MEMBER OF HER MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL, AND JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT OF ADMIRALTY. 'Wars are no massacres or confusions, but the highest trials of Right.'-BACON, Certain 'Tantum vero abest ut admittendum sit quod quidam fingunt, in bello omnia jura cessare, Law Publishers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty; HODGES, FOSTER, & CO., GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN. PREFACE. IN THE PREFACE to the other Volumes I have been in the habit of mentioning any event affecting International Jurisprudence which has happened after the printing and before the publication of the Volume, whether it belonged to the particular matter treated of in that volume, or to the subject generally, But, first, it seems proper to observe that- I. The subject of Arbitration in connection with the Treaty of Washington, and the decision and award made by the Tribunal of Arbitration, and the award of the King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany, in the matter of the San Juan Boundary, will be found discussed in Sections III., CLV. II. The two International attempts to mitigate the evils of war, the Geneva Convention and the St. Petersburg Declaration, are considered in Section XCV. III. The delicate and difficult question as to loans by the subject of a Neutral to a Belligerent Government, considered in Section CLIV., has been, since this Volume went to press, discussed in the British Parliament, and the reader is referred to the authorities cited in the note (a). The opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, when Mr. Canning was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, as well as the recent speech of Mr. Gladstone, are printed in the Appendix to this Volume. IV. The abolition by Spain of slavery in Cuba is a fact of great importance to the interests of general humanity. That detestable crime is now condemned by every civilized State, and it is to be hoped that the opinion expressed in Vol. I., Section CCCI., may now be fortified by a common declaration issued by all civilized States, that the trade in slaves shall be considered as an offence against International Law. It would seem that the abolition of the slave-trade in Zanzibar, while these pages were preparing for the press, was obtained by England from the Sultan by the menace of a blockade if the abolition were refused. V. The subject of Extradition is considered in Vol. I., Part III., Cap. XXI. (a) See Times newspaper (March 1, 1873). Speech of Mr. Gladstone, ib. April 25th, 1873: Letter by Editor of the Westminster Gazette in the Times of April 9th, and Article from the Economist, Times, April 14th, 1873. A new Extradition Treaty has been concluded between England and Italy, and a very important decision has been pronounced by the Court of Exchequer as to the construction of the Statute 33 & 34 Vict. c. 52, the Statute now in force relating to the extradition of criminals (b). VI. In the case of the Gauntlet' (referred to in Sect. IV. of Preface to Vol. II.), which involved a construction of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 (c), the Privy Council held that the steam-tug-overruling on this point the judgment of the High Court of Admiralty-was employed in the military or naval service of France (d). VII. In the case of the Charkieh' some important points of law were decided relating to the rights of sovereigns and their representatives with respect to their being amenable to a Municipal Court in a foreign country. The High Court of Admiralty decided (e)— First, that his Highness the Khedive, however exalted his position and distinguished his rank, had failed to establish that he was entitled to the privileges of a sovereign prince, according to the criteria of sovereignty required by the reason of the thing, and by the usage (b) See Times, June 11th and 12th, 1873. vol. i. App. p. 596. (c) 33 & 34 Vict. cap. 90, vol. i., App. p. 582. See the Statute at length (d) 3 Law Rep. (Ad. & Ec.), p. 381, and 4 Law Rep. (Privy Council Cases) p. 184. (e) Case of The Charkieh.' |