Letters to "The Times" upon War and Neutrality (1881-1920) by Thomas Erskine Holland
page 36 of 300 (12%)
page 36 of 300 (12%)
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especially would this be requisite where, as in the case of Great
Britain and Germany, different views are entertained with reference to the acts which are permissible under a "pacific blockade." 7. When, besides the Power, or Powers, putting pressure upon a given State, with a view to obtaining compensation for injuries received from it, other Powers, though taking no part in what is going on, give notice that they also have claims against the same offender; delicate questions may obviously arise between the creditors who have and those who have not taken active steps to make their claims effective. In the present instance, France is said to assert that she has acquired a sort of prior mortgage on the assets of Venezuela; and the United States, Spain, and Belgium declare themselves entitled to the benefit of the "most-favoured-nation clause" when those assets are made available for creditors. What principles are applicable to the solution of the novel questions suggested by these competing claims? 8. It is satisfactory to know, on the highest authority, that the "Monroe doctrine" is not intended to shield American States against the consequences of their wrongdoing; since the cordial approval of the doctrine which has just been expressed by our own Government can only be supposed to extend to it so far as it is reasonably defined and applied. Great Britain, for one, has no desire for an acre of new territory on the American continent. The United States, on the other hand, will doubtless readily recognise that, if international wrongs are to be redressed upon that continent, aggrieved European Powers may occasionally be obliged to resort to stronger measures than a mere embargo on shipping, or the blockade (whether "pacific" or "belligerent") of a line of coast. |
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