The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-12
BY LA MARaulsE DE ToNrENoY.

bN LA MARlUlSE DE EONTlNOY.
n IR ARTHUR NICHOLSON. who has
~ under secretary of state for for
eign affairs in London, and who
as such becomes permanent chief of the
English foreign office is brother-in-
law of the late Lord Dutferin, and Was
one OF the members OF his staff when
the marquis was ambassador at Con-
stantinople and high commissioner In
Egypt. sir Arthur's nephew, the pres
ent Lord Duferin, married TO the
daughter Of John II, Davis, Of New
!. York, is one of the senior clerks at
the foreign Office, and at the head OF
that particular division thereof which
has charge and supervision OF the con
sulates in North America.
Sir. Arthur entered the foreign office
service forty years ago, and may be
said to have received his first training
as one of the private secretaries OF the
was foreign minister. 1t was while at
Constantinople that he married. Miss
Mary Hamilton, sister OF the Dowager
! Marchioness OF Dunerin. and after
d'anaires at Athens and at Teheran.
where he did so we'll that he received
4 knight commandership OF the Indian
| Empire After a troublesome year in
Bulgaria as diplomatic agent. he was
appointed minister plenipotentiary TO
Morocco, where he remained for nine
years, until appointed ambassador at
Madrid.
If he was left so long at Tangier,
ii was because until at any rate. three
years ago, Morocco was considered by
the leading English statesmen as one
of the principal danger points of Euro
pean politics. In fact, the late Lord
Salisbury was wont TO predict that the
next great European war would have
Its origin in quarrels relating to Mo-
rocco, rather than In the Balkans, or
apropos Of Turkey. Owing to Sir Ar
! thurs extensive experience of Moor
| ish affairs, he was naturally selected
| TO represent Great Britain at the Alge-
| ciras conference, and after having at
| tended the wedding OF the King and
| Queen of Spain. he was transferred as
ambassador 10 St Petersburg, in sue
| cession to Sir Charles Hardinge. whom
I he now again follows as head OF the
! foreign office.
| If l refer to him as the chief Of that
| department, IL is because the secretary
| of state and minister for foreign al
| fairs changes with the administration,
and his stays in Downing Street are
| to put il mildly, ephemeral whereas.
| the permanent under secretary OF state
| Is a fixture, and 1t Is upon him. rather
| than upon the minister. that depends
policy, 1 is he, too, who is in charge
/ of the personnel of the office in Down
ing Street and Of the diplomatic and
| consular services. He holds all the
lHleddS III MS nanQS, ana the minister
is entirely dependent upon him for the
| working of the entire department
/ While at st. Petersburg Sir Arthur
1 proved a great success, negotiating
that convention which put an end to
the bitter feud of eighty years between
Great Britain and Russia, trans
| forming them from foes and rivals into
| friends and even allies. and practically
4 removing all danger of an invasion of
/ India by Russia, which for half a cen
\ fury had been the one bugbear of every
i English official in India. For this Sir
1 Arthur was decorated by King Edward
] with the Grand Cross of the Order of
the Bath,
slightly bent, with short-cropped
mustache and llisht in figure. is a
\ most agreeable conversationalist, pos
sesses en- extraordinary gift of Ian
guages and fund of anecdote, a sense
! of humor quite unusual in a Scotch
Il baronet and eyes and manners that in
4 spire sympathy and confidence. His
4 baronetcy is one of the Oldest in Scot
j land, being of the Nova Scotia order
i and dating from 1851. when 1t was
created by Charles I. The fourth hold
err Of the baronetcy was also fourth
!, Lord Napier, having inherited the Ma
without issue, the peerage reverted tc
Il his maternal aunt. while the baronetcs
! devolved on his cousin, Thomas Nicol.
!, son. The ninth baronet. great-gr
father of Sir Arthur. served In the
English army, here in America, as wei
as in India, and married the daugh
ter of the historian, Robertson, anc
their only son was Sir Frederick
Nicolson, who won much distinction ir