140 



NATIONS. 



generally deemed a harsh exercise of power. And 

 If a nation allows foreigners to enter into its territory, 

 it is bound to respect their rights, so long as they 

 conduct themselves peaceably; and if, in breach of 

 good faith, it proceeds to punish them vindictively, 

 when they have committed no offence, it is justly 

 responsible for its conduct to the nation to which 

 they belong. Foreigners, however, are bound to 

 ol>ey the laws of a country, as long as they reside 

 within it, and under its protection. And as they 

 are amenable to its laws, so they ought, in reason, 

 to have the assistance of its courts of justice to 

 vindicate their own rights. The property held by 

 foreigners within a country, according to the laws, 

 ought to be protected in the same manner as that of 

 natives. It is a general rule among nations to regu- 

 late the descent, distribution, and alienation of im- 

 movable property exclusively by the laws of the 

 country wherein it lies. As to movable property, 

 it is now a common custom, and seems most reason- 

 able and just, to allow foreigners the liberty of dis- 

 posing of it by will, or otherwise, according to the 

 laws of their own country, or of their own permanent 

 domicil. Some governments, in the case of the death 

 of foreigners within their territory, have exercised a 

 very harsh right of appropriating the property left by 

 such persons to themselves. But this exercise of 

 right, or rather of power, has been generally dis- 

 countenanced, in latter times, among civilized 

 nations-. The rights of foreigners are, however, so 

 much a matter of municipal regulation and policy, 

 that it is difficult to lay down more than a few very 

 general principles on the subject. 5. How far a 

 nation is bound to concede to others the exercise of 

 any right, within its own territory, has been a matter 

 of much speculation among writers on the law of 

 nations. It has been often asked, whether a nation 

 has a right to demand, in case of necessity, that 

 another shall supply it with provisions, or allow it 

 to procure necessaries therein ; whether a nation 

 may insist upon a right of passage through the terri- 

 tory of another nation, either for persons or merchan- 

 dise ; whether it may daim for its subjects a right to 

 reside in the territories of another nation ; whether it 

 may, of right, demand from a nation the free use of 

 a thing, within its territory, which is inexhaustible, 

 and is of innocent use, such as of water. To all 

 such questions there can be little more than a 

 general reply, viz. that it is the duty of every nation 

 to concede to the necessities of others whatever may 

 not incommode itself, or affect its interests, or en- 

 danger its peace or prosperity. 6. The intercourse 

 between nations can scarcely be beneficially carried 

 on without the instrumentality of some public agents. 

 They may have disputes to adjust, injuries to redress, 

 rights to ascertain, mutual objects and interests to 

 promote, all of which may require great deliberation 

 and many conferences. It is obviously impossible for 

 tlie government of a nation to carry on its negotia- 

 tions at a distance, without the aid of some public 

 functionaries, who shall represent its sovereignty, 

 and have authority to act in regard to its rights. 

 Hence arises the right of every nation to send and 

 to receive ambassadors, and other public ministers. 

 And this right of embassy, inasmuch as its tendency 

 is to promote justice, harmony, peace, and social 

 virtue, among nations, has always been deemed 

 peculiarly sacred. The law of ambassadors forms, 

 therefore, a large head in the law of nations ; and it 

 is observed with a jealous and scrupulous care by all 

 civilized nations. As representatives of the nation 

 itself, ambassadors, and other public ministers, are 

 exempted from all responsibility to the civil and 

 criminal jurisdiction of the countries to which they 

 are sent. Their persons are held sacred and invio- 



lable. Their property, and servants, and retinue, 

 enjoy a like privilege. Their houses are deemed, in 

 some sort, asylums ; and they have many privileges 

 conceded to them, which do not belong to any other 

 persons in the country where they reside. These 

 rights, and privileges, and immunities, are not, how- 

 ever, to be considered as favours granted to the indi- 

 vidual, but as a sovereign claim and public security 

 insisted on by all nations, and refused by none. The 

 peace and safety of all nations are essentially con- 

 nected with the strict observance of them ; and they 

 are rarely infringed, except under circumstances of 

 peculiar aggravation and injury. 7. It is through 

 the medium of ambassadors, and other public minis- 

 ters, that treaties, conventions, and other compacts 

 between nations, are usually negotiated, thus forming 

 a positive code for the regulation of their mutual 

 rights, duties, and interests. In the modern practice 

 of nations, such treaties and compacts are not gene- 

 rally deemed final and conclusive until they have 

 been ratified by the respective governments to which 

 the negotiators belong. When made, such treaties 

 possess the highest sanctity and obligatory force. 

 They are, indeed, sometimes violated; but they 

 never can be justly violated, except in cases of 

 great and positive wrongs on the side of the other 

 contracting party, or from extreme necessity, or 

 from a change of circumstances, which renders them 

 wholly inapplicable or unjust. Many rules have 

 been laid down for the interpretation of treaties. 

 But they all resolve themselves, ultimately, into one 

 great maxim, which is, that they are to be under- 

 stood and construed according to their obvious 

 meaning, and the intention of the contracting 

 parties. Treaties may be dissolved in several 

 ways ; first, by the voluntary assent of the parties ; 

 secondly, by a formal dissolution, pronounced by out 

 of the parties, acting upon its own responsibility, in 

 the exercise of sovereign authority ; thirdly, by 

 operation of law, as in cases where the contracting 

 parties lose their distinct sovereignty, and become 

 incorporated into a single nation ; fourthly, by impli- 

 cation, as when new treaties are formed between the 

 parties upon the same subject, or new alliances are 

 contracted, which are incompatible with existing 

 treaties. 8. As to the modes of terminating dis- 

 putes between nations. These are various, by 

 compromise; by mediation, by arbitration ; by con 

 ferences and congresses ; by tacit acquiescences in 

 the claims of the other side; and, lastly, on a failure 

 of all these, by an ultimate resort to arms. This 

 resort may be by a limited or by an unlimited war- 

 fare ; by a limited warfare, as by retaliation, by re- 

 prisals, or other modified redress ; by an unlimited 

 warfare, as in cases of general hostilities in a public 

 war. It is obvious, that a resort to amis can be 

 properly had only when all peaceable means of / 

 redress have been exhausted, and for causes of an 

 important nature. 



And this leads us to the consideration of the rights 

 and duties of nations in regard to each other, which 

 belong to a state of war, First, between the nations 

 at war. The right of declaring war results from the 

 right of a nation .to preserve its own existence, its 

 own liberties, and its own essential interests. In a 

 state of nature, men have a right to employ force in 

 self-defence ; and, when they enter into society, this 

 right is transferred to the government, and is an 

 incident to sovereignty. 1. What are just causes 

 for entering into a war, is a question which has been 

 much discussed by publicists. It is difficult to lay 

 down any general rules on the subject, and nations 

 must be ultimately left to decide for themselves, 

 when the exigency arises. In general, it may be 

 said, that war ought not to be entered into, except 



