OF TRANSACTION'S WITH FORTAGN NATIONS, AND THE RIGHTS THENCE ARISING.
1. A natural consequence of the liberty and independ ence of nations is, that every sovereign has a right to make in his own dominions whatever arrangements he may judge proper for the internal security of the state ; whether it be to return the blow he has received, or to ward off the one that menaces him. So that, provided he has the authority, and provided he is not bound down by treaty, he may build or rebuild as many fortresses as he thinks proper, as well on the frontiers as in the interior of his dominions ; he may augment the number of his troops and vessels ; make trea ties of alliance, of subsidy, &c. and, in short, do every thing that he thinks necessary to enable himself to support a war, without being obliged to give an account of his proceedings to any other power whatever. Vet such extraordinary ar maments seldom fail to give umbrage to the neighbouring powers, and to create suspicions, which every state ought to remove when they are unfounded. For this reason po licy has introduced the custom of requiring explanations concerning armaments of this sort, and of giving such as ought to be satisfactory, even to states less powerful; that is to say, when such explanations can be given with since rity, and when they have been asked for in a becoming manner. Very often a sovereign informs before hand the powers in friendship with him, that he finds it necessary to take such or such measures of security. It is, in general, only when a satisfactory answer cannot be given, that a sovereign pleads that independence of nations which dis penses with his giving any at all.
On a principle established on this custom, it is under stood that those powers who take umbrage at the exnaor dinary armaments of their neighbours, should ever pre cede hostilities by an amicable explanation ; and indeed this, to a certain degree, is acknowledged by the law of nature.
2. Every state has a natural right to augment its pow er, not only by the improvement of its internal constitution and resources, but also by external aggrandizement ; pro vided that the means employed are lawful; that is, that they do not violate the rights of another. Nevertheless, it
may so happen, that the aggrandizement of a state already powerful, and the preponderance resulting from it, may sooner or later, endanger the safety and liberty of the neigh bouring states. In such case there arises a collision of rights, which authorises the latter to oppose by alliances, and even by force of arms, so dangerous an aggrandize ment. This right is still more essential to states which form a sort of general society, than to such as are situated at a great distance from each other ; and this is the reason why the powers of Europe make it an essential principle in their political system, to watch over and maintain the balance of power in Europe.
3. In all ages nations have regarded, with a jealous eye, the disproportionate aggrandizement of any one among them. We see that many enterprises were undertaken by ancient nations, to diminish the overgrown preponderance of some particular state ; but they seem never to have made the maintenance of a balance of power a systematic part of their policy. The greatness of the Romans, and, since the migration of the northern nations, that of Char lemagne, and perhaps that of Henry V. are convincing proofs, that it was very long before the nations of Europe saw the necessity of attending constantly to the prevention of dangers of this sort. It was not till the sixteenth cen tury,--when the immense addition to the power of the House of Austria, and to that of the King of France, rous ed them from their lethargy. They then began to fear that one or the other of those powers might establish an uni versal monarchy ; and since that time, following the exam ple of England, the other nations of Europe have never lost sight of the system for maintaining a balance of pow er. Some of them, however, consulting their immediate interests only, have occasionally deviated from this system,.