It remains to be noted that the grant of bel ligerent rights to an insurgent government is not an unmixed blessing, even to the recipient, and that it carries with it certain benefits to the other party to the contest. Its principal advan tage to the former is the powerful moral sup port which it gains from international recogni tion. In addition to this, it acquires the sub stantial benefits, already alluded to, of protection by the laws of war; the recognition of its flag, the right to negotiate loans abroad. and, in gen eral, a quasi-political status, though without diplomatic standing. On the other band, the status of belligerency carries with it the obliga tion to observe the rules of civilized warfare, and it shifts the responsibility for damage caused to neutral commerce and to the citizens of neu tral States from the sovereign party to the party in insurrection. Accordingly, in the American Civil War, Great Britain and France, having recognized the Southern Confederacy as a bellig erent power, were unable to charge the Federal Government with liability for injuries to their subjects inflicted by the Confederate Government or by its citizens in the territory neenpied by it: whereas the Government of Turkey. which did
not recognize the Southern States, remained in a position to hold the 'United States responsible for the acts of its rebellious citizens.
Certain acts of war on the part of the sover eign or parent States in connection with re bellious subjects—as a proclamation or estab lishment of a blockade of the insurgent ports, an exchange of prisoners, the enforcement of the rules of war as to the carriage of contraband goods by neutrals—constitute in international law an implied recognition by the former of the belligerent status of the latter: hut this affects only the character of the struggle between the parties, and does not in itself' alter the rela tions of the insurgent Government to neutral States, though it may afford a moral ground for international recognition. In practice, such rec ognition is usually effected by issuing a procla mation of neutrality, in which the rights of the combatants and the duty of neutrals in relation to them are briefly indicated. See INTERNA TIONAL LAW. Consult: Snow, Manual of Inter antional Low (2d ed., Washington, 1898) ; Wheaton, Elements of International Law (8th ed., Boston, 1866) ; and authorities referred to under the titles INTERNATIONAL LAW; NEU TRALITY, etc.