The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1846-07-06
NEW YORK. MONDAY MORNING, JULY 6, 1916


bearing letter of marque, but of which the cap
ttin and two-thirds of the crew should not be
Mexican, would be considered pirate, and treat
ed as such with all the severity of the laws of
war. The Minister replied Us follows =" That
he had the honor to explain to the honorable de-
putty, that the rule of the marine, the rule of the
Minister us chief OF great military corps, as CIV
ing orders To captains and officers of ships OF the
navy-that rule could not be the same as formerly.
He knew the despatch that had been quoted-a
copy OF It existed in his department He thought
thatthe admiral who wrote il, had done well in
tracing on, line of conduct to the officers under
his orders but it remained TO be seen that if
when the ships should be anchored in the ports
OF France, and be before the Justice of the coun-
try, that justice would proceed with respect to
them IN the same manner. He beliAed that it
OF au act OF them in the same manner. He be-
leved that it was in the number of the first, the
most important, duties of an admiral, to watch
over the safety and the fortunes Of his country
men traversing the seas /; and he ought not TO
hesitate to take on his responsibility to arrest q
ship OF which he had ust cause OF suspicion. But
his right did not go so far as to warrant him, as
done OF old, declare the captain of the ves-
sci pirate, and to hang him at the yard ARM
Under Louis XIV. such was the way of acting I;
captain, officers, and crew, recognised as pirates,
were instantly treated as such. 1t was evident,
however, that under a constitutional government
there was different manner Of proceeding'-
The deputy who had previously spoken, retorted
that he had not asked the Minister if the men
would be hung at the yard-arm. He had asked if
the captains OF the vessels in the of the Antil-
les would have the order to seize vessels calling
themselves Mexcans, but of which the captain
and the greater part of the crew should not be
Mexicans. lfthey were brought to trial in a
French port and acquitted, there would be no.
thing to say. But what he wanted to know was,
if their (the French) captains would have orders
to arrest them? To this question the Minister
vonchsafed no reply.
From the Paris siecleJ
The eventualtfes of the war opened between
the United States and Mexico strongly preoccupy
the attention of the public mind in England =
Amongst these eventualites to which, perhaps,
the full attention is not paid which they demand,
there is one, at least, which we cannot exempt
ourselves from examining seriously; we allude to
privateeering. a barbarous practice still authori-
zed by the right of nations.
To require that maratimc nation, at war with
another, shall not attack the commerce of the lat
ter, is political absurdty. Commerce is an in
strument of wealth; wealth, an instrument of
power. Now, nations fight to diminish or destroy
the power OF each other; to require, in the name
Of the rights of nations, that the trade of the bel
ligerents shall remain free is to lasify the cond-
tons Of the contest, is to put an injustice in the
place of an extension of natural right. For in
stance, France, possessing military marine
which may, seeing the number OF points to be de-
tended, attain proportionate equality to tina, OF
England, and that power keeping up merchant
fleet five or six times more considerable than
ours, il is evident that the freedom of the COM
-
advantage, supposing (Which is not very suppose
ble) that such liberty could receive sufficient guar
antees.
But the right of prvateering, conceded by the
State to private individuals, and exercised by
means OF corsars, is not necessarily derived from
the right OF attacking the enemys trade with ships
of war. Privateerlng, which has rendered SER
vices to France which we are far from forgetting,
does not always produce Jean Barts or Surcoufs,
but it invariably engenders passions Of lucre, and
hatred. from which it is Of the highest import
auce tospurge well organized society. The de-
livery OF letters OF marque ought therefore, TO be
interdicted by a declaration of France, Engla and,
and the United States, to the effect that in future
every corsair (privateer) should be deemed pi.
rate and treated as such by Admiralty law. All
the other powers would certainly hasten to give in
their adhesion TO this declaration.
The following are the news, we will not say the
facts, which determine us to publish the iorego-
ing reflections
The Mexicans cannot attack the Americans by
sea, except by privateering. The law requires
that the crew of corsair shall consist (one.thrd
at leas) of men belonging to the nation from
which the corsair holds its letter of marquee
Nothing can be easier than the evasion OF this ar
rangement. Surprising that the crew consists of
10 men, 40 of them and a sham captain, born or
naturalized Mexicans, will first be taken; then a
real captain, without any legal title, and 80 "sea-
wolves" of all nations will be engaged, including
men who have been dragged by a love of gain
into all the hazards and sometimes all the excuses
of an adventurous life. corsar, thus consttu-
ted, will pilage the commerce of the United
States by the hands Of Americans, and the COM
merce oil Mexico by the hands of Mexicans; for
there are on the shores of South America, bold
Guineamen who will not refuse to enlist on board
corsairs bearing the Union flag. Already, even,
letters now before us announce that every ar
rangement is being made for practising on large
scale this system Of plage eagalized by letters of
marque.
Ought not this kind OF cruising, where You see
the legal crew doing the kitchen work and wash
ing the deck, whilst the real crew often belong-if
not all, AZ any rate the larger part-to the nation
whose vessel is captured, to excite the reproba-
ton of right minded men in all countries. But
his is not allthe neutral cruisers will contest the
nationality of many of these corsairs, will stop
them, cannonadc them, and thence will arise de-
mands which will end in the most grevious re-
suits. Never was the necessity for abolishng cor
sairs more urgent, and never was the opportunity
for attaining this object more propitous, than at
present
The following. is the reply from the Foreign
man Of the South American and Mexican Asso-
citation, relative to the war with Mexico:-
"sir,I am directed by the Earl of Aberdeen to ac-
which call his Lordshps attention to the disastrous
results which are to be apprehended from the hosltes
Mexico and express hope. on the part Of the south
American and Mexican Association, that Her Majesys
Government may deem it expcdient to nerpose their
good Offices in order to effect reconciliation between
those two governments
am to state TO you in reply, that Her Majcsty's
Government are fully corscious of all the evils that
must attend the rupture which has unfortunately taken
place between the United States and Mexico and espe
csy Of the Brtish inere cannot fail to suffer
most deeply from such. state Of things You may
therefore, be we'll assured that Her Msesty's Govern
ment will watch with the utmost vigilance the progress
of events and will omit favorable nifty Of en-
poying their best efforts with both the beligerents in
order TO calm their snmoses and to restore peace be-
tween the two countries
81 am, sir,
your most obedent humble servant,
Oh u. ADDINGT0N
J. D. Powles, Esq, Chairman Of the South American
and Mexican Association"
STATE OF THE CRoPs. The weather is, and has
been for some weeks past delightful, but oppres-
sivrly hot. Following ithas done the heavy rains
Of a very wet spring,th earth has become covered
with luxurant vegetation, and promises to give
us one OF mans best bcssings-an early and
abundant harvest. The hay crop in the district
OF Liverpool is being well secured the quality Is
reported to be excellent The wheat crop, from
all the reports that we have seen, both in this and