The Grenada sentinel., 1898-05-21

w United States of piracy and
w Spanish spies making at
tennis upon the magazines of our bat
,,eships and blowing up our powder
mills. it is hardly to be expected that
Spain vii, be over scrupulous as re-
CARDS priva:eering.
spain's declaration of war announced
that her right to privateer would be
reserved. but at present that practice
Of questionable propriety would not be
indulged in. Instead, Spain will use her
mercantile feet as auxiliary war
ships"
Technically, a privateer is YES
sci belonging to private owner, the
subject of belligerent power, COM
missioned by that power to engage in
war on it's own account against the
commerce of hostile power. Such
commissions are known as letters of
marque and reprisal.
Apparently Spain intends to make the
pursuit of prize money a national
:tfair instead of = matter of private
speculation. If she does our warships
have another great task to perform
after defeating the enemy's fleets, for
no American steamship or sailing ves-
sci will be safe on the high seas as
long as one swift cruiser is afoat to
Drey on our commerce.
It is the general custom for priva-
+cers to receive the entire profits from
the sale of their booty. Usually halt
OF the prize money is paid to the own
FRS and the other half is divided in
various proportions among the ships
company. This rule has always pre-
vailed in the United States, and during
The war of 1912 there was in addition
bounty of $50 paid for every British
sailor brought into port alive.
In time OF war no ship belonging to 4
belligerent is exempt from the de-
predations of hostile privateers. 1t may
either be sunk, captured or bonded for
its ransom, at the discretion of the
captor. A neutral port is the only place
where it is safe. Until the end OF the
Napo,eonic wars, goods of belligerent,
carried in neutral bottoms, were at the
mercy of an enemy's guns, but this is
no longer the case, and Spain has al
ready formally declared that she will
not seize American goods in foreign
ships.
The United States and Spain in their
declarations regarding taking prizes
at sea have agreed to adhere to the
declaration of Paris. If merchant
ships are to be prizes of war there is
little matter whether they are taken
by priv.teers or regularly commits
stoned ships. The United States AT pres
rut is facing the identical dangers to
her commerce that existed in 1912 and
in 1860. Spain's ships, commissioned by
the government as part of her navy,
are really privateers that will be de-
voted to the single purpose of taking
or destroying our merchant marine. l..
Is even probable that the owners OF
Spanish ships will receive share OF
the profits Of the prizes. Immediately
after she signed the declaration of
Paris, Germany established a "volun-
teer navy" in which every ship in the
kingdom was enrolled. The usual pre-
niums are to be paid to German sail
crs On ship taking prize and per-
cc::ntage is reserved for the 2wrs:s.
suci. a plan has rever been declared d
contrary to the clause in the Paris agree.
ment abolishing privateer:ng and Spain
Will probably adopt this method OF
sending out her merchant ships, in
which case they would be privateers to
ali inteAts and purposes.
priyatcering has been an important
factor in naval warfare since the Eng
l:sh prlvateers defeated the Spanish
armada. The amount of property de-
stroyed by British and American pri-
vateers during the revolution and the
war Of 1912 was enormous. In the war
OF 1912 we lost OH vessels to the British
ships, and their value with their car.
goes is estimated a: not far from $@0,-
Co0,oo0. American privateers took over
1000 British merchantmen in this war
The frightful havoc in British com.
melce was caused by about 2a0 ships
most of them like the celebrated Van.
kee, Rattlesnake and Gen. Armstrong
carrying but one big gun each, Long
Tom," and crew Of about so men
The damage done to British shipping
by these terrible sea hornets rather
than any victories OH land or over reg
ular lren-of-war brought the war o.
1912 to successful close. But in spite
OF our successes the tonnage OF ou1
ships on the Atlantic coast, which hat
been l,424.7s3 in 1910, was reduced t.
1,i59,2C9 in 1914. Our mackerel fish
cries were almost totally destroyed ant
not single whaler remained on the sea
The Alabama, in her short but mem
orable career, burned 81 vessels and de
stroyed property which the Genev'
convention estimated to have bee,
worth s6,750,0O0. In addition a larg
number of ships were taken and re
leased for ransom. But three effcctiv
ships were sent against the merchan
marine of the United States by tn
confederates. yet the ships in our for
eign trade registered 2,4o6.s04 tons II
1861 md the reUistrv fnll n .4S(i 90