The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-10-07
PRIyArEERING---Ir HISTORY, LAW
AND USAGE.

| Notwithstanding the justic" of the opinion
| that "the statesman who shall induce the
| tions to concur in one common Judgment, to
| denounce and punish, as contrary TO the Ia"
| of nations, the rights OF warfare on private
| pro pertv on the high seas will he the grea test
| bone factor of mankind, yet the right OF
| Government to Issue letters OF marque &c
| private vessels, 10 enable them to captur'
| those of an enemy is as we'll established by
| the code of International law as any other
| vested III the State for Is protection and de
| fence.
The practice OF depredating upon private
/ property upon the sea is certainly of no very
| recent origin, and during the middle ages.
| when every petty barron possessed the priVi-
| lege of making predatory excursions by land,
and the infidel powers covered the Hledi-
| terreaneau with their vessels, 1t is certain
| that these depredations were committed with
but slight regard TO right or justice. HlH-
| time warfare at this period was conducted
l with such cruelty and barbarity as to render
| it little short of piracy. Indeed, the mariners
Of that day were characterized ~ the Coas0
irfO del Mare as set of robbers, Who We're IRE
| quentiy united in sort OF vx5fsA-SAerShip 10
| prey upon each other.
| The first attempt to reduce the practice OF
| warfare on the sea to those piles which
could be recognized rs. eQUit2 bic between dli-
| feI tent nations, is to he found in the COHS0iGto
| del Mare, the tlIst edition OF which was pub
| lshcd at Catalan in I49t. Giannoni, IN his
| history Of Naples, carries back the period OF
| the compiiation of this work 10 the years be
| tween 1850 and 1926; but Pardcssus, with
| more certainty, fixes it ut the concluding
| portion of the tourteenth Tia cen nturY, and the To-
| cality the city of Barcelona, where the dialect
| in which it was written is still spoken. These
| are not, according to this writer, to be cons!d-
| cred a set OF laws rromu ulgated BY the ;t'-
thUrlty of one or several GO NernlnentS. but rs
| a record of the customs III among the ma
| tiouS bordering upon the Mediterranean The
! knowledge displayed by its author of the Rp-
| nlau law, rs we'll is OF that o. France, SPAN
| ana Italy, and the justice and equity OF IT.
! deCi2 ions, caused II to be speedily adopted b.,
| the nations bordering urou this greit sea, as
| supplementary to or supersodIng their o"'t
| legal en3Ctmeut~.
| Although this celebrated code contains au
eli lire chapter upon the laws reia ting 10 the
| disposition Of captures nitde by armed
| vessels, Yet no mention is made of LET
| ters of narque,' from which il is III fey
| red that the practice, as confined 10 soEer-
| eigns, did net exist at that period. The ordi-
! nance of Charles VI. OF France, lssued 7th
| December, HOO is said to be the f}rst "Alch
distinctly conlneS this right IL the sovereign
| From this and other documents IL Is made
| probable that the pr3Ctl.e OF issuing letters
of marque to private subjects in time Of war
dates from the 18th century, and thtt 70 the
| French is due the distinction of first sending
out, i'll any considerable force, these 'snliltl ia
of the seas
| In 1870 the Prince of Orange issued letters
| of mark and reprisal to cruise against the
| vessels of Spain. a large fleet was sent TO
| sea under these commissions, which commit
| ted great depredations, not only TO the COM
likewise on the vessels of neutral nations,
| not unfrequeutIv including those OF their
| own flag. Philip II. Of Spain, De Thou
| informs us, prior to the declaration Of
| war between England and Spain i'll l5s6,
| seized and contiscated the goods OF Eng
lish merchants, which induced the Eng
| lish Government, by way Of reprisals, to
| Issue letters OF marque against SPAN ana ner
| allies under which her cruisers spread them
| selves over the ocean, setting, without distnc-
| ton, the vessels Of nearly every flag that
| came within their reach. These depredations
| became so fragrant that the sovereign, owing
| to the importunities OF the merchants Of Va
| rious neutral countries who had been de
| spoiled of their property, issued Il decree I'M
| posing severe regulations upon and requiring
each vessel to give security for the perior-
| nance of their duty, and also prohibiting
| them from disposing OF their prizes until they
| had been condemned by due process in the
| Court OF the Admiralty.
