throw some light upon the views of the
Government, both as to existing rules of international law and as to the
policy demanded by the interests of British trade. It is, however,
possible that the Government may decline to anticipate the terms of the
Declaration of Neutrality which they may too probably find themselves
obliged to issue in the course of the next few days, and it is not
unlikely that the law officers may decline to advise shipowners upon
questions to which authoritative replies can be given only with
reference to concrete cases by a prize Court.

You may perhaps, therefore, allow me in the meantime to supplement my
former letter by a few remarks, partly suggested by what has since been
written upon the subject.

It is really too clear for argument that privateers are not, and cannot
be treated as, pirates.

Sir George Baden-Powell still fails to see that the Declaration of Paris
was not a piece of legislation, but a contract, producing no effect upon
the rights and duties of nations which were not parties to it. We did
not thereby, as he supposes, "decline to recognise private vessels of
war as competent to use force on neutral merchantmen." We merely bound
ourselves not to use such vessels for such a purpose. Sir George is
still unable to discover for privateers any other category than the
"_status_ of pirate." He admits that it would not be necessary for their
benefit to resort to "the universal use of the fore-yard-arm." Let me
assure him that the bearer of a United States private commission of war
would run no risk even of being hanged at Newgate. President Lincoln, it
is true, at the outset of the Civil War, threatened to treat as pirates
vessels operating under the "pretended authority" of the rebel States;
but he was speedily instructed by his own law Courts--e.g. in the
_Savannah_ and in the _Golden Rocket_ (insurance) cases--that even such
vessels were not pirates _iure gentium_. It is also tolerably
self-evident that we cannot absolutely "close" our ports to any class of
vessels. There is no inconsistency here between my friend Sir Sherston
Baker and myself. We can discourage access, and of course, by refusal of
coal, render egress impossible for privateers. Mr. Coltman would
apparently be inclined to carry this policy so far that he would disarm
and intern even belligerent ships of war which should visit our ports: a
somewhat hazardous innovation, one would think.

It is quite possible that