, 1861-12-16

By Gil writer's on international law. To sup
port claim to enter into the comfy of na-
tons the only proof required Of any people Is
that they are able to make their Independence
respected: Kings md Emperors, and even
Dukes and Electors, have sometimes refused
to recognize the Government, for the time be-
ing, Of England, or France, or Italy, but only
10 their own ultiEnnte ridicu1e We haye al
ready recognized these Confederate States as
bealigerent Power, and We shall, when the
time comes, recognize their Government.
Therefore We have imposed upon ourselves all
the duties and inconyeaiences Of Power
neutral between two belifgerents.
Gn1esco7nt as the truth n1ay be II is sepertAe-
tess truth thai ne haze oaTse2ues established ss-
h7 ef intern nationas 2aso soaica non tells against
u.s.. In ligh-handed and almost dcspotic man
ncr VIC have in former days claimed privileges
over neutrals which have at different times
banded all the maritime powers Of the world
against uE. We have insisted even upon
stopping the ships Of war of neutral nations
and taking British subjects out Of them; and
an instance is given By Jefferson in his Me-
moirE, in which two nephews of Washington
we're impressed by our cruisers rs they were
returning from Europe, and placed as COM
mon seaInen under the discipline of ships Of
var. We have always been the strenuous as
trails, and the decisions Of our Courts Of
Law, as they m1st now be cited tY our
Law Odiccrs. have been In confirmation Of
these reasonable claims, which have called
into being. Confederations and armed neu-
tfalitcs against Us, and which have always been
in our dominion at sea. Owing to these
facts The duhofifies tcdicA may be cited on this
question d7c too san1acTos and too unifoTua oy to
the Tighf Of search 6y 6ege7et ships Of soar oucr
neutral snachant sesse.s to be disputed THE
consistent With amity and the law Of nations,
known to the law Of nations said Lord
s1oEell, in the celebrated case Of the Maria,
Us the right of personal visitation and search,
to be exercised By those who have an interest
same Judgment, which is the storehouse Of all
the English Law on this subject, says: sBc
the ships, the cargoes, and the destination
What they may, the right of visit and search
are the incontestablc right Of the cruisers Of
be1ligcrcnt nation. Til they are visited and
destination are; and it is for the purpose Of
ascertaining these points that the necessity of
this night OF visitation and search exists. This
right Is so clear in principle that no nan can
deny it who admits the right Of maritime
captures because, if you arc not at liberty to
is property that can be legally captured, it is
Impossible to capture. The many European
treaties which refer to this right refer to it as
pre-cxistings, and merely regulate the exercise
VI IL. al! HI1telS upon Inc taW OF 1aIIon6
unanimously, acknowledge it. The great
American authority, Kent, treating upon the
same subject in his Commentaries, says:
The doctrine Of the English Admiralty
Courts On the right Of visitation and search,
and on the limitation Of the right, has been
OF Justice in this country So fur as the au-
tllorities go, the testimony Of International
| law writers is all one way, TINT /: bcl1igercnt
| war cruiser has the right to stop and visit
| and search any merchant ship upon the high
seas.
eve quote these authorities bccause it is
| essential that upon matter SO Important us
| tllat now before us, the public mind should
| be well Informed. But it must be remember
cd that these decisions were given under cir
cumstanccc very different from those which
now occur. Steamers in those days did not
| exist, and mail vessels carrying letters where
IN al the nations Of the world have immcdi-
| atc interests, we're unknown. We wcre fight
| ing for existence, and we did in those days
| What we should neither do nor allow Others to
| in these days. Moreover, if we gave full
scope to all this antiquated Law, It remains
to be asked whether the men who hare been
t taken from beneath the protection Of our lag
| we're liable to seizure. They were not officers
| Of the army Or Of the navy Of the Confederate
| States. They were diplomatic ENJOYS, wanting
only in some forma1ities to be ambassadors to
England and France. We do not say that
there is any provision in the law Of nations
| which will entltle us to maintain that their
persons were sacred By reason of:thcir mis-
| sion; but, on the other hand, TIC arc not
aware Of any authority II ilieh Will show that
! thcee cnyoys were contrahand Of war # we
| lad recognized the Confederate States we ap-
! lrchcnd that we should have been perfectly
| justified in taking these Ambassadors on
board our own vessels Of war and bringing
them to England without in any way forfeiting
| our character as neut1als. But, eyenif It were
necessary to admit that these gentlemen were
| IN a belGgcrent or contraband character on
board the English vessel, it is, ne believe, the
opinion Of very eminent jutists that This acax
| not q question to be adjudicated on By a Harat
| officer and four boats cYetas. The legal course
would have been to take the ship itself into
port and to ask for her condemnation, or for
| the condemnation Of the passengers, in 4
Court of Admiralty. The result might, no
doubt, have been tile same, but if the pro
| cccding was irregular we have surely right
to demand TINT these prisoners shall be re-
| stored.
stake we feel deeply the responsibility Of dis
cussing question like this. Orr first duty Is
10 cdl,is-ceTtainly not to i'.Hanae-9hc general
;ndgnotio" achich ariN be felt in these islands q
tic neaes is tod. We cannot yet believe, al
though the evidence is strong, that it is the
Northern States to force quarrel upon the
Powers of Europe. We hope, therefore, thai
our people Will not meet this proyocatior
with an outburst Of passion, or rush to resent
| mcnt without full consideration Of all tht
bearings Of the case. On the other hand VT
| appeal to the reasonable men Of the Federa
States-and they have some reasonable mel
among them-not to Prov war by such act
as these 1t is, and it always has been, win t.
appeal to old folios and bygone authorities i,
justification Of acts which every Enghshma1
and every Frenchrnan cannot hut feel to be in
!, furious and insulting. Even Mr. Seward him
| self must know that the voices of the south
crn commissioners, sounding from their cap
!, tivity, arc thousand times more eloquent il
London and in Paris than they would hav
:, been if they had been heard at st. Jancs's an
l the Tuilerics. Questions ofthis kind in couu
tries where the people exercise power pas
but too quickly out Of the hand Of lawyer
and statesmen and give Irresistible power
e neither the wisest nor the most pcaceloyin
c | members Of q cpmmuuitY''