And State Papers 671 



ties throws the entire commercial world. It should 

 be our object, therefore, to minimize, so far as prac- 

 ticable, this inevitable loss and disturbance. This 

 purpose can probably best be accomplished by an 

 international agreement to regard all private prop- 

 erty at sea as exempt from capture or destruction 

 by the forces of belligerent powers. The United 

 States Government has for many years advocated 

 this humane and beneficent principle, and is now in 

 a position to recommend it to other powers without 

 the imputation of selfish motives. I therefore sug- 

 gest for your consideration that the Executive be 

 authorized to correspond with the governments of 

 the principal maritime powers with a view of incor- 

 porating into the permanent law of civilized nations 

 the principle of the exemption of all private property 

 at sea, not contraband of war, from capture or de- 

 struction by belligerent powers." 



I cordially renew this recommendation. 



The Supreme Court, speaking on December n, 

 1899, through Peckham, J., said: 



"It is, we think, historically accurate to say that 

 this Government has always been, in its views, 

 among the most advanced of the governments of the 

 world in favor of mitigating, as to all non-combat- 

 ants, the hardships and horrors of war. To accom- 

 plish that object it has always advocated those rules 

 which would in most cases do away with the right 

 to capture the private property of an enemy on the 

 high seas." 



I advocate this as a matter of humanity and 



