The Law Library - 1850 Author:Unknown Author Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: [178] CHAPTER IV. OF THE RIGHT OF BLOCKADE. Every belligerent has a right to blockade the ports of his enemy; but in order to render neutral vessels liable... more » to the penalty which attaches to a breach of blockade, there must be, First, An actual blockade imposed by competent authority. Secondly, Notice thereof. Thirdly, A violation of the blockade. There remains to be considered, Fourthly, The penalty which attaches to a breach of blockade. First, A blockade is an act of sovereignty; and the commander of a king's ship cannot extend it.(a) But a commander going out to a distant station is presumed to carry with him such a portion of sovereign authority delegated to him, as may be necessary to provide for the exigencies of the service in which he is employed. On stations in Europe, where government is almost at hand to superintend and direct the course of operations, under which it may be expedient that particular hostilities should be carried on, it may be different. But in distant parts of the world it cannot be disputed, that a commander must be held to .carry with him sufficient authority to act as well against the commerce of the enemy, as against the enemy himself, for the more immediate purpose of reduction. The authority of a commander in an expedition will not be affected, as to any but his own government, by his having acted irregularly in entering upon it without orders. ri p-q-| 'However irregularly he may have acted, the subsequent adoption L 'of his acts by government will have the effect of legitimating them, so far as the subjects of other governments are concerned. In such a case, a blockade imposed by a commander could not be impeached on the ground of want of regular authority; and however irregularly he might be deemed to have acted towards his own governme...« less