ARGUMENT OF GREAT BRITAIN. 37 



CONVENTIONS. 



On the subject of Conventions and consequent legisla- 

 tion, on wliicli stress is laid in the United States Case, one 

 farther point alone need be mentioned at this stage of tlie 

 Argument. The sauie i)ower which a State has over its 

 nationals on the high sea enables it to delegate the enforce- 

 ment of the agreed regulations to the other Contracting 

 Party. 



Beyond this, it is submitted, the legislative powers of a 

 State cannot go; tlie limitations on tlie powers here indi- 

 cated depend entirely on constitutional law. 



No warrant for any larger i)ower, such as is claimed by 

 the United States, can be found in any known ijrinciple of 

 international law. 



As to the reference to the "Laws of Natural History" 

 there is no known code of such laws, and as to the "com- 

 mon interests of mankind" these must be tested by, and 

 dealt with upon, legal principles. 



NO PRACTICE HERE SHOWN TO WARRANT THE RIGHT 

 OF PROTECTION CLAIMED. 



39 The same argument affords a complete answer to the 

 suggestion, that the right of protection on the high 

 seas against all comers depends on thei)ractice of nations. 

 If the United States had shown that all nations claimed to 

 exercise such a right of protection as is claimed by the 

 United States, or even that a lar-ge proportion of the nations 

 made such a claim, the argument that the right had i>assed, 

 or was passing, into the law of nations might have some 

 force; but the examination of the laws cited by the United 

 States, to which this Argument will next proceed, shows 

 that the jjosition taken up by the United States ou this 

 jioiut is absolutely untenable. 



CLAIM TO PROTECTION WITHOUT PROPERTY FAILS. 



Her Majesty's Government, therefore, submit that the 

 United States claim to protect the seals in the high seas, 

 and beyond the territorial waters, in so far as such claim 

 is independent of an alleged property in such seals, abso- 

 lutely fails. 



It remains to be seen how far the practice of nations 

 supports the contention of the United States in regard to 

 the claim to protection or property. 



UnitedlStates Argument from suggested Analogy of Laws of 

 other Nations Considered and Answered. 



The claim of the United States to rest their Case on the 

 precedents of the laws of other nations forms a distinct 

 branch of their Case, and requires to be specially considered. 



OBJECTS OF UNITED STATES ARGUMENT FROM LAWS OF 

 OTHER NATIONS. 



Such laws are referred to, by the United States, for three 

 objects: 



