WRIGHT— POWER TO MEET RESPONSIBILITIES. 285 



However, as statutes now make full provision for extradition, the 

 question of the President's independent power is of merely specu- 

 lative interest. The President has authorized the extradition of a 

 fugitive in the absence of treaty in only one case, that of Arguelles 

 extradited to Spain by President Lincoln in 1864, and the majority 

 of authorities hold that he here acted in excess of power. Wil- 

 loughby believes that Congress might authorize presidential extra- 

 dition in the absence of treaty, but since international law does not 

 require such extradition it is hard to locate the source of such a 

 power of Congress. ^^ 



It was held by Justice Story that the President did not have 

 power to authorize the carrying out of awards of foreign consuls 

 based on treaty in the absence of congressional legislation.®- It 

 would seem that by analogy to the case of extradition of fugitives, 

 the President might authorize the return of deserting seamen on 

 the basis of treaty provisions but no case involving the point seems 

 to have arisen and legislation was early provided. It has been stated 

 by Attorney General Cushing that there is no authority to return 

 deserting seamen in the absence of treaty. As has been noted the 

 statutes and treaties on this subject were both terminated by the 

 La Follette Seaman's Act of 1915.^^ 



On August 4, 1793, Hamilton issued instructions to customs 

 officials for the enforcement of neutrality and in the World War 

 instructions for the supervision and censorship of radio stations, the 

 detention of vessels suspected of carrying arms to belligerent war- 

 ships and of submarines intended for sale to belligerents were based 

 on independent executive authority.®* Subsequent statutes have 

 authorized most of these instructions.®^ In the case of Ex parte 



^1 Supra, sec. 122. 



82 Moore, Digest, 2 : 298 ; 5 : 223. 



8^ Cushing, Att. Gen., 6 Op. 148, 209; Moore, Digest, 4: 417-424; Crandall, 

 op. cit., p. 233; supra, sec. 118. 



"^Am. State Pap., For. Rel. i: 140; Moore. Digest, 7: 8gi ; Richardson, 

 Messages. 10: 86; Naval War College, International Law Topics, 1916, pp. 

 no, 115; Am. JI. Inf. Law, 9: 177; Wright, The Enforcement of International 

 Law, p. 122. 



85 Supra, sec. 115. 



