The times., 1898-05-01

sells to decrease their inferiority to their
enemies commerce destroyers.'
He says also: Prize money is GEN
orally allowed by belligerents to cap
tors even if they are not commission
, ed"
Secretary of State Marcy said: The
iiSht to resort to priVateering is as
clear as the right to use public armed
SHIPS and as incontestibe as any other
fiSht appertaining to belligerents."
The United States. however has held
TO the position that priEateers should be
duiy commissioned and their crews
mace 'up in the regular modern wav
-if. buchanan, as Secrete of State. in
iSi' had something interesting to saw
concerning this question and involving
SPAN. The issuing of letters of
ihafque, ne wrote, lis an act of high
sovereign authority. Under the Consti-
tutlon Of the United States this power is
lhtfusted alone TO Congress. A declara-
tlon OF war. without special proyis-
| ion for the purpose contained i'm the act
does not confer upon the President this
authority Whenever civilized govern
nehts resort to this eXpedent to annoy
their enemies, they adopt the regula-
tons and restrictions necessary to pre-
vent or punish abuses almost necessarf-
~ arising from the grant to private in
diNlduals OF the authority to make war
on the ocean. These prscau-
tions are necessary to prevent such
commissions from falling into the
hands of freebOOters, slave traders. and
pirates prepared to violate ali laws.
human and divine, in the pursuit of
plunder.
This Government cannot recognize
The lawful existence of Mexican priva-
teers in the Mediterranean Those as
suming this name have not received
their commissions in Mexico. but in
friendly countries, where to grant or to
accept them was d violation of neutral
rights; they do not belong TO Mexican
citizens and their crews are composed
chiefly of Spanish subjects who. by the
act OF accepting such commissions be-
come pirates. These corsairs take to the
seas under color of commissions issued
in blank and filled up in a Spanish port
by some inferior agent. from whom they
nave purchased the privilege to plum
der American vessels. our
vessels Of war in the Mediterranean
viii 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 priva-
teers in the view of the United States.
Hamilton, in 1893. wrote: The term
privateer is understood by US not to
extend to vessels armed for merchan-
disc and war And jefferson as Sec
retary Of State, said: Though a mer-
chant vessel has arms to defend her
self in time of war, in the course of her
regular commerce. this no more makes
her privateer than a husbandman
following his plow in time of war with
a knife or pistol in his pocket is there
by made a soldier"
Wharton, under the general term
privateers, enumerates the following:
Naval officers taking charge OF mer-
chant vessels and cruising under the
direction of their sovereign in time of
war; officers of merchant vessels. sub
Jects Of belligerent state, cruising un-
der 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 COM
merce of one belligerent., commissions
for this purpose from the other belliger-
ent." .f
He points out that the FIRST two class
es do not fall under the head of priva-
teers according to the position taken by
the British government in 1870, and
says that privateers of the class named
as fourth in the foregoing enumeration
must be regarded as mere adventurers
in search Of plunder, and the recogni-
tion Of such as belligerents, if not pro
hibited by the law of nations. is prohib-
tied by distinctive laws OF the United
States
Attention is directed - the. position
of the United States in favor of pri-
Watering, and the chief reason actuat-
ing this Government 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 main
tain. Some of these have striVen, for
good reasons of their own to induce us
to retire from this position, as we'll as
to get all nations to sign the DecIara-
ton of Paris. According to Wharton's
Digest IA main object which the two
allied powers in the war of 1884 against
Russia had in view was to end the prac
tice Of bel!igcrents issuing letters of