^Au ■a')'1f' ^ 9. ■ , -''/•. UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA^ AT LOS ANGELES LIBRARY INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS ILonUnn: FETTER LANE, E.G. C. F. CLAY, Manager in ■Hi iH ^ minbm^i): loo, PRINCES STREET lonton: STEVENS AND SONS, Ltd., 119 and 120, CHANCERY LANE Brrltn: A. ASHER AND CO. ILdpjtg : F. A. BROCKHAUS i^cu) gork: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS ISombag anli ffalcutla: MACMILLAN AND Co., Ltd. [Ali Rights reserved^ INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS FOR DISCUSSION IN CONVERSATION CLASSES BY L. OPPENHEIM, M.A., LL.D. WHEWELL PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE ASSOCIATE OK THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ' "• .■•. " . ■" ' ' . J J ' ^ . ->3 jji iji, > i J ( J Cambridge : at the University Press 1909 1 i Ti \^ 1 1 Cambrttigf: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. . "l I'- ll "• o Avoa F PREFACE 'OR many years I have pursued the practice of holding conversation classes following my lectures : on international law. The chief characteristic of these classes is the discussion of international incidents as they occur in everyday life. I did not formerly possess any collection, but brought before the class such incidents ^ as had occurred during the preceding week. Of late I ^ have found it more useful to preserve a record of some of these incidents and to add to this nucleus a small ^•-1 number of typical cases from the past as well as some problem cases, which were invented for the purpose of drawing the attention of the class to certain salient points of international law. •>-' As I was often asked by my students and others to r-t bring out a collection of incidents suitable for discussion, , and as the printing of such a little book frees me from Q the necessity of dictating the cases to my students, I O have, although somewhat reluctantly, made up my mind to publish the present collection. I need hardly emphasise the fact that this collection is not intended to compete either with Scott's Cases o?i Iiitcrnatio)ial Laiv, selected from decisions of English a?id American Courts, or with Pitt Cobbett's Leading Cases and Opinions on International Laiv, both of which are collections of standard value, but intended for quite other purposes than my own. I have spent much thought in the endeavour to class my incidents into a number of groups, but having found all such efforts at grouping futile, I therefore present vi Preface them in twenty-five sections, each containing four cases of a different character. Experience has shewn me that in a class lasting two hours I am able to discuss the four cases contained in these sections. I have taken special care not to have two similar cases within the same section, for although there are no two cases exactly alike in the collection, there are several possessing certain characteristics in common. It is one of the tasks of the teacher and the students themselves to group together such of my cases as they may think are related to each other by one or more of these traits. It has been suggested that notes and hints should be appended to each case, but the purpose for which the collection is published is better served by giving the incidents devoid of any explanatory matter. Should this book induce other teachers of international law to adopt my method of seminar work, it must be left to them to stimulate their classes in such a way as to enable the students to discover on their own initiative the solution of the problems. I gladly accepted the suggestion of the publishers that the cases should be printed on writing paper and on one side of the page only, so that notes may be taken and additional cases added. I am greatly indebted to Mr Dudley Ward, of St John's College, Cambridge, my assistant, who has prepared the cases for the press and read the proofs. In deciding upon the final form of each case so many of his sugges- tions have been adopted that in many instances I do not know what is my own and what is his work. L. O. Whewell House, Cambridge, June i2tk, 1909. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE SECTION I. 1. A Councillor of Legation in Difficulties . . i 2. Neutral Goods on Enemy Merchantman . . i 3. American Coasting Trade 3 4. A German Balloon in Antwerp .... 