towards securing the commerce of nations which remain at peace, from interruption by those which are engaged in war.
'The sphere, within which the European law of nations operates, has been widely extended by the unqualified accession of the American states; by the tendency of the Mahommedan powers to adopt the public law of Christendom; and by the general feeling, even among less civilized nations, that there are rights which they may exact from others, and, consequently, duties which they may be required to fulfil.
'The law of nations, as a science, has advanced with the improvements in the principles and language of philosophy; with our extended knowledge of the past and present condition of mankind resulting from deeper researches into the obscurer periods of history and the discovery of new regions of the globe; and with the greater variety and importance of the questions to which the practical application of the system has given rise.
'And lastly, that the law of nations, as a system of positive rules regulating the mutual intercourse of sovereigns, has improved with the general improvement of civilization, of which it is one of the most valuable products.'These conclusions are noteworthy as considered lessons drawn from a spacious and careful survey over a long stretch of time; and they are noteworthy for the time at which they were drawn as well as by reason of the learning and diplomatic experience of their author.[1]
The book contains a brief retrospect, in pp. 1–67, on ancient and mediaeval customs and law in international intercourse; pp. 60–7 treat of the Consolato del Mare.[2] Although much
- ↑ Wheaton wrote his Preface to the English edition of his work at Berlin in November 1843. He was Minister of the United States at the Court of Berlin.
- ↑ See Pardessus, Collection des lois maritimes antérieures au dix-buitième siècle (6 vols., Paris, 1828–45)—a work cited by Wheaton, but not completed at the time he wrote; also Pardessus, Lois et coutumes de la mer, ou Collection des usages maritimes des peuples de l'antiquité et du moyen âge (2 vols., Paris, 1847)—a reproduction of chapters 1-4 of the larger
