He was usually a man of birth and of wealthbut as he lost his relativeimportanceand as the most effective part of armies came to consist of themen-at-armsand afterwards of mercenary troops carrying a new class of weapons,a number of rules present themselves which are intended to facilitate thevoluntary discharge of the bulk of the prisonersAfter the battle of Poitiersit is expressly stated that there were so many prisoners taken as to makeit necessary to discharge the knightsdebiting them with the amount of theirransom and not at once exacting itand that the rest of the captiveswhosenumber was very great indeedwere exchanged.
Exchange has now become one of the regular customs of warand one ofthe most humane and beneficialand much disrepute is usually incurred bythe refusal to admit itAt the same timewhile exchangesays the textof the Manuals which I have been citingis the ordinary mode of releasingprisoners of wara nation is not guilty of any actual breach of the customsof war in refusing to exchange its prisonersand may detain them to theclose of the warExchanges of prisoners take place number for numberrankfor rankwounded for woundedwith added conditions for added conditions,suchfor instanceas not to serve for a particular periodIn exchangingprisoners of war such numbers of persons of inferior rank may be substitutedas an equivalent for one of superior rank as may be agreed uponbut theagreement requires the sanction of the Government or of the commander ofthe army in the fieldA prisoner of war is in honour bound truly to stateto the captor his rankand he is not to assume a lower rank than belongsto him in order to cause a more advantageous exchangenor a higher rankfor the purpose of obtaining better treatment.
Prisoners of war are also not infrequently released through pledging theirword to observe certain conditions imposed by the captorA prisoner of warso pledging his word is said to give his paroleand if his parole be acceptedby the captorto be paroledThe usual pledge given with a parole is notto serve during the existing warThis pledge only extends to active serviceagainst the enemyIt does not refer to internal servicesuch as recruitingor drilling recruitsquelling civil commotionsfighting against belligerentsunconnected with the paroling belligerentsor the civil or the diplomaticservice on which a paroled person may be employedIt is laid down by thelegal authorities that paroling is a voluntary contract entered into betweenthe partiesThe captor is not obliged to over to parole a prisoner of war,and a prisoner of war cannot be compelled to give his parolebut may remaina captiveIt is a rule that a list of the names of officers and men paroledshould always be made in writing and be carefully keptIt is further a rulethat a prisoner of war has no authority to pledge himself never again toserve against a particular enemyThe pledge must be confined to a limitedtimeas he cannot divest himself wholly of the duty which he owes to hissovereign and countryThe right of a prisoner of war to give his parolemay be still further limited by the laws of his own countryIf a prisonermake an engagement which is not approved of by his own Governmenthe isbound to return and surrender himself to the enemyAs a general rule thecommanding officer has an implied authority to give his parole on behalfof himself and the officers and men under his commandan inferior officerought not to give parole either for himself or his men without the authorityof a superior officerif such an officer be within reachAnd accordingto the English practice a state has no power to force its subjects to actcontrary to their parolebut how far it is authorised to refuse such paroles,and to force its paroled subjects back into the enemy's lineswould seemto be in principle doubtfulAs a general rule it would appear advisableto admit of the validity of the parolesbut to punish the individuals whohave given them contrary to the laws of their countryA recaptured prisonerwho has violated his parole may be punished with deathbut the modern practiceusually is to abstain from the infliction of deathexcept in an aggravatedcaseand to substitute strict confinement with severities and privationsnot cruel in their nature or degree.
These ruleswhich tend to ameliorate the condition and hopes of prisoners,arerelatively to the whole history of modern warof ancient origin.
