The times., 1898-05-01

peace; " but generally provis-
ions should not be regarded as contra
band, unless it is intended 10 send them
TO beseiged or blockaded place Occu-
pied by the enemy"
The Century Dictionary's definition
of letters of marque is: Originally a
commission granted by the supreme au-
thorlty of a state to a subject en-
poWering him to enter an enemy's ter
ritory and capture the goods or per
sons Of an enemy in return for goods or
persons taken by him In present usage
a license or extraordinary commission
granted by a sovereign or the supreme
; power Of a state to citizens to make
reprisals a sea on the subjects of an
! other. under pretenss>St iudsmuifica-
/ tiOn for injuries reeeiNed-that is. IL
cense to engage in priyateering."
These comnlMtons are frequently
spoken of as la7sers of marque and re-
prisaL Formerly they were often is
sued in advance of war, as well as when
on the surface there was no war in
prospect. Their issue was not consid-
cred necessarily 10 be a declaration or
an act Of war, but means of enabling
citlzenS of one state to obtain justice or
redress from citizens of another or
from another state for wrongs. griey-
anceS or injustice suffered individually
and not Of sufficient Importance To go
to war over. One Of the quotations in
the Century Dictionary from Howens ;
Letters. bears on this point: Divers
Letters Of Mart Can old form Of the
Word) are granted our merchants, and
letters Of mart are commonly the fore
runners of a war"
They were sometimes made use Of in
old times to strike an advance blow
before the enemy could begin a war. or
TO get an early advantage Of a pro-
spective enemy in the beginning. as ap-
pears from another citation by the dc
tionary editors from Draytons Battle
of Agincourt:"
All men OF war; with scripts Of mart that went
And lad command the coast Of France to keep
the coming OF a navy 10 prevent.
The issue of letters of marque by a
country about to begin a naval attack
on another developed the practice of
commissioning citizens of neutral gov
ernments for the same purpose Then
II came to be resorted to by states hay-
ing no navy, and 50 in the sixteenth
century it came 10 be possible for a
government not supporting a navy of
its own to harass the commerce of a
maritime state without itself doing any
sea fighting. This practice. however.
has fallen into disrepute, although
BOWn says:
The citizens or subjects Of a neutral,
II its municipal laws or treaties do NOT
forbid may serve in the army or navy
OF friendly belligerent, and may ac-
Cept letters Of marque authorizing them
to undertake privateering expeditions.
The present tendency Of the nations.
however, is to forbid these privileges
to their citizens or subjects"
"All pTiyate individuals affa cl-ipe,
others at sea unless empowered by let
ters of marque, are to be considered
pirates,' according 10 McCulloch's
Commercial Dictionary, published in
London in 1882. If they have the letters
they are privateering. Bowen SAYS:
'Priyateers are private vessels COM
nlssioned for war. They carry letters
OF marque and reprisal, and they are
authorized to capture or destroy the
property Of the enemy on the high seas
and in the enemy's territory but not
within the three-mile lint of the ter
!it0ry Of neutTals. The private ships Of
neutrals may be thus commissioned by
beilieerents, in the absence of treaties
folbidding them or the neutrals to do
so. Generally bonds are required of the
owners of privateers, in order that the
belligerent may reimburse itself for any
indemnities ii may have to pay for
tfiriI UNA ullbI IiZeu ana Illegal acts. If
private vessels are used as priva teers
without being commissioned their
crews may not strictly be regarded as
entitled to draw prize money for the
captures they make; and while they
may not be considered pirates If they
belong to belligerents, they may be
treated with rather more severity by
the enemy than if they acted under a
commission.
"Privateering is principally pIunder-
ing. The parties to the Declaration of
Paris 1856. agreed to abolish il, and all
the other principal powers acceded To
that provision except the United States,
Mexico, and Spain. The United States
has not been willing to abolish priva-
teering except on the condition that the
private property mot contraban1 Of
war; Of all nations and at all tines be
exempted from seizure on the high
seas. SO long as it. is not thus exempt
ed nations with small navy are at
great disadvantage, and may properly
reserve to themselves the right to rely
on the aid of merchant or private yes