Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1884-04-04
THE TROUBLES OF OUR FOR
EIGN MINISTERS.

been subjected to great ~annoyances'
The persistent worrying of Mr.. Sargent
bv the press Of Berlin is notorious,
while the disputes of Gen. Wallace and
the Grand Vizer at Constantinople are
believed to have eliminated in a formal
remonstrance from the Porte, which is
on its way to Washington. Perhaps the
Ministers residing at some other courts
might disclose slighter grievances which
they now discreetly ignore or conceal;
while, on the other hand, Mr.. Lowells
experience at the court of st. James
suggests that when an American Minis.
ter is specially fortunate in winning the
favor of the Government to which he is
accredited, he is often apt to incur the
suspicion and displeasure Of a portion OF
his own countrymen.
In discussing this state of things the
New York Sun produces the following
admirable comments:
Is there not in all this something fund
amentally wrong? Has not the time
come for revising the whole system OF
foreign diplomatic intercourse, and
making it conform to the facts OF the
day That there is needless friction in
the machinery somewhere is clear from
observing that Germany and Turkey,
whether fairly or unfairly, discriminate
between the Washington Government
and its representative, in the same
breath d~enouncing the latter while re.
newing VOWS of friendship to the former.
Now, when we reflect through the tele-
graph, these sentiments from the Bospo-
rus and the Spree reach us only a few
moments after their utterance, the alb
surdity of gravely keeping up the the
DRY ON which the system of Ministers
resident was originally founded, namely,
the maintaining of representatives of the
Government at European courts on &C.
count of their great distance from u
country, becomes apparent.
1t is worth noting that, even in the
stage coach and sailing vessel era, when
necessity for foreign embassies was ad-
mitted most reluctantly. Statesmen Of
high repute, eighty or ninety years ago,
described the foreign missions as neces-
sary evils, and expressed the hope that
at some day they might be reduced or
dispensed with. In the Fifth Congress,
1898, the question was exhaustively de-
bated, and these were the views of Mr..
Gallatin, who certainly was an authority
on the subject:
mo truth was more strongly impressed
upon his mind than that the extension of
our political intercourse with foreign ma
tions was highly dangerous to us.
SIT was true treaties had been made,
but no treaty had been made since the
adoption of the present Government by
Ministers resident in any court at the
time. If any benefits were derived TO
the country from the British treaty, they
must be attributed to the Envoy Ex-
traordinary, and not to our Minister at
court. And when our treaty with Spain
was concluded it was necessary to send a
Minister resident at another court to do
the business. Since our treaties were
always made by special ENJOYS, what
advantage could it be to have numerous
Ministers Plenipotentiary in Europe?
"But it was said, though it might be
proper to diminish our foreign inter-
course, it was improper to do it at pres
emit. He agreed it would be wrong to do
it violently.
.Gentlemen might, if they pleased, call
it a paltry saving, but having first estab-
lished the fact that these officers were
not only unnecessary but dangerous.
though the saving was not large. it
ought to be made"
In the same spirit another member in.
sisted that the country "would be bene-
fitted by haying no foreign Minister at
all = while Mr.. Pinckney declared that
"we have had Ministers in foreign coun-
tries who have done no good" and that
''our diplomatic connections have been
injurious to this country, and ought to
DC got rlu Oh as S0On as COnvenleub.
These are examples Of the views of many
members, which were, after all, only ap-
plications of this portion of the farewell
address of Washington /:
'The great rule of conduct for us in re-
gard to foreign nations is, in extending
our commercial relations, to have with
them as little political connection as pos
sible. So far as we have already formed
engagements. let them be fulfilled with
good faith. Here let us STOP"
These views were maintained when it
could never have been foreseen that
steam and electricity would practically
annihilate space in the transmission of
intelligence, and enable the Departments
of State in Washington and st. Peters
burg or Madrid to communicate as rap
idly as if at opposite ends of the same
town. Admitting that immigration and
the vast growth of commerce have great
ly affected the problem in the lapse Of
fourscore years, that the fathers were