13.

Whether Ministers may be received from, or sent to, an Usurper. It will be proper to examine a question, famous for being often debated, whether foreign nations may receive ambassadors and other ministers of an usurper, and send such ministers to him. Here foreign powers, if the advantage of their affairs invites them to it, follow possession: there is no rule more certain, or more agreeable to the law of nations, and the independency of them. As foreigners have no right to interfere in the domestic concerns of a people, they are not obliged to canvass and inspect its economy in those particulars, or to weigh either the justice or injustice of them. They may, if they think proper, suppose the right to be annexed to the possession. When a nation has expelled its sovereign, the other powers which are not willing to declare against it, and would not draw on themselves, its arms or enmity, consider that nation as a free and sovereign state, without taking on themselves to determine whether it has acted justly in withdrawing from the allegiance of subjects and dethroning the prince. Cardinal Mazarine received Lockhart, who had been sent as ambassador from the republic of England, and would neither see king Charles the Second, nor his ministers. If a nation, after driving out its prince, submits to another, or changes the order of succession, and acknowledges a sovereign to the prejudice of the natural and appointed heir, foreign powers may here likewise consider what has been done as legal; it is no quarrel or business of theirs. At the beginning of the last century, Charles duke of Sudermania having obtained the crown of Sweden, to the prejudice of Sigismund, king of Poland, his nephew, was soon acknowledged by most sovereigns. Villeroy, minister of Henry the IVth, king of France, at that court, in a memoir of the 8th of April, 1608, plainly said to the president Jeannin, All these reasons and considerations shall not hinder the king from treating with Charles, if he finds it to be his interest, and that of his kingdom.

This was arguing sensibly. The king of France was neither the judge nor the guardian of the Swedish nation, that he should, against the good of his own kingdom, refuse to acknowledge the king which Sweden had chosen, under pretence that a competitor termed Charles an usurper. Had it even been done with justice, it does not come under the cognizance of foreigners.

Therefore, when foreign powers have received the ministers of an usurper, and sent theirs to him, the lawful prince, on recovering his throne, cannot complain of these measures as an injury, nor justly make them the cause of a war, provided these powers have not gone farther, nor furnished any succours against him. But to acknowledge the prince dethroned, or his heir, after a solemn acknowledgement of him who fills his place, is doing wrong to the latter, and declaring against the nation who has chosen him.

Such a step which had been taken in favor of James the second son, king William the third, and the English nation, alledged as one of ihe principal reasons of the war which England soon after declared against France. All the blandishments, and all the protestations of Lewis XIV. were of no weight: the English accounted the acknowledgement of James' son as king of England, Scotland, and Ireland, by the title of James the Third; an outrage and injustice, both to the king and the nation. Vattel.

15.

14. Whether Usurpers, or Governors in Chief, can send Ambassadors. It is sufficient, that the prince who causes his Ambassadors to be acknowledged, be in possession of the sovereignty: hence we may conclude, that he has been expelled by a superior force, or by the insurrection of his subjects has been obliged to withdraw, retains possession, till by a formal treaty he has renounced the countries which have been conquered or usurped from him, or till success has justified the arms of the subjects: he retains also the right of embassy, because the sovereignty remains in him. Wicquefort. Of the Choice between the different Orders. A power, possess. ing the right of embassy in its full extent, has a right to choose with respect to the order and number of the ministers it sends. However, 1. It may be looked upon as an established custom, to send ministers of the same order and in the same number as those received. 2. There are some embassies of ceremony that are not received but in the order and number established by a particular custom 3. Sometimes it has been insisted on as a right, to send several embassadors to courts from whom more than one had not been refused. On the contrary, it often happens, particularly in Germany, that one minister has letters of credence to several courts at once. Martens. The choice of the person

16. Of Choice in the Person of a Minister. to be sent as minister, depends, of right, on the sovereign, who sends him; leaving the right, however, of him to whom he is sent, of refusing to acknowledge any one, to whom he has a personal dislike, or who is inadmissible, by the laws and usages of the country. ib.

17. Age. At a mature age, only, is a man qualified for an embassy. Such employs ought not to be given to young men. Cool blood for counsel, and the warm for execution. Wicquefort.

18. The Prince may employ Strangers in his Embassies. There is no being subject to two sovereigns, nor accountable for our actions to two different princes; but by taking an oath to the one, we get out of the obligation we had to the other; for there is no serving two masters, whose interest may be quite different and contrary.

It is believed that a king who judges that a sovereign has not a right to lay claim to a subject that serves in the quality of a public minister to a foreign prince in another court, would never injure in his own, a Frenchman, that should be there employed by another sovereign: as in effect it is judged

in that kingdom, that the character [carries it against birth, and that neither the civil laws, nor local customs, any more than the particular ordinances of princes,can destroy a right established by the general consent of all people.

