Hall, § 140*—Lawrence, § 204—Westlake, II. pp. 315-318—Moore, VII. §§ 1166-1174—Taylor, § 499—Bonfils, Nos. 1277-12771—Despagnet, Nos. 618-618 bis—Fiore, Code, Nos. 1633-1642—Pradier-Fodéré, VIII. Nos. 3153-3154—Nys, III. pp. 430-432—Pillet, p. 117—Perels, § 35, p. 181—Holland, Studies, pp. 96-111—Dupuis, Nos. 67-73, and Guerre, Nos. 42-47—Barclay, Problems, p. 51—Higgins, pp. 352-357—Lémonon, pp. 503-525—Bernsten, § 7, III.—Boidin, pp. 201-215—Nippold, II. § 28—Scott, Conferences, pp. 587-598, and in A.J. II. (1908), pp. 285-294.
Requisitions and Contributions upon Coast Towns.
§ 212. No case has to my knowledge occurred in Europe[422] of requisitions or contributions imposed by naval forces upon enemy coast towns. The question whether or not such requisitions and contributions would be lawful became of interest through an article on naval warfare of the future, published in 1882 by the French Admiral Aube in the Revue des Deux Mondes (vol. 50, p. 331). Aube pointed out that one of the tasks of the fleet in sea warfare of the future would be to attack and destroy by bombardment fortified and unfortified military and commercial enemy coast towns, or at least to compel them mercilessly to requisitions and contributions. As during the British naval manœuvres of 1888 and 1889 imaginary contributions were imposed upon several coast towns, Hall (§ 140*) took into consideration the question under what conditions requisitions and contributions would be lawful in sea warfare. He concluded, after careful consideration and starting from the principles regarding requisitions and contributions in land warfare, that such requisitions and contributions may be levied, provided a force is landed which actually takes possession of the respective coast town and establishes itself there, although only temporarily, until the imposed requisitions and contributions have been complied with; that, however, no requisitions or contributions could be demanded by a single message sent on shore under threatened penalty of bombardment in case of refusal. There is no doubt that Hall's arguments are, logically, correct; but it was not at all certain that the naval Powers would adopt them, since neither the Institute of International Law nor the U.S. Naval War Code had done so.[423] The Second Hague Peace Conference has now settled the matter through the Convention (IX.) concerning bombardment by naval forces in time of war which amongst its thirteen articles includes two—3 and 4—dealing with requisitions and contributions. This Convention has been signed, although with some reservations, by all the Powers represented at the Conference except Spain, China, and Nicaragua, but China and Nicaragua acceded later. Many States have already ratified.
[422] Holland, Studies, p. 101, mentions a case which occurred in South America in 1871.
[423] The Institute of International Law has touched upon the question of requisitions and contributions in sea warfare in article 4, No. 1, of its rules regarding the bombardment of open towns by naval forces; see below, § [213], p. 267. U.S. Naval War Code, article 4, allows "reasonable" requisitions, but no contributions since "ransom" is not allowed.
According to article 3 undefended ports, towns, villages, dwellings, or other buildings may be bombarded by a naval force, if the local authorities, on a formal summons being made to them, decline to comply with requisitions for provisions or supplies necessary for the immediate use of the naval force concerned. These requisitions must be proportional to the resources of the place; they can only be demanded by the commander of the naval force concerned; they must be paid for in cash, and, if this is not possible for want of sufficient ready money, their receipt must be acknowledged.
As regards contributions, Convention IX. does not directly forbid the demand for them, but article 4 expressly forbids bombardment of undefended places by a naval force on account of non-payment of money contributions; in practice, therefore, the demand for contributions will not occur in naval warfare.
Bombardment of the Enemy Coast.
§ 213. There is no doubt whatever that enemy coast towns which are defended may be bombarded by naval forces, acting either independently or in co-operation with a besieging army. But before the Second Peace Conference of 1907 the question was not settled as to whether or not open and undefended coast places might be bombarded by naval forces. The Institute of International Law in 1895, at its meeting at Cambridge, appointed a committee to investigate the matter. The report[424] of this committee, drafted by Professor Holland with the approval of the Dutch General Den Beer Portugael, and presented in 1896 at the meeting at Venice,[425] is of such interest that it is advisable to reproduce here a translation of the following chief parts:—
When the Prince de Joinville recommended in 1844, in case of war, the devastation of the great commercial towns of England, the Duke of Wellington wrote:—"What but the inordinate desire of popularity could have induced a man in his station to write and publish such a production, an invitation and provocation to war, to be carried on in a manner such as has been disclaimed by the civilised portions of mankind?" (Raikes, Correspondence, p. 367). The opinion of the Prince de Joinville has been taken up by Admiral Aube in an article which appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes in 1882. After having remarked that the ultimate object of war is to inflict the greatest possible damage to the enemy and that "La richesse est le nerf de la guerre," he goes on as follows:—"Tout ce qui frappe l'ennemi dans sa richesse devient non seulement légitime, mais s'impose comme obligatoire. Il faut donc s'attendre à voir les flottes cuirassées, maîtresses de la mer, tourner leur puissance d'attaque et déstruction, à défaut d'adversaires se dérobant à leurs coups, contre toutes les villes du littoral, fortifiées ou non, pacifiques ou guerrières, les incendier, les ruiner, et tout au moins les rançonner sans merci. Cela s'est fait autrefois; cela ne se fait plus; cela se fera encore: Strasbourg et Péronne en sont garants...."