certain stated limits of time. If the authority granted be exceeded, the holder is liable to be regarded as a prisoner of war. If undue advantage be taken of a safe-conduct, to obtain information, the offender violates the laws of war, and may be punished accordingly.' A safeguard is a written protection to persons, or property, or both, such persons being resident, or property situated, within the lines of the general issuing it. It is given upon the authority, and by, or in the name of, the general-in-chief, and is binding upon all persons under his command. 66 Sometimes they are delivered to the parties whose persons or property are to be protected; at others they are posted upon the property itself, as upon a church, museum, library, public office, or private dwelling. They are particularly useful in the assault of a place, or after its capture, or after the termination of a battle, to protect the persons or property of friends from destruction by an excited soldiery." Violations of either safe-conducts or safeguards are punished with the greatest severity.

2

It is seen that safe-conducts and safeguards are binding upon the troops commanded by the general who issues or signs them. Whoever violates them, therefore, not only violates the laws of war, but is also guilty of the most serious of all military offences-disobedience of orders. For this reason escorts are usually furnished to enforce respect to these instruments, and severe penalties are imposed upon those who violate them. Such escorts or guards are justified in resorting to the severest measures to punish any violation of their trust.

Licenses to Trade. Licenses to trade are written instruments authorizing their holders to engage in certain trade with the enemy. The rules in accordance with which the trade is to be conducted, the articles to be bought, sold, or exchanged, the amount of trade authorized, the vehicles,

1 II Halleck, pp. 351-353; Risley, pp. 156, 157; Vattel, liv. iii. chap. xvii. §§ 265-277; Hall, pp. 553-556; Woolsey, § 265; I Guelle, p. 231.

2 II Halleck, p. 353; Risley, pp. 158, 159; Hall, p. 553; Woolsey, § 155; Vattel, liv. iii. chap. iv. § 171; I Guelle, p. 233.

whether ships or wagons, etc., in which it is to be carried on, are all specifically laid down in the permit. A breach of any of its conditions involves the forfeiture of the goods, conveyances, and other implements engaged, as it constitutes an offence similar to breach of blockade.

Licenses are issued by a belligerent government, or by a general in the field, with the sanction of his government. Trade carried on under them becomes legal, and is so regarded by courts of the state by whom the license is granted.'

Cartels and Capitulations. A cartel is an agreement entered into between the commanding generals of opposing armies, or fleets, for the purpose of effecting an exchange of prisoners. Capitulations are compacts entered into, between the same parties, to regulate the details of surrender of a fortified place, a vessel of war, or a defeated army in the field. They are drawn up in the same manner as treaties, though not with the same formalities, and are interpreted in accordance with the same rules. The general commanding an army in the field is presumed to have authority to make them, and to give effect to their provisions. If he lacks such authority, or if his powers in this respect be limited, it is his duty to so notify his enemy."

THE TERMINATION OF WAR

Truce and Peace. A truce, or suspension of arms, is a discontinuance of hostile operations over the whole, or a part, of the theatre of military operations. They are classified according to their purpose and duration, and according to the authority of the officers who may make them, into special and general truces. A special truce may be entered into by officers, of any grade, who command armies or separate detachments. They are always of a temporary character, and are made for the pur

1II Halleck, pp. 154-160, 364379; Risley, pp. 158, 159; Woolsey, § 155; Hall, pp. 553-556; Snow, pp. 101, 102; Boyd's Wheaton, $$ 341, 409-410a; Calvo, §§ 1969–1996. Vattel, liv. iii. chap. xvi. §§ 261

2

264; Snow, p. 98; Hall, pp. 411, 548; Woolsey, § 154; Risley, p. 157; II Twiss, pp. 353-355; Boyd's Wheaton, §§ 253, 254, 405, 411m; III Phillimore, pp. 181-183; II Halleck, pp. 348, 349, 483.

pose of arranging the details of surrender of a defeated army or besieged place; for burying the dead or removing the wounded after a battle or assault; or for conveying a message to the enemy, and receiving his reply, in some matter of necessary intercourse. These truces may be verbal or written. In general the agreement consists in the letter of one general proposing a truce for a certain purpose, and in the reply of his adversary accepting the proposed arrangement. The duration of the truce, in point of time, is precisely stated in the agreement; and the truce expires, without notice, at the hour fixed for its termination. Special truces are binding upon all persons under the command of the officers who make them.'

