272 WRIGHT— POWER TO MEET RESPONSIBILITIES. 



territory. Persons with unneutral intent fitting out and arming or 

 augmenting the forces of vessels, or setting on foot military or 

 naval expeditions or enterprises in American territory are also 

 liable, as are persons taking out of the United States a vessel built 

 or converted as a war vessel with knowledge that it is likely to 

 reach the hands of a belligerent or aiding interned belligerent per- 

 sons to escape. 



The acts give the President power to expel vessels from waters 

 in which " by the law of nations " they ought not to remain, and 

 to detain or prevent the departure of vessels " which by the law 

 of nations or the treaties of the United States " are not entitled 

 to depart. The President is authorized to use the land and naval 

 forces " as he may deem necessary to carry out the purposes " of 

 the neutrality laws. The acts provide for withholding the clearance 

 from vessels suspected of using the territory " in violation of the 

 laws, treaties or obligations of the United States under the law of 

 nations," for bonding armed merchant vessels using American ports 

 and for detention by customs officials of suspected vessels not 

 bonded. They give district courts jurisdiction to restore prizes 

 illegally taken in American waters, to decide proceedings for the 

 forfeiture of vessels violating neutrality and for enforcing the 

 criminal provisions of the act. It has been held that the law 

 applies not only to acts in behalf of belligerents but also to acts 

 in behalf of insurgents, though not to acts in behalf of recognized 

 governments operating against insurgents.^* 



ii6. Offenses against Foreign Governments. 



An act of May i6, 1884, provided punishment for forging or 

 counterfeiting foreign securities and the act was held to be within 

 the power of Congress to punish ofifenses against the law of nations, 

 though it contained no specific statement that the offense was of 

 that character.-^ The counterfeiting of foreign coins has been 

 made punishable by various acts since 1877.^^ 



By the act of August 11, 1848, superseded by the act of June 22, 

 i860, the American Minister, in countries permitting extraterritorial 



24 The Three Friends, 166 U. S. i (1897) ; U. S. v. Trumbull, 48 Fed. 99 

 (1891) ; Ex parte Toscano, 208 Fed. 938 (1913). 



25 Criminal Code of 1910, sees. 156-162; U. S. v. Arjona, 120 U. S. 479. 

 ^^ Ibid., sees. 162-173. 



