The right of making prisoners of war, and depriving them of their liberty,
and of the power and opportunity of farther resistance, is undoubted, for
it is founded on the principles of security and self-defence. But when the
soldier has laid down his arms, and submitted to the will of the
conqueror, the right of taking his life ceases, unless he should forfeit
the right himself by some new crime; and the savage errors of antiquity,
in putting prisoners to death, have long been renounced by civilized
nations.
Among the European states prisoners of war are seldom ill-treated; and
when the number of prisoners is so great as not to be fed, or kept with
safety, it has been the custom to parole them, either for a certain length
of time, or for the war. All authorities agree that they cannot be made
slaves, although under certain circumstances they may be set at labor on
the public fortifications and works.
Prisoners of war are retained to prevent their returning to the field of
conflict, and there are times when they may be detained and refused all
ransom, when, for instance, it is obvious that the parole will not be
regarded by the opposing commanders, and when their exchange would throw a
preponderance of weight into the ranks of the antagonist. It would have
been very dangerous for the Czar Peter the Great to have exchanged his
Swedish prisoners for an equal number of unequal Russians; but whilst
retained they were treated with kindness.