Chapter 3, devoted to unneutral service, has only three articles; but they are important and were debated perhaps with more spirit than any other articles of the Declaration. The general subject is one which has been treated by Lord Stowell in a series of masterly judgments, and it is believed that an examination of two or three of them would form the best introduction to this chapter.

It appears to be generally accepted that International Law as we know it today had its beginnings in the writings of the political theorists of the latter sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, more particularly in the memorable treatise of Grotius which appeared in the year 1625. The works of these writers were produced during the period of so-called rationalism when the true historical view had not yet been discovered, and the precedents and examples which were cited in support of the new rules of international law were taken exclusively from Biblical or classical antiquity. Moreover, in this same period Roman law was held in high esteem, a fact which further served to focus attention upon ancient law and custom. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that many principles which had regulated international conduct among European states, especially those of Teutonic character, during the Middle Ages, were either overlooked or rejected. If we remember that these principles had been enforced by an extensive system of municipal legislation, we shall understand why the founders of international law may have regarded them as res internæ rather than as matters of international import. Recently, however, the problems to which these very principles were applied have become of increasing international concern and vigorous attempts have been made on the one hand to preserve a sphere of municipal jurisdiction and on the other hand to inject into our international jurisprudence the principles upon which they were based. It shall be my purpose to show the early development of the rules which regulated the question of responsibility for aliens, how they were rejected by the early publicists and what effect they had upon later developments in our international law.