as
to all persons within its jurisdiction, to prevent any violation of the
foregoing obligations and duties."

Great Britain denied, in the text of the treaty, that these rules were a
true statement of the principles of international law in force during
the Rebellion, but consented that the "Alabama Claims" should be decided
in accordance with them. Both countries also agreed to abide by them in
future and to invite other maritime powers to do the same.

Questions being raised by the counsel as to the interpretation of
certain terms and the scope of certain provisions in the three rules,
the tribunal found it necessary to make the following preliminary
decisions:

1. The meaning of "due diligence." The tribunal took the ground that
what constitutes "due diligence" varies with the circumstances of the
case. The greater the probable damage to either belligerent, the greater
must be the care taken by the neutral government to prevent the escape
of cruisers from its ports.

2. Should a neutral detain an escaped cruiser when it re-enters the
neutral's jurisdiction, the cruiser having in the meantime been
regularly commissioned by its government? The arbitrators decided that
the neutral had a right to detain such a cruiser, in spite of its
commission, but was under no positive obligation to do so.

3. Does a neutral's responsibility end with the enforcement of its local
laws to prevent the escape of cruisers, even if those laws are
inadequate? Decision was given that the case must be determined by
international law and not by national legislation. If a country's
regulations for carrying out its acknowledged international duties are
ineffective, they ought to be changed.

These decisions in international law, coming from so exalted a source,
were of world-wide significance. The verdict on the facts in the case
had, however, more immediate interest for the two contestants.

The American case claimed damages for losses inflicted by fourteen
cruisers and four tenders. The award allowed for only the Alabama with
her tender, the Florida with her three tenders, and the Shenandoah
during a part of her career. With regard to the Alabama the culpability
of the British Government was so clearly shown that even the English
arbitrator voted in favor of the American claim. The Florida was
permitted to escape from Liverpool although Mr. Adams, the United States
minister, repeatedly called the attention of the authorities to her
no