The importance of the predecessors has been pointed out in various works: by Kaltenborn in his admirable study on "Die Vorläufer des Hugo Grotius auf dem Gebiete des Jus naturae et gentium (1848); by the late Professor Rivier in Holtzendorff's Handbuch des Völkerrechts, vol. 1, pp. 395 to 402, and more especially in the same author's learned "Note sur la littérature du Droit des Gens avant la publication du Jus Belli ac Pacis de Grotius (1883); and, within the past two years, in a series of articles, fathered by Professor Pillet, entitled “Les Fondateurs du Droit International” (1904).

The most recent English work on international law is by Dr. Oppenheim, and in an apt paragraph he mentions the most important of the predecessors. That I may have authority for the view I am expressing, and at the same time keep my remarks within reasonable bounds, I quote the paragraphs in question:

The science of the modern Law of Nations commences from Grotius's work, "De Jure Belli ac Pacis libri III," because in it a fairly complete system of International Law was for the first time built up as an independent branch of the science of law. But there are many writers before Grotius who wrote on special parts of the Law of Nations. They are therefore commonly called "Forerunners of Grotius." The most important of these forerunners are the following: (1) Legnano, professor of law in the University of Bologna, who wrote in 1360 his book "De bello, de represaliis, et de duello," which was, however, not printed before 1477.

(2) Belli, an Italian jurist and statesman, who published in 1563 his book, "De re militari et de bello."

(3) Brunus, a German jurist, who published in 1548 his book, "De legationibus."

(4) Victoria, professor in the University of Salamanca, who published in 1557 his "Relectiones theologica," which partly deals with the Law of War.

(5) Ayala, of Spanish descent but born in Antwerp, a military judge in the army of Alexandro Farnese, the Prince of Parma. He published in 1582 his book, "De jure et officiis bellicis et disciplina militari."

(6) Suarez, a Spanish Jesuit and professor at Coimbra, who published in 1612 his "Tractatus de legibus et de legislatore; " in which (II, c. 19, n. 8) for the first time the attempt is made to found a law between the States on the fact that they form a community of States.

(7) Gentilis, an Italian jurist, who became professor of civil law in Oxford. He published in 1585 his work "De legationibus," in 1588 and 1589 his "Commentationes de jure belli," in 1598 an enlarged work on the same matter under the title "De jure belli libri tres," and in 1613 his "Advocatio Hispanica." Gentilis's book "De jure belli" supplies, as Professor Holland shows, the model and the framework of the first and third book of Grotius's De jure belli ac pacis." "The first step Holland rightly says" towards making International Law what it is was taken, not by Grotius, but by Gentilis." (International Law, vol. 1, pp. 76–77.)

66

I submit, therefore, that it would be a great boon to student and teacher alike to bring within the range of possibility the leading works of the predecessors of Grotius.

In the next place, I would propose an edition of Grotius to be edited in the light of present scholarship, an edition freed from the errors of the printer and cut loose from the mass of editorial note and comment which encumber the text. Until recently the masterpiece of Grotius was not thoroughly understood because it was treated as an isolated work rather than as the growth of a lifetime. It has been discovered, however, that the masterpiece of 1625 was but the enlarge

ment of a brief or legal opinion which Grotius prepared in 1604 when retained by the Dutch East India Company in an important prize case. The "Mare Liberum," published in 1609, has for two centuries and more been looked upon as a separate and independent work. The discovery in 1864 of the brief of Grotius, called "De jure Praedae," and its publication in 1868 show that this famous little work was chapter 12 of his original brief.

It therefore appears that Grotius began his professional life deeply interested in international law; that in one of his early and most important cases be outlined the subject in his brief on the law of prize; that he kept it by him, and in 1609 published a fragment of it, chapter 12, in separate form; and that the great work of 1625 was an elaboration of a lifetime's thought and study as outlined in the original brief.

The recovery of the tractate "De jure Praedae" is of the highest importance in considering the legal nature of international law; for if the law of nations was not born in the court-room, it was nevertheless cradled in a court of justice. The system is not the dream of a philosopher: it is the realized conception of a jurist and practitioner.

It is therefore obvious that a new and authoritative edition of Grotius should be prepared, which should contain the brief on the law of prize, with footnotes calling attention to the few and unimportant modifications of chapter 12 when published separately as the "Mare Liberum," as well as the text of the immortal three books on the Law of War and Peace. An edition of this kind, with proper introduction and translation, would be a great service to the cause of international law.

The successors of Grotius should, it seems to me, be edited and brought within the reach of the American people, and among these successors I would specially mention the following:

Richard Zouche, an Englishman who is not inaptly termed the second founder of the law of nations and whose little book appeared in 1650 under the title: "Juris et judicii fecialis, sive juris inter gentes, et quaestionum de eodem explicatio, qua, quae ad pacem et bellum inter diversos principes aut populos spectant, ex praecipuis historico jure peritis exhibentur.”

Dr. Oppenheim says, and properly, that "This little book has rightly been called the first manual of the positive law of nations; " yet it is almost impossible to obtain this text, and there are very few students, indeed teachers, of international law who are at all familiar with its contents.

In the next place Zouche would be followed by the German Pufendorf, who attempted in his elaborate work "De jure naturae et gentium" (1672) to make international law a branch of the so-called law of nature, rather than a system of positive law.

The next great figure in the history of international law, whose authority is regarded as only less than that of Grotius, is the Dutchman Cornelius Van Bynkershoek, whose three works "De dominio maris" (1702), "De foro legatorum " (1721), and "Quaestionum juris publici libri II" (1737), are classics. They are, however, scarcely obtainable.

