The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-04-02
BRITISH DIPLOMATIC SECRETS.

Rigid Measures Adapted to Prevent
 Them From Becoming Public. It says much for the integrity of gov ernment officials that all knowledge of
 our recent important treaty with Japan
 was successfully withheld from foreign
 nations until the compact had been ac-
 tually sealed, but the great care exer-
 cised in guarding diplomatic secret
 renders a premature announcement
 very rare indeed.
 No government secret when first born
 is ever committed to paper, except on
 the rare occasions when minutes of
 cabinet meeting are taken and forward | ed to the sovereign. As rule, our
 ministers meet and transact business
 without any one being the wiser, for no
 official of any kind is allowed to be
 present.
 | Once the government has decided
 upon an important piece of foreign pol l icy, it has to be transmitted to our rep resentative abroad, and for the first | time the secret is put in writing in the 1 form of unintelligibe cipher, the key to which is already in the hands of our ambassador. The men who draw up
 
 officials specially employed by the gov ernment, and they often obtain from l five to seven hundred pounds for sin gle code.
 The dispatch having been prepared, it is given into the care of kings mes senger, who wears attached to his per son bag fitted with secret lock. To this lock there are only two keys; one in the possession of the foreign office and the other retained by our ambasso- dor, who must unlock the bag himself or instruct his secretary to do so upon the messengers arrival.
 The journey between this country and abroad Is a risky one, because the mes senger is beset with spies, and, al though he travels incognito and well armed, there is always the chance of his being set upon and robbed. To avoid this when an important dispatch is being carried. he Is shadowed by two detectives throughout the journey, so that they can instantly come to his as- sistance if necessary
 When travelling by rail he engages a special compartment, and if called upon to do so he will have to lose his life be- fore sacrificing the dispatch. In return he receives salary of four hundred pounds a year. in addition to one pound a day when travelling and all expenses found but before being employed he has to be nominated by an official fill ing an important position under govern ment, who will hold himself responsi- ble for his being a reliable messenger and not a foreign agent, Sometimes, to avoid danger, the courier carries with 1 him the special sanction of internation- | al law, whereby every country through | which he passes becomes responsible | for his safety.
 On arrival the messenger goes to the embassy and hands over the bag either l to the ambassador personally or his 1 secretary, who has had verbal orders | from his chief to receive it, no written | being accepted as genuine, nor must the bag be given to any one holding an inferior post to that of con- 1 fidential secretary. In every embassy there is d strong room wherein dis patches are stored in an enormous safe, the key of which is held only by the and no one but himself is permitted to enter the chamber. Every night two watchmen remain outside the door with loaded revolvers, having or iers to shoot down any marauder.
 Obviously great care has to be taken hat no information shall leak out from the officials themselves, and with the exception of Britain and Italy, no Euro bean nation will permit any member of m embassy to marry woman of the in which they are employed. Even the ambassadors themselves are pound by the same rule; and some years ago, when Germany's representa- i've in London Prince Henry of Pless, wished to marry Miss Cornwallis West. ,e had to surrender his position before being able to do so.-Tit-Bts.