Dominican cruisers are not Admiralty judges, and therefore
people as a whole, or in a great majority, de- not competent to decide difficult cases. But they
sired and, above all, demanded their annexation to are told in the instructions not to meddle with such
Spain;" and for this, and the reasons consequent cases, and only to treat as enemies' ships found in
on it, the Ministers solemnly advise the Cortes to circumstances of glaring flagrancy, in which no diffi"
" repeal the Royal decree which made the Domini- culty is expected in the ability of the Confederate
can Republic part of the Spanish Monarchy." It is Government to satisfy and convince the neutral
a disagreeable lesson ; but the nation bears it Power that it is not either in justice or in honour
calmly, and in a manner indicative of good sense required to insist upon its extreme 'eights. Here
and good feeling. To bring back these revolted also everything will depend upon the spirit in which
colonies to their former political condition is im- the instructions are carried out. The Confederate
possible. To unite them to Spain by the ties of Government rely upon the discretion and sound
friendship and mutual advantage is open to any judgment of the commanders they employ ; and, ae
statesman who guides his course by wisdom. The these are few, and act under a strong sense of the
failure in Mexico and San Domingo may teach the responsibility attaching to every capture or seizure
true policy to be pursued in Peru and elsewhere ; they make, we do not see any probability of serious
and if the Spaniards act with prudence, Mexico, differences or difficulties resulting from these in'
San Domingo, Peru, and every other land where structions. The great superiority of the Federate
their language is spoken, may one day be united to at sea has compelled the Confederates to resort to
them by an alliance even more fruitful of advan- courses not usual in national wars. Amongst these
tages than a common sovereignty. has been the necessity of procuring war-vessels to
POST.—A document has been published by the be built and equipped at a distance from their own
Government of the Confederate States of America ports. No one will pretend that this was not
with
the limits of legitimate belligerent action against
well worthy of the attention of the public, and espe-
their enemy. There has been tall talk at New York
cially of commercial men in this country. It is a
of dealing with *th vessels so brought into the field
despatch from Mr. Benjamin, the Secretary of State
against them as pirates. But when once the vessels
of that Government, to the Secretary of the Navy,
have been fairly obtaind, and placed under the cony
laying down the principles which are to guide the
mend of commissioned officers by the Confederate,
commanders of cruisers in their dealings with the
Government, there can be no question afterwards °J
vessels and property of neutrals. It furnishes in-
the
structions for the three cases—First, of a vesstheirright to act as vessels of war, making eaptureel
and doing all that may be in their power to milli'
under enemy's flag, with cargo wholly or in part
and destroy the enemy. The Federal Government
belonging to neutrals ; secondly, of a vessel really e*
stop to thie
bymignt
dealing
undoubtedly. say, we put. a
neutral, with cargo wholly or in Osten belonging to
with every vessel of the kind we can find
the enemy ; and third, of a vesselsibly neutral,
and capture as a pirate. That Government wont('
but really hostile, fraudulently placed under a
assuredly have done so but for the conviction that+
neutral flag and furnished with fraudulent papers.
for every commissioned officer or sailor hanged as a
In dealing with these three cases, Mr. Benjamin
irate, one or more of equal rank who might be ill
points to the difficulty in which the Confederates p.
the hands of the enemy as a prisoner would be co'
are placed in consequence of having all their ports
cuted in retaliation. But this is a matter that lies
blockaded or watched by the enemy's steam vessels
exclusively and entirely between the belligerents ;
of war, which, as the prizes made are mostly sailing
and neutral Powers and the world at large see only
vessels, precludes the possibility of bringing them
the commission and the uniform, and. are bound t°
into a Confederate port for adjudication by a Court
concede
to the vessels of one belligerent the same
of Admiralty, as he admits would be the duty,
courtesies, as well as the same rights, that they eon-
making prizes of the enemy, or detaining neutral cede to. the other, even though one of the two show'
have its vessels counted by units, while the other hae
vessels for violation of the neutrality. In this diffi-
them counted by hundreds.
culty, Mr. Benjamin points to the alternative of ob-
taining adjudication in the ports and by the Admi-
ralty Courts of the neutral Powers concerned ; but
states that this course is precluded by the resolution
adopted generally by the neutral Powers of Europe
not to admit into their ports any prize captures
made by either belligerent. Against this resolution
Mr. Benjamin says his Government is about to make
further strong representations; but in the meantime,
and until some means are provided of obtaining ad-
judication, commanders of cruisers are instructed in
the first case—viz.' that of enemy's vessels having
neutral goods on board—to tender ransom upon
bond to the master of the vessel captured if an
enemy's, and if the ransom bond is refused; to de-
stroy the vessel and its cargo " wherever the prize
cannot be brought into a port of our own, or of a
neutral country." A writer in the Times, under the
signature of " Historicus," who is extremely well
read in international law, and who has heretofore
contributed much to the proper understanding of
questions of this description that have arisen since
hostilities commenced between the two sections of
the United States of America, treats this instruction
as an outrageous violation of the rights of neutrals.
