The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-28

induced Lord Steyne to get an antipodean
goyernorship for her husband, Col. Raw.
don Crawley, colonial offices were
available for this purpose But
Great Britain's dependencies be-
yond the sea have long since
put stop to transactions of this kind,
declining to be saddled with people who,
Tor one reason or another, were not want
ed al home, and the consequence Is that
the consular service is now the only
means left of pensioning off claimants
and dependents of both sexes, or provid-
ing means of livelihood for stewards, up
per servants and their sons, for getting
rid of convenient witnesses in perplexing
lawsuits, and for keeping away from home
poor or ruined relations.
This does not mean that all of her ma
Jesty's consuls are of the class indicated.
There have been some illustrious names
among them, such as for instance those
of Hay, Richard Burton, Rawllnson. Lew
er and Sandwich, etc. But the appoint
ment of consulships is conducted by Great
Britain in the same happy -go-lucky way
as In this country, without the slightest
regard for their fltness@for the important
duties WHICH they ought to fulhl Indeed,
one would almost be tempted to imagine
that the governments OF neither Great
Britain nor the United States cared any.
thing for the trade and industry of their
respective countries. Thus, the British
foreign office, instead OF selection men
who have some knowledge OF commerce
for the consulships in Russia, almost In
variably appoint army officers, whose duty
in the eyes of their government consists,
not in promoting trade or in opening up
new markets to British manufactures, but
In securing military information regarding
the ornaments and defenses of the Mus
covite empire, which are destined to sup
plement the data supplied to the war de-
partment in London by the military at
tache of the embassy at St Petersburg
Yet Russia, especially since the beginning
Of the present reign, has become a magni-
hcent and as yet relatively undeveloped
Held Tor foreign commerce and Industrial
enterprises Of every kind.
Useless as are consuls of this sort to the
merchantile interests of Great Britain,
they are in every respect superior to tho
class of men that England employs for
her consular service in the Levant. These
are not even native-born English, for IN
stance, Alfred Bllotti, the consul i'm
Crete, to whom no small blame for the
present condition of affairs in the island
may be ascribed, IS OF oriental parentage,
was born at MaSri, In Asia Minor, AMI
has spent his entire existence in the east,
seldom coming to England, save on short
visits. Biliotu is in every sense of the
word Levantine, and possessed of al
the defects and shortcomings of that non
descript race. At one moment every con-
sular post on the line of communication
between Malta aud Trebizond, extending
again through Erzerou to Tabreez and
Teheran, were held by Levantines, most
of them related to one another who had
begun their careers as upper servants, in
terpreters and consular clerks. Thus. at
the English consulate in Crete there is
not a single native-born Englshman Ia
the whole personnel at the present mo-
ment Not only is the consul himself
a Levantne, but the vice consul is a Span
ish Jew, and the remainder OF the stan
is composed Of a perfect mosaic of ma
tionalites. People such as these nave
neither the notions nor the principles of
English citizens. They look upon affairs
in an altogether different light, and havs
ing hosts of relatives who owe allegiance
to other governments than that OF Eng
land, they are naturally often Influenced
by personal considerations to pursue a line
Of conduct that Is distinctly disadvan.
tageous to the political and commercial
interests of Great Britain.
Columns Of the most extraordinary sto-
ries could be written about these Devan-
tine consuls of England and OF other
Christian powers, the consu, general of
another European power at Alexandria,
for instance, being a Syrian Hebrew
usurer, who. having realized a fortune by
loaning money at large interest to the un-
fortunate peasantry, has now purchased
a title of count for himself at Rome. They
do not even come from the better class OF
merchants Of the Levant, but are recruit
ed chiefly from those ili-defned individu-
ais, half mental, half interpreter. who
20 by the name of dragomeu. Every Eu-
ropean in the orient has his dragoman,
who acts as a sort Of general factotum,
carries messages, manages the servants.
makes the purchases, and. in fact, takes
all the trouble off ones hands. Yet OF
course no one would ever dream of hav-
ing one Of these dragomen sit down to
table with him. English diplomats and
native-born British consuls have their
dragoman like the rest, and generally very
clever ones. Indeed the dragomen render
themselves so indispensable that their en-
ployers generally end by rewarding them
with a clerkshp In the consulate. In
course Of time this clerkship develops into
IAN acting vice consulship, then into a per-
'manent one, and finally It eliminates IN
full consulship. That has been the ca
reer Of Raphel Borg the British consul
at Cairo; of Biliottl. the British consul at
Crete and Of a dozen others OF the same
stripe,
Here in the United States England II,
for the nonce, If not efficiently, at any
rate respectfully represented, although
some OF them are shaky about their aspl-
rates, and a few years ago a man was
appointed to look after the commercial
interests Of Great Britain In a southern
state mainly because. having failed In
business at home, and having failed to
get a discharge from the bankruptcy
court 1t was considered advisable to get
him out Of the country. Another consult
ate Is held 10 the present day by a gall
liant gentleman whose fortunes In Eng
land previous TO his appointment had fall
en- to 50 low an cob that he had been
compelled 10 accept the humble position
OF warden Ia a penltentiary to keep him.
self and his wife from starving. That,
however, the English consuls In America
fulfil their duties better than the Major
ity Of their colleagues elsewhere Is shown
10 a certain extent by the fact that,
whereas most OF the British missions In
the old world are now being with com.
mercinl attaches for the purpose OF maxi
ing reports OF some practical use concern
Ing the industry aud commerce OF the
country IN which they are stationed. Moth
Ing has az yet been heard about proyid-
ing Sir Julian Pauncefoto's embassy at
Washington with any such Official.
II has frequently been urged in Eng
land that the chambers OF commerce
should be consulted by the government In
the selection Of ~ consular representa-