The jury,
therefore, in absolving him, did no more than the constitutional
authority might have done, had they found him guilty: the constitution
having provided for the pardon of offences in certain cases, and there
being no case where it would have been more proper than where no offence
was contemplated. Henfeild, therefore, was still an American citizen,
and Mr. Genet's reclamation of him was as unauthorized as the first
enlistment of him.
2. Another doctrine advanced by Mr. Genet is, that our courts can take
no cognizance of questions whether vessels, held by theirs, as prizes,
are lawful prizes or not; that this jurisdiction belongs exclusively to
their consulates here, which have been lately erected by the National
Assembly into complete courts of admiralty. Let us consider, first,
what is the extent of jurisdiction which the consulates of France may
rightfully exercise here. Every nation has of natural right, entirely
and exclusively, all the jurisdiction which may be rightfully
exercised in the territory it occupies. If it cedes any portion of that
jurisdiction to judges appointed by another nation, the limits of their
power must depend on the instrument of cession. The United States and
France have, by their consular convention, given mutually to their
Consuls jurisdiction in certain cases especially enumerated.
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