pronounced upon by the highest tribunal of the land. If this were the character of all wars,—and I firmly believe it will henceforth be the character of all wars in which this country will be engaged—it is the rights of belligerents that would be invested in the public mind with the character of sacredness, and we should hear far less about the rights of neutrals. The rights of neutrals, as they are often put forward; are nothing more nor less than the wrongs of belligerents.
Before I dismiss this part of my subject I must shortly examine two arguments (if I may so call them) which are often put forward against the right of searching neutral vessels with a view to capturing enemies' cargoes.
(1.) It is said that the neutral vessel is part of the territory of the neutral nation, and therefore the belligerent has no right to violate it, any more than to land on the neutral territory and there seize the
