Neutral territory

“ We have seen in previous pages that the consensus of opinion among international law authorities of modern times is that a neutral should in no case whatever allow the use of its territory for the purposes of a belligerent expedition against a State with which it is upon friendly terms. ”

“ No government, and, least of all, one whose highest aim it ought to he, to avoid all causes of contention, should desire to be bounded by neutral territory, which must necessarily become, in spite of laws and regulations, the refuge and hiding—place of outlaws and bandits,— and the theatre of incessant broil ”

“ Where a violation of neutral territory has taken place from ignorance of the boundary and not from evil intent, the neutral State shall immediately claim redress, compensation, and the adoption of measures necessary to prevent a similar mistake in future. ”

“ Without a violation of neutrality, an enemy's consul in a neutral territory, cannot be permitted to entice any seamen from a ship of the opposite belligerents, or to shelter or protect the same; for, if he is permitted to do this, then his domicile becomes an enemy's camp in a neutral territory.
6. With reference to the question in hand, I respectfully submit that the only facts which your Excellency can take cognizance of, are, that these deserters entered the waters of Spain under my flag, and that they formed a part of my crew. ”

“ To make use of any installation of like nature, erected by them before the war, on the territory of the neutral state, for an exclusively military purpose, and which has not been opened to the service of public correspondence.
Art. 4.—Bodies of combatants shall not be formed or recruiting offices opened on territory of a neutral power for the benefit of the belligerents.
Art. 5.—A neutral state shall not allow on its territory any of the acts mentioned in arts. 2 to 4. It is only bound to repress acts contrary to neutrality in case they have been committed on its own territory. ”

“ Sometimes a treaty defining spheres of influence declares that such and such territory shall be neutral.
In the treaty of delimitation between France and Germany of the 15th of March 1894, the line of demarcation of the zones of influence of the two states in the region of Lake Chad is drawn, and they agree to exercise no political influence in such spheres. Each of the states agrees (art. 2) to acquire no territory, to conclude no treaties, to accept no rights of sovereignty, or protectorate, and not “gêner ou de contester l’influence de l’autre Puissance dans la zone qui lui est reservée.” ”

“ Only small countries, as Switzerland and Belgium, can exist upon the basis of neutrality.
Great powers may remain neutral in a particular case, but they cannot take neutrality for a constant principle, and they chiefly cannot remain neutral in respect to principles. ”

“ If we acquiesce in this doctrine, advocated by Great Britain, sanctioned by her admiralty courts, and enforced by her cruisers, I ask if we shall not violate that honest neutrality which compels us to treat all nations alike? The great principle of a neutral nation, as defined by the law of nations, is, to treat the belligerents with equal impartiality, and not to favor one at the expense of another. By acquiescing in the doctrine that renders this part of our trade liable to capture, we make ourselves a party on the side of one of the nations engaged in war. ”

“ Whenever the two maxims have been connected in a treaty, it has been where one of the maxims was important to one of the parties as a neutral nation, and the other to the other party as a belligerent nation. ”

“ Neutrality is in most cases voluntary, and States whose neutrality is voluntary may at any time during the war give up their attitude of impartiality and take the part of either belligerent. On the other hand, the neutrality of such State as is by treaty bound to remain neutral in a war is conventional. ”

“ You may, on every occasion, give assurances which cannot go beyond the real desires of this country, to preserve a fair neutrality in the present war, on condition that the rights of neutral nations are respected in us, as they have been settled in modern times, either by the express declarations of the powers of Europe, or their adoption of them on particular occasions. ”

“ There is no doubt that in the eighteenth century, when it was recognised that a State could be considered neutral, although it was by a previous treaty bound to render more or less limited assistance to one of the belligerents, this distinction between neutrality perfect and qualified was justified. ”

“ Whether a country is or is not neutral is a matter which, on war breaking out, has to be determined by the application of certain well-known principles of International Law, and does not depend upon the mere declaration of the ruler, unless followed by a strict observance of neutrality. ”

“ Some international thinkers have even gone so far as to insist that since the neutral nations are so inextricably involved in the future of Europe, the neutral nations should have a direct and active part in the negotiations of the warring nations which frame the terms of peace. ”

“ Side by side with the idea of arbitration, another pacific idea, [Pg 40] already powerful, is pressing forward, and growing into an International Law, namely, the Law of Neutrality.
He is neutral, who neither takes part for, nor against, in a dispute. Neutrality is the impartial position which is not associated with either party. The State is called neutral which neither takes part in a war itself, nor in time of war sides with any of the warring parties. ”

“ Peoples or nations commune with each other only through the national authorities, and when the state proclaims neutrality or non-intervention, all its subjects are bound to be neutral, and to abstain from all intervention on either side. ”

“ There is no rule of international law prescribing any single manner for the transfer or or cession of territory. Since territorial questions are often a threat to peaceful international relations, methods which result in an unequivocal settlement recognized by the nations of the world are desirable. ”

“ The projected defensive league of neutrals is, in effect, an inchoate coalescence of the kind. Its purpose is the safeguarding of the common peace and freedom, which is also the avowed purpose and justification of all those modern nations that have outlived the régime of dynastic ambition and so of enterprise in dominion for dominion's sake, and have passed into the neutral phase of nationality ”

