Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-06-23


to be waged for just aud legitimate purposes and
no government can destroy life OF property in thrf
prosecution, unless indispensasly necesarF to tn
attainment Of It's lawful PURPOSE or object ss-a
BASED upon this christian and phiIanehropie prfn
cpe Is the exemption from destructoH-ali liFes of
the family Of scyereieBs, all the members CT civil
administration ali wemen and children ali citizens
engaged in the peaceful pursuits of life This inmu
nity Is forfeited when any of these are found
with arus in hand for hostile purposes, directly or
indirectly engaged in warlike operations Ia accord
ance with the same enlightened principle. isthe eS
| emptlon from wanton ard indscriminate dssuuc-
ton ali private public properly that mag be seiz
ed or captured On land Consequently all temples re
igi0n all edces devoted 70 csyli all re
pssitories of science and literature all monuments
and galleries of the fine arts all yiyGe property
unless taken in sieges upon baseields, or as mill
tary contribution. These are the exceptions to the
general principle Of international law, that all
movable or immoyable property of the enemy may
be seized and appropriated by the government Of
/ the captor. With respect to all government prop
erty and eminent domain they pass TO the sovereign
possession of the victorious State; but not the prtUdte
ragktS and properly Of the citizen. Conquest alone
changes the allegiance Of the citizen, and the ten
| ure and protection Of their rights and property
| from one government to the other. See Wheat0n's
Law of Nations from D. 1913 to 90, Yattel from p.
| 377 to 1872, Grotius VIII cap. 1879. Encl Amer
vx from P. 1888 to '56, sLeis, pol ethics vol 2 p
/ $50.
L
reciprocity; and when there is any departure from
the established usages Of modern nations it is emily
justified to compel the offending nation to return
| 10 the faithful observance of laws which it has
violated. During the last war with Great Britain.
the British naval forces under the command of Adj
mral Cochran, were guilty Of destructive measures
/ against lives and property of the citizens of the
United States, which were entirely unjusuhable by
/ international usage, and unauthorized by his
own government, as may be seen from the
1 dunlP Ia tn he fafa Doya nnfrr1 mt
| dated 18th Of August 1914. and 18th
| September 1874 These acts Of barbarity up
on the part OF the British forces were perperated
at and near the river Rasin by Northwestern In
dams in the employ and pay of the British goveEl-
ment by the conf Igration and plumber of cities and
villages on the shores Of the Chesa eike Bay, and
the destruction of the houses of tie government at
| Washington. Again during the French Revolution,
the French government had collected in the Museum
of the Louvre, from Italy, Tuscany, Venice and the
Netherlands and other nations that yielded to their
| victorious arms, many monuments of art such as
pictures, statues, &c. But all these were restored
| to the demonstrating governments, BY the allied
DO wers in 1875 Admiral Cochran in rain ATTEMPTED
to justify his berbarities upon the unjust ground of
retaliation, concluding his last letter with the dee
laration that il was little congeBal 10 the dis
position of British 20 the United States governs
ment, to adopt any plan of hostties which had for
| its object the destruction of private property
| Upon no ground of retaliation, upon none of i'm
perious necessity the Northern government JUS
tify the cruel and rerciless warfare it is now wag
| ing against the Southern C0nlederacy It certainly
tends produce feelings Of evaporation that mill
tate against speedy restoration of amicable rela-
/ tons.
| Al trade 17ih The enemy suspended during the ex-
istence of war; unless specially sanctioned by com
mission from government is universal principle
of international law. it has the sanction of the
double authority of public and private jurispru-
dence. See Bynkersh elk chap VII; Robinsons ad-
i miralIty Reports vol. page 1876. Wheaton L. Nat
page 357 to $50.
The application Of this principle extends to every
species Of private contract with the enemy insurance
enemies goods property or trade negotiating bills
of exchange with the enemy, the remission of funds
in bills money, to the country of the enemy, par
nerships of any commercial character, though form
ed anterior to the declaration of war. Kent's Com
4 from D. 81 to 60; Wheatou's L. n. D. 366-67.
