WA P'ENTAKE, in law, a division or district, peculiar to some of the northern counties of England, and answering to the hundred or cant red, in other counties. This name had its origin in a custom of touching lances or spears when the chief or leading man of the hundred entered on his office.
\VAR, a contest between nations or states, carried on by force, either for de fence, or for revenging insults and re. dressing wrongs, for the extension of com merce or acquisition of territory, or for obtaining and establishing tbe superiori ty and dominion of one over the other. These objects are accomplished by the slaughter or capture of troops, and the capture and destruction of ships, towns, and property. Among rude nations, war is often waged and carried on for plun der. As war is the contest of nations or states, it always implies that such contest is authorized by the monarch or the sov ereign power of the nation. When war is commenced by attacking a nation in peace, it is called an offensive war, and such attack is aggressive. When war is undertaken to repel invasion or the at tacks of an enemy, it is called defensive, and a. defensive war is considered as jus tifiable. When war arises between dif ferent portions or members of the same nation, or between the established govern ment of a nation, and a portion of the people resisting it, it is called a civil war. Very few of the wars that have desolated and deluged the earth with blood, have been justifiable. Happy would it be for mankind, if the prevalence of Chris tian principles might ultimately extin guish the spirit of war, and if the ambi tion to be great might yield to the ambi tion of being good. The " rights of war"
are such as arise in times of hostilities 1. between enemies ; 2. between neutrals. As between enemies, it is a general law that subjects of a state who are not in arms, or who have submitted, may not he slain. The killing of prisoners is only justifiable in very extreme cases. The usage of exchanging prisoners is now general, but was only firmly established in the 17th century ; and it is not now considered obligatory. As to property, that belonging to the government of the vanquished nation he longs to the victori ous state, wherever it is found ; hut pri vate rights are unaffected by conquest, with the remarkable exception of private property when at sea, which is by gene ral usage held lawful prize. Arts of hos tility are only lawful, according to 'nod ern usage, when committed by those au thorized by the express or implied com mand of the state ; such as the regularly commissioned military and naval forces of the nation, and all others called out by the government in its defence, as well as persons spontaneously defending them selves in case of necessity. irregular bands of marauders are therefore denied the rights of war, and liable to he treated as banditti; and this distinction is gene. rally only observed so far as snits the bel ligerent's purpose. For privnte citizens taking up arms, although in obedience to proclamations, are constantly liable to be treated as marauders; as by the French in the Peninsular war, and in numerous other cases.