CONQUEST. 



405 



perty. It may apply to a whole nation, or only to a 

 single town or province. It may be temporary or 

 permanent. 



1. Conquest over persons. Persons captured in 

 war are called prisoners of war, especially if they are 

 taken in arms. If they are included in a mere sur- 

 render of territory > without being in arms, they are 

 commonly deemed subjects, for the time "being, upon 

 their submission. But the conqueror may, if he 

 choose, consider all his enemies who surrender as 

 prisoners of war, though it would be deemed a liarsh 

 and vindictive course. The conqueror has no right 

 to inflict upon prisoners of war any unnecessary injury 

 or violence. He has no right to take away their 

 lives, or subject them to cruel punishments. For- 

 merly, they were sometimes removed into other coun- 

 tries, or reduced to a state of slavery for life. But 

 these would now be thought such extreme exercises 

 of power, as no Christian sovereign ought to autho- 

 rize. Christian sovereigns now usually keep prison- 

 ers of war under guard, in suitable depots, until they 

 are ransomed, or exclianged by cartel, or restored 

 upon the return of peace. Upon their return to 

 their own country, all such prisoners are, by the law 

 of posfliminy, as it is called, considered as redinte- 

 grated to all their original rights and privileges. 

 Officers in the public service are often released upon 

 their parole of honour, by which they promise not to 

 serve again hi the war, until they are regularly ex- 

 changed ; and, if they remain in the country of the 

 conqueror, they are required to keep within certain 

 limits, and report themselves at stated seasons to some 

 proper officers. If they break their parole, they are 

 universally esteemed infamous, and, if again taken in 

 war, may be treated with great severity for their con- 

 duct. Where persons are not found in arms, but are 

 included as inhabitants of a town or province which has 

 surrendered, they are treated generally as subjects. 

 The original allegiance to their own government 

 is suspended, and they come under the implied obli- 

 gation to the conqueror, to violate none of his rights, 

 to submit to his orders, and to demean themselves, 

 for the time, as faithful subjects. Under such cir- 

 cumstances, the conqueror generally leaves them in 

 possession of their property, and exercises his power 

 with moderation, usually quartering his troops upon 

 them, levying taxes, and punishing them only for re- 

 bellious or traitorous conduct.' Where the conquest 

 is of a whole state (as, indeed, is true also of a town 

 or small territory), the conqueror lias authority either 

 to rule the inhabitants by their former laws, or to 

 create a new form of government ; or perhaps, in an 

 extreme case, to dissolve their society. Where the 

 conquest is temporary, while war rages, it is rare for 

 the conqueror to change the laws. But where the 

 conquest is permanent, or is recognized by a treaty 

 of peace, the conqueror usually exercises his sove- 

 reign power to annul or vary the laws, or form of 

 government, according to his own pleasure. It is not 

 usual, in modern times, to change the fundamental 

 laws of a country, in cases of conquest, unless under 

 very pressing circumstances. But the sovereign 

 power of the conqueror so to do is conceded by the 

 law of nations. 



2. Conquest of property. This may be of movable 

 or immovable property. In the former case, it is com- 

 monly called plunder, or booty, or prize of war, accord- 

 ing to the circumstances under which it is taken. In 

 the latter case, it merely follows from the right of occu- 

 pation and superior force ; and, therefore, the right 

 of property continues no longer than such occupa- 

 tion by superior force. The original proprietor is re- 

 instated in his rights the moment the conquest is aban- 

 doned. As the law of nations allows the conqueror, 

 in its utmost strictness, to appropriate to himself all 



the property of his enemies, as soon as It is within 

 his reach by conquest, the extent to which he shall 

 exercise this harsh power must depend upon his own 

 moderation and sense of justice. Neutral nations al- 

 ways respect the title conferred by conquest, when it 

 is already established ; and enemies respect it only so 

 far as it suits their own convenience and policy, when 

 in the hands of enemies. But, when acquired by a 

 neutral, they also respect the title ; for that which, 

 by the law of nations, is lawfully acquired by an 

 enemy, may be lawfully transferred to a neutral, and 

 thus the latter may acquire a valid title. There is a 

 distinction, in this respect, between movable and im- 

 movable property. No conquest of the latter is 

 esteemed absolute, so as to divest the original pro- 

 prietor, unless confirmed by a treaty, of peace, or an 

 entire submission and extinction of the state to 

 which it belongs, or by an acquiescence so long, that 

 it amounts to an abandonment of all prior right and 

 title. But movable property, which is capable of 

 being conveyed from one country to another, be- 

 comes the absolute right of the conquerors from the 

 moment of conquest and complete possession. 

 Movable property, captured in the heat of battle, or 

 as an immediate result of victory, by an army on 

 land, is often called booty or plunder. It belongs to 

 the conquering sovereign, and portions of it are 

 usually distributed among the officers and soldiers. 

 It seldom happens now, that any place which is 

 captured is given up to indiscriminate plunder. 

 Private property is, for the most part, respected ; 

 but public property is appropriated by the sovereign 

 to such purposes as he pleases. All property cap- 

 tured in war may be justly denominated prize. But, 

 in a more limited sense, that is called prize property, 

 which is acquired by capture and surrender upon- 

 land or upon the ocean, and is disposed of by some 

 formal proceedings, under the sovereign authority. 

 Thus, in Britain and America, all property captured 

 on the ocean, by public or private armed ships, is 

 required to be brought into port, and condemned as 

 prize by the lawful prize tribunals, before the captors 

 acquire any rights under the capture ; and, in cases 

 of joint captures, by land and naval forces, a simi- 

 lar proceeding is usually had. A question is often 

 discussed, at what time movable property cap- 

 tured is so completely in the power of the captors, 

 as to give them a perfect title to it. Writers on the 

 law ol nations differ on the point ; and the practice 

 of nations also differs. Some writers hold that it 

 should be carried to a place of safety ; as, for in- 

 stance, if captured at sea, that it should be carried 

 into port (infra preesidia) before the title of the ori- 

 ginal proprietor is divested. Others contend that it 

 is sufficient that the property has remained hi pos- 

 session of the captors twenty-four hours. But, at 

 present, in Britain and America at least, a sentence 

 of condemnation is considered indispensable to divest 

 the right of the original proprietor in movable pro- 

 perty. Nevertheless, if a treaty of peace takes place 

 between the belligerents, and no contrary provision 

 is made, the actual state of things, in relation to 

 captures, is deemed rightful ; and neither can re- 

 claim anything of the other on account of such 

 captures, whether there has been a condemnation or 

 not. This question, with regard to the title to mov- 

 able property, chiefly arises in cases of recapture, or 

 other cases where the jus postliminii, or right upon 

 repossession or return of the property to the coun- 

 try of the original proprietor, occurs. 



3. Conquest of immovable property. It has been 

 already observed that, of such property, the title by 

 conquest is not deemed perfect or complete, unless 

 recognized by a treaty of peace, or cession, by an 

 extinction of the state, or by a long acquiescence, 



