BRITISH DIPLOMACY AND DIPLOMATISTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 603, 14 August 1858, Page 3

BRITISH DIPLOMACY AND DIPLOMATISTS.

(From.thci,' Times,' Apiil 8.) ';'iti^ a/general ('belief that the Working of the|Gir«?uin.loißuiiqn; Office is entirely or inainlyv obstructiVe, : and. that the ingenuity of; its functionaries is simply employed; in finding1 odt how things are not- to be done, • i arid ho w\ the most^ urgent necessities and the most fervent impulse's may be brought to a stanidrStill. That, however, is only a partial yievV; of the system. ....;There is at least one department of this famous institution in which the numerous officers employed ai*e not content with the vulgar ambition of doing nothing at all, and presenting simply, a cold shoulder, or a neat form of denial to the unfortunate, man who wants; something to be . done. The • Foreign Office has always: been celebrated .for a nobler and more active ambition, ;or at least for "not doing1 what is to be done" in a. more showy ana original style. Jt not, only will not do what is to be done, but does the very opposite. It industriously turns the ploughshare into the sword, makes a dagger out of a prunninghook. Lord Melbourne used to say that there would be peace for ever if we could only shut up the Foreign Office ; and we have cei'tainly lived to see ambassadors and ministers descending in right diplomatic succession from the sacred heralds of antiquity, getting up wars, declaring them, and carrying them on upon their own account. It is not to be. supposed that these gentlemen ever xeally consider it their mission to involve nations in quar- ■ rels and plunge them into wars. Therejis a special service for that department, admirably conducted by spirited captains, high political writers, philosophical assassins;, self-constituted peacemakers, and regenerators of the human species. But where a host of. excellent and able officials is dispersed over the t world, stationed in large cities, and brought into irhmediajfce ; contact wit;h ./the') leading spirits of the civilized :world;, of course it must be'for . something^ It cannot be for letting things alone. Such an institution must operate energetically: and- demonstratively, so as to astonish, if not always to. please the natives. If' peace is its wish, then peace must be .maintained-anna, striking an;d effective manner, so that people shall all admit^ th^^^ldthatist to be indeed a man of peace, '6r not as he pleases,, to have peace in his. jgrasp, and to be the legitimate; object, or at least channel, ofsupplication, when the prayer of the people is for peace. . j It is not very long since we had an instance of a minister whose duty it was at the principal State of the New World-r----always on the most jealous and fidgetty terms with us, their progenitors and cousins —to avert collision, to smooth over differences, and at least to take care that theije should be no misunderstanding' in the offiy cial communications of the two countries. Mr. Grampton, at the Court of Washington, was a very clever,, and they say, a very amusing man. a very good talker, and all this is wanted at a London dinner party. This admirable gentleman, however, having received a dispatch which Lord Clarendon had taken the pains to draw up and send him, and being px*essed for time, under what,circumstances we are not informed, did not read the said document to the end, >. and accordingly mis- - understood, or rather never made himself acquainted with, his instructions. So, drawing on his own imagination for what he conceived Lord Clarendon would probably say at the end of the despatch, he took an original course of. his own, and so rendered a question already complicated absolutely insoluble. We are now presented^ however, with a much bolder specimen of the same sort of treatment, and one calculated to inyesc the whole diplomatic service with an almost awful character. From the nobleman who presides in Downing-street to the youngest Secretary of Legation, or most modest attacke,lep us all pray for the perfect sanity, comfort, and especially the undisturbed leisure of | these men. We shall not indeed consult I either their own tastes or the necessities. ojf the" service by installing them in quiet shrines and in shady groves, where they may pursue their own free meditations; \ It is their business to go into the world to j talk, to write, and to act. So let us at 1" least pray that they may all have a good I nig-ht's rest, that they may rise refreshed) I and in time to read their letters, before I they go out for the day. Let us, then, I pray that they may generally—at least, I when a crisis is expected, and a little cloud

is on the horizon, —return home in time to do a little business, to give an order, to read a draught note, and even the document itself to which they have to append their important signatures. If this be not always possible, may they at least be able to make up before they go to bed for the omissions of the day? Never did we adequately feel till now how much we all depend upon persons of whom few of us ever heard, and how the world hangs on their humour, or such notions of duty as a long period of service may chance to have lefttfiem. „

Sir James Hudson and Mr. Erskine were sent to Turin for the express purpose of communicating" to the Sardinian Court the views and wishes of the British Foreign Secretary, and supplying him with their views and wishes in return. It has sometimes been suggested that the whole thing might be done more expeditiously and with less chance of mistake by a direct transmission of letters to and fro between the two Courts. That, however, is a very undiplomatic 'opinion, and on the present occasion we leave it to its fate. Yet, let us see how the actual system has worked ;in this instance. On the 29th December Lord Clarendon sent a despatch to Sir James Hudson, instructing him to ask Count Cavour whether the Sardinian Government meant to object to the proceedings taken by the Neapolitan Government in the ease of the Cagliari,-on the ground that the Neapolitan vessels of war had no rig-lit to pursue the Cagliari, and to capture her beyond the Neapolitan teritorial jurisdiction. This was a plain, simple, arid very natural request on the part of the British Government, to know whether the Sardinian Government meant to act on a particular ground, which Lord Clarendon proceeded to explain he thought a proper one, if it was justified by the facts of the case. This, however, though stated with Lord Clarendon's usual clearness and vigour, was either above the intelligence of the minor officials of Turin, or seemed too mild for their taste. Sir James Hudson, it is true, did his duty first. He ordered and approved a draught of a note to be sent to Count Cavour, faithfully repeating the; words of the despatch, and asking Count Cavour whether the Sardinian Government meant to object to the proceedings of the Neapolitan Government on the ground particiilarized. Mr. Erskine, however, having simply to; write out and dcs- • patch a fair copy from this; draught, wholly ignored and omitted the question which* was its principal object, and substituted for it no question at all, but an alleged piece of information which he was so good as to volunteer for the benefit of the Sardinian Government. " I have been instructed," he wrote, uto acquaint your Excellency that .Her Majesty's Govern-, ment are disposed to object to these proceedings, on the ground," <&o. The change was from a question to a statement, from a question as to the views of the Sardinian Government to a statement comprising* the views of our own. It supposed Ihe Sardinian Government to take the initiative from us, instead of deferring1 a final expression of our own views till we had learnt on what views the Sardinian Government was actually proceeding 1. Mr. Erskine brought his despatch with this important and elaborate alteration —it was nobody else's—to Sir James r Hudson, who never read a line—the alteration was in the first sentence,- —but simply put his name to the document, which remained without correction doing all the mischief it could from January sth to March 15th, nearly two months' and a-half. Early last month M. Cavour showed Mr. Erskine's despatch to Lord Malmesbnry, who immediately wrote to ask on whose authority the suppositions statement had been made, and elicited an explanation of the facts. Mr. Erskine now expresses his deep regret that he had made "a very-material alteration in the wording* of the first paragraph;" admits what he ought to have said; explains how he. might poseibly have fallen into the "unfortunate blunder;" suggests what he might possibly have meant to say, most dutifully exonerates his chief, and pleads on his own part the difficulty of literally transcribing a paper of his own composition. Lord Malmesbury verj' properly informs Sir James Hudson that the explanation is unsatisfactory, and desires that Mr. Erskine may be told that his conduct is quite inexcusable. ' Is it possible to suppose that such a thing could be done at all without being a matter of frequent occurrence ? Mr. Erskine had license enough, it is evident, to do as he pleased. When a Minister never looks at what he signs, a clever, industrious, and ambitious secretary, desirous to act

with proper energy, and ready to persuade himself that the despatch was " his own composition," is under considerable temptation to improve, to simplify, and invigorate the message which.-he is charged to transmit. We can almost pardon a subaltern who is ready to take responsibility, and see that the work does not flag in his hands. Indeed, whether Mr. Erskine desires it or not, this is almost the only account possible in his case, as the alteration is rather too material both in matter and words to be a mere slip of the pen or of the memory in the act of' transcription. We can readily suppose that Mr. Erskine thought it odd Lord Clarendon should first ask whether the Sardinian Government were objecting on this ground and then defend it, if the facts bore it out. It was natural he should wish to simplify matters by assuming the objection at once, and leaving Sardinia to agree, if it liked. But this was not what Lord Clarendon said, and it certainly did not accord with the respective positions of the two Governments in the affair., Jn fact, MriJßrskine was for leading- Sardinia instead of suggesting that simple co-operation and common understanding which Lord Clarendon most properly desired. But are we safe when secretaries are encouraged to-follow their own devices, and when, for aught we know, scores of irritating and injudicious despatches may be rambling in foreign chanceries that Downing-stieet never heard of? Sir James Hudson is the responsible man. If the subaltern be visited with the punishment of a subaltern, the chief ought to have his due. We cannot think it safe to leave either of "them at Turin, especially with no Minister at ail fitNaples, and only Mr. Howard in Tuscany.