The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1863-06-06

I
to confscation of property to weaken the
foe and strengthen ourselves. Property can
and will be coniscated as occasion may JUS
tify. General Order No. IL, current series,
of this Department, relating to this matter,
will be observed.
The following extracts from +" Interna-
tional Law" and the Laws of War; by
H. W. Halleck, now Geueral-in- Chief of
the Army, will suffice for field instruc-
/ tons:
Chap. XIX SIG. "Private
property on land is now, as a general rule
of war, exempt from seizure or confscation;
and this general exemption extends even to
cases of absolute and unqualified conquest.
Some modern text writers-Hautefeuille for
example-contendf for the ancient rule, that
private property on land is subject to seis-
ure and confscation. They are undoubted-
ly correct with respect to the general abstract
right, as deduced from the law of nature
and ancient practice; but while the general
right continues, modern usage and the opin-
ions of modern text writers of the highest
authority have limited this right by estab-
fishing the rule of general exemption"
SIS But it must also be remembered
that there are many exceptions to this rule,
means absolute or universal. The general
theory of war is, as heretofore stated, that
all private property may be taken by the con-
queror, and such was the ancient practice.
But the modern usage is, not to touch pri-
vate property on land, without making com
pensation, except in certain cases. Those
exceptions may be stated lst, con-
6scations or seizures by way of penalty for
military offenses; Cd, forced contributions
for the support of the invading armies, or
as an indemnity for the expense Of maintain
ing order, and affordiug protection to the
conquered inhabitants.
S14. 'In the first place, we may seize
upon private property by way of penalty for
the illegal acts of individuals, or OF the
community to which they belong. Thus. il
an individual be guilty of conduct in viola
ton of the laws of war, we may seize and
coniScate the private property of the often
der. So also. if the OffenSe attach itself to
particular community or town, all the in
dividuals of that community or town are liza
BILE to punishment, and we may either seize
upon their property, or levy upon them d
retaliatory contribution, by way of penalty
| Where, however, we can discover and Sc
cure the individuals so offending, it is more
Just to inhict the punishment upon them
only; but it is a general law of war, that
communities are accountable for the acts OF
their individual members. This makes il
the interest of all to discover the guilty per-
sons. and to deliver them up to justice. But
If these individuals are not given up, OF
cannot be discovered, it is usual to impose
a contribution upon the civil authorities
of the place where the offense was commit
ted, and these authorities raise the amount
of the contribution by tax levied upon
their constituents"
SIS. "In the second place, we have right
to make the enemy's country contribute to
the expenses Of the war. Troops in the en-
emy's country, may be subsisted either By
regular magazines, by forced acquisitions,
or by authorized pillage. 1t is not always
polite, or even possible, to provide regular
magazines for the entire supplies of an army
during the active operations of campaign.
Where this cannot be done, the General is
obliged either to resort to military requisi-
TONS or to entrust their subsistence TO the
troops themselves. The inevitable conse.
quences of the latter system, are universal
pilage, and total relaxation of discipline
the loss of private property, and the viola
ed by the massacre of struggling parties,
aud the ordinary peaceful and non combs
ant inhabitants are converted into bitter and
impIacabIe enemies. The system is, there.
fore, regarded as both impolitic and unjust
and is coming into general disuse among
the most civilized nations, at least for the
support of the main army. In case o!
small detachments, where great rapidity oil
L -, - -
necessary for the troops to procure their
subsistence wherever they can. In such q
case, the seizure of private property become:
necessary consequence OF the military op-
eratlons, and is, therefore, unavoidable
Other cases of similar character might be
mentioned. But even In most of these
special and extreme cases, provision might
be made for subsequently compromising the
owners for the loss of property" =
s16. Elm the invasion of the Spanish Pc
ninsula, Napoleon had to choose between
methodical operations, with provisions car
ried 10 the train of his army. or purchase
of the inhabitants. ard regularly paid for,
and irregular warfare, supplying his troops
| by forced acquisitions and pillage. The
former was adopted for some of the main
armies, moving on prescribed lines, and the
latter for the more active masses. Soult
and Suchet, in favorable parts of the couu-
try, succeeded, for considerable length of
time, in procuring regular supplies for their
armies, but most of the French generals
obtained subsistence for their troops mainly
by pillage."
SIT. upon the invasion of Mexico by
the armies of the United States, in I846,
the commanding penerals were at first in