328 



CONGRESS, U. S. 



summons to such witness requiring him to appear be- 

 fore the officer o> commissioner named in such com- 

 mission or letters rogatory, to testify in such suit. 

 Such summons shall specify the time and place at 

 which such witness is required to attend, which place 

 shall be within one hundred miles of the place where 

 said witness resides or shall be served with said sum- 

 mons. 



SEC. 2. And be it further enacted. That if any person 

 shall refuse or neglect to appear at the time and place 

 mentioned in the summons issued, in accordance with 

 this act, or if, upon his appearance, he shall refuse to 

 testify, be shall be liable to the same penalties as would 

 be incurred for a like offence on the trial of a suit in 

 the district court of the United States. 



SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every witness 

 who shall appear and testify, in manner aforesaid, shall 

 be allowed and shall receive from the party, at whose 

 instance he shall have been summoned, the same fees 

 and mileage as are allowed to witnesses in suits de- 

 pending in the district courts of the United States. 



SEC. 4. And be it further enacted. That whenever 

 any commission or letters rogatory, issued to take the 

 testimony of any witness in a foreign country, in any 

 suit in which the United States are parties or have an 

 interest, shall have been executed by the court or the 

 commissioner to whom the same shall have been di- 

 rected, the same shall be returned by such court or 

 commissioner to the minister or consul of the United 

 States nearest the place where said letters or commis- 

 sion shall have been executed, who, on receiving the 

 same, shall indorse thereon a certificate, stating the 

 time and place when and where the same was re- 

 ceived ; and that the said deposition is in the same 

 condition as when he received the same ; and he shall 

 thereupon transmit the said letters or commission, so 

 executed and certified, by mail, to the clerk of the 

 court from which the same issued, in the manner in 

 which his official despatches are transmitted to the 

 Government. And the testimony of witnesses so as 

 aforesaid taken and returned shall be read as evidence 

 on the trial of the suit in which the same shall have 

 been taken, without objection as to the method of re- 

 turning the same. , 



APPROVED, March. S, 1863. 



The following act concerning letters of 

 marque, &c., was also passed : 



An Act concerning Letters of Marque, Prizes, and Prize 

 Goods. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives of the United States of America in Congress as- 

 sembled, That in all domestic and foreign wars, the 

 President of the United States is authorized to issue to 

 private armed vessels of the United States, commis- 

 sions or letters of marque and general reprisal, in such 

 form as he shall think proper, and under the seal of 

 the United States, and make all needful rules and reg- 

 ulations for the government and conduct thereof, and 

 for the adjudication and disposal of the prizes and sal- 

 vages made by such vessels : Provided, That the au- 

 thority conferred by this act shall cease and terminate 

 at the end of three years from the passage of this act. 



APPROVED, Marco, 3, 1863. 



The passage of this act was urged by Mr. 

 Grimes, of Iowa, who said : " I frankly own 

 that my purpose is to declare a principle which 

 shall have a general as well as a special appli- 

 cation. I wish to say to the world that, how- 

 ever much other nations have changed or may 

 change their policy on this subject, we will ad- 

 here to ours. If the President shall find him- 

 self environed with new difficulties, involved 

 in new complications, I wish him to have the 

 power to ' let slip the dogs of war ' against any 

 new enemy that may declare against us." 



Mr. Sumner, of Massachusetts, in opposition, 



spoke as follows : " This bill is entitled, ' con- 

 cerning letters of marque, prizes, and prize 

 goods.' The title is borrowed from the two 

 statutes of 1812 and 1813. It is, in plain terms, 

 a bill to authorize privateers ; that is, private 

 armed vessels licensed to cruise against the 

 commerce of an enemy, and looking to booty 

 for support, compensation, and salary. It is by 

 booty that the owners, officers, and crews are 

 to be paid. Booty is the motive power and 

 lifespring. Such is this bill on its face, with- 

 out going into details. Surely a bill of this 

 character ought not to be passed without 

 strong reason. 



"Looking at the bill more closely, it will be 

 found to have two distinct features: first, as a. 

 new agency against the rebellion ; and second- 

 ly, as a provision for privateers in any future 

 war. I have called these two features distinct. 

 They may be regarded separately. One may 

 be right and the other wrong. One mrfy be 

 adopted and the other rejected. 



" So far as the bill promises any substantial 

 help in putting down the rebellion without 

 more than countervailing mischief, it may prop- 

 erly be entertained. But what can it do against 

 the rebellion ? And where is the policy or ne- 

 cessity on which it is founded? If senators 

 think that the bill can do any good now, I am 

 sure that they listen to their hopes rather than 

 to the testimony. "Why, sir, the rebels against 

 whom you propose to cruise are absolutely 

 without commerce. Pirate ships they have, 

 equipped in England, armed to the teeth, and 

 unleashed upon the sea to prey upon us ; but 

 there is not a single bottom of theirs which can 

 afford that booty which is the pay and incen- 

 tive of the privateer. It would be hardly more 

 irrational to try to enlist private armed ships 

 against the king of Dahomey. 



" But, while I see no probable good from the 

 launching of privateers on the ocean to cruise 

 against a commerce which does not exist, and 

 to be paid by a booty which cannot be found, 

 I see certain evils which I am anxious to avoid 

 for the sake of my country, especially at this 

 moment. I think that I cannot be mistaken in 

 this anxiety. 



"It is well known that, according to ancient 

 usage and the law of nations, every privateer 

 is entitled to belligerent rights, one of which 

 is that most difficult, delicate, and dangerous 

 right, the much-disputed right of search. There 

 is no right of war with regard to which nations 

 are more sensitive, and no nation has been 

 more sensitive than our own, while none has 

 suffered more from its exercise. By virtue of 

 this right, every licensed sea-rover will be en- 

 titled to stop and overhaul on the ocean all 

 merchant vessels under whatever flag. If ho 

 cannot capture, he can at least annoy. If he 

 cannot make prize, he can at least make trouble, 

 and leave behind a sting. I know not what 

 course the great neutral powers may adopt ; 

 nor do I see how they can undertake to set 

 aside this ancient right, even if they smart un- 



