Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/435



America was invited to be a party to this general international agreement, but demurred, and coupled at first her assent to the abolition of privateering, with the condition that private property at sea should no longer be subject to capture. Finally, she refused to be a party to a convention, whereby she would be precluded from resorting to her merchant marine for privateering purposes, in case she became a belligerent. But this, in the opinion of the Committee, was not surprising, as the United States had obtained the recognition of the rights of neutrals, for which she contended throughout a long period of hostilities, and Great Britain had surrendered those rights without any equivalent from her. The Committee were therefore of opinion that our Shipowners would thereby be placed at an immense disadvantage in the event of a war breaking out with any important European Power. Indeed, they went so far as to give it as their deliberate conviction that "the whole of our carrying trade in the event of a great European war would be inevitably transferred to American and other neutral bottoms."

"We must therefore," they continued, "either secure the general consent of all nations to establish the immunity of merchant ships and their cargoes from the depredations of both privateers and armed national cruisers during hostilities, or we must revert to the maintenance of our ancient rights, whereby, relying upon our maritime superiority, we may not merely hope to guard unmolested our merchant shipping in the prosecution of their business, but may capture enemy's goods in neutral ships, and thus prevent other nations from seizing