peal to the charity of the commanders of neutral merchant ships, yachts or boats to take on board and attend the sick and wounded. It is further provided that vessels responding to this appeal, and also vessels which have of their own accord received sick, wounded or shipwrecked men, shall enjoy special protection and certain immunities. In no case can they be captured for the sole reason of having such persons on board; but, subject, to any undertaking that may have been given to them, they remain liable to capture for any violations of neutrality they may commit.

This article, with a following one, covers the muchdiscussed question of the action of the English yacht “Deerhound" in her rescue of Captain Semmes of the "Alabama" after the sinking of that vessel by the "Kearsarge." After Semmes was picked up by the " Deerhound" this yacht slipped away without responding to the directions of the "Kearsarge to come within hail, and liberated Semmes by landing him on neutral territory. This solution of the question so long in debate seems to have met with general approval, and certainly conforms to the usages of land warfare as to the custody of the sick and wounded, not to speak of the able-bodied and uninjured shipwrecked officers and men. As Higgins says: "Among those on board a hospital or merchant ship may be found the brain' of one of the belligerent navies, and 'military necessity' might be appealed to as a justification for his removal. Moreover, the neutral captain might, from unforeseen circumstances, be unable to land the sick, wounded or shipwrecked at a neutral port where they would be interned." "

Although a belligerent may, under this latter article, remove wounded, sick or shipwrecked combatants, he cannot change the course of a neutral merchant vessel or impose any definite

"Hague Peace Conferences, Higgins, p. 389.

course upon such vessel; such orders can only be given to the commanders of regular hospital ships.

The British Government in signing this convention stated through its delegates that its "understanding was that this article (No. 12) applied only to the case of combatants rescued during or after a naval engagement in which they had taken part."

In

The thirteenth article provides that if wounded, sick or shipwrecked persons are taken on board neutral vessels of war, precautions must be taken that, so far as it is possible, they do not again take part in the operations of war. the case of the action in Chemulpo Harbor, in the early days of the Russo-Japanese War, when Russian sick and wounded were taken on board British and other vessels of war at anchor in the harbor, the sick and wounded on board the British ships were, with the consent of the Japanese Government, handed over to the Russians at a neutral port. By the adoption of the thirteenth article a different policy is now provided."

Fortified and unfortified places.-At one time it was held that it was an offense to defend an open and unfortified town or resist in a weak place the attack of a vastly superior force. These views may now be considered obsolete. The bombardment, however, of an entirely unfortified town by land forces is forbidden, as it is forbidden to naval forces.

Earthworks which can be thrown up in a few hours are very efficient defenses and they can gradually be so strengthened as to be able to resist heavy artillery. Plevna, for instance, was an open town when Osman Pasha determined to hold it as a defensive point in 1877; but by continuous labor and engineering skill it was rendered so strong that it repulsed three distinct assaults made in force by the Russians.

"Appendix 4.

With the facilities for defense just named every place may be considered a possible fortress if its topographical situation favors defense; and it can be no longer held that there should be any discriminating severity against a commander who holds a place by improvised works. His forces, if captured, are entitled to the same privileges as troops captured in the open field.

Fortified places in time of war are liable at any time to attack and bombardment, the fact of its fortification justifies a surprise, and in time of war the non-combatants residing in such a place must be prepared to share its fortunes. Cutting off the food and water supply of a besieged place in order to hasten its surrender is proper warfare.

Reference should be made to the usage of the Germans in the war against France of bombarding the town under siege with guns of longer range than those in the defensive works, ignoring the defenses and directing the fire towards the residential part of the town. The propriety of this as a modern act of war has been much discussed.

In view of what has been said in its favor, it is but fair to quote Hall upon the other side.

He says: "The bombardment of a town in the course of a siege, . . . when in strict necessity operations need only be directed against the works, and when, therefore, bombardment really amounts to an attempt to obtain an earlier surrender than would be militarily necessary, through the pressure of misery inflicted upon the inhabitants, is an act which, though permissible by custom, is a glaring violation of the principle by which custom professes to be governed."

The officer in command of a besieged place is alone the judge of the duration of the defense, and it rightfully may be continued so long as he may consider it necessary either for the safety of the place or for some indirect, military or political, advantage to his government.

Pillage.-Pillage is now forbidden even when places are taken by assault. Requisitions and contributions have taken the place of pillage in all well-ordered and disciplined forces." Hostages. In modern times hostages have been seized as a species of retaliation, and held until reparation has been made or offenders surrendered for trial. They have been used for the protection of railway trains, etc. In 1862 General Rosseau, of the United States Army, while commanding in Alabama, found great trouble from the killing of loyal citizens by lawless persons firing into railway trains, and "ordered that the preachers and leading men of the churches (not exceeding twelve in number) in and about Huntsville, who have been active secessionists, be arrested and kept in custody, and that one of them be detailed each day and placed on board the train running by way of Athens, and taken to Elk River and back, and that a like detail be made and taken to Stevenson and back."

In 1870, under somewhat similar circumstances, the German military authorities required that railway trains on a French railway should be accompanied by well-known and respected inhabitants of the town en route who should be placed upon the engine and held as hostages to ensure the trains from attack or interruption by francs tireurs, etc.

Spies." A spy," says Winthrop, " is a person who, without authority and secretly, or under a false pretext, contrives to enter within the lines of an army for the purpose of obtaining material information and communicating it to the enemy; or one who, being by authority within the line, attempts secretly to accomplish such purpose. The information is commonly such as relates to the numbers or resources of the enemy the state of his defenses, the positions of his forces, military or naval, and the like."

'Laws and Customs of War. See Appendix.

By the articles for the government of the navy it is directed that punishment for a spy is "death or such other punishment as a court martial may adjudge." By Section 1343 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, any persons lurking or acting as spies in or about the armies of the United States or elsewhere, shall be triable by a general court martial and shall, on conviction thereof, suffer death. By the law of nations the crime of spy is punishable with death, after trial. In most cases during our late war the form of death was by hanging. Women, who are especially qualified to act as spies on account, as Winthrop says, of "the natural subtlety of their sex," were in some instances sentenced to be hung as spies, though in their case this punishment was rarely, if ever, enforced. A spy who returns to his own army and is subsequently captured is treated as a prisoner of war only.

8

In closing this topic it is well to note that the extreme punishment attached to the spy is not on account of the depravity of his acts, but that on account of the secrecy and fraud connected therewith it may readily expose a military or naval force, without warning, to the greatest disaster. A spy is necessarily a volunteer, and when, with full knowledge of the consequences and from patriotic motives alone, he exposes himself to such imminent danger for the public good, he and his memory is worthy to be held in the highest honor by his fellow countrymen. Such a spy was Nathan Hale of Revolutionary fame.

Use of flags. The proper use of flags and emblems is a matter of consequence in international law, as well as in military and civil life. In hostilities, a flag, when displayed, is an evidence of the nationality of the forces engaged, and that those who use the regimental or national colors are of the national forces of the country.

8 See Appendix.