Show privateers j tho powers and privileges of these licensed rogers A privateer ia a vessel which belongs to a private owner but sails under a commission granted by a government and carrying authority to the grantee to wage war according to the usages of naval warfare against the power specified in the commission with the commission there are issued in lions for the guidance of the holder and tho government may require the deposit of a certain sum or the delivery of a bond as security against the violation of those in the may further withdraw thea emission if it has been misused or if the instructions it contained have been disregarded and when such com missions were wont to be issued by this country our davv held that the owners of the vessels commissioned might also be held liable in damages for the consequences of such nuisance or disregard the war ships of neutral powers are entitled to visit a privateer and demand exhibition hibi tion ot her commission in ori der that they may satisfy them beaves of its legality and the reason for this exception to the rule of international law which declares that vessels of war cannot be visited obviously is thata privateer does not bear a public character as a warship war ship does all these safeguards safe gards I 1 U babot U these usages have gradually become recognized by civilized nations with a view to the prevention of very risks so long as naval discipline is exercised on board a ship and so long aa her movements are really controlled by the state to which she belongs seme security is afforded that the laws of war as understood between the belligerent powers will be ob j served but neither of these conditions has been fulfilled in the case of privateers the annals of the eighteenth century tell terrible talea of the excesses committed by vate eera on the high beas these vessels having got beyond the reach of any control which the war ahins of theil own country could exercise over them and being manned often by desperate men spared neither life nor property and sometime but small discrimination between the ships of the enemy and those of neutral countries chambers journal |