He declares that neutral property, not contraband,
is not liable to belligerent capture, even on board
an enemy's vessel ; that a belligerent has no right
to meddle with, or dispose of it, and that the pre-
text of inability to bring prizes into any port of
their own, or of a neutral Power, gives no right to
a belligerent to " seize, burn, and destroy British
property, over which they have no more right than
they have over the coffers of the Bank of England."
We cannot admit this reasoning. A belligerent
has the right to capture and destroy the persons
and property of his enemy on the high seas, as well
as in the enemy's country. He captures and burns
a ship as he would capture and bombard a town.
He is not to be restrained in the exercise of this
right of capturing and burning, by the fact that in
the town or in the ship there is neutral property
which he has no right and no desire to meddle with.
If neutrals freight goods in belligerent vessels they
expose them to all the chances of war, and pay of
course war-risk insurance for their protection. If
the vessel is captured, burnt, and destroyed in the
course of war, the neutral shipper has his remedy
against the underwriters. The belligerent cannot
be expected to forego his right of capture because
of the presence of such goods on board. In the
same manner, if he has no expedient to prevent re-
capture by the enemy but to burn or sink the vessel
captured, respect for the neutral property on board
does not require him to refrain from adopting this
expedient. He may very fairly say to the neutral
shipper, " You must look to your underwriters, as I
have no alternative but to destroy. If, however,
your Government will provide such an alternative
by opening its ports for the receipt of prizes con-
taining neutral property, I am quite ready to adopt
it." And this is the line of argument taken by
Mr. Benjamin, which we think not unfair nor un-
reasonable. Our Government may still refuse to
open its ports to prizes, for that is a point within
its option ' • but if it does so, we have no right to
complain that prizes are burnt with British pro-
perty on board, when it is made clear that there
was no other resource open to prevent their falling
into the hands of the enemy. Mr. Benjamin,
however, is more considerate towards neutrals than
in strict right he is compelled to be, for he limits
the permission to destroy the vessel to cases in
which the proportion of neutral property on
board is small compared with the value of .the
vessel and hostile cargo ; whereas, consider-
ing that the whole will be, or at least ought to be,
insured against war-risk, because freighted on board
the vessel of a belligerent nation, its liability to such
a contingency of destruction was absolute, without
reference to the proportion its value might bear to
that of the ship and the rest of the cargo. The
second point treated of in these instructions is that
of a vessel really neutral, with cargo wholly or in
part belonging to the enemy. The Confederate
cruisers are directed to allow vessels of neutrals to
pass free, unless laden with goods contraband of
war destined for the enemy's ports. If such contra-
band goods are found on board a neutral vessel,
they are to be taken out, if practicable, and tran-
shipped or destroyed ; but the vessel is to be allowed
to continue her voyage. " Historicus" points out
that this instruction makes the commander of the
cruiser the judge of what is and what is not contra-
band. He likens the taking out of property to the
case of Captain Wilkes who took Confederate pas-
sengers out of the Trent, and asserts that any for-
cible destruction of neutral property without adjudi-
cation in an Admiralty Court is a" national insult"
which must lead to war. But here also we think
that this writer overstates the case, and makes no
allowance for the circumstances which have given
occasion to these instructions. Suppose the captain
of a Confederate cruiser found a neutral vessel at
sea laden with shot, shell, and gunpowder, which it
was conveying to replenish the stores of the block-
ading squadron off Charleston. He finds the vessel
in such a position, and steering such a course, as to
leave no doubt where these warlike stores are going.
Is he to allow the hostile squadron to be so equipped
because of the impossibility of taking the vessel
anywhere for adjudication '1 Of course not. He will
take possession of the warlike stores, relying upon
his ability to satisfy the Government of the neutral
nation of the flagrancy of the violation of neutrality
in the case, and of the war exigency under which he
acted. Every case of this kind will have to be decided
according to its circumstances. In attaching such
extreme importance to the necessity of adjudica-
tion before action "Historicus" takes a technical