No. 100.
Mr. Berthemy to Mr. Wish,
Sir: The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, has been directed by his government to address the following communication to the Secretary of State of the United States.
His Majesty the Emperor of the French having found himself under the necessity, in order to defend the honor and interests of France, and at the same time to protect the general equilibrium of Europe, of declaring war against Prussia and the allied countries which lend her the support of their arms:
His Majesty has given orders that, in the prosecution of this war, the commanders of his forces on land and sea should scrupulously observe, with regard to powers which shall remain neutral, the rules of international law, and that they should especially conform to the principles embraced in the declaration of the congress of Paris of the 16th of April, 1856, to wit:
1. Privateering is and remains abolished.
2. The neutral flag covers enemy’s goods, with the exception of contraband of war.
3. Neutral goods, with the exception of contraband of war, are not liable to capture under enemy’s flag.
4. Blockades, in order to be binding, must be effective; that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy.
[Page 136]Although Spain and the United States hare not adhered to the declaration of 1856, the vessels of his Majesty will not seize the enemy’s property found on board an American or Spanish ship, unless the property be contraband of war.
Neither does his Majesty intend to claim the right to confiscate the property of American or Spanish citizens which shall be found on board of the ships of the enemy.
His Majesty is confident that, by a just reciprocity, the Government of the United States will have the goodness to prescribe measures, so that the authorities and the citizens of this country may observe with precision on their part, during the continuance of the war, the duties of a strict neutrality.
The undersigned takes this occasion to renew to the Secretary of State of the United States the assurances of his very high consideration.