18 ARGUMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



is this law which is so much talked about? Must we seek its princi- 

 ples iu Grotius or Hobbes 1 ?" 1 



Some one might ask to sec that code which is destined to prevent all 

 Avars by foreseeing and condemning all unjust claims in advance. It 

 is nut thus, however, that the natural law is presented by those au- 

 thors who have taken its teachings as the basis of their writings; they 

 have never sought to give it a body or to put it in the form of a written 

 law. What is true, and, in my opinion, incontestable, is that notions 

 of what is just and what is unjust are found in all men; it is that all 

 individuals of the human race that are in the enjoyment of reason have 

 these notions graven upon their hearts, and that they- bring with them 

 into the world when they are born. These notions do not extend to 

 all the details of law as do civil laws, but they have reference to all 

 the most prominent points of law, if 1 may thus express myself. 



It can not be denied that the idea of property is a natural and innate 

 idea. The same is the case with the idea which impels every individ- 

 ual to exercise care for his own preservation with that which forbids 

 men to enrich themselves at the expense of others; which imposes the 

 obligation to repair a wrong done to one's fellow-man, to perform a 

 promise made, etc., etc. These hist and innate notions, which every 

 man brings with him into the world when he is born, are the precepts 

 of the natural law; and human laws are all the more perfect the nearer 

 they approach to these divine precepts. The natural or divrae law is 

 the only one that can be applied among nations — among beings free from 

 every bond and having no interest in common. 



From these general rules of divine law it is easy to form secondary 

 laws having for their object the settlement of all questions that can 

 arise among all the peoples of the universe. To cite but a single exam- 

 ple, it is evident that from the principle of the law emanating from God, 

 that every nation is free and independent of every other nation (which 

 principle is recognized by all men), this consequence results, which is 

 necessary and absolute, as is the principle itself, viz: That every na- 

 tion may freely exchange its superfluous possessions, trade with whom- 

 soever it may choose to seek in order to make such exchange anil to 

 carry on such trade, without being under any necessity of applying for 

 the permission of a third nation. The only condition that it must ful- 

 fill is that it must obtain the consent of the other party to the contract. 

 It need not trouble itself about the annoyance that such exchange may 

 cause a third nation, provided such trade does not interfere with the 

 positive and natural rights of such nation. 



This second rule gives rise to several others which are as clear and 

 absolute as it is itself. In a word, all international law is the outgrowth 

 of natural and primitive law. Viewed in this light, it seems to me im- 

 possible to dispute the existence of the primitive law; it is a kind of 

 mathematical truth, and I do not fear to reply to Moser; the principles 

 of this law are not only in Grotius and Hobbes, but they are in the 

 hearts of all men, they are in the heart of you who ask where they are 

 found. 



International law is, therefore, based upon the divine and primitive 

 law; it is all derived from this source. By the aid of this single law, I 

 firmly believe that it is not only possible, but even easy, to regulate all 

 relations that exist or may exist among the nations of the universe. 

 This common and positive law contains all the rules of Justice; it exists 



'(Moser, "Ess;ii sur Id droit des gens des plus inodernes des nations europeenuea 

 en paix et en guerre, 177S-17SO.") 



