Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/214

* BLOCKADE. 184 BLOCKADE. ading belligerent. As a sovereign act, also, the proclamation and establishment of a blockade rests with the highest authority of a State. At the commencement of a blockade a delay is usually granted by comity to permit neutral vessels in port to sail, which during the American Civil War was fixed at fifteen days. Neutral men- of-war on diplomatic errands and ships in dis- tress are generally allowed entry. -V neutral may insist that due notice of the blockade shall be given, and that the declaration be substantiated by a suitable force at the point affected. The rules relating to blockades are a develop- ment of the past hundred years. In 1804 Prus- sia, in alliance with Napoleon, had seized Han- over and declared her ports closed to England. The latter retaliated by proclaiming the coast from the Elbe to Brest under blockade. Napo- leon in 1806 issued the Berlin Decree, laying the whole British coast under blockade. England followed with the Orders in Council putting a blockade on the coast from the Elbe to Italy. These were mere 'paper blockades.' as neither power could actually cover the coasts with block- ading squadrons; but they served to render any neutral lial)le to seizure who went from an Eng- lish to a Continental port, or rice versa. The subsequent development of commerce and the recognition of neutral rights finally led to the Declaration of Paris in 1856, which requires that a "blockade, to be binding, must be effective." The United States was not a party to this con- vention, but during the Civil Var was the first one practically to enforce its rules. The Crimean War, the American Civil War, and the war be- tween the United States and Spain for the libera- tion of Cul)a, furnish the best examples of mod- ern blockades. Three requirements are necessary to constitute valid capture for breach of blockade : ( 1 ) Due 'Notification : (2) Ati Effective Blockade; (3) Breach of Blockade. (!) Notice may be given in two ways: by diplomatic announcement to neutral powers and by a warning at the block- aded port usually inscribed upon the register of the ship seeking to enter. The French rule requires both. But the diplomatic notice, after a reasonable length of time, under modern condi- tions of conunimication, implies presumptive knowledge of the blockade on the part of all ship- owners. In the Civil War, on April 19, 1861, the ports from South Carolina to Texas were proclaimed in a state of blockade, and a week later this was extended to Virginia. Since at first an effective force actually invested but a small portion of the coast, it was customary to give notice at the harbor-mouth as the ports were really closed. Thus it was little more than a paper blockade for some time. If the blockade is raised temporarily, as by the approach of an enemj-'s fleet or for any other cause, excepting storms, a new diplomatic notice is necessary. (2) The rule for an effective blockade was adopted to prevent the widespread inconveniences resulting from the so-called 'paper' or 'cabinet' blockade. The Declaration of Paris defines it as "main- tained by a force sufiicient really to prevent ac- cess to the coast of an enemy." It requires that the evasion be made a dangerous act. ("S) Sreach of Blockade. — To render a capture valid an actual attempt to break an effective blockade must appear. This may be evidenced by the ship's papers, her course, or the owner's instruc- tions. The penalty for breach is confiscation of the ship and, unless proved innocent, the cargo also. But no punishment can be inflicted upon the crew. The doctrine of "continuous voyages' requires that though a ship may touch at a neutral port, if her eventual destination is a blockaded one, she is liable. This rule is applied with caution. When from jieace or other causes the invest- ment ceases, the blockade must be declared raised. See Snow, Manual of International Law (2d ed., Washington, 1898). The maintenance of an effective naval block- ade depends primarily upon the possession of great naval superiority by the blockading force. From the standpoint of grand strategy, the blockade of an enemy's coast is desirable if the enemy depends upon foreign countries for his munitions of war, or the materials of which they are made ; or if the sea affords assistance to his land operations; or for the protection of the commerce of the nation establishing the blockade. A blockade may be desirable for the purpose of cutting off food-supplies and general imports; but its importance, based on those grounds, is frequently overestimated. For it must be understood that those countries which import a large part of their food do so because they can purchase it cheaper than they can pro- duce it — not because the production is beyond their capacity. A Idockade which would interrupt foreign supplies would stimulate domestic pro- duction and divert labor from the remunerative employments to that of agriculture. A country which depends upon the sea for its food likewise depends upon it as an outlet for its manufactures, and the financial disturbance caused by closing the foreign market to its exports is quite as likely to cause suffering and bring the nation to seek terms of peace as the threatened scarcity of food which an' interval of a few months is likely to cure. The importance of maintaining a blockade depends largely upon the amount of trade interrupted. If a country has a land frontier, it is manifest that this must be con- trolled or the blockade will be annoying only and not vitally important. The seaport towns would suffer, but the country might continue to be but little afl'ected. The dilficulty of maintaining a blockade is at present less than it has been at any time in the history of maritime war, notwithstanding the torpedo-boat — surface and sul)marine. The ac- tual blockading force need be composed of light vessels only, in part of the large torpedo craft commonly called torpedo-boat destroyers. The heavier ships, especially at night, should Ue farther out, beyond the easy range of torpedo- boat attack, but in supporting distance of the inner fleet should the enemy attempt a sortie in force. The maintenance of this condition de- pends upon the position of a base in the enemy's territory where coal and supplies may be taken on board, or where at least there may be found a safe anchorage and refuge for the smaller ships in case of very heavy weather. During the con- tinuance of such weather the heavy ships can move farther in, replacing the lighter ones which have been com[>elled to leave station, so that the blockade is not broken. The most perfect blockade of a long coast was that maintained by the United States Navy during the Civil War. The conditions were as