| From this period all maritime countries
| have given encouragement to the employment
| of privateers i'll the prosecution Of their wars.
| The merchants, who in all coun tries appear
| to have been the greatest sufferers from the
| ambitious views of their rulers, offered in the
| rich cargOeS with which their vessels Were
| freighted the strongest temDta tions to the
| armed cruisers OF the cOntenCine powers, All q
| We're consequently the first to be deSpoiied OF
their riGhttul property, too often without OBJ
tanning that redress which their Government
was in duty bound 20 secure to them.
In more modern times the tendency of ma
| tonS has been towards the t}iscontiuuance OF
| this mode of warfare The United States
| from the foundation of the Government, has
acted persistently on the principle that pri
| vate property should be exempt from cap
ture by armed vessels and has lost no Oppor-
tunity TO impress upon the nations with
| which IL was in dl lptOlnltlc in Intercourse the i'm
| portance of prohibiting this mode of warfare
by treaty supuluJons. AS early as l7sj, in
concluding a treaty with Prussia it was stip-
| ulated that sail merchant and trading vessels
emFloyed in the exchange of the products CT
| different places, and thereby rendering tn e ne
! eessaries, ,conveniences, and comforts fhuma1l
| life more easy TO De obtained aud more gene
| raj, shall be allowed TO pass free and ammo
Tested and neither OF the contracting powers
| shall grant or issue any commission TO any
| private armed vessels, empowering them 10
take or destroy such tradiag vessels or inter
| rupt such commerce" " This stimulation was
not renewed in the treaty of l797. The treaty
of the United States with the Netherlands III
1852, France in l7SS, England in 1924, Peru
| l7q9, Prussia 1919. and Spain l.g5, contain
provisions prohibiting the subjects Of tthe,
power from taking letters Of marque against
the other from any power With which it is NJ
war, under the penaly of being treated, if
| taken, rs pirates.
! But notwithstanding these stipulations
| the practice OF the Government has always
| been to employ the services of privateers in
| the prosecution Of its wars ; and many of its
| most brilliant achievements III arms, more
| especially during the war of 1872 were per
rormed by this branch Of the public service -
! The bold and daring feats Of lie Bon Homme
! -
are too familiar to the readers Of the history
OF maritime wars to i,eed more than simple
reference.
Within a short period a change appears Il
| have taken place in the opinions of European
nations concerning the employment Of prtya
teers. The treaty concluded at Paris, 3otl
March, 1856, aims NJ the entire abolition O
| this system cur own Government undei
Ihe former Administrator, declined fo be-
| come a party to this treaty; but it is under
stood that the Secretary OF State has recently
notified those Governments which entered
| into the coIn pact that the United States ar,
| willing TO become partleS 10 the treaty.
THE LAW OF PRIrATERRIYG.
The title TO property taken in war by mean,
recognized as lawful is BY the act transferrre
from the former owner TO the caplor As L
| personal property, it is generally considered
as lost 10 its former owner as soon rs The
: enemy has acquired a firm possession; bu
in the ease OF ships ana goods captured a
sea the title cannot be changed from the for
mer owner to the captor or State until it il
so decieed by prize court of competent ju.
risdiction, whose decision, SO fur as the origi
nal parties go, is final and irreyocabie.
| Ii vessels thus commissioned act within
the terms of the commission they are hell
to be alone responsible to the State from
which they receive their authority, and ever
| IL tney commit Acts OF violence exceeding TIL,
warrant of their commission, if no piratica
7 Intention can be proved, they are still helt
amenabie to, and punished orly by, the Stat,
| from which thelf commission was Issued
| but If acts are committed which by treat,
| stpulations or international law are deemed
| piratical, the vessel loses its national char
acter, and becomes amenable to the tribunal.
competent to decide upon ibis heinous Of
| fence.
Sir Leoline Jenkins, in his charge at tn
Admiralty Sessions, at the Old Bailey, il
| 1865, says
"a robbery, when tbs committed ON land
does imply three things: lst. That there be
| violent assault. I'd That a mans goods b.