The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1831-03-03


territory. For the Executive power of on
nation to accredit and receive minister
az resident minister at its own Court, an
IN It's own territory, and, at the same time
10 authorize and empower such Ministe,
thereby, to reside at any other court, or i
any other country, would be nothing shor
of direct usurpation in the Executive doin,
| u: Tor, to accredit and receive a publ,
Minister, is one Of the highest exercises O
sovereignty, and therefore, whenever III,
Executive OF one nation does sccredit an.
receive Minister, to reside in The terri
tory OF another nation, such Executive
does exercise one of the highest acts Of
sovereignty over that nation. This wouls
! be usurpation. ,.r4ass''s-
Before gentleman contend, that this pow
er OF accredlting and receiving non resi
dent Ministers belongs to sovereigntics
they must shew some warrant for It from
the laws OF nations. Do they contend tha,
the right OF embassy, is derived from the
law of nature and not from the convention
and agreement of nations; and that. there.
lore one sovereign might. by the laws Of
nature, rec Give ambassadors from another
u by endorsing their credentials, authorize
them to pass into the territories of any o.
ther nations? 1t is admitted that Hsralds.
ENJOYS. and Ambassadors were sent, and
received and respected, between armies
and armies, nations and nations, by virtue
OF the law of nature, ] presume, for this
was certainly done both in Asia and Eu.
rope, before any such code as the law of
nations existed 10 the world These Min. {.
listers derived their powers, and protection,
from the necessity Of the case, and were
compelled to 60 right forward on the er.
rand Tor which they were sent and when
that was finished, to return in the mos, di.
rect route. These principles. as the his
torian of Cortez tells us, were found by
the Spanlards to exist in Mexico. For the
Enyoys, sent by hun to Montezuma, were
protected while they kept directly on their
journey. and in the highway; but If they
left that path, they forfeited all protection.
Even these necessary messengers Of war
or peace, OF fcongratulation, or alliance, be-
tween soeereignties, could receive no pow
ers, either those who sent them, or from
those TO whom they were sent, to solourn
Tor any purpose in any other country nor
were they permitted to tarry, either in the
place we're their business was to be done, ,af.
ter that was finished,or to Ioi,er on their way
home. This p,wer Of non residence there.
fore was wholly,unknown the intercourse
Of nations. .derived from the laws Of nature.
Resident MIN listers do not derive their
powers from the laws ofnature. For sure
ly that could never require any communi-
ty to permit the citizens Of any other COM
munlty, to come and reside in their terrific
ry, unless they become subjected TO their
laws and jurisdiction. Accordingly, we
find such Ministers were unknown in Eu-
rope until the 18th century. Ward in that
part Of his history and foundation of the
law Of nation, which relates to the 10th
and 18th centuries, says:
.Within this period, among the States Of
Europe, began that remarkable characteristic
custom, of entertaining Ordinary or Resident
Embassies at onu another's Conrts; an insti-
tuition pecwlisr to themselves, and particular.
ly evincive Of those many distinctions which
there arc between their Law Of Nations, and
that Of other sets Of people.
Ambassadors in Ordinary have been attri.
buted by somo to Ferdinand the Catholic,
whose policy led him Ia entertain them at
various courts, as kind Of honorable spies:
by others, with no small probability TO an imi.
tation oft Pope who had long boen in the
habit of sending Nuncois To reside at various
courts in the service of religion. But, what.
ever was their origin, the Jurists seem to agree
that they are not Of natural right and how
ever universal they may since have grown,
doubts about :he period before US, were ap-
parsntlv entertained Of their utility. Henry
lV nf France vyL,Ia K,,r - ~. o.sx-
tanned none at other Courts and Henry VII
that wise and politiquc King, says Lord
Coke, would not in all his time suffer Loiper,
residence of Ambassadors Of any foreign
King, or Prince, within his realm, nor he with
them but upon occasion used Ambassadors
So late as 1000, member oil the Polish Diet.
asserted, that the Ambassador Of France had
no cause Of residence there, and that as he did
not return homo, according to the custom Of
Ambassadors, he ought to be considered as
spy. Two years afterwards, the Deputies
proposed very warmly to send home all Am
bassadors whatsoever, and to make law reg
ulating the time Of their stay and even the
Dutch, who, one would imagine, had greater
reason than the Polish mobiles for encouraging
an intercourse with Foreigners, debated in 1851,
how far this sort OF embassy was Of any advan.
tage to them. The greater part of nations,
however, have now admitted their necessity
and though at the commencement OF the pc
riod before US, men had affixed no precise
ideas to what was considered as a novelty, &
even now the admission of these embassies
canuot be demanded az a matter Of law, vet
the custom is so general, and they are consid.
erod as 80 much Of course, that the friendship
of States can hardly be maintained without
them. Not to send them therefore has been
sometimes regarded as an sffront"
The right to send. and the power to &C.
credit and receive resident Ministers at
any Court, being matter Of convention and
agreement among nations. il will be found
that all the causes which have conspired