The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-06-12
A BRITISH DIPLOMAT.
How He Is Trained and What
He Is Expected to Do.
YEARS OF MISREPRESENTATION
He Must Dress Exquisitely, Go Into So.
ciety, and Above All Thoroughly
Understand Human Nature.


LONDON, June 30-[Special Correspond
ence. For several centuries the Span
iards had the reputation of being the most
skiiiful diplomatlsts. and after Spain had
fallen TO be third-rate power, the French
and Austrians in turn claimed the SUI
premacy in this particular branch of state
craft. In our own time the Russians have
got the credit of excelling all other ma
tons in dealing with foreign affairs. A
Russian diplomatist is popularity supposed
to be happy combination of Machiavelli
and Mephistopheles. before whose willy arts
mere ordinary astuteness is of no avail.
The British have never made any pre-
tension to this kind of superiority. They
are rather proud of declaring that di-
plomacy IS "a game they do not UNDER
stand" and the reputation of stupidity
which they have everywhere abroad is
not at all dispeasing 20 them. The fact
Is, in this, as IN many other matters, for
eigners are greatly misled by the exter-
nails of English character. They mistake
self-control for dullness and blunt honesty
for simplicity; and they do not realize the
tenacity of purpose that is ingrained in
the polished, easy-going, open-hearted,
free-living but eminently respectable
noblemen and gentlemen who represent
the empress-queen abroad. Looking at
the results of all the diplomacy for hum
dreds of years back, no one can say that
the British are inferior to their neigh
bors. They always get the lions share
of the benefits of every treaty; and very
often when they seem to have been out
fal hxy Lr,Il 10 IF f,r
elgn diplomacy, they have, in reality,
gained an overwhelming advantage which
was not foreseen at all. Their supposed
guilelessness is good deal like that of the
heather Chnee; with the difference that
they are well able to hold by force what
they gain by skill. How else has it come
about that the territory, trade and wealth
of the British empire have increased, and
are constantly increasing, out of all pro-
portion to those of other nations2 British
diplomatists may be slow and heavy, but
that they are successful all history wit
nesses. This is due in great measure to
the class of men who arc chosen for diplo-
matte duty, and partly to the peculiar sys-
tenn which has long prevailed at the Brit
ish foreign Office.
No branch of the public service is SO
highly trained as the diplomatic branch.
1t is not SO much service as a profession.
The men who devote their lives to it are
specially educated to it from childhood.
In many instances their calling is heredit-
airy. They are ambassadors from genera
ton to generation. Whole families be-
long to the foreign Office, just as others are
naval families or military families. Take,
for example, Sir Edward Malet, British
ambassador at Berlin. He is the son Of
Sir Alexander Malet, British minister at
Frankfort, and was born at the British
embassy at the Hague in 1887, the year of
the queens accession. He was educated
at Eaton and Oxford expressly for dIplo-
matte career, and when barely IL was
appointed attache at Frankfort.
Since then he has gone through
every grade of the service at Brussels, Rio
de Janeiro, Washington City, Lisbon Con-
stantinople, Paris, Pekin, Athens, Rome.
Constantinople again, Egypt, Brussels
again, and lastly, Berlin. During these
thirty-eight years of continuous service
he has held almost every sort of appoint
ment and done almost every sort of work
that a diplomat can; and, not being a
born fool, but very much the opposite, he
has turned his opportunities and expert
ence to good account. All that he does
not know about foreign affairs or about
the motives and methods of public men
and mankind in general, is not worth
learning. 1t used to be said, when Earl
Russell was minister for foreign affairs,
that to get into the diplomatic service
you must be named either Russell or
Elliott. Earl Russel's wife was an Elliott,
daughter of the Earl of Mimic, and it is
still good thing to have either of these
names. Sir Edward Malet came rs near
to 1t as he could. He married Lady Ermyn-
trude Russell, daughter OF the Duke of
Bedford and cousin of Earl Russell, SO that
his establishment is thoroughly typical
British diplomatic one. A still more strik-
ing case is that of Sir Edward Thornton.
He is the son of Sir Edward Thornton,
envoy extraordinary and minister pienipo-
tertiary TO Portugal. He also was born
in British embassy and entered
the service when mere boy, as at
tache at Turin. Then he went, in
course of promotion, to Mexico, Buenos
Ayres, New Granada, Uruguay, Buenos
Ayres again, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon
(where he filled the same post that his
father had filled, having succeeded him as
Count de Cassiihas IN the Portuguese no.
bilitv), Washington, St. Petersburg, and
finally Constantinople. After forty-four
years unbroken service, he retired on his
pension and his honors. quiet, courteous,
delightful old gentleman, who never
played trick, but never made q mistake,
In his life. If he had happened to have
son. that son would doubtless have been
at least a secretary OF legation by this time.
The same story might be repeated over
and over again about scores of other
British diplomats, the same story of
birth, training and lifelong service
Sir Henry Drummond Wolff recently
appointed ambassador to Rome, was
born at Malta, and entered the foreign
Office when he was only 10 years old!
He got mis- appointment through the in
t1ence of his mother, Lady Georgina
Wapole, daughter Of the earl of Oxford,
the Walpoles being notable diplomatic
family. And so il goes on ali round.
In the first instance the appointments
are made by sheer tavoritism; but after
that the young men are sifted and sorted
according TO the stuff that is in them,
and III the higher grades promotion goes
by merit alone. The rule is that no one
Is admitted into the diplomatic service
except gentlemen by birth and education.
They need not have noble blood, but ii is
considered all the better ii they have.
They have not time to get much book
learning, but they generally 60 to Eton or
Harrow and then for year or two to OK
ford or Cambridge. Even Sir Drummond
Woi., the l0-year-old diplomatist, went 10
Rugby Tor little while. The Ignorance
OF these sucking ambassadors IS stand
ing Joke, but somehow it does not seem TO
make any difference In the long run.
Those of them whose friends have iniiu-
ence enough, 90 INTO the foreign office and
get some special training before going
abroad, but most of them are sent straight
10 some foreign capital as unpaid attache
10 the minister. They must have an in