3 SECTION II. 5. Use of the White Flag 5 6. A South American "Pseudo-Republic" . 5 7. A Tavern Brawl 9 8. A Threatened Diplomatic Rupture . . • 1 1 SECTION III. 9. Death Sentence on Russian Terrorists . . 11 10. The Case of De Jager 13 11. A Kidnapped Chinaman '5 1 2. A Case of Bigamy '5 SECTION IV. 13. A Shot across the Frontier 17 14. A Revolted Prize i? 15. Investments Abroad 19 16. Russian Coasting Trade '9 SECTION V. 17. Exceeding the Speed Limit 21 18. A New-born Island 21 19. An Irate (2ueen -5 20. An Incident in the Black Sea .... 23 viii Contents PAGE SECTION VI. 21. The Case of the Trent 25 22. A Double Murderer 25 23. A Masterful Customs Official .... 27 24. Russian Refugees and Foreign Asylum . . 27 SECTION VII. 25. A Conversion at Sea 29 26. A Frontier Affray 31 27. General Vukotitch 31 28. An Anglo-French Burglar 33 SECTION VIII. 29. Signals of Distress 35 30. A Change of Parts 35 31. Violation of a Foreign Flag ..... 37 32. A Pickpocket at Sea ...... 37 SECTION IX. '^1. Gypsies in Straits 39 34. A Question of Annexation . . . . . 41 35. Disputed Fisheries 41 36. Imperial Coasting Trade 43 SECTION X. y]. A Russian Crime tried in Austria ... 43 38. Stratagem or Perfidy ...... 45 39. Murder of a German Consul in Mexico . . 47 40. Cossacks at Large ....... 49 SECTION XI. 41. Islanders in Revolt ...... 49 42. Seizure of Ambassadors . . . . . . 51 43. An Envoy in Debt 51 44. Treaty Bargaining ....... 53 Contents ix PAGE SECTION XII. 45. A Fallen President 53 46. A Murder in Monaco 55 47. A Question of Interpretation .... 57 48. The Island of Santa Lucia 57 SECTION XIII. An Attache's Chauffeur ... . • 59 In Quest of Balata 61 A "Sujet Mi.Kte" 63 Koreans at the Hague Peace Conference . ■ 63 49. 50. 51- 52. SECTION XIV. 53. The Adventures of a South American Physician 65 54. Extradition of a British Subject .... 65 55. The Case of the Oldhamia 69 56. An Ambassador's Estate . . . • • 11 SECTION XV. 57. Dangers of Ballooning 75 58. Family Honour 75 59. An Ocean Chase 11 60. The Maori King 11 SECTION XVI. 61. The Island of Rakahanga 79 62. A Complaint against the Police .... 79 63. A Man with two Wives 5^i 64. A Murder on a Mail Boat 81 SECTION XVII. 65. Persian Disorders 83 66. The Expulsion of Monsieur de Reus ... 85 67. The Case of McLeod 87 68. A Thwarted Suicide 87 Contents PAGE SECTION XVIII. 69. An Insult to an Ambassador .... 89 70. A Question of Legitimacy ..... 89 71. The Coachman of an Envoy . . . . 91 72. The Case of Schnaebel^ 91 SECTION XIX. 73. Amelia Island 93 74. Representation to China ..... 93 75. Exemption from Rates ...... 95 76. Errant Balloons 97 SECTION XX. "]"]. Sully in England ....... 97 78. Homicide by an Attache ..... 99 79. A Disputed Capture 99 80. The Punishment for Murder loi SECTION XXI. 81. A Traitor's Fate 101 82. An Interrupted Armistice 103 83. Shooting Affray in a Legation .... 103 84. The Surrender of Port Arthur .... 105 SECTION XXII. 85. An Ambassador's Brother 105 86. A Detained Steamer 107 87. Prussia and the Poles 107 88. A Charmed Life 109 SECTION XXIII. 89. A Daring Robbery 1 1 1 90. The Fall of Abdul Hamid 113 91. A President Abroad 113 92. A Rejected Ambassador 117 Contertts xi PAGE SECTION XXIV. 93. Revictualling of a Fortress 119 94. Dutch Reprisals . . . . . .119 95. Birth on the High Seas . . .121 96. A High-handed Action 121 SECTION XXV. 97. The Southern Queen . . . . . .123 98. A Three-cornered Dispute . . . . 123 99. Russian Revolutionary Outrage in Paris . . 125 100. The Detention of Napoleon I. . . . . 127 SECTION I 1. A Councillor of Legation in difficulties. ^ In r868 the French journalist Leoncc Dupont, the owner of the Parisian newspaper La Nation^ became bankrupt. It was discovered that this paper was really- founded by the councillor of the Russian legation in Paris, Tchitcherine, who had supplied the funds neces- sary to start it, for the purpose of influencing public opinion in Russian interests. The creditors claimed that Tchitcherine was liable for the debts of Dupont, and brought an action against him. 2. Neutral Goods on Enemy Merchantman. A belligerent man-of-war sinks his prize, an enemy merchantman, on account of the impossibility of sparing a prize crew. Part of the cargo belongs to neutral owners, who claim compensation for the loss of their goods. o. I. L. 3. American Coasting Trade. In 1898, after having acquired the Philippines and the island of Puerto Rico from Spain by the peace treaty of Paris, and in 1899, after having acquired the Hawaian Islands, the United States declared trade between any of her ports and these islands to be coast- ing trade, and reserved it exclusively for American vessels. 