International law,
The name now given to what was formerly known as the Law of Nations. It is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, and to have been first applied for the purpose of regulating commercial transactions. From this fact it took the name of “commercial law,” and subsequently was extended to transactions other than commercial of an international character. Today the aim of international law is to prevent war. The distinctive features of [59]Summary of receipts in 1880-1900
| Fiscal Years. | Spirits. | Tobacco. | Fermented Liquors. | Banks and Banker. | Miscellaneous. | Adhesive Stamps. | Collections Under Repealed Laws |
| 1880 | $61,185,509 | $38,870,149 | $12,829,803 | $3,350,985 | $383,755 | $7,668,394 | |
| 1881 | 67,153,975 | 42,854,991 | 13,700,241 | 3,762,208 | 231,078 | 7,924,708 | $152,163 |
| 1882 | 69,873,408 | 47,391,989 | 16,153,920 | 5,253,458 | 199,830 | 7,570,109 | 78,559 |
| 1883 | 74,368,775 | 42,104,250 | 16,900,616 | 3,748,995 | 305,803 | 7,053,053 | 71,852 |
| 1884 | 76,905,385 | 26,062,400 | 18,084,954 | 289,144 | 265,068 | ||
| 1885 | 67,511,209 | 26,407,088 | 18,230,782 | 222,681 | 49,361 | ||
| 1886 | 69,092,266 | 27,907,363 | 19,676,731 | 194,422 | 32,087 | ||
| 1887 | 65,766,076 | 30,083,710 | 21,918,213 | 4,288 | 219,058 | 29.283 | |
| 1888 | 69,287,431 | 30,636,076 | 23,324,218 | 4,203 | 154,970 | 9,548 | |
| 1889 | 74,302,887 | 31,862,195 | 23,723,835 | 6,179 | 83.893 | ||
| 1890 | 81,682,970 | 33,949,998 | 26,008,535 | 69 | 135 555 | ||
| 1891 | 83,335,964 | 32,796,271 | 28,565,130 | 256,214 | |||
| 1892 | 91,309,984 | 31,000,493 | 30,037,453 | 239,532 | |||
| 1893 | 94,712,938 | 31,843,556 | 32,527,424 | 166.915 | |||
| 1894 | 85,259,252 | 28,617,899 | 31,414,788 | 2 | 1,876 509 | ||
| 1895 | 79,862,627 | 29,707,908 | 31,640,618 | 1,960,794 | |||
| 1896 | 80,670,071 | 30,711,629 | 33,784,235 | 135 | 1,664,545 | ||
| 1897 | 82,008,543 | 30,710,297 | 32,472,162 | 85 | 1,426,506 | ||
| 1898 | 92,547,000 | 36,230,522 | 39,515,421 | 1,180 | 2,572,696 | 794,418 | |
| 1899 | 99,283,534 | 52,493,208 | 68,644,558 | 9,225,453 | 43,837,819 | ||
| 1900 | 109,868,817 | 59,355,084 | 73,550,754 | 1,461 | 11,575,626 | 40,964,365 | |
Of the receipts in 1900 classed as “Miscellaneous,” $2,884.492 was from legacies; $4,515,641 from special taxes on bankers, billiard-rooms, brokers, and exhibitions ; and $1,079,405 from excise tax on gross receipts, under the War Revenue law of 1898; $2,543,785 from oleomargarine; $331,011 from playing cards ; $193,721 from penalties; and $17,064 from filled cheese. international law may be summarized in brief as follows: First, that every nation possesses an exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction in its own territory; second, that no State or nation can by its law directly affect or bind property out of its own territory, or persons not resident therein, natural born subjects or others; third, that whatever force the laws of one country have in another depends solely on the municipal laws of the latter.
There have been numerous congresses of international law experts for the purpose of simplifying and making more definite the obligations which one country owes to another, and in these congresses the United States has occupied a conspicuous place. The Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations held its first session in Brussels, Oct. 10, 1873, and subsequent ones were held in Geneva, The Hague, Bremen, Antwerp, Frankfort, London, Berne, Cologne, Turin, and Milan. An Institute of International Law was organized in Ghent in 1873, and has since held numerous sessions in various cities of Europe, The most conspicuous action of the nations concerning the abolition of international hostilities was taken in the Peace Conference at The Hague, in 1899, to which the United States was also a party. See codes; field, David Dudley.