Christian Wolff was the immediate teacher of Vattel and to him modern international law owes much. Indeed, his two treatises on international law "Jus

gentium methodo scientifica pertractatum ' (1749) and "Institutiones juris naturae et gentium" (1750) supplied a body of doctrine which Vattel merely popularized in his famous book on the Law of Nations published in 1758. The pupil outdistanced the master in popular favor and Vattel is an authority in all parts of the world, while the name of Wolff is known only to the curious or the antiquary. Coin of the realm circulates freely, but bullion does not pass from hand to hand.

I have reduced my proposal to the minimum, and in mentioning these few among the many I would not exclude other works which have a solid claim upon the student of to-day. My immediate purpose is to outline a project, not to present it in detail. However, there are four works that should not be omitted from this brief outline:

Martens' "Causes Celèbres" (2d edition, 5 vols., Leipzig, 1858-61) should be translated and published in this country for the benefit of the student whose knowledge of French is faulty.

The decisions of Lord Stowell on international law should be collected and published in such a way that they might be readily obtained by the student.

The decisions of Chief Justice Marshall in international law are equal to his decisions in constitutional law. In my own individual opinion they give a better understanding of the profound originality and enormous intellectual power of the great Chief Justice. These decisions are classics in America and England, and they are quoted with great respect upon the Continent. might be collected within the compass of a single volume.

They

The decisions of Judge Story might be treated in the same way, and while Story did not possess the vigor of his great chief, he possessed learning to which Marshall made no claim. Story's authority on international law is as unquestioned in Europe as it is in America.

No outline, however meager, should fail to mention the judgments and opinions of Sir Leoline Jenkins; the "History of the Law of Nations" by Ward; the luminous and authoritative judgments of our own Kent; and the admirable "Institutes of International Law" by Wildman, which some competent critics consider to be the best English work on the Law of Nations. Nor should the treatises of two German authors be overlooked in this brief enumeration: the "Précis du Droit des Gens Moderne" by G. F. de Martens, and "Das Europäische Völkerrecht der Gegenwart" by Heffter. The former work enjoyed great influence in its day and its day is not yet passed; the work of Heffter is considered by continental critics to be the mark and model of a treatise on international law. However opinions may differ as to the respective merits of these books, they are admittedly classics of the science.

Should this project commend itself to you and should the Carnegie Institution be willing to undertake it as a whole in its elaborated form, the student and teacher of international law, and, in a lesser degree, the people at large, would be put in possession of the masterpieces of international law, namely: the works of the predecessors of Grotius, a proper edition of the masterpiece of Grotius himself, the works of the chief successors of Grotius, and adjudged cases of unquestioned authority in the domain of international law.

In the event that the project for the publication of the classics on international

law meet with favor, I would suggest that a title be selected which indicates at once the legal and universal nature as well as the scope of the series. The codification of Roman law which we owe to Justinian is ordinarily referred to as Corpus Juris Civilis. The Canon law is termed the Corpus Juris Canonici. The Latin expression for international law is either jus gentium or jus inter gentes. Bearing in mind the terminology applied to the Roman and Canon law, it seems to me that it would be a peculiarly happy turn of expression to name the series Corpus Juris Gentium.

Should the Carnegie Institution, intrusted to your charge, care to undertake the publication of this great work, which I am convinced makes for peace because it makes for international law, thereby substituting, as Mr. Root said in his address at Rio de Jeneiro, "the rule of law for the rule of man," I should be very happy to assume the general supervision of the series should you so desire. But I could only do it upon one condition, namely: that the services of the editor-in-chief should be gratuitous; for in so doing I would have the satisfaction of discharging in some measure the duty laid upon every professional man by my Lord Bacon, who wisely and properly said:

I hold every man a debtor to his profession; from the which as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavor themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto.

CHRONICLE OF INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

WITH REFERENCES

Abbreviations: Ann. sc. pol., Annales des sciences politiques, Paris; Arch. dipl., Archives diplomatiques, Paris; B., boletín, bulletin, bollettino; B. A. R., Monthly bulletin of the International Bureau of American Republics, Washington; Doc. dipl., France: Documents diplomatiques; Dr., droit, diritto, derecho; For. rel., Foreign Relations of the United States; Ga., gazette, gaceta, gazzetta; Cd., Great Britain: Parliamentary Papers; Int., international, internacional, internazionale; J., journal; J. O., Journal Officiel, Paris; Mém. dipl., Mémorial diplomatique, Paris; Monit., Moniteur belge, Brussels; N. R. G., Nouveau recueil général de traités, Leipzig; Q. dipl., Questions diplomatiques et coloniales; R., review, revista, revue, rivista; Reichs-G., Reichs-Gesetzblatt, Berlin; Staatsb., Staatsblad, Gröningen; State Papers, British and Foreign State Papers, London; Stat. at L., United States Statutes at Large; Times, the Times (London); Treaty ser., Great Britain: Treaty Series.

December, 1908.

28 GREAT BRITAIN. Accession to the international convention signed at Berne, September 26, 1906, prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. Treaty ser., 1909, No. 4. See December 17 and 21, 1908.

30 COLOMBIA-GREAT BRITAIN. Agreement signed at Bogotá providing for settlement by arbitration of certain classes of questions which may arise between the two governments. Treaty ser., 1909, No. 5. Ratified by Colombia, March 5, 1909.

January, 1909.

6 KONGO. Belgian decree permitting forced recruitment of 2,575 natives for construction of Great Lakes Railway. A decree of January 4, 1909, declared this railway to be a work of public utility. The men thus recruited are termed under a decree of June 3, 1906, "travailleurs salariés." Times, March 17, April 2. Errera: Le Congo belge, R. de dr. public, 25:730; Morel: A memorial on native rights in the land and its fruits in the Congo territories annexed by Belgium (subject to international recognition) in August 1908, London 1909; Official documents, ante, 3:5; for Secretary Root's note of January 11, 1909, to the Bel