The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-18
A SEA LAWYERS LAW.

1t looks as though the ecretary of the
Navy was going to get lesson in law and
propriety. 1t appears that he lately under
took to amend the naval regulations so as
to deny the right of asylum to political
refugees and that he now proposes to put
his new doctrine into practice in the case
OF Vice President Ezeta of Salvador, who
is on board the Bennington outside the
heafis. the alleged intention of the depart
ment being to surrender that exile to the
authorities Of Salvador, so that he may be
tried by the Salvadoria courts.
The Secretary's recollections of inter-
national law are misty. He says that
the right of asylum TO political refugees
has no foundation in intern ational law"
Who pretended that it had? According
20 the rules of International law no person
can be tried in one country for often ses
committed in another, except under the
provisions of a special international treaty.
Before the eXtradition treati es were con-
cluded the worst criminals were safe as
soon as they set foot in a foreign land
The jurisdiction to which they were
amenable was limited to the territory of
the country of the origin of the crime.
This arrangement being found inconven-
lent treaties were concluded just half
century ago between the leading civilized
powers providing that criminals accused
OF certain heinous effenses should not find
an asylum by crossing national bound
aries, but should be surrendered on appli-
cation to the country whose laws they
had offended. This reciprocal agreement
was. however. conditioned upon the
reservation that political offenders should
not be extradltable, and this for the simple
reason that such offenders are not as
rule common criminals but are quite often
Insurgents who failed in an attempt to
effect a just and righteous revolution.
The reservation commended itself to
fairness and has been religiously OBJ
served in practice. There never was
time, as Mr.. Herbert seems TO
suppose, when political refugees had
a right of asylum in the United States, but
neither has there ever been time within
the last fifty years when such refugees
have been surrendered TO the vengeance OF
their enemies, either by the United States
or by Great Britain or by France. and the
exam pies of their surrender by Germany,
Austria. Spain or the Porte have been ex-
tremely rare.
If Mr.. Herbert will take the trouble to
overhaul the histories in the Navy Depart
ment library he will at once discover the
trouble to which his doctrine would lead.
TO*begiB with, If thirty years ago political
refugees had had no claim to asylum in
foreign countries the United States might
have caught Mr.. Herbert himself wherever
be took refuge at the end of the Civil
War, have brought him back, tried him
for high treason and hanged him-if the
temper of the North had demanded such
examples. The same fate might have be-
fallen Mr.. Breckenridge. who took refuge
in Cuba, and dozen other leaders of the
Confederacy in their several places of con-
cealment. Germany might have troubled
US for Carl Schurz and General Sigel. |
Austria might have demanded the body
of Kossnth, on charge that he h ad stolen
military uniforms. England might have
been asked to give up Mazzini to Italy. |
Mr. Herbert will hardly contend that the
surrender of these men, many of whom
we're patriots. would have been conducive
to civilization, or at all endurable by
high-minded people.
The question now in issue is not per-
sonal to Ezeta. With his guilt or inno-
cence the American people have nothing
~ OSs LIZ ubCAOlS nSul CO dS d pC VI q
foreigner who having filed high political
and military stations in his own country
was overthrown by a revolution. and is
wanted by his successful political oppo-
nents in order that they may make an
example of him. The United States can
not afford to give him up without placard-
ing to the world that alone among the
civilized countries this nation is not strong
enough TO protect the stranger who seeks
shelter within its gates, aud that Mr..
Cleveland is the legitimate heir of Prusias,
King of Bithynia. who. when the un-
placable Romans demanded the surrender
of Hannibal, covered himself with i'm
memorial disgrace by refusing to say no.
Happily. il there comes time when
Ezeta sets foot on American soil, the Deo-
pies writ of1abeas corpus will run, and
the United States Judges on this coast
will not be afraid to do their duty.