EnemyS property found in our country at the CON-
mencement of hostilities, and debts die the enemy As
have said upon another occasion the seizure and
ccnfscatiOn of such property, as well the repu,
dIation or cancelment of such debts, depends upon
the option Of the Government To do so is not an
immntable rule of law. If the Northern Abolition
Government continues the seduction and emancipa-
ton of negroes, wanton sacrifices of the lives
and property of our citizens, then the right of inter
national law ought at to be exercised Because
then it would be just upon the ground of retaliation
and mode of redress. With regard to debts due
| the enemy the policy of England and America has
| been most liberal. These two Governments towards
each other, have adopted the policy that the right
of the original creditor to sue for the recovery of
the debt Is not extinguighed it is only suspended
during the and revives in full force on the res
toratou of peSce." By the treaty of peace in 1888
| and The commercial treaty of 1898, between the
United States and Great Britain. it was expressly
declared That it impolitic and urst that prs
vate contracts should be impaired By national differ
ences-that neither the debts due between the ind>
viduas of the two nations, shares. nor moneys
which they may have in public funds or in the pub
lie or private banks shall ever. in any event of war
national differences, be sequestered confiscat
ed"
After the commencement Of hostilltes between
France and Great British in l793 both governments
sequestered debts and other property belonging to
the citizens of the other country. But upon the
t0ration of peace in the Treaty of Paris, in 1874
these seQuestrations repealed, and commits
sioner appointed liquidae the claims of their re-
spectve citizens, for the value of their property
conGscated. See CFanch Rep vol VIII, p. 125 70
1923; Dial Rep. from p, to 1919; Wheaton L. of n.
from p. 349 to 366
PRIVATEERING.-The christian civilization of mod
ern times has constantly tended to mitigate the
horrors and seventies of war upon land. But upon
sea, maratime warfare does not exempt the private
property of the enemy from iDdscriminate capture
and cOnfscation. whether found ahoat in port or
outside. Mans inhumsnity TO man, stops not at
carnage covered fields, but likewise with blood en-
puppies the ocean, and shocks it with horrors more
terrible than its own. pTiUGteeT is vessel owned
and equipped by private individuals to seize and
plumber the ships of the enemy. Unless commis-
stoned by government, it is pirate. In the early
employment OF prIvateers, no public commission
was necessary Il was not so deemed II the irrup-
tOns of the Northern barbarians upon Southern
Europe, when individual fortunes were sought by
predatory incursi0n upon land and sea. The chris,
tan States bordering upon tue Mediterranean, in
taliation as well as from considerations of gain,
fitted out cruisers and armed ships, TO cope with
the piratioal vessels with which the inidel powers
OF Asia and Africa covered this sea- The first
check to the piratical practice of plundering upon
the ocean, was in granting letters of marque and
reprisal to private individuals. Prior to the four
teenth century there historical mention of such
letters in any treaty stipnlatIons. Commission for
prvateering did not become general till about the
close of the sixteenth century. They seemed an
important auxiliary in carrying on war between
Spain and her reVolted provinces Of the LowfCoun-
IN 1863. The ships of SPAN were cruized against
by commissions from the Prince of Orange in 1870
for the purpose of replenshng his exhausted treas
ury by seizng money in transit from Spain to the
Netherlands. "The French code is said to contain
the most ancient regulations in relation to privateer
ing, and that government is probably the first that
ever sent FORTH IN Formidable numbers these scour
ges Of the sea-" Spain and England. shortly after
the depredations committed under the Prince of !
Orange, issued many commissions of privzteering
During the existence of the D1tch War which last
ed from 1869 to 164S pFivateering common. |
Since this time to very recent date, privateering
has been iegaliz9d by all the powers of Europe. In
1885 the United States stipulate in q treaty with |
Prussia " that neither of the contracting parties
shall grant or issue any commission to any private
armed vessels, empo @erng them to take or destroy
trading vessels" But this treaty stipulation ne
goiated by Franklin, was omitted in the treaty of
1893 with the same power.
The object of priyateering is to defend weak
government against the lust of encroach-
ment and ambition of Imore formidable enemy. !
Another object is to transfer the destruction of
property and the horrors OF war from land to seS-
to substitute the loss of goods ard ships for the
more fearful loss of life upon land Again it enables
nations to assist another whose cause
is just against powerful enemy. Fattel says such
citizens of foreign nations deserve praise in such
cause if the hatred of oppression and the lsve of
Justice stimulated them to generous efforts, and in>
iuced them expose their lives and fortunes to the
hazards of war