Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-11-29

You may exercise your, iisus VI no1
paainst ambassadors wherever the character
of hostility exists You may stop the sm'
bassador Of l':e ensrug on his passage"
,rnlr :bs. whatever the necessities OF the ne
collation. nav. be, private merchant is under
no obligation TO DC the carrier OF the enemy
dispatches to his own Government Certainly
he IS not: and one Inconvenience to which nc
nav be held fairly subject is that OF haTing;
bis vessel brought in for examination and OF
rho necessary detention and expense. be
s;vcs tho captors an undeniabie right 10
20 ;ntercsnt and examine the nature and con
.ar.e e the paucrs WHICH he is carrying, for
,h.v man be rspers OF IN injurious tendency,
.I,Lou,,h not such, On any prioTa presump-
ton as to subj, C: the party VIII" carries them
10 the penalty c: coniiscation ana oy giving
tho captc!s .hc right Of that inquiry he must
submit to all The Inconvenience that may at
n, ,hcse distinctions, thus clearly stated,
FIN cour, decided that tho vessel which thus
80 dicnatches from the minister resident in
rhe neutral country to his own government,
gas m, subject to condemnation, although
II was no, questioned that the master knew
the dispatches were ca beard
Ind rn this decision it Tas concluded by
,b. u.r;t.r in the Charleston Mercury" tina,
,ho C,vrrnmeut of the United States md the
r;aht RI stop the ambassadors Of ice Conlcdc
,.rata States or their passage from The port OF
q upp;ral S;slo to the cuurt ol neutral do7'
.rnment Bit there was Eo SUCH question DE-
fore the court Tns question Vas vi Tue righs
Of o,e brlitgerel: ~ stop vessel carrying
dcs,,,cnes from minister Of Tue other oslt!-
p.rsnt his enelny, resident in t. neutral coun-
NV to his own c,vcrnnent Aad ;hat CUES
ton only WAS droiaad
The writer in the Mercury" having, as we
h.r GO asid. overlooked tnss iac*, ard supposed
IT'S contradictory, wrrs!s the. venus o the your
and gives them an ttf.c: aaich could Dot have
been intended and watch, indeed, could not b2
instited b. their proper Specification. Inc
Cour. does say, You may exercise your rig!l'
Of war against ambassadors, wherever las
character Of hostility exists; you may stop
the ambassador Of tho cucmy on bis passage.
BIT tho Court must DC understood Is having
in view such cases cnly IS were und:r It's dts
cussion.
The rights Of waE may be exercised against
ambassadors; but these rights d. not eli
thor,ze you TO disregard the rights OF Eeu'
trails. They have rights as we'll MS belligerents,
and among these is That OF receiving aubaSsa-
doris: and ambassadors cannot be received IN
less It be lawful 10 transport them to the ner-
trail court. 1t is true that, ii carried on q
belligerent vessel Of the ambassador, he, TO-
se;her with tho vessel, may be all captured by
the enemy according 20 the rights OF war, and
this satisfies what Is said By the court; 6Gi
it does not follow that such ambassador c!
the beligerent may not be carried to the neu
trail court by any neutral vessel and If DC rnaf
then the enemy Of his government has nl
right iorcibly to enter Oh such vessel sEa
seize and carry him of.
It's not found that Fattel asserts any such
doctrine. The goodness Of heart manifested
by this able jurst in all his i'ages lad pro-
NOTED in hm En- intuitive SENSE Vi the right
which, Independent Of his profound learning
was sufficient to guard him against any suci: er
ror; nor is i: believed that any respectable Wrlicl
on international law has ever committed such
blunder
Had Messrs. Slidcll AID Mason been t!t
flnctinnarirs Of the Confederate States, in a
at Cpu-t Of a foreign neutral power, and from
there Transmitted dispatches TO the G1VernneC,
| at Richmond, or courier charged with Z
courier might hare been lawfully captured or
board neusralyc,s4I, according tc the opinion
Of Sir William Scott. Such, indeed, wcuc
have beer III principle the case Of the Caroline
But il mas not been decided that the ministers
themselves nigh. be lrwfully captured Oh ,hell
| VOYAGE either 10 or lrom such foreign Court
on y ard neutral vessel ard il is net sup
pis4d any such decision ever III be ccnde1el
Il Caristendoul.
| The essential distinction between thesc cases
and Tho case in discussion, ii not glrcad5 man
| iiest, may be saoTed IN few words, and pruvec
upon well established principles.
| In the case of the Caroline, or the one II,
nave supposed the dispatch or courier Wa:
| between 1850 or more posts, or distant 1iuc
,ionsrcs Of the same bclligercnt g9yernmc:!t
and constitute portion ii the operations und
means Of ~a7 against ths enemy, and Ill ihos:
operations the ether bel!geren: may lawfully
oppose, snd consequently capture mhnt is inu:
cmpl,; ed Every such carrying o. dispatches
or c,ur:crs is primer Jtci1 i4r the bench; O.
the military op .ratlo.a OF tue party tor wticf
The service is performed. aud nay be prejud!cin
to The Opposite parry, ai'i therefore stand:
upon the sane gruu:t Tito tho transportation
Of regiment Of !TuGpS. Consequently, IL
neutral cation can protec: It's vessel III suct
an act
Ii i,!l3~s that the bclligerc6t whose RI ghls
Of var uiay DC thereby tE.cted, has The righ
to cnp!oy the means necessary to prevent
such operations, and uay the' efcre arrest ane
| enter uooa the neutral vcssrl, and sc:z5 aLc
carry I, Il guai, dispatch W courier, "i,hou
giving any JUS. csmsa 0! c":cpi.i:I. &c tie YES
SCI Or her government
| Bl; in al! these casns tic operation, !ccud
ing the transmission Of !.is INTEL g;uca, IL
FhateVer form, IS between the pIb;ie function
aries at diff"rent roUis q the same govern
ment without affecting HE perfect rights ci
any ether nation Or people. Thcse Interests
may, It is true, be affected; but il IS incidcn-
| Tally, or as a consequence OF the exercise ot n
prerogaiive and superior right oy the bs!!isc
rent, ard Tn, re!uTe only a dannnm d6sQu:
injuria, and must be submitted to aud borne
! Bat the case before us is essentially different
| Here il is tho neutral Caii0n Hbich has tht
prero .ative right, and consequently ts exer
20 mus; be allowed, and the damage ID,
hrliscrent thereby suffers. or may suppose il
ifsrs, is the damage cii.9ut injury. and mus
tie bone.
Ncur,a! rations iii have the perfect right {.
6 CONTINUATION Ct a. least thci- accustomed
commercial end other intercourse riih each o
the oel!ieeren;s and couseG ueiitly right e
send 20 and receive ambassadors from them
and it may be necessary, ss it WAS in fact ii!
the case before us for these ministers TO BIZ
carried n vessels on the high seas. 1t may be
that The other bellgercrt has q right to cap
rure ministers when conveyed on a vessel O.
| the other party. /. has tho rgat 10 capture
the vessel itself; bit this question Was not de-
cidrd in tho coso Of the Caroline, asa the dis
usson Of it here would be not only foreign tc
on. prsseEi: purpose but utterly useless. The
government ct Washington has. violated SC
many Of the rules of ciT:iizcd warfare that il
would lie idts 10 suppose case !or discus
sion.
Here, our commissioners, the ninisters 81
! the Confederate States, were passengers o.
board a neutral vessel, which had sailed with