Search -
A Practical Treatise on the Law of Nations
A Practical Treatise on the Law of Nations Author:Joseph Chitty 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: CHAPTER III. Sdf The Right Of The Belligerents To Capture Each Other's Property. Uaving, in tne preceding chapters, considered the illegality of commerce b... more »etween belligerents, and who is to be considered as an alien enemy, or adhering to one of the belligerent powers, as far as respects commercial purposes, we will now consider the right of capture or seizure by the respective belligerents of each other's property. It was justly observed by the King's Advocate, in the case of Potts v. Bell (a), that there is no such thing as a war for arms, and a peace for commerce. The commerce of the enemy has in all ages been considered as the legitimate prize of war. We will, in this chapter, consider the nature and effects of what are termed the rights of war, as far as relates to hostile commerce. The rights of war,as they may be lawfully exercised against hostile commerce, are discussed at large in the 3rd book of Grotius, ch. 6. an d in the 3rd book of Vattel, chapters 8 and 9-[] The () 8 Term Rep. 548. [ See Appendix.] doctrines laid down in these, and in other treatises on international law, are condensed in the following passage, which is an extract from a summary of the laws of nations, compiled by Professor Martens, of Gottingen (b): " The conqueror has a right to seize on the property of the enemy, whether moveable or immoveable. These seizures may be made, 1st, in order to obtain what he demands as his due, or an equivalent; 2dly, to defray the expenses of the war ; Sdly, to force the enemy to an equitable peace ; 4thly, to deter him, or, by reducing his strength, hinder him from repeating in future the injuries which have been the cause of the war. And, with this last object in view, a power at war has a right to destroy the property and possessions of the enemy, fo...« less