4. A German Balloon m Antwerp. The following telegram appeared in the Morning Post of April 7th, 1909, dated Brussels, April 6th: " An incident which is regarded with some serious- ness by Belgians has occurred at Antwerp. A balloon which for a time was observed to be more or less stationary over the forts finally came to earth in close proximity to them. It proved to be a German balloon, the Dnsseldorf No. 3, controlled by two men, who, on being interrogated by the Commander of the fortifica- tions, declared themselves to be merely a banker and a farmer interested in ballooning in an amateur fashion, who had been obliged to descend. The General com- manding the Territorial Division adjoining Antwerp was informed of the incident. On an inquiry being opened it was found that the aeronauts were none other than two German officers, and that the balloon forms part of the German Army materiel. The Minister for War was immediately informed, and he has communicated the facts of the case to his colleagues. The inquiry is being con- tinued. In the balloon was found a quantity of photo- graphic apparatus." SECTION II 5. The Use of the White Flag. During war between states A and B, an outlying fort of a harbour of state A is being bombarded by the fleet of state B, and is in danger of capture. Suddenly the white flag is hoisted on the fort, and a boat flying a white flag and carrying an officer and some men leaves the fort and makes for the flagship of the bom- barding fleet. Thereupon the fleet receives the order to cease firing. Shortly after this has been carried out, the boat flying the white flag, instead of continuing its course, returns to the fort. Under cover of this manoeuvre the bombarded garrison succeeds in abandoning the fort and withdrawing in safety. 6. A South American '' Pseitdo-repub/ic" The following appeared in the Times of April 26th, 1904: " The utility for the practical politician of the study of that branch of sociology to which M. Lebon has given the non-classical name of the psychology of crowds is amusingly demonstrated in the fact of the efforts of the still nebulous State of Counany to materialize and to attain a separate and independent existence among the South American Republics. What is taking place would seem to be a simple phenomenon of suggestion, induced by the example of Panama. The fate of the vague territory known as Counany had been settled, as every one supposed, by the arbitral sentence of the Swiss Tribunal by which this region, with which France and Brazil had played diplomatic battledore and shuttlecock for more than 175 years, was finally handed over to the latter Power. " Brazil has never, it appears, taken effective posses- sion of Counany, and the population, whose flag, if ethnographic differences were to be symbolized in it, ought to be a sort of Joseph's coat of many colours, are now apparently once more appealing to the civilized world to aid them to secure a separate existence. What recently occurred on the Isthmus of Panama, when a new State sprang full fledged into being, would seem to have been an object lesson acting automatically on the nerves of these Indians, whites, negroes, and half-castes, welding them into a compact whole and giving them a self-consciousness craving European sanction. Hypno- tized by Panama, and, it may be, counting upon the eventual support of one of the Continental Powers which has already shown the world that Brazilian affairs are not beyond the range of its diplomatic vigilance, Counany steps once more to the fore. " A Paris morning paper, the Journal, plays the role of introducer of the new Counany Ambassador. This Ambassador is a certain M. Brezet, who comes to France, in spite of the sentence of the arbitral tribunal, as Presi- dent of a State which is described by all competent authorities as a/j-^W