Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-17
ABOUT LETTERS OF MARQUE
How They Were Originated and What They
Authorize.
Privnteerins Done Away With in 1856
by the States Subscribing to
the Treaty of Paris.
sobn Hart in the Pail Nah Gazette.

from the Transvaal government was re-
ceired l should say, with absolute indif-
ference by the majority of readers, PROB
ably because they were ignorant of Its
meaning The reason for that is not far
to seek Letters of marque have a tech
.nical Specification in international law, and
have been heard of very little during the
latter half of this century. No doubt to
the student of that science the announce
ment raised highly interesting matter for
consideration. To the uninitiated 1 will
try in this sketch 10 present the subject in
as clear light as the limited space of a
newspaper article will allow.
Letters of maruue are the instrument by
which a sovereign authorizes or commits
sions private person to commit acts of
hostility against enemy with a private
armed ship The ship so commissioned IL. Is
necessity for the granting of such licenses.
we must cast our mind back to what was
going on long ago Early in the middle
ages an1 for a considerable time after
maritime states Estates with seaboard
possessed no permanent naval force. If
war broke out or was imminent they had
TO impress into their service the vessels of
their subjects to protect their coasts and to
make things generally disagreeable to the
enemy. Cities and towns in the neighbor-
hood of the seashore were compelled to
furnish fleets, and on whether they did so
or not depended the tenure of their land
and the retention of their franchises and
arrays. private individuals, without any
compulsion or even Invitation of the SOW
ereign. yet often with his knowledge and
consent, would sail form, oStens1bly TO nave
a fling at the enemy, but with plumber
rather than patriotism as their objective.
Many poor, peaceful merchantmen of the
enemy. homeward plodding their weary
way after successful voyages, would be
relieved. with unrestrained violence and
brutality. of valuable cargoes by these
freebooters, as they were called. CFrom
the Dutch ''vrybuyter''-the plunderer)
Princes found that these Independent, go-as-
yOu-pleaSe expeditions did not advance the
issue of their international struggles, but
that on the contrary, they often protracted
wars and kept up public i'll feeling. to the
detriment of the Internal development or
their respective countries.
This state of things continued even after
public navies had come into existence.
Monarchs. princes and chiefs Of states had
no alternative but to take war waging en-
tirelv into their own hands, and to keep
the sole control of it, With that was I'M
tiated the era of fixed rules of war. and
of hOstilitieS being carried on upon some
scientific basis. 1t followed that persons
not being members of the public force were
forbidden to join the fight or attack the
enemy without the sovereign's license or
permission. This permission was given by
what were called letters Of marque," and
only those persons who We're furnished
with them could go priyateerfng: PERSONS
depredating upon the enemy without them
were not only liable to punishment at home
but were considered pirates. sea robbers
fell into the hands of the enemy ran the
risk Of being dealt with as criminals of
the deepest dye, for whom hanging was a
mild if not luxurious, form of treat
uent am inclined to quarrel with the
levity with which early chronicler treats
go grave a subject, when he says that the
necessity for obtaining these commissions
was the cause of many a private tear.
The etymology of the word "marque
appears TO be uncertain Some derive II
through the word marsh from the
Esr11ar tbOunGdrS1- because
the early times princes gave permission
TO their subjects in times OF peace to go
on land across the marshes or borders ana
commit hostile acts on neighboring states
by way of retaliation or redress for IN
juries previously perpetrated. The war
rants to subjects for 50 doing were termed
"letters of marque and reprisal-'' These
are obsolete, and we have no concern with
them here. Others trace the word
"marque" to the peculiar mark Anglo-
Saxon meoarC), or sign, with which the
sovereigns impressed their authorizations
generally. To proceed with our narrative.
Privateering continued to be resorted to
after state navies had become comparative>
1y powerful 1t depended, of course, upon
the strength of the enemy in any particular
war as to whether the public force had to
be so Supplemented 1t Is true that the re-
cipients OF letters of rnarque shared with
the state the prizes they captured, but the
state never for a moment lost hold OF its
authority. These private armed vessels
were considered during their hostile oper-
atoms as incorporated in the forces of the
licensing state. which had TO be answer
able TO the enemy for any breaches by the
privateer of the then recognized laws OF
war Despite all these precautions it was
found that on account of the expanse or
the field of operations on the ocean the So
called state control had no real enect, ana
was not sufficiently far-rcaching to stop IL
legitimate practices and acts of robbery by
the privateer owners and their crews. The
commercial craft OF the enemy was their
prey, and rules Of war and humanity were
thrown to the wind by these licensed dep
Iedators when there was a choice between
the observance of such rules and possible
less Of plumber.
Other effects resulted from this system
of prfvateering. Those who had been in
the habit of practicing it with considerable
profit continued at the termination OF the
war their robbing. rowing habits, although
their commissions had with the war come
TO an end. Many of them were foreigners.
They ove-ran the sea, became pirates,
scOurges TO all nations and TO peaceful pc
Iagfc ploughman- All countries suffered
from their depredations- The feeling ulti-
mately prevailed. therefore, that the bal
ance of International advantage was against
private and that letters of marque
should be a dead letter. Gradually the same
sentiment became the subject of formal
declaration. Sweden and the United Prov
tnces led the way in 1878 with agree
Inent not TO resort to the practice IN any
future wars between them. After suudry
manifestoes and declarations in the same
direction by other countries the United
States and Prussia in 1TS5 contracted on
the same lines france anu RUSSIA gave
out most solemnly chat was alD that they
would put a stop 10 the usage
From another point Of view, and a diff
cult one. states had to come TO an under
standing. The subjects of countries in
auity with those that happened TO be at
war would often accept letters of marque
from one of the belligerents to the detri-
Inent OF the other opponent Ii was insist
ed by many that for state not party to
the quarrel to allow its subjects so to assist
in it was contrary to the idea Of true i'm
partial behavior: In other words. that
der the dark color of hostility there could
not exist truly neutral tint. Treaties were
consequently concluded by which the SUBJ
1ects of the contracting states were not to
accept warlke commissions from the enc
mics OF each other. The majority of ju-
FISTS consider that where no such arrange
ment exists the neutrality of a state Is not
compromised when any of its members en-
ter the warlike service of a beIigerent.
And TO keep on good terms with their
friends governments have by law enjoined
their subjects against fighting for or help
ing in an interstate quarrel in which they
have no concern. The right Of prvateering
was thus being gradually abandoned