The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1863-09-19

0X AZ ~ oNB u u nuA3Vk ~
no CoNcaaaaoN Of OCEAN BELIr0EnsNoY
WITHOUT 4 lsexn ooURr;--EsPkciAll1
10 tEBRI stAvK-16oScERs. 1
10 much hase Ispoten for yeut Pc
siense, If ne9 eneusa Tor tho cause. But
thas IS yek anos&R topic which hve
resIrved Is tA1hss, because Logically II
belongs there, or 1t least it can be best
considered in the gathered light Of the
previous. discusaiop. Ita immediate,
practical interest e great. I refer to The
concession Of belligerent rights. being the
6rst staea T. Independence. Great Brit
ain led the way in acknowledging the en-
bryo QoserhnAnt Of rebel slAve-mopgers
as belligerants on sea - veil Is on land,
and, BY ! proclsmttien Of ths Queen, de-
clared her neutrality between the Two
parties, thus lifting the embryo govern
ment Of rebel slave mongere, which was
nothing else than organised and aggressive
slavery, to an equality On So and on land
with its + ancient ally, the National Gov.
ernmant- Hare mas n blnnder- If not 4
crime-not merely 10 the alacritys With
which it was done but Ia doing II a. all.
It Was followed Immediately BY France,
md then BY Spain, Holland and Brazil.
The concession of belligerent rights Oh
land Was only name and nothing more;
therefore I say nothing about it.. But
the concession Of belligerentfights. on the
ocean is Of widely different character,
and the two reasons against the recog.
milton of the independence of the embryo
government are applicable also to this
concession. First, the embryo govern
ment has no maritime or naval bsligsfsnt
rights, de- facto: and, secondly, m embryo
government Of rebel slave.mongers cannot
have the character de facto which would
justify the concession Of maritime or ma
val belligerency; 80 that could the con-
cession be vindicated on the first ground,
it must fall on the second.
The concession Of ocean delinquency
is letter of license from the consenting
powers 10 every slave-monger cruiser, or
rather it is the countersign of these pow
ers to the commission of every such
cruiser. Without such countersign the
slave-monger cruiser would be an OUTLAW,
with no right to enter single foreign
port. The declaration of belligerency
gives him legal competency and admits
him to testify BY flag and arms. With
out such competency he could have no
flag and no right to bear arms on the
ocean. Burke sententiously describes II
as an intermediate treaty which puts
rebels in possession of the law of nations"
And this is plainly true.
The magnitude Of this concession may
be seen in three aspects; first, in the i'm
munlties which it confers; putting an
embryo government of rebel slavemon-
gers on an equality with established gov.
ernments, making its cruisers lawful in
stead Of piratical. and opening to them
boundlsss facilities at sea and in port, so
that they may obtain supplies and even
hospitality. Secondly, in the degrade
ton that fastens upon the National Gov
eminent, which is condemned to see it's
ships treated on an equality with the
ships of the rebel slavemongers. and also
the just rule of "neutrality'' between bel
ligerent powers called in to fetter its ac-
tivity against a ga,nt felony. And third
", it may be seen in tie disturbance 10
commerce which it sanctions, by letting
loose lawless sea-rovers, armed with bel
ligerens Notwithstanding the right Of
seareh-whoee natufslreeklessoess il left
unbridled, and without any remedy even
from diplomatic intercourse. The ocean
is common highway bat on this ac-
count it IL for 4 the interest of all who
share it. that it should not be disturbed
by predatory hostilities. Such . conces-
sien should be made with the greatest
caution, and then. only under the necessi-
ty Of the case, on the overwhelming su-
,hority Of the fact; for, from the begin
ming to the end, j, is simply a question
offsct, absolutely dependent on those
conditions and prerequisites ~ithout
which ocean belligerency cannot exist.
Asa general rule, beliigerent rights,
are conceded only where rebel govern
ment or contending party in civil war.
has acquired such form and body, tina. fos
the time being, within certain limits, it
is sovereign de facto, so far At least a. to
command troops and TO administer JUS.
tlce. The concession Of belligerency is
the recognition OF such limited sovereign
y. which bears the same relation to &C.
knowledged Independence as gristle bears
to bone. 1t is obvious that such SOW
ereignty may exist de facto on land with.
out existing de facto on the ocean. Il
may prevail in armies and yet fail in ma
vies. In short the fact may be one vav.
on land, and the other way on the ocean
nor can it be inferred on the ocean sim.
ply from its existence on the land. Since
every such concession 10 adverse to the
original governments, and Ia made only
under the necessity of the case, it must
be carefully limited to the actual fact.
There are Al. least two s'facts" which
are pstent to all, FIRST. that the Rebel
Slave-mongers have not q single port IN.
to which even legal cruisers can take their
prizes for adjudication; and secondly,
that the ships which nov presume to ex,
ercise Ocean Belligerent rights in their
name-constituting the Rebel Slave. mon.
gar navy, which > member Of the Briti,h
l.