6. There is a fourth species of law more general still and more or less of which is often involved in treaties with foreign governments. This is the Law of Nations, or the principles acknowledged by all civilized nations as binding on them in their intercourse with each other. The only binding force it possesses is in the general practice of mankind, and the authority of public opinion. This is commonly effective, since all law depends really on the approval of the people for its efficacy, or at least on their silent submission if they disapprove.
7. In every State in the Union the people elect a Legislative body which makes such local laws as the people wish to be governed by, and as their special circumstances require; but they are not permitted to legislate on general questions, to make any law contrary to the Constitution, or to the laws of Congress, nor are its laws binding on any but the citizens of the State in which they are made, or such others as may be residing there. Each State has a Constitution which determines the special organization of its government, and limits and defines the powers of its different branches; but it is required to be in harmony with the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution, Legislature and officers of a State are determined by vote of its people.
8. After this examination we reach this conclusion: That there is no institution in the United States that has not been virtually established by the people, its fundamental law was adopted by them of their own free will and may be changed when they see fit; and that if all the laws, of whatever kind, that are binding on them, are not such as they prefer, they are, at least, originally responsible for them, and have in their hands the means of changing them within a reasonably short period. In fact their demand or the zeal of their Representatives for their interests usually originates whatever laws are made. The constant general prosperity of the country since the establishment of the present government, the increase of intelligence and self respect among the people, and the beneficial influence exerted by the United States on the world tend to confirm and settle its principles and laws on a permanent foundation.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE LAW OF NATIONS.
1. The laws of any nation are the rules by which it is governed, a violation of which renders the offender liable to the infliction of certain penalties. These laws, in many nations, are carefully and systematically arranged in the beginning, as in the United States; in others, as in England, they are gradually produced, the course taken in dealing with the first of a class of similar cases furnishing a precedent that is equal in force to a general law.
2. From very early times the different nations who had intercourse with each other began to follow certain rules, which commonly originated in the mode last mentioned above; and many of them became generally recognized as the proper guide in international intercourse. These customs came, at length, to be called the Law of Nations. Writers of eminence carefully investigated them, and studied the principles on which they were founded. These writers are held to be authorities as to this law, and the principles they have laid down are generally acknowledged, by civilized nations in modern times, as the standard of International Law.
3. There is no possibility, in the present state of the world, of organizing a tribunal with authority to impose penalties for violations of this law by individual nations; though it is to be hoped that may some time be the case. The only representative of such a tribunal is the general opinion of the civilized world; and nations must, themselves, act as supreme judges and executors of the law as it applies (or as they choose to hold it as applying) to their disputes. When they cannot come to an agreement with their adversaries, they commonly Declare War, and endeavor to right themselves by force.
4. This is not, by any means, an equitable or satisfactory way of avenging wrongs. The aggressor may be the strongest; and the offense, in that case, will be greatly increased. It causes the penalty, in any case, to fall very heavily on many innocent heads, and produces lamentable and wide-spread desolation. Yet it is sometimes better than tame submission; and the right to make war when grievous wrong has been suffered, or indignity offered to the national honor, is recognized by the Law of Nations; and certain rules are applied by it as a guide in honorable warfare. There is nothing but self-respect, and respect for the opinions of the civilized world, to keep belligerent nations within the limits of these rules. They are, however, continually becoming better defined, and Public Opinion has more and more weight in each succeeding generation.
5. Some of the more important features of International Law (or the Law of Nations) are, that every nation has the right to regulate her own internal affairs without interference from others, unless some of these regulations may seriously affect the interests of a foreign power; that national boundaries are to be respected; that bodies of water lying within a national territory, and the seacoast for three miles from the shore, are under its exclusive jurisdiction; and that a nation may take measures to protect its own citizens who may be traveling or doing business in other countries, unless they violate its laws; and then it may first examine the case before the accused is given up for trial and punishment to a foreign court. There are many other rules. These will serve as examples.