“ The fact is we hear a great deal of neutral rights but very little of neutrals' obligations, and yet common sense and the conscience of mankind agree in laying down that, if there is any meaning in the term Community of nations^ and if there are any duties which nations owe one another more sacred and binding than others, it is the obligation to endeavour to shorter, the duration of wars, to reconcile by every means in their power the belligerents to each other, and studiously to avoid everything which could prolong the duration of hostilities. ”

“ It is the utter impossibility of peace, in a territory made by nature a geographical unity, inhabited by a people, or peoples, of one lineage, one language, bound together in historical reminiscences, yet divided into petty sovereign States too small for any respectable nationalities themselves, and yet preventing any beneficent nationality as a whole. ”

“ In this review of our relations with the neutral nations of Europe it has been my purpose to point out distinctly that this Government has no complaint to make that those nations declared their neutrality. It could neither expect nor desire more. The complaint is that the neutrality has teen rather nominal than real, and that recognized neutral rights have been alternately asserted and waived in such manner as to bear with great severity on us, and to confer signal advantages on our enemy. ”

“ And does not the whole experience of the last three hundred years go to prove that no Oriental state which retains distinctively Oriental institutions can hope to keep its territory free from Western aggression? ”

“ Territorial disputes have at all times been found one of the most fertile sources of hostility among nations. Perhaps the greatest proportion of wars that have desolated the earth have sprung from this origin. This cause would exist, among us, in full force. We have a vast tract of unsettled territory within the boundaries of the United States. ”

“ In consequence of its external independence, a State can manage its international affairs according to discretion, especially enter into alliances and conclude other treaties, send and receive diplomatic envoys, acquire and cede territory, make war and peace.
In consequence of its internal independence and territorial supremacy, a State can adopt any Constitution it likes, arrange its administration in a way it thinks fit, make use of legislature as it pleases, organise its forces on land and sea, build and pull down fortresses, adopt any commercial policy it likes, and so on. ”

“ A small nation, prosperous in the arts of peace, making no military pretensions, offering no shadow of offence, capable of no injury to Germany, whom Germany had plighted her word by treaty to protect—was her neutrality to be respected? ”

“ Above all, such a conference of neutral nations would in itself be a splendid example of international co-operation of the very sort for which the new internationalism is working. Furthermore, when the terms of peace shall be negotiated at the close of the war, the neutral nations acting together can have much more influence in seeing to it that the terms of peace shall not be such as to create a situation which might lead to future war or prejudice the interests of the neutral nations themselves. ”

“ We may claim on this continent a like exemption from European interference. The nations of America are equally sovereign and independent with those of Europe. They possess the same rights, independent of all foreign interposition, to make war, to conclude peace, and to regulate their internal affairs. ”

“ We mean by our policy of neutrality, that the great objects of national pursuit with us are connected with peace. We covet no provinces; we desire no conquests; we entertain no ambitious projects of aggrandizement by war. This is our policy. But it does not follow from this, that we rely less than other nations on our own power to vindicate our own rights. We know that the last logic of kings is also our last logic; that our own interests must be defended and maintained by our own arm; and that peace or war may not always be of our own choosing. ”

“ They pledge themselves also, in the interest of good and sincere relations between the two peoples in the future to solve amicably the various territorial controversies on the basis of the principles of nationality and of the right of peoples to decide their own fate, and in such a way as not to injure the vital interests of the two nations, as they shall be defined at the moment of peace. ”

“ Again, suppose that the frontier between the two States has been settled by agreement and that there is no doubt whatever where it is. One of the two States desires to have that frontier changed; in other words, desires that there shall be a cession of territory. Here is a question of the status quo. In a sense it may be called international, because it relates to an international frontier ”

“ It is now the question whether this state of things is a permanent arrangement—whether we of the north side are always to have the advantage of extent of territory, of fertile lands and healthful homes in middle latitudes, in short, of all that makes the rivalry of nations, and civilization a necessity. ”

“ The need of a settled peace increases everywhere, and it is therefore probable that a proposition to the great powers respecting a guaranteed neutrality for the united kingdoms would meet with general sympathy in Europe. ”

“ The rights of neutrality will only be respected, when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral. ”

“ No territory should be transferred from one nation to another against the will of the inhabitants, nor should any readjustments be made which might breed fresh wars. National boundaries should coincide as far as possible with national sentiment. No terms of settlement should be regarded as satisfactory if they impose upon any nation such harsh and humiliating terms of peace as would be inconsistent with its independence, self-respect, or well-being. ”

“ Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?
It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. ”

“ They knew how to present each of these separate States that had thus arisen in the lap of the one nation—which had no enemy except those foreign countries themselves, and no concern except the common one of setting itself with united strength against their seductive craft and cunning—foreign countries, I say, knew how to present each of these States to the others as a natural enemy, against which each State must be perpetually on its guard. ”

“ And a defensive agreement tending to facilitate for the neutral state the carrying out of the part it is compelled to play in the maintenance of the European balance of power—the very basis of its neutrality—is certainly permissible, and, under certain circumstances, may even seem necessary; for example, when the neutral state seems too weak to resist by its own force a possibly powerful invasion. ”