What may be Done during a Special Truce. During a truce the contracting parties are bound to refrain from all acts. of hostility, and to desist from all military operations of a hostile character, and from all preparatory movements or manoeuvres which could not have been performed during the continuance of hostilities, or which would have been performed under the fire of the enemy. This rule of conduct is deduced from the definition of a truce—a suspension of hostilities. The end of a truce should find both belligerents in precisely the same situation in which they were when it began. Whatever could have been done without regard to the enemy during hostilities may continue to be done during a truce. The movement of trains over a line of supply, the process of collecting forage and provisions, by requisition, in districts within the secure control of either party, may continue during a truce. It has also been contended that a closely invested place may stipulate for the privilege of receiving an amount of supplies equivalent to that consumed during the truce. In strict justice, perhaps, this claim should be admitted. The fall of such a place, however, is usually only a question of time; the besieger occupies a position of decided advantage, and the parties

1

Vattel, liv. iii. chap. xvi. §§ 234, 235; II Halleck, pp. 342-349; Boyd's Wheaton, §§ 401-407; III Phillimore, pp. 184-189; Risley, pp. 153

156; Snow, pp. 113, 114; Creasy, $$ 468-472; Hall, §§ 543 546; Woolsey, § 156.

enter the truce upon very unequal terms. The besieger, therefore, may properly decline to yield the advantage which he has fairly earned, by permitting provisions to be introduced into the besieged place. To avoid difficulty and misunderstanding, it is always desirable to specify, in the agreement, what particular acts may or may not be done during its continuance.'

A General Truce or Armistice is an entire suspension of arms over the whole theatre of military operations. It is made by the belligerent governments, or, with their authority, by the generals commanding in the field, and includes within its scope all operations and forces of whatever character. It is usually entered into when the issue of the war has been settled decisively in favor of one of the belligerents, and with a view to negotiations for peace. This agreement is made with greater formality than is the case with special truces, and describes, in considerable detail, what may and may not be done during the existence of the armistice. It is binding upon all forces, both military and naval, engaged in the war on either side. It goes into effect from the date of signature, and becomes binding upon individuals from the date of notification. In naval operations some time is necessary for such notification to reach vessels of war on distant stations, and special arrangements are made in such cases to regulate the disposition of captures made between the dates of negotiation and ratification."

In the preparation of general truces, or armistices, the possible resumption of hostilities is provided for by a clause terminating the truce at a certain date, or upon the expiration of a certain notice. On the date thus agreed upon the truce ceases to have obligatory force, and hostilities are resumed by both belligerents.

'Hall, §§ 543-546; Boyd's Wheaton, $$ 403, 404; III Phillimore, pp. 186-189; II Halleck, pp. 342349; Risley, pp. 153-156; Snow, pp. 113, 114; Creasy, §§ 470, 471; Woolsey, §§ 156, 157; Vattel, liv. iii. chap. xvi. §§ 241-260; I Guelle, pp. 234-248; IV Calvo, §§ 2433-2449.

* Hall, §§ 543, 546-548; Boyd's Wheaton, $$ 400-401; III Phillimore, pp. 183, 184; II Halleck, pp. 342-349; Risley, pp. 152-157; Snow, pp. 113, 114; Creasy, §§ 468–472; Woolsey, §§ 156, 157; Vattel, liv. iii. chap. xvi. §§ 236-244; IV Calvo, §§ 2433-2452.

TREATIES OF PEACE

Treaties of Peace resemble ordinary treaties in form, in the detailed method of preparation, and in binding force. They differ from ordinary treaties, and from private contracts, in respect to the position of the contracting parties, who, from the necessities of the case, do not enter them upon equal terms. This in no respect detracts from their obligatory character, which cannot be too strongly insisted upon. "Agreements entered into by an individual while under duress are void, because it is for the welfare of society that they should be so. If they were binding, the timid would be constantly forced by threats or violence into a surrender of their rights, and even into secrecy as to the oppression under which they were suffering. The [knowledge] that such engagements are void makes the attempt to extort them one of the rarest of human crimes. On the other hand, the welfare of society requires that the engagements entered into by a nation under duress should be binding; for, if they were not so, wars would terminate only by the utter subjugation and ruin of the weaker party."1

When either belligerent believes the object of the war to have been attained, or is convinced that it is impossible of attainment; or when the military operations of either power have been so successful as to determine the fortune of war decisively in its favor, a general truce is agreed upon, and negotiations are entered into with a view to the restoration of peace. There is no rule of positive obligation as to the manner in which such negotiations shall be established. The initiative may be taken by either belligerent, either directly with the hostile state, or indirectly through a neutral power. A neutral state may tender its good offices to either belligerent, at any time during the continuance of hostilities. The

1 Senior, in vol. lxxvii. of the Edinburgh Review, p. 307, cited by Creasy, $$ 41, 42. See also I Halleck, pp. 260-266; Vattel, liv. iv.

pp. 35-37; Bluntschli, § 395, Heffter, $179. For an opposite view, see Mommsen, History of Rome, vol. i. p. 403.