The Abolition Of Privateering And The Declaration Of Paris PDF Download

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1897 edition. Excerpt: ... jurists as Field and Woolsey, who consider the English doctrine a thing of the past. If we have, in a certain sense, recognized that doctrine as still existing, we have spared no pains to show the world, and England in particular, that we do not agree with it. Which is the more remarkable, as it is matter of grave doubt whether abolition of capture at sea would at all accord with our belligerent interests. SUMMARY There are two conclusions from the foregoing chapters: First, that the theory of individual enmity is no longer defensible; and, secondly, that the practice of capturing private property at sea is dying. It exists to-day, when it exists at all, for historical reasons purely; it is the logical result of a principle that is dethroned, and the student of history can deduce but one future for it. The end may be distant, it may be as Mr. Seward said in 1861, "even now near," but sooner or later .the end is bound to come. Even now it is practically extinct upon the Continent. Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Russia--all have been prominent in promoting its downfall; it is the abhorrence of Belgium and of the Dutch. The United States has attacked it consistently from the first moment of its national existence. In a word, the overwhelming weight of the sentiment of the civilized world is against it; and when we have found the overwhelming weight of the sentiment of the civilized world, we have found the tendency of international law. PART II COMPARATIVE SKETCH OF PRIVATEERING BEFORE 1856 CHAPTER I PRIVATEERING IN ENGLAND I The Ante-Elizabethan Period The insular situation of England is responsible for her very ancient ambition to dominate the seas. The spirited foreign policy which she has always striven to maintain was checked by the...