Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-10-27
The French Government on the L av
of blockade.

The following dispatch has been addressed
to the Chambers of Commerce throughout
France by the minister of agriculture, com
merce, and public works.
..PARIs. September 10.
- sGENTLEaEN had the honor of Informs
ing you on the 5th of June last of the prin-
cipIes Of International law. which the I'M
'perfal government desired to establish in the
war that has br ken out between the North
and the South of the United States. Since
that time various commercial feclamations
have been addressed TO me, ana L nave re-
marked with regret that those reclamations
implied a deplorable ignorance of the true
priuciples of the subject. l, therefore, con
slider it nv duty to lay before you some ex-
plantations, agreed upon with the department |
of foreign affairs, and which made known the |
Limitations within which commerce has |
right to reckon on the protection of the i'm
perial govern meni. 81
/ shall feel obliged by your reading them |
atteniively aud employing all your efforts to
enlipbten the merchants and shipOwners OF
vonT district who may share in the erroneous
views still existing on this important ques-
tioD. houhEh'
Minister of Commerce, Agriculture, aud
Public Works. 90 ss'5.t s-' -
The following is the text of the note trans
NIT. ed by u. Rouher:
an guarding respect Tor the immunities
which modern law has now. fortunately, con-
centrated in. favor. of lneutrais, We cannot
pretend to protect them from all the conse-
quences which ordinarily follow to other
nations from the armed strife of two people
From the moment that we find ourselves IN
the presence of two belligerents TO whom we
know not how 10 deny that character, we
find ourselves obliged 10 recognize in them
| all the rights which. according to information
al rules, war confers on those who make It.
| Consequently, we cannot contest with either
| of them the right to injure the other by all
the legitimate and direct means which it pos
| sesses such as that which consists in seZinS
| upon Its possessions, besleginS It's toWhS,
| blockading its ports.
'sThe natural consequence OF the exercise
| Of the law Of blockade is to interdict to other
/ powers access to the blockaded places. IL
| is incontest table that those powers have 10
suffer from the Interruption thus put upon
their usual commercial relations; but they
would have no right TO make any RECLAIM
tion for it, because they are only indir city
affected, and because no obstruction Is placed
upon that freedom of navigation to which
! thew are entitled, except where such freedom
would render absolutely inefficaeious the
military operations between belligerents rem
dered legitimate by the law Of nations.
THE admission by all the powers of this
principle that the blockade, to be obligatory
, which formerly sprung from the right OF eX
Guiding neutrals from points that were de-
: clared bockaded The Effectiveness of the
blockade is to day, for all the world, ihe es
sential condition of It's validity. But SO
soon as there are, at the places to which a
belIigerent wishes TO interdct access, forces
sufficient to prevent their being approached
without exposure to q certain danger, the
: neautral is compelled, no matter how preju
dcal to him it may be, to respect the block
} | ade If be violates ii be exposes himself tC
| be treated as an enemy by the belligeren1
3 | with respect to whom he has deviated from
: the duties of neutrality.
8 "These principles, which have become th,
4 rule Of all nations, appear 10 be completely
D | ignored by the claimants. They appear t.
D | think that their customary relations of com
Y merce should not be affected by state o
: hostility tn which they not parties, ant
] to admit at farthest that there may be RICH
+ to hold them accountable for their ulterio
: operations. Unfortunately such is not tn
| case.
:, sIt is true that "a belligerent may not EN-
ploy TO annoy his enemy, any means tina
: strike directly at peoples who have rename
strangers to the strife, but it is no less tru
that these latter have always to endure tn
L indirect consequences OF the perturbation
. resulting from the war from the moment tia
= it breaks out
i "AGother error of The claimants Is to b.
Il lieve that the blockade does not exist unit
II it is notified automatically, AMI that 1t doe
re not apply to neutral vessels that have qui
Re ted their country previous TO the uottic
g ton. A blockade is obligatory from the m
moment that is effcctualiy established; bein
the material result of material fact, it con
| mences with the real investment OF Il
place, continues so long as that investmel
IS remains, and ceases with it.
n at matters little that neutrals are ignO
t ant of the facts. II one of their vessels pr
IN sents itself at the place, the belligerent b
ut the right to forbid its entrance. The gener
E. usage is doubtless for government to j
s: form other governments of the measures
~ blockade to which it has recourse; bat th
= notification, which is not by an absolute rul
e- is of no value by itself. 1t is only the a
II. nouncing of. an existing fact which won
Y already produce ifs effects. 1t may sometim
nc serve, it is true. to diminish the losses Wh
Is neutrals may have to sustain in consequen
ng of the state of war, by preventing them u
W dertaking useless commercial expeditions
places really blockaded; but it is evident,
re the other hand, that if neutrals suspended
" modified, according TO this notification, tn
III commercial operations, they would be expt
10 ed to The danger of doing SO inappropriate
he in case the blockade did not actually ext
SO or in case il had already closed as the til
tDelr eSpSUlClOuS UNCUT nave dIIiteu.
re- 1T is by enormously attributing to
we diplomatic notices Of blockade value ant
10 Specification which they have not in thems
10 yes that it might be pretended to exclr
NC neutrals from an entire territory, the acc
I'd to which could not in reality be interdict
Jh- aud il is for the purpose of rendering tn
,ne fictitious blockades entirely Impossible L
On. the agreement bas been entered into at pT
icy ent not to consider neutral as entitled
d notice of the existence of a blockade exc
nu at the bloehaded places themselves. I
-ps practice which leaves Ii beliigerent the facu
e.' of acting with all the promptitude often
40 guircd by operations of war, which perm
a IN litary cEiei to blockade, according
,oi necessity, PLACES distant from his coun
ue, before he has instructed his government
ieu the fact. has this advantage for the neutl
pa that it does not impose upon him obligati
o o1 Inevitably onerous, except, at least. un
oie circumstances where he must inevitably S
atn NIT to them"
and Ex-Governors Eoucey and Seymo
pc under the Fan I'm Connecticut,
The New York s'Trbune, ~ of the 10th
o.oot a,aonnoaS hot tho C0nuecficut Ser