warlike measure to cut the cable leading from a neutral to an enemy, if not completely censored in war time. The whole matter was well summed up after discussion at the United States Naval War College in the following terms: "Practice, general principles, and opinion alike support the position that a cable connecting one belligerent and a neutral territory and rendering unneutral service is liable to interruption by the other belligerent at any point outside of neutral jurisdiction. War will often make such interruption a reasonable necessity.""1 TOPICS AND REFERENCES 1. Maritime War in General Westlake, 2d ed., part II, chap. VI. Moore's "Digest of International Law," vol. VII, chap. XXIV. Oppenheim, "International Law," 2d ed., vol. II, chap. IV, 216, 224. 2. Laws and Usages of War at Sea Stockton's "Laws and Usages of War at Sea." G. B. Davis, "Elements of International Law," 3d ed., 357, 368. Naval War College, "International Law Topics," etc., 1913. 3. Attack and Capture of Public Vessels of the Enemy Stockton, "Manual of International Law for Naval Officers," 163, 165. Hall, “International Law," 6th ed., 518–525. Higgins, "Hague Peace Conferences, Conventions X and XII," 358-406, Appendix V. 4. The Use of Torpedoes and Submarine Mines Higgins, "Hague Peace Conferences," 322-345. "Naval War College Topics," etc., 1913, 132-146. T. J. Lawrence, "War and Neutrality in the East," 2d ed., 93, etc. Westlake, "International Law," 2d ed., vol. II, 312-317. 5. The Conversion of Merchantmen into Vessels of War Hershey, "Essentials of International Law," 421-3. Higgins, "War and the Private Citizen," 115-165. Higgins, "The Hague Peace Conferences," 308-321. 1 "Naval War College Topics," etc., 1902, pp. 19, 20. 6. Capture of Enemy Merchantmen Lord Loreburn, "Capture at Sea," 18-76. Mahan, "Negative 7. Exemptions and Restrictions in Capture in Maritime War- 8. Enemy Character in Naval Warfare "The Declaration of Paris," 1856, Hershey, 440-1. "London Naval Conference," Appendix IV, chaps. V and VI. Higgins, "Hague Peace Conferences," 600-6. Westlake, 2d ed., vol. II, 163–177. 9. The Procedure of the Capture and Sending of a Merchantman as a Prize Stockton, "Manual of International Law for the Use of Naval 10. Destruction of Enemy Vessels as Prizes Article 50 of Stockton's "Laws and Usages of War at Sea." 11. Resistance to Search, Recapture, Ransom, and Safe Conducts— Higgins, "Naval Conferences," 608, 609. "Declaration of London," Appendix IV. Moore's "Digest," vol. VII, 528, 535. Westlake, 2d ed., vol. II, 178, 182. 12. Bombardments by Naval Forces in Time of War Higgins, "Peace Conferences," 346–357. Hershey, "Essentials of 13. Submarine Cables in Time of War Oppenheim, "International Law," 2d ed., vol. II, 271, 272, 436. CHAPTER XXI AERIAL WARFARE. WIRELESS TELEGRAPH 163. Aerial Warfare in General.-By this term is included aerial warfare over the land and aerial warfare over the sea, or what has been termed "aerial land and aerial maritime warfare." The use of balloons in warfare dates back to the time of the French Revolution, in 1793, when, in accordance with a proposition of Monge, a company of aeronauts was formed and balloons were used to ascertain the movements and position of the enemy. The stationary balloons were used also in our Civil War, for similar observations. They were also used in the FrancoGerman War, and also in the Russo-Japanese War in the vicinity of Port Arthur, to an extent that led Admiral Alexieff to place balloonists in the class of spies. This led to their elimination from that class in the second Hague conference, which, however, prohibited the launching of explosives from balloons for a term of years. Since then the development of dirigible balloons and aeroplanes has superseded ordinary free and captive spherical balloons, and in the late wars between Turkey and Italy and Turkey and the Balkan nations aircraft was used to a considerable extent. As the use of such aerial craft at great speed in Europe, and even in America, caused flights to extend over many countries and across territorial waters and arms of the sea, the question of aerial navigation in time of peace and war soon became an international one and has led to several international confer 1 Wilmot E. Ellis, "Aerial Land and Aerial Maritime Warfare," A. J. I. L., 1914, no. 2, vol. VIII. ences upon the subject and the discussion of its international phases by many writers and jurists. The Institute of International Law at several of its meetings discussed the subject very fully and at first was adverse to aerial warfare; but as all military countries proceeded with competitive haste to develop their aerial instruments of warfare, the subject could not be dismissed so cavalierly, even by so august an assemblage. Hence at its Madrid meeting, in 1911, it was voted "that aerial war is permitted, but on the condition of not presenting greater dangers than land or sea war for the persons or properties of the peaceful population." This limitation may be considered rather vague and dubious as to its prohibitory effect. In the Turko-Italian War of 1911, the Italians used both airships and aeroplanes in the reconnoissance of TurkishArabian positions. The Turks, as a rule, succeeded in driving attacking aircraft to a considerable altitude by infantry fire, and it was reported that they obtained fairly good results with a specially mounted Krupp gun. They used no aircraft of their own. During the Balkan Wars, all of the belligerents used aeroplanes, manned mostly by foreign aviators. Artillery and infantry attack was employed to such good effect that it became exceedingly dangerous for aeroplanes to descend below four thousand feet. Bombs were occasionally dropped with decided moral effect on Turkish positions. The first attack known on a naval vessel occurred in July, 1913, during the Mexican insurrection, when a French aviator in the service of the "Constitutionalists" attempted in Guaymas harbor to drop several bombs on a Federal gunboat. No damage was done on either side, and the aeroplane eventually escaped.2 The fact that dirigible balloons of a so-called battleship type, 1 "Annuaire, Institute of Int. Law," no. 24, p. 346. * Wilmot E. Ellis, "Aerial Land and Aerial Maritime Warfare," A. J. I. L., 1914, vol. VIII, no. 2, p. 261. carry a crew of fifteen men and are equipped with several machine guns, a radioapparatus, a bomb-throwing device, a searchlight, and over a ton of explosives shows probabilities of serious night work, while French aeroplanes, in turn, are to be armored so that they can fly low. These possibilities overcome physical limitations which were thought to be inherent to aerial warfare.1 164. The Sovereignty of the Air.-The question of the sovereignty of the air has been discussed very fully since the growth of the importance of aerial craft, and in a number of cases municipal laws have been formulated upon the subject both in respect to its peace and warlike phases. International conferences have not been successful as yet in a common agreement upon the subject. An international conference upon the subject of aerial navigation was held at Paris, in April, 1910, which adjourned without result after several months' deliberation, developing as it did such differences of opinion upon the question of the sovereignty of the state over the air as to make progress impossible. In the meantime, various states have been enacting laws. governing the movements of aircraft of their own and foreign states with reference to the aerial territory above their land territory, and without regard to questions of height or what may be called servitudes of innocent passage of air-ships. Mr. Blewett Lee quotes from the weekly edition of the London Times of August 1, 1913, the following item, which shows an extension of the convention law upon the subject. It reads that: "A Franco-German convention has been signed with a view to regulating air traffic between the two countries. Private aircraft will be at liberty to cross the frontiers save in districts of military importance. State aircraft may cross only on authorization of the other state. If a military aircraft is forced 1 Wilmot E. Ellis, "Aerial Land and Aerial Maritime Warfare," A. J. I. L., 1914, vol. VIII, no. 2, p. 261. |