ing
express authority so to bind his principal. Ministers act under secret
instructions which they are not bound to disclose. Even the treaties
signed by plenipotentiaries, (a word signifying full power,) are,
according to present usage, of no force, until ratified by their
governments.

Sec.12. Consuls are not entitled to the privilege enjoyed by ministers,
but are subject to the laws of the country in which they reside. Their
principal duties have been described. (Chap. XL, Sec.9.) The office of
consul has been found to be one of great utility; hence, every trading
nation has a consul in every considerable commercial port in the world.
As in the case of ministers, consuls carry a certificate of their
appointment, and must be acknowledged as consuls by the government of
the country in which they reside, before they can perform any duties
pertaining to their office.

Chapter LXV.

Offensive and Defensive War; just Causes and Objects of War; Reprisals;
Alliances in War.

Sec.1. Wars are offensive and defensive. The use of force to obtain justice
for injuries done, is _offensive war_. The making use of force against
any power that attacks a nation or its privileges, is _defensive war_. A
war may be defensive in its principles, though offensive in its
operation. For example: one nation is preparing to invade another; but
before the threatened invasion takes place, the latter attacks the
former as the best mode of repelling the invasion. In this case, the
party making the attack acts on the _defensive_. (Sec.10.) The contending
parties are called _belligerents_. The word _belligerent_ is from the
Latin _bellum_, war, and _gero_, to wage or carry on. Nations that take
no part in the contest, are called _neutrals_.

Sec.2. War ought never to be undertaken without the most cogent reasons. In
the first place, there must be a _right_ to make war, and _just grounds_
for making it. Nations have no right to employ force any further than is
necessary for their own defense, and for the maintenance of their
rights. Secondly, it should be made from _proper motives_, the good of
the state, and the safety and common advantage of the citizens. Hence,
there may be, according to the law of nations, just cause of war, when
it would be inexpedient to involve the nation in such a calamity.

Sec.3. The numerous objects of a lawful war may be reduced to these three:
(1.) To recover what belongs to us, or to obtain satisfaction f