disposition is a growing concern for the freedom of commercial intercourse, for unrestricted opportunities of travel and mutual acquaintance, and, in fact, for all that zealous co-operation which, as existing among the citizens of any one State, is the source of its vitality and growth.
These relations, which, stated in this abstract form, seem rather to wear the color of a gorgeous prophecy than the duller drapery of facts which meet the eye, are really already found to exist between more than one pair of States in the civilized world, of equal political importance, and, so far as can be conjectured, military or naval strength. They have been described here for the purpose of clearly showing what is the state of things where the true moral ties, which everywhere, in truth, bind men and States together, have succeeded in attaining a supreme ascendency over the accidental elements of selfishness, distrust, or mere dislike, the force of which is represented in armies and navies.
The exact antithesis of the above picture — that is, where the Wars in which legal and moral obligations have been ignored. dislocating elements have attained a supreme ascendency over the moral ties — has been, and still is, too faithfully imaged in such abuse of military strength as characterised the English in their Chinese Wars, and in some of their Asiatic expeditions, the English, again, in their barbarous conflicts with the aboriginal tribes in the neighborhood of some of their colonies, and the French in some of their exploits in the north of Africa.
The effect of conduct such as is here alluded to, in which all Laws of War are superseded in the name of military necessity, or are treated as good enough for one hemisphere or country but not for another, operates as an annihilation of the very idea of moral ties existing between belligerents. The very defence put forward for this unscrupulous indulgence in War is that moral duties are not necessarily binding on one army unless they are acknowledged and performed by the combatants on
