“ To constitute an illegal equipment or augmentation of the force of a vessel, within the territory of the United States, it is immaterial, whether the persons enlisted are native citizens, or foreigners domiciled within the United States. ”

“ Whether the public ships of war enter the ports of another friendly nation, under the license implied by the absence of any prohibition, or under an express stipulation by treaty, they are equally exempt from the local jurisdiction. ”

“ A neutral nation may, if so disposed, without a breach of its neutral character, grant permission to both belligerents to equip their vessels of war within its territory. But without such permission, the subjects of the belligerent powers have no right to equip vessels, or to augment their force, either with arms or with men, within the territory of the neutral nation. ”

“ Webster and D. B. Ogden, contra, contended, that the district courts of the United States are courts of the law of nations, and that a general allegation of a marine tort, in violation of the law of nations, is sufficient, prim a facie, to give them jurisdiction, where the captured property is brought within our territory. As a general allegation of prize is sufficient (The Fortuna, 1 Dods. 284; The Adeline, 9 Cr. 244) ; so is a general allegation of an unlawful capture. ”

“ The obligations which neutrality imposes, are also to be fulfilled towards each party. What are those obligations, and how they may be affected by the misconduct of the belligerents, has been frequently made a subject of decision in this court. Thus, where the commander of a French privateer, called the Citizen Genet, having captured, as prize, on the high seas, the sloop Betsey, sent the vessel into the port of Baltimore ”

“ If the capture be made within the territorial limits of a neutral country, into which the prize is brought, or by a privateer which has been illegally equipped in such neutral country, the prize courts of such neutral country not only possess the power, but it is their duty, to restore the property so illegally captured to the owner. ”

“ But until such power be expressly exerted, those general provisions which are descriptive of the ordinary jurisdiction of the judicial tribunals, and give an individual, whose property has been wrested from him, a right to claim that property in the courts of the country where it is found, ought not to be so construed as to give them jurisdiction in a case, in which the sovereign power has impliedly consented to waive its jurisdiction. ”

“ Prim a facie, all piracies and trespasses committed against the general law of nations, are inquirable, and may be proceeded against, in any nation, where no special exemption can be maintained, either by the general law of nations, or by some treaty which forbids or restrains it. ”

“ But that possession is admitted, and nothing is shown by the pleadings, to authorize the courts of this country to divest it from the captors. There is no infraction of the treaty with Spain pleaded, which can give our courts jurisdiction to restore to the former Spanish owners. The 6th and 9th articles of the treaty of 1795 are the only articles which can have any bearing upon the case, and these only provide for restitution, where the capture is made within our territorial limits, or, where it is made by pirates. ”

“ A capture by a citizen of a neutral state, who sets up an act of expatriation to justify it, is unlawful, where the removal from his own country was by sailing, cum dolo et culpa, in the capacity of a cruiser against friendly powers. ”

“ All captures made by means of such equipments of vessels, or augmentation of their force, within the neutral territory, are illegal in respect to the neutral nation, and it is competent for its courts to punish the offenders, and in case the prizes taken by them are brought infra prasidia, to order them to be restored. ”

“ The replication of the Spanish consul states, that inasmuch as the said Utley, in his plea, admits that the said vessel, and the cargo laden on board, were, on the 31st day of October 1816, the property of a subject or subjects of his majesty Ferdinand VII., the said consul claims the same, as the property of such subject or subjects, the names of whom are to him, at present, unknown ”

“ The consistency of the court in this case cannot be vindicated with the same facility as in that of The Mary Ford. 'We are, however, induced to believe, from several circumstances, that we have transmitted to us but an imperfect sketch of the decision in that case. The brevity with which a case is reported, which we are informed, had been argued successively at two terms, by men of the first legal talents, necessarily suggests this opinion ”