b. On International Law--Neutral rights, destruction of prizes, right to capture private property at sea, attitude of naval personnel, of publicists, at Second Hague Conference. c. Conclusion--Little Effect for good or evil, why it remains law, attitude of England at the Second Hague Conference, it should be abolished. _Bibliography_ General 120 Ancient 127 Medieval 128 Great Britain 130 INTRODUCTION. The rules for disposing of the proceeds of prizes captured in war is a question of municipal law. After a prize has been legally condemned, international law has no direct concern with the ultimate disposition which the captor state may choose to make of the proceeds. Indirectly, however, the prize money laws of different states may be of great interest to other states, for the character of the internal regulations in this matter may determine the amount of energy displayed by cruisers in making captures; the impartiality of national prize tribunals, the number of prizes and the number of condemnations made in a particular war; questions of vital interest to both belligerent and neutral merchantmen plying their trade on the high seas in time of war. It is the purpose of this paper to investigate the character of prize money laws in force in various countries at different periods of their history, the conditions which have given rise to such rules, and the effect particular rules have had upon maritime captures in time of war. _CHAPTER I. AMONG THE ANCIENTS._ PART 1. GREECE. a. Land War. The Greeks are possibly the earliest people who attained a sufficient degree of civilization to have any definite laws of war, consequently we shall first look to them for laws of prize distribution. In his chapter on "the right of acquiring things captured in war",[1] Grotius treats at length the condition of private property in war among the ancients. His remarks are intended to refer to both land and naval warfare though in fact all his instances are drawn from land warfare. It is probable that the same theories applied in both cases though on the high seas from the nature of the case, the state would have much greater difficulty in enforcing any restrictions upon the right of making captures and appropriating the profits therefrom than on land. In regard to the Greek treatment of prize, Grotius says:[2]