The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-11
STATUS OF AMBASSADOR.
Contrast Between Those of the Ear
ly Days and the Present.
From the Baltimore American.

From the Baltimore American
Now that our war for humanity" has
engaged US in diplomatic missions involv-
ing the destinies Of more people than were
engaged in the war of independence, the
status and conduct of ambassadors, plen-
potentiaries and ENJOYS is giving the po-
litical segment of the world a good deal
to talk about. For example, says a writ
er in the Philadelphia Bulletin, our peace
embassy" in Paris IS the object of ir-
restrainable gossip to the European quid
nuncs. For mission so fateful Euro
pean states select men who have APPROX
ed their claims; that is, men of home EN-
inence and European celebrity. When our
peace commission was appointed the Eu-
ropean journals referred to the dction-
airy of diplomatists, and found, TO their
CONSERVATION, that not one of the "emi-
nences' President Mckinley had named
was known there
Whte.aw Reid had been minister TO
Paris but he had never been regarded as
a 'dlplomatist' '-ex- Secretary Day and
Senator'S Frey and Davis had never been
heard of-so the vivacious foreign prints
manufactured histories" of the commits
sion that was to diplomatic Spain's colo
MES away. They were assigned the most
sumptuous palace in Christendom to wran-
gle civilly over the possessions of Spain
-wrangling as empty as the protests Of
the twelfth juror-for the instant Spain
laid down her broken arms all that our
lingo patriots coveted was ours. The tone
in which this embassy is discussed. the
treatment accorded II, reveals the amaZ-
ing change that has come over diplomacy
and even its meaning, during the last cen
fury. Time was when body of dip,o-
matists was more potent than an army;
the bejeweled trafflckers of the Congress
of Vienna took the place of the Italian
condotties of the feudal ages; that is the
knave with the longest purse and the
strongest battalions grabbed such parts
of Europe as he coveted Wellington the
fat-witted representative of British greed,
claimed and got all the colonies of Hol-
land, Portugal and Spain, while Talley-
rand, the Machiavel OF the group kept
the hands of the despoilers as well as he
could from France.
In those days an ambassador was the
outward expression of the inward potency
of king. This is nearly all changed now;
an ambassador is mercy the echo of a
cablegram. He does not know what he is
to do until the telegraph gives him The
home cabinets last word. But there was
a time when ambassadors were regarded
as the effective personal representatives. OF
the monarchs in whose name they held
place; when the prestige of the one was
reflected fully on the Other; when the
splendor of the prince Shone out in the
envoy; and as in those days soverelgns
were bigger Percentages than they are al
present, their ambassadors occupied a sit
uatlon proporuonately higher than that
which they are now accorded Revolutions
popular education. public opinion and The
telegraph have dragged both down, side
Icy side. one consequence of this change
is that the phrase Diplomatic Privileges
has lost the greater part of its original
meaning. 1t once signified the enjoyment
and prerosatives and rights of a royal ma
ture; it once was a realty OF grave i'm
port; IL once constituted a strange but
most striking les timony of the universal
recognition of the then lndisputable rights
of kings.
1t now implies in daily practice little
more than the faculty of importing cigars
free of duty. It's history is odd, however;
its details, to the direspectful eye of this
irreverent nineteenth century, are anus
ing; Furthermore 1t stands out glaringly
in the front rank of the vanites of ma
lions. All authorities agree that the func-
tionaries described by the title Of am
bassador" were entirely unknown until tho
thirteenth century. at which epoch the
Popcs began 10 send them forth. The mes
sengers and the heralds Of antiquity and
the middle ages were not ambassadors;
such agents could have no existence; SO
dong as International relations maintsned
the single and simple form of perpetual
war 1t was not until the earth was nc
longer young that governments became
cynal to employ resident representatives
abroad. and then, as has been said, it was
the Papal Court which set the example OF
utilizing them.
That court was the first to recognize
that il had interests 10 protect and in
huences to maintain in other countries.
Diplomacy was. as might have been eX-
pecied, an OFFSPRING of religion. The French
| kings slowly initiated Rome Louis XI.
had resident ENJOYS in Burgundy and Eng
| land, but il was not Till after Charles
Wis expedition 10 Naples Oi95) that
princes generally began to keep up spe-
caf agentsHn their neighbors' territories.
Isolated cases occur Mt earlier periods, but
The principle was not adopted until the
beginning of the sixteenth century
Il was not until after the peace of West
phalia that fixed rules were adopted for
The classification Of ambassadors. From
that date O6i9 begins what the authori-
ties describe as the great diplomatic
epoch" which lasted for nearly 200 years,
and e considered 10 have reached its END