The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-06-22


erty Of the enemy ON tho high seas and In
the enemy's territory. but not within the
three-mile limit OF the territory Of neutrals.
The private ships Of neutrals may thus be
commissioned by belfgerents. in the alb
sence of treaties forbidding them or the
neutrals SO to do. Generally bonds are re-
quired of the owners Of privateers. in order
tnat the Deffgerent may reimburse itself
Tor any indemnities it may haye to pay for
their unauthorized and illegal acts. If pri-
Vate vessels are used as privateers with
out being commissioned their crews may
not strictly be regarded as entitled to claim
prize money for the captures they make:
and while they may not be considered pi-
rates ii they belong to a belligerent they
may be treated with rather more severity
by the enemy than II they acted Nnder
cOmmissiO..
Privateering is principally plunderng.
The parties to the declaration Of Paris,
1856. agreed to abolish it, and all other
principal powers acceded to that provision
except the United States, Mexico and SPAIN
The United States has not been willing tc
abolish priyateering except on the con-
dition that the private property not
contraband OF war; of all nations and at
all times be exempted from seizure ON the
nigh seas. So long as 1t Is not thus ex-
empted nations with small navy are at q
great disadvantage, and may properly re-
serve to themselves the right to rely on
the aid of merchant or private vessels to
decrease their inferiority to their enemies
as commerce destroyers."
He says also: Prize money is generally
allowed by beligerents to captors, even il
they are not commissioned"
Secretary Of State Marcy said: THE
right to resort to privateers is as clear as
the right to use public armed ships. and as
incOntestable as any other right appertain-
ing to belligerents."
The United States, however, has held to
the position that privateers should be duly
commissioned ana their crews made up In
the regular, modern way. Mr.. Buchanan,
as secretary of state, in 1S47, had something
interesting to say concerning this question
and involving Spain. THE issuing of let
tiers Of marque," he wrote. lis an act OF
high sovereign authority. Under the con-
stltution of the United States this power
is intrusted alone to congress. A declara-
ton OF war, without a special provision for
the purpose contained in the act, does nut
confer upon the president this authority.
Whenever civilized governments resort to
thlS eXpedlent to annoy their enemies, they
adopt the regulations and restrictions
necessary to prevent or punish abuses al
most necessarily arising from the grant to
private individuals OF the authority to make
war on the ocean. = These precaut-
ions are necessary to prevent such commits
sions from falling into the hands of free
hooters, slave traders, and pirates prepared
to violate all laws, human and divine, in
the pursuit of plumber. =
This government cannot recognize the
lawful existence of the Mexican privateers
in the Mediterranean Those assuming this
name have not received their commissi ons
in Mexico, but in friendly countries, where
to grant or to accept them was a viola ton
of neutral rights; they do not belong to
Mexican citizens and their crews are COM
posed chiefly Of Spanish subjects who, by
the act of accepting such commissions, be-
come pirates. These corsairs take to the
seas under colors of commissions issued in
blank and filed up in a Spanish port by
some inferior agent, from whom they have
purchased the privilege to plumber Amer
lean vessels. Our vessels Of war in
the Mediterranean will be ordered to seize
and send home for trial as pirates all
Spanish subjects who have accepted and
acted under such Mexican commissions"
Armed merchantmen are not priyateerS in
the view Of the United States. Hamilton
in 1893 wrote: The term privateer is I'M
derstOod by us not to extend to vessels
armed for merchandise and war; And
Jefferson, as secretary of state, said:
Though a merchant vessel has arms to
defend herself in time Of war, in the course
Of her regular commerce, this no more
makes her prvateer than a husbandman
following his pillow in time of war with 4
knife or a pistol in his pocket is thereby
made q soldier.
Wharton, under the general term
g.
Naval officers taking charge Of merchant
vessels and cruising under the direction II
their sovereign in time Of war; officers ct
merchant vessels, subjects of a bellgerent
state. cruising under commissions from
their sovereign in time Of war; volunteer
officers of merchant vessels cruising
against the enemy Of their sovereign but
without any commission from their
sovereign; subjects OF neutral states taking
out for the purpose of preying on the csAt-
merce Of one belligerent, commissions feG,
this purpose from the other beligeren."
He points out that the first two classes 10
not fall under the head Of privateers 40
cording to the position taken by the British,
government in 1870, and says that privateers
of the class named fourth in the fore
going enumeration must be regarded as
mere adventures in search of plumber, and
the recognition of such as beligerents, If
not prohibited by the law of nations, Is
prohibited by distinctive laws of the United
States'
Attention has been directed to the position
of the United States in favor of prvateer-
ing, and the chief reason actuating this gov
eminent in holding to that view, namely,
our small navy and the national policy which
has been against the maintenance of such a
naval force as some of the European states