A STATE OF WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 31, 11 February 1904, Page 2

A STATE OF WAR.

r the code which governs international latth a declaration of war implies that all the subjects of the one contesting nation are enemies to all tlhe sir ijects of the other. A Jornw.l 'ih i ch\ea*t'ion of war is not necessary, but when all efforts to prevent war are ended, the- pfaciice is L o issue a manifesto announcing! the commencement of hostilities. The manifesto is communicated to all 1 'friendly Towers, and has the same I effect as a declaration. The full I force of law is jlchiml a decl-aivit ion of war. It is only since the end of the seventeenth century (says « writer in the Sydney Herald) that a formal declaration has been considered rnvneecssary. Knowledge of ihe existence of a state of war is presumed 1o exist., so us to alfcct even ships at sea, as soon as such public iDanilesito iiiid accoiikpanying orders, warnings, etc.. have been issued. Domicile governs nationality, except with those people whose residence is temporary, or for diplomatic purposes. It has been held in England that when a foreigner is resWUmt there and a war afterwands; Uroaks out, his goods are not liable bo bo seized. War puts an end t.o all commerce and intercourse between belligerent States and the people within the same. K a contract bo jnjjtle with a. t forciginer during peace, the right of action upon if" is not absolutely forfeited by tlie occurrence of a war, but is suspend-' ed. Belligerent cruisers have the ri-giht to visit and swarch on the high sea any merchant vessel suspected of carrying contraband of war to t'ie enemy. The penalty of the contravention of the right to search is the confiscation o! the property so withheld. Belligerent cruisers also have the ri«ght < to seize nil contraband cf war found on board neutral ships. The captor is I/ournl to take the vessel and cargo captured to a convenient port for adjudication. None'but regularly commissioned ships of war have a I'igiht to tijake captures or Mo exercise the right of search. Priv'ateeMiig is abolished. A privateer is a private ship commissioned to assist in l carrying on a war : a ship which takes commission from both is guilty of piracy. A neutral vessel taking commissions from either belligerent, and anniKl as a privateer, departs from the status of neutrality. All prizes belong to the State, and a Prize Court settles 'disputes. A blockade "cuts off foreign connections and correspondence," but it is only recognised when it is maintained by a force suJlicient to really prevent access to the coast of the enemy. The occasional escape of 'small vessels on dark laxity which amounts to the raising of the blockade. Ambulances and military hospitals are regarded as neutral under the Cleneva Convention.