Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/578

LEFT BELLIGERENT 478 BELLINGHAM nically known as the right of "visit and search." 3. The right for vessels of war of the belligerent to enter the harbors of the neutral state, subject to certain limitations as to length of stay and the kind and quantity of supplies that may be received. As a general rule, not more than three vessels of war of a belligerent are per- mitted in a neutral port at one time. The length of stay is limited to twenty- four hours except where the weather or the condition of the ships makes it un- safe to put to sea. If vessels of war of both belligerents are in a neutral harbor simultaneously, a period of not less than twenty-four hours must elapse after the departure of one of these before the other is permitted to depart. Only suf- ficient supplies of fuel may be taken to enable the belligerent ship to reach the nearest home port. Only such re- pairs may be made as are necessary to make the vessel seaworthy. A belligerent vessel of war which re- mains in a neutral port beyond the pre- scribed time limit thereby loses the right to leave the port during the continuance of the war and must be prevented from leaving by disabling the machinery or by other effective steps taken by the neutral authorities. Such a ship is tech- nically "interned." Belligerents are required by interna- tional law to respect the neutrality of other powers by complying loyally v/ith all of the above requirements, and, in general, by refraining, in neutral terri- tory or neutral waters, from all acts which could subject the neutral govern- ment to the charge of failing in its duty toward the other belligerent. No act of hostility can be performed within the waters of a neutral, which waters ex- tend to a line three miles off the coast, nor can the right of visit and search be exercised in such waters. The status of a revolting faction which has not yet been recognized as a belligerent is that of "insurgency," and the recognition accorded at this stage goes no farther than is essential for the ti'ansaction of absolutely necessary busi- ness; such, for example, as arranging for the security of the life and property of foreign citizens resident within the territory controlled by the insurgent au- thorities. The privileges which may be accorded to insurgents are not clearly defined, nor is the practice uniform. It is certain that insurgent ships have no right of "visit and search," and no right to enter neutral ports. Nor may they blockade the ports of the parent state even when, as in the case of the Bra- zilian insurgents in 1893, they have con- trol of the entire navy of the state. On the other hand, the parent state is not in a position to blockade the insurgent ports. In the nature of the case, a sov- ereign state cannot blockade itself, and so long as the war is held to be merely an insurrection, the ports controlled by the insurgents are theoretically subject to the laws of the state itself, not to in- ternational law. And blockade is a func- tion of international, not of municipal, law. At the beginning of the American Civil War, in 1861, the Federal Govern- ment declared a blockade of the Confed- erate ports, thereby inadvertently rec- ognizing the Confederacy as a bellig- erent power; and Great Britain and other European powers immediately ac- corded the same recognition, in spite of protests from the United States Govern- ment. It sometimes happens that the parent state recognizes the belligerency of an insurgent faction for the purpose of re- lieving itself of responsibility for the actions of the insurgents. So long as the state maintains that the struggle going on within its borders is merely an insurrection, not a war, just so long the state remains responsible to the world for damage done to other powers by the insurgents. With the recognition of bel- ligerency by the parent state, this re- sponsibility ceases. Similarly, if the parent state refuses recognition but other states grant it, the responsibility ceases for damage suffered by such states but not for states which have not granted recognition. It is sometimes stated, even by au- thorities on international law, that in- surgents have no standing in law and that they are subject to treatment as pirates and outlaws. This view cannot be maintained. Their rights, although limited and undefined, are real, and un- questionably include the right to treat- ment in accordance with the laws of war so long as they themselves observe these laws. The recognition of belligerency is a very different thing from the recognition of independence. The two may go to- gether, but whereas the recognition of independence carries with it that of bel- ligerency, the converse is far frcm being the case. Belligerency without independ- ence gives no right to diplomatic repre- sentation at a foreign capital, although envoys are sometimes informally re- ceived as a matter of convenience, BELLINGHAM, a city of Washington, the county-seat of Whatcom co. It is about 100 miles N. of Seattle, on the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific,