Part 5

Before clearing for any American port any vessel in a foreign port must procure from the consul a “bill of health”, which is a certificate to the effect that the sanitary conditions of the vessel are satisfactory and that all rules and regulations in such cases have been complied with. The consul must take pains to satisfy himself before granting the “bill of health”, and for this purpose a medical officer is often detailed by the Government. A master of a vessel who sails into an American port without having procured a “bill of health” is liable to a fine not to exceed $5,000.

DUTIES TO CITIZENS OTHER THAN SEAMEN.

Citizens going abroad for business or pleasure may find it to their advantage to inquire into the consideration that Uncle Sam is prepared to show them when abroad. The freedom of travel you enjoy at home is a small thing until, in a foreign land, you find yourself confronted by an officer of the law demanding your passports. Besides, there are numerous little official courtesies for which the traveler or sojourner will be very grateful, and in cases of emergency assistance may be rendered far beyond all adequate reward.

As was said before, passports may be procured from the State Department, otherwise through the diplomatic officers, or in their absence, through the consular service. If the applicant is accompanied by his wife, minor children, servant, etc., the one passport answers for all.

A consular officer may verify or visé (pronounced vee-záy) a passport by writing on it the word “good” in the language of the country, and affixing his official signature and seal. Diplomatic representatives should visé passports only when there is no consulate in the city where the legation is situated. A visé is good only in the country where it is given.

The government affords all the protection it can under the circumstances. Of course it can have no jurisdiction in criminal cases, except in uncivilized countries, and it can have no civil jurisdiction except by treaty or by the law of the land. “The right of a citizen to claim protection is founded upon the ‘correlative right’ of his country to his ‘allegiance and support.’” Consuls are “particularly cautioned not to enter into any contentions that can be avoided, either with their countrymen or with the subjects or authorities of the country. They should use every endeavor,” continues the “Regulations”, “to settle in an amicable manner all disputes in which their countrymen may be concerned, but they should take no part in litigation between citizens. They should countenance and protect them before the authorities of the country in all cases in which they may be injured or oppressed, but their efforts should not be extended to those who have been wilfully guilty of an infraction of the local laws. It is incumbent upon citizens of the United States to observe the reasonable laws of the country where they may be. It is their duty to endeavor on all occasions to maintain and promote all the rightful interests of citizens, and to protect them in all privileges that are provided for by treaty or are conceded by usage. If representations are made to the local authorities and fail to secure the proper redress, the case should be reported to the consul general, if there be one, or to the diplomatic representative if there be no consul general, and to the Department of State.”

I have quoted this passage almost entirely because it is the best expression to be found, probably, of the general attitude of the Government of the United States toward its citizens abroad.

Citizens intending to sojourn abroad should register at the consulate within which they are to reside. This is not required, but it may be a great convenience both ways.

Who are citizens? (1) “All persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof”; (2) all children born to such natives, even if beyond the jurisdiction of the United States; (3) “any white woman, or woman of African nativity or descent, or Indian woman, married to a citizen of the United States, is a citizen thereof”; (4) naturalized citizens; (5) the minor children of naturalized citizens.

“An official letter of introduction, when given to a citizen of the United States, is valuable to the holder for prompt identification in case he needs the intervention of a consular officer in his behalf. But in no case must the letter be understood or taken as implying any claim upon the consul for hospitality or personal courtesies beyond the politeness always due to citizens of the United States when they have legitimate business with a consulate”.

Consuls are not allowed to give their names as business references, nor to report the financial standing of houses in their districts. Such requests should be referred to banks or business agencies.

“Consular officers are not authorized to indorse notes or bills of exchange, nor in other ways to become responsible pecuniarily for American citizens or others who have no personal claims upon them.” Such transactions are not a part of the official duties of a consular officer. He is “not authorized to lend money to indigent citizens of the United States or others, nor to incur expenses or liabilities for any persons except seamen of the United States, in the expectation of reimbursement by the Government”.

Consular officers are forbidden to solemnize marriages. A marriage may be solemnized in the presence of a consular officer as a witness, and in that case it has certain peculiarities, as will be seen from the following:

According to international law the mode of solemnizing marriage conforms to the law of the place where it is performed. But there are many conceivable circumstances which might make this undesirable, and in such cases it is declared by the statutes that “marriages in presence of any consular officer of the United States in a foreign country, between persons who would be authorized to marry if residing in the District of Columbia, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, and shall have the same effect as if solemnized within the United States”. In all such cases the consul must give a certificate to each of the parties and forward a copy to the Department of State.

In case of the death of an American citizen abroad, it is the duty of the consul to take possession of his estate, provided there is no other legal representative, and provided, also, the laws of the country so permit,—to inventory the same with the help of two merchants (Americans, preferably), to make collections and to discharge the debts due from the estate, to sell at public auction such part as is of a perishable nature, and at the expiration of one year the remainder, and finally to transmit the proceeds to the Treasury of the United States to be held in trust for the legal claimants, who, however, are at liberty to appear at any time and take charge of the proceedings and the estate themselves. This applies to personal property only—real estate being administered according to the laws of the locality. In the absence of a treaty covering such points the consul is to proceed in the above manner unless it is known that the local authorities are unwilling, for “he should avoid the appearance of opposing or disregarding actual local requirements”.

The same proceedings as the above are followed in case a citizen dies on the high seas “on either an American or a foreign vessel, and his effects are brought within a consular district”.

JUDICIAL DUTIES—IN NON-CHRISTIAN COUNTRIES.

The use of the term “non-christian”, which in the present day is giving place to “uncivilized”, is as old as the consular system itself; that is to say, it has come down to us from mediaeval times when the consular system originated. It might still have been retained had it not been for the progress of one country, Japan, which may be better described as civilized rather than Christian.

The judicial power of a consul, therefore, remains as a relic of mediaevalism, and it remains because the need remains; for just as civilized countries five hundred years ago were unwilling to look to the Turk for justice, so they are to-day, and treaties to that effect secure Turkish recognition of this humiliating state of things. As it is with Turkey so it is with China, Korea, Siam, Persia, Madagascar, Borneo, etc., the treaties varying considerably in each case.

This assumption of superiority by the self-styled civilized countries would be hard to justify on the ground of theoretical ethics, but apparently theoretical and practical or applied ethics sometimes diverge very widely, and when they do diverge no statesman hesitates as to which he shall follow.

From the tiresome details of Title XLVII, U. S. Revised Statutes, which deals fully with courts of this character, the following points may be gleaned:

(1) Cases arising between Americans are tried before American officers.

(2) Cases arising between Americans and others not natives are arranged by their respective consular officers; in Turkey they are tried in the consulate of the defendant.

(3) Cases arising between Americans and natives are tried before an American tribunal in China, Siam and Madagascar; before a mixed tribunal in Persia, the Barbary States and Turkey.

It is rather startling to notice the power entrusted to one man, as is done by our government in the case of the consuls to these countries. A consul, for instance, can issue a warrant for the arrest of a man merely upon his own initiative, and can then proceed to try him, he himself acting as judge and jury. He first submits a list of men to the minister, who selects from one to four to sit with him in the trial as advisers. These advisers must record and sign their judgment of the case, but it is the consul’s judgment that condemns or acquits.

In trials for capital offenses there must be four advisers, and their judgment must concur with the consul’s, and their combined judgment must be approved by the minister before there can be conviction. In some cases appeal may be made to the minister and rarely to a U. S. circuit court, but in general the decision of the consul is final. Hence, although the power of life and death is lodged in the hands of the consul, it is well safeguarded, and the danger of its abuse is more apparent than real.

There are some miscellaneous duties devolving upon the consular service which we will notice briefly before turning finally to the duties to the State Department.

EXTRADITION.

Whenever a criminal attempts to escape justice by fleeing to another country it is a delicate matter to recapture him, necessarily; for aside from the ordinary difficulties of the case the powers add a few by their carefulness to preserve each other’s dignity in such matters. Thus the pursuit of a criminal by the officers of one country into the territory of another, even when permitted by treaty, may result in a rather awkward state of things, especially if what is regarded as a crime in the one is not so much of a crime in the other. For instance, suppose that the laws of Canada regarding embezzlement are not as stringent as are those of the United States, or suppose she hasn’t any at all: one can see that a request by our Government for the extradition of an embezzler might strain international courtesy more than a trifle. A treaty is a prerequisite to extradition in any country, and fortunately our Government has such treaties with most of her neighbors, though there are some startling exceptions.

Whenever a warrant or “requisition” is made for a fugitive criminal it is usual to act through a diplomatic officer. If it is made through a consul it must first be with the sanction of the State Department.

TRANSFER OF FOREIGN VESSELS.

The right of citizens to purchase foreign-made vessels abroad involves the right to the protection of those vessels. A vessel cannot sail the high seas without registration and a flag; for if she does she is liable to seizure as a pirate. Hence the ceremony of transfer in such a case must be attended to by the consul.

Ordinarily this does not imply any great responsibility, but while a war is in progress it is a very different thing, no matter whether we are neutrals or belligerents. To illustrate: Suppose during the recent war the owner of an American vessel wished to put it out of danger by putting it under a neutral flag. This he might do by a pretended sale to a citizen of a foreign country through the connivance of a consul. It is the consul’s duty, therefore, to prevent such fraudulent sales, to take all possible pains to satisfy himself that the sale is or is not a genuine transaction.

WATCHING ENEMY’S VESSEL.

In case of war with another power the consuls are required to keep watch on the movements of the enemy’s vessels and report promptly to the Department.

AS A FOREIGN AGENT.

During the progress of a war between two foreign states our consuls may as a matter of courtesy to one or both of them take charge of its consular offices and effects. This must be with the permission of the Secretary of State, however, and the Government assumes no responsibility for the acts of the consuls.

DUTIES TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT—AND OTHERS.

The consular service may be likened to a great reporting system. The consuls are reporters, their offices are news agencies, their field the world, their managing and publishing office the State Department, their organ the Consular Reports, their readers—just a few persons, here and there, whose numbers, by the way, are increasing. In addition to the correspondence which must be carried on in connection with the duties mentioned, the consul may have occasional correspondence on public business with “the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller, the Auditor for the State and other Departments, the Register of the Treasury, collectors of customs as to invoices and prices current, the diplomatic representative of the United States in the country where he resides, other consular officers, and with naval or military officers in the service of the United States who may be employed in the neighborhood, and to whom it may be necessary to communicate immediately any event of public interest, and with no other person”.

This, I trust, will serve as a brief conspectus of consular duties, and now we will listen to questions.

* * * * *

After dismissal a group of men including a banker, a merchant, two manufacturers, a grain dealer, some traveling men, etc., made their way to the platform and were introduced to Professor Loyal as some of the business men of the place.

“We suppose, Professor,” said one of them, “that it is rather aside from your purpose to tell us how to reach foreign trade—how to get our goods on the market—and yet it is the very thing we need to know; so if you can give us any further light we shall appreciate it”.

“I am very glad to hear you say so”, said the Professor, “for that is just what the consular service is intended to do, while my purpose is to serve as an introduction committee between you and the service. You will find in the syllabi the name and address of every member of the consular and diplomatic services all over the world, and they, no doubt, will furnish you all the information you need. The Regulations, indeed, have this to say: ‘Inquiries made by citizens of the United States touching business matters, or other matters not of mere curiosity, should be answered as far as they can be consistently with the consul’s other duties. All inquiries of this character should be acknowledged, even when it is impracticable to answer them’”.

“But why not write at once to the State Department”?

“That may be just as well. The supposition is, however, if you know in what country you expect to find your market the consular service there can give you the most help, because the local conditions are known. If you do not know where to find your market, you should at least familiarize yourself with the Consular Reports, the ‘advance sheets’ of which give the latest news from foreign markets. If you are exporters you will have no difficulty in obtaining these through your Congressmen”.

“Don’t you suppose, Professor, that a handbook of directions to shippers could be prepared by the Government—something to show how goods should be manufactured or packed, as well as cost of transportation, customs duties in foreign ports, etc.”?

“Yes, but you would find your handbook growing to enormous size, until finally it would be no less and no other than the Consular Reports. The trouble is, or has been, that people don’t read these enough. Now, let us get an idea of what such a handbook would contain. What do you manufacture”?

“Farming machinery”.

“Well, now let us suppose you have discovered that there is a market for your merchandise in Argentina. Suppose, too, that the horses in that country are of lighter draft than ours: then your machines must be lightened correspondingly, and this involves a good deal of detail. Again, their soil will differ from that for which you are manufacturing, consequently you may have to change the shape of your plows, or the construction of your harrows, or the size of your drills. Again, one must make sure that the natives can handle intricate machinery before sending any twine-binders, steam-engines, etc. Then, too, you must learn the strong and the weak points of the machinery with which you are to compete. So you see, when it is remembered that we have been considering a few contingencies in regard to only one line of industry, and that, too, in only one country, the sum of the contingencies is enormous. When it comes to cottons or woolens the case is much the same; the width, texture, color, pattern, price—everything which makes goods salable in any one country—must be known, and the advertisements put in a way that appeals to native sentiment and taste. In the Consular Reports you will get the information you need, and you will find it hard to be put in a handbook”.

“Well, as a matter of fact, I haven’t seen much of the Consular Reports”, said one.

“Nor I, either”, said several others, as they turned to go.

LECTURE IV

DIPLOMATIC SERVICE.

In 1815 the Congress of Vienna adopted seven rules for the regulation of diplomatic intercourse. The United States was not represented at this historic congress—wasn’t important enough and perhaps wasn’t interested enough; but it has chosen to conform to the rules, nevertheless. The fact that we had nothing to do with the promulgation of these rules and that we are the only power that has since grown into a commanding position, gives us a diplomatic advantage, an independence agreeable to our national ideals and geographical situation. The first of these rules reads as follows:

“Article 1. Diplomatic agents are divided into three classes: That of Ambassadors, legates or nuncios; that of envoys, ministers or other persons accredited to sovereigns; that of chargés d’affaires accredited to ministers for foreign affairs”.

Three years after the Congress of Vienna the Congress of Aix la Chapelle adds an eighth article, which reads as follows:

“Article VIII.—It is agreed that ministers resident accredited to them” (to sovereigns, presumably) “shall form, with respect to their precedence, an intermediate class between ministers of the second class and chargés d’affaires”.

Consequently the classification of our diplomatic officers is as follows:

1. Ambassadors. We do not send or receive legates or nuncios, as there are representatives of the Pope, and to do so would be contrary to our national policy respecting church and state.

2. Envoys, ministers or other persons accredited to sovereigns. This class includes that official with the ridiculously lengthy title of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary—usually called minister “for short”.

3. Ministers resident, who are usually also consuls general. There are but four of these in our service, and as there is little justification for this grade it will probably some day be abolished.

4. Chargés d’affaires (pronounced shar-zha-daffair), who are not accredited to sovereigns, but to the minister for foreign affairs.

It should be borne in mind that this classification has nothing whatever to do with the transaction of business. All diplomats have essentially the same duties to perform. It is merely a matter of precedence, which was considered much more important at the time of the Vienna congress than it is now. Indeed, there are good reasons for thinking that we have outgrown these distinctions and should straightway abandon them. This much, at least, is apparent to all—that the chief diplomatic officer at every legation ought to be an ambassador, thus making no invidious distinctions between countries.

As it is at present we send ambassadors to the most important countries, envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary to those that are next important to us, and so on. Thus there are five ambassadors; one each at London, Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg and Mexico respectively, thirty envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, four ministers resident, and one who is classed as a chargé d’affaires.

There are secretaries of legation at twenty-three different capitals, who in the absence of their chief may become chargés d’affaires exercising all the functions of a diplomatic officer. At fourteen different capitals there are military or naval attachés, sometimes both, and an interpreter at six of them.

Legation, or embassy, formerly meant the particular business, the errand, so to speak, upon which the ambassador was sent.

These terms are now used more often to designate the officers themselves who are sent on an embassy, and finally by the extension of the term they also mean the official residence of those officers.

American legations as a rule have fewer members than those of other great nations and are much less expensive. The American diplomatic service costs only one fourth as much as the British. Whether or not the result is desirable upon the whole you may judge for yourselves; for while it must be said that we have as a rule been very well served diplomatically, yet on the other hand one direct result of our economy is that only men of wealth can afford to be ambassadors. The cost of living, and especially of entertaining, is so high and the salary is so inadequate that no man in ordinary circumstances can occupy a high diplomatic position where the social requirements are burdensome.

In several cases the parsimony of the Government has been quite contrary to its own best interests. In Central and South America, for instance, where we ought, by all means, to be well represented, the same officer is frequently accredited to two, or even three different countries. Now, no country likes to have a representative of an inferior grade accredited to it, certainly not when a mere change of title would mend the matter, but when it comes to being bunched together with another country or two by a powerful and wealthy neighbor it is almost insulting, and the countries in question show a justifiable resentment. In such countries we will find European nations well represented, and yet we wonder at our own loss of prestige.

PURPOSE.