Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. Excerpt from book: Section 3LAW OP MARITIME CAPTURES AND PRIZES. CHAPTER I. textit{Of the cemmencement of war; and of captures made before the declaration of war, or by non-commissioned captors. 1. Whether a declaration of war to the enemy is necessary to legalize hostilities, is a preliminary question of the first importance in the law of prize. It was formerly considered essential, and practised. Such was the usage of the antient nations, which was observed in modern Europe until the seventeenth century. The present custom is to publish the declaration, or a manifesto, explaining the motives for commencing hostilities, within the territory of the bel-' ligerent state. This publication is necessary for the instruction and direction of the subjects or citizens of the nation declaring war, in order to fix the date of the rights belonging to them from the moment of this declaration, and regarding certain effects which the law of nations attributes to a war in form. Without such a public declaration of war, it would be difficult to distinguish in a treaty of peace, those acts which are to be accounted lawful effects of the war, from those which either nation may consider as wrongs, and for which they may claim reparation.(a) The only difference, therefore, between a modern declaration of war and that practised by the Romans under their textit{Fecial law, is, that the former is published within the territory of the belligerent state, and communicated every where by means of the invention of the art of printing and the establishment of posts, which rapidly diffuse the information, and supersede the necessity of a particular notice to the enemy by heralds as in antient times. 2. But though by the modern customary law of nations, a formal declaration of war to the enemy is not considered necessary, nor generally practised ;... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.