Arkansas true Democrat., 1861-07-11
NH'IsI,sr Il.

"H' "''"0"' success, 10 eitect Classification
 Of those articles of commeree yb;et ar. generally held to be contrabana of f'v rar @.s "
 lhe>e have been defined to ba-.
 l. Those whose use is solely applicabIc to purposes of war. "fPi'e""iV
 2. Those which are of diract rs,
 I 3. Those which are of douhttnJ nla m ""., na'scni oacjp'iis neus as being SpLJ hIa to purposes of peace or war fP'''"o'' I. Those which have been declared ,o h. eontraband by treaty entered into bv na,,~ trai and one or both of the bellisarsn, powers. ''eAe
 > Those which have been declaraJ r., . contraband by public notification of on. o X "e the bellgerents. 0ne oi These, it will be observed wb;.h . nothing more than general class;6cat;s "'o divisions, leave undetermined tha 'y"' l' =. and constantly recurring questions of wbst articles should be included in one or othsr of the divisions. The fact is that T aa :. has been long since laid down I hv fors o Stowell, anything in the shape of msrob.n N eGiSe may oe regarded as contraband of ,mar
 if 1t Is intended for the support sid or nna,
 fort of an enemy. Until of late ysor. coal $ were never heard ofa included .,a',,.n, article centfaband of war Goals hnn' even, were SO regarded bv tho Rps,;an
 veFnment m lS34, and by the Austrian yo- vernnent in 1859. In fact, the law nf
 tions recognizes the right of eitha, ball@. erent to declare any article oontr,ban1 of War, provided T notification be riven to that effect. On this subject Of contrsL.nd ot war the European powers have from time to tune come to afrangemeuts ,m.,, themselves. Such an .rrangemsot cluded in the treaties of Ryswicl T;,,a guen and Ulreob; and at | cons;5o,.m. earlier period an understanding Mas nr,;,. ed at on the subject of contra6aui ,f var between France and England. Tbers i. nothing to prevent such an understondina being entered into between the Fnror,,o powers, or any of them, and the heiI;ce- rents on the other side of the Atlantic. and, in the interest of maritime conm.,co we have only to say the sooner it is arriY. cd at the better.
 That the French government should rs. ! fuse toentertain the request of the chamber ot commerce that private property sbould he respected Tn war times, if unaccountabl. IS, at least, inconsistent. The declaration | of Paris was the proposal. if not the work ot Count Walewski, and that declaration | guarantees the immunity of the enemy's commerce under the neutral flag. and of | neutral commerce under the enemv's fao contraband of war excepted To say that | all merchant ships not carrying contraband ot war shall be exempt is but to go step further in the direction of the declaration. This step, however. the emperor deoliAss to take. To do so would be, in his opin- ion, gratuitsusly to weaken the naval force oi France, more especially as France pos Sesses few colonies and no great extent of 1 foreign trade. These, it seems to us, are just the reasons why the French govern nent should aid by every means tho lbers- ton of commerce from tho disabilities as- taching to it, whether in peace or in war. The interruption to maritime commerce produced by hostilities may be supported by nation which has large colonial pos | sessions and commanding trade, but it becomes serious consideration with State where the conditions are reversed.- But the foreign trade of France is greatly on the increase. It is time for France to take her place as great maritime power, and to declare in favor of the adoption of ths enlightened, humane and progressive principle of the immunity of the propers of non -combatants, whether by sea CT byN snd from the s sag af f ts PsrhsR a try to set in this respect the example elf so, there IS no excuse on our part for this continued embarrassment of a question in which the interests of commerce and of navigation are so deeply involved.
 The policy of the French government, as it respects the American civil war, is at length declared. The Monteur of this day announces it to be the imperial resolve to maintain "a strict neutrality in the conflict between the government of the Union and the States which pretend to form separate confederation. The sympathies of the French government may perhaps without much difficulty be inferred from the word- ing of this declaration, bus it is obvious that the understanding between France and England on the American question is so far complete that it insurcs, in the every action of both governments, a similarity Of action as well as of expression; and this is perhaps as much as, under the existing state of things, we have right to expect from Fpance or any other continental State.