The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-21

I law.
| that it is first developed by usage and
] popular faith. then by legislation and al
[ ways by internal neutrality-suspicious. powers.
and not mainly by the arbitrary viii Of
/ the lawgiver
Il claim, then. that the aggregate OF the
rules to which nations have agreed to con-
/ form in their conduct towards one another
are properly TO be designated Interna-
/ tional Law
/ Appeals are made to the law OF nature
/ and the law of morals. sometimes as il
/ they were the same things. sometimes as
/ IF they were different things sometimes
as if they were in themselves international
/ law. and sometimes as if they enshrined
/ immutabie principles which were to be
/ deemed to be not only part Of International
/ law, but, If / may 80 say, to have been
/ pre-ordained. 1 do not stop TO point out
/ in detail how many different meanings
/ have been given to these phrases-the law
of nature and the law of morals. Hardly
4 any two writers speak of them I'm the
| same sense. No doubt appeals to both are
to be found scattered loosely here and
/ there in the opinions of continental writ
ers."
He then proceeded to discuss the law Of
nature. and the law of morals. the first
/ being for man in his struggle for life
| against the forces of nature, and its laws
| are the outcome of the arbitrary rules of
| force, and not of abstract right. The laws
l of morality were harder to define, vary
| ing with each age and in each nation, as
| society progressed. He cited many exam
| pies such as the Mosaic law Of an eye for
an eye, a tooth for tooth; the later laws
of privateering and those Of slavery, which
| though repugnant to the moral ideas OF
| many people, were not condemned as in
| ternatonal crimes.
"The truth is that civilized men have at
| all times been apt to recognize the ex-
D IT,.
| vague and underlined, depending upon no
| human authority and supported by no
| human external sanction other than the
| approval and disapproval of their fellow
men, yet determining largely for all men
and societies of men what is right and
wrong in human conduct and binding, as
| is sometimes said, in fOro conscientioe.
This law of morality is sometimes treated
| as synonymous with the natural law, but
| sometimes the natural law is regarded as
| having a wider sphere, including the
whole law Of morality. It cannot be said
| either of international law or of munich
pal law that they include the moral law
nor accurately or strictly that they are
| included within IL. 1t is a truism to say
| that municipal law and international law
ought not to offend against the law of
morality They may adopt and incorpo-
rate particular precepts of the law OF
morality; and on the other hand, un-
municipal or international law, which in
itself is in no way contrary to the law of
morality or of nature. But whilst the
conception of the moral law or law of
nature excludes all idea of dependence on
human authority, 1t is Of the essence of
municipal law that its rules have been
either enacted or in some way recognized
as binding by the supreme authority of
the state (whatever than authority may
bel, and so also is it Of the essence Of in
ternational law that its rules have been
recognized as binding by the nations con-
stituting the community of civilized man.
kind.
I'm fine, international law is but the
sum of those rules which civilized man
kind have agreed to hold as binding in
the mutual relations of states. We do
not indeed find all those rules recorded in
clear language-there is no international
code. We look for them in the long rec
ords of customary action; in settled prec-
| edents; in treaties Affirming PRINCIPLES; in
state documents; in declarations of ma
tions in conclave-which draw to them
selves the adhesion of other nations; in
declarations of text writer's of authority
generally accepted, and lastly, and with
most precision, in the field which they
cover III the authoritative decisions Of
prize courts.
but international law is not as the
twelve tables of ancient Rome 1t is not
closed book. Mankind are not station
airy. Gradual change and gradual
growth Of opinion are silently going on.
But while maintaining this position
agree with Woolsey when he says that
If International law were not made up of
rules for which reasons could be given
satisfactory to mans intellectual and
moral nature, it would not deserve the
name OF science. Happily those reasons
can be given. Happily men and nations pro-
pose to themselves higher and still higher
ethical standards The ultimate aim in
the actions of men and of communities
ought, and presume will be admitted
to be- to conform to the divine precept.
do unto others as you would that others
should do unto you"
have said that the rules of international
law are not to be traced with the compar
ative distinctness with which municipal
law may be ascertaned-although even
this is not always easy. ! would not have
it, however, understood that should to-
day advocate the codihcation Of interna-
tional law. The attempt has been made.
as you know, by Field in this country and
by Prof. Bluntschli Of Heidelberg. and bv
some Italian jurists, but has made little
way towards success"
He then reviewed the history Of inter-
national law, beginning to be first observ-
ed in marked degree at the disintegration
of the Roman empire and the pope of
tional arbiter, and later still, it was traced
more definitely in the effective writings
Of Ayala, Spanish judge advocate; su-
arez, Spanish Jesuit priest, and the cele-
brated Hugo de GroOte, generally regarded
as the father Of International law.
He dwelt at length on the prominent and
effective part played By this country in
the adoption of an International under
standing, or a law. The more important
was that part because, coming late into the
family of nations, the position taken by
this country in International affairs be-
came a part OF the justification for exist
ence as a sovereign power and the bright
er minds of the new nation were directed
to this subject. From its position on the
prize and capture and neutrality laws
taken by the United States in it's infancy
as a foundation, spread the many branches
of International law now recognized.
which were slowly forced on older nations
by the new. SO, also on account Of our
newness in the world, Americans did not
look to legislation so much for their gov
ernment In their actions, as with a demo-
cratic love of freedom and right, they ap-
pealed to the abstract justice of every