Carnegie Endowment for International Peace DIVISION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW THE ARMED NEUTRALITIES OF A COLLECTION OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS EDITED BY JAMES BROWN SCOTT DIRECTOR NEW YORK OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS AMERICAN BRANCH: 35 WEST 32ND STREET 1918 COPYRIGHT 1918 BY THE CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE WASHINGTON, D. C. PRESS OF BYRON S. ADAMS Prefatory Note In President Wilson's address before Congress on February 26, 1917, after recounting the relations between Germany and the United States and the failure of diplomatic means to protect neutral rights, he stated that "there may be no recourse but to armed neutrality, which we shall know how to maintain and for which there is abundant American precedent." In addition to American precedent, which has already been instanced in the volume issued by the Division entitled The Controversy over Neutral Rights between the United States and France, 1797-1800, there is European precedent for armed neutrality; for in 1780 and in 1800 the leading neutral Powers of Europe entered into an agreement to protect their rights against belligerent invasion, by force of arms if necessary. The texts of the agreements constituting the armed neutrality of 1780 and of 1800, together with the orders putting them into effect and diplomatic correspondence bearing thereon, are reproduced in the present volume. The originals of most of these documents are in foreign languages. English translations, wherever available, have been used, and in other cases English translations have been made especially for the present occasion. As in the previous volume above mentioned, there is no expression of personal opinion and the matter herein contained is issued in the interest and for the convenience of the public without seeking to influence the judgment which it may reach. It is, however, very important that the origin, nature, and effect of the armed neutrality should be understood, and for this purpose the views of accredited American and foreign publicists dealing with this matter have been collected and are printed in the first part of this volume. It should be said that the authors have been chosen not merely for the value of their contributions but because they are of different nationalities and can be considered as fairly representative of the views of their respective countries, as publicists are wont to expound and to defend the policies of their countries. 329125 |