After many examples, (Mazarine, a Sicilian, &c.) that have instances to confirm it, because that in reference to the law of nations, it is sufficient to know what is every where practised, without there being any necessity to sift scrupulously into the reason thereof.

In England, the subjects have a stronger and more particular obligation to their Sovereign than elsewhere; by virtue of the right which they call allegiance. But that does not hinder the English from venturing out of the kingdom, without the king's permission, and when they have settled themselves there, neither the king's authority, nor the laws of the kingdom, have any farther power over them.

Since there is no being the subject of two princes, as I before observed, and that he that goes out of the place of his birth, goes at the same time out of the subjection of his own sovereign, it follows, that he enters into that of a new sovereign, whose subject being become, he is obliged to obey him, and to serve him even against the person of him who was his sovereign; but being so no longer cannot desire of him any duties to the prejudice of the last; and consequently, he cannot hinder him from discharging the functions of Ambassador, nor from enjoying all the advantages and prerogatives that are dependant thereon. Wicquefort.

19. Of the Despatch of the Diplomatic Agent, and of the Establishment of his Public Character. All that relates to the despatch [or outfit, or mission] of the diplomatic agent, and to his public character, is comprised under three heads: 1. The Credentials. 2. The Instructions. S. The Plenipotence, [or full powers.]

20. Of the Credentials. In order to be received in the character of diplomatic agent by the state to which he is sent, and to enjoy the privileges and honors attached to his rank, and which are recognised by the law of nations, he is to be furnished with credentials.

This document from the sovereign by whom he is sent, addressed to the powers by whom he is to be accredited, confirms the general object of the mission, which ordinarily consists in the keeping up of a mutual good understanding.

The declaration of these motives appears in the document, and is expressed in terms obliging, and suitable to the relations subsisting between the two courts; with regard, also, to the ceremonial, as well as to the mutual connexions of interest and friendship.

After this introduction the minister is named in designating the quality with which he is invested, and in praying the sovereign.to whom he is sent to place confidence [ajouter foi] in whatever he shall say, on the part of his

court.

If the minister is charged with any particular business, mention is made of it, but only in general terms; and the letter concludes with assurances of friendship, which vary according to the different relations which subsist between the two sovereigns, and the degree of honor which they reciprocally accord each other.

In order that the sovereign to whom the credential letters are addressed may be aware of their contents before they are transmitted to him by the foreign minister, and to enable him to decide upon the admission of such minister, as well as upon the ceremonial to be observed towards him, it is usual either to forward him the letters under a flying seal [cachet volant] or to expedite from the department of state, besides the original with the royal signature and the great seal, a legalized copy which the diplomatic agent forwards, immediately on his arrival, to the minister for foreign affairs, demanding an audience of the sovereign in order to exhibit the original.

Although credential letters for ministers of the first class are usually expedited, in form of letters of ceremony or of chancery, they would not however, be less available were they prepared in form of cabinet letters [lettres de cabinet] which form is at present most used by sovereigns for ministers of the second and third class.

The powers of the minister, according to WICQUEFORT, ceases either, on the death of the prince whom he serves, or on the demise of the prince near whose court he resides.

It is therefore necessary that he be accredited anew (which frequently happens,) in the first case, by the mere letter of notification, which the successor writes to the sovereign, near whom his minister resides, of the death of his predecessor.

In the second case, the non-remittance of new credentials would induce the supposition, that the new sovereign would not be recognised by the prince whom the minister represents.

One letter of credential may suffice for two ministers sent at the same time, if they be of the same order, as one minister may be charged with several credentials when he is accredited near several courts at once, or near one prince, but in various qualities.

It is seldom that an answer is given to a letter of credential, as in order to take such steps the sovereign must have particular motives, such as the choice of the minister sent to him, or that he regards his mission as a particular mark of esteem and friendship.

We must not confound letters of credentials with simple letters of recommendation, of which the minister is sometimes bearer, and which are addressed by his sovereign to princes or princesses of the family, or to one of the principal functionaries of the sovereign near whom he is accredited, or finally, to the magistrate of the place where he shall fix his residence. Martens' Manual.

21. Ceremony of Reception, on presenting a letter of credence at the Court of London. The master of ceremonies advanced with me to the door. Opening it, he left me. I entered alone. The Prince was standing, with Lord Castlereagh [Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs] by him. Holding in my hand the letter of credence, I approached, and said, that it was, "From the President of the United States, appointing me their envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at the court of his royal highness; and that I had been directed by the President to say that I could in no way better serve the United States, or gain his approbation, than by using all my endeavors to strengthen and prolong the good understanding that hap pily subsisted between the two countries." The Prince took the letter, and handed it to Lord Castlereagh. He then said, that he would "Ever be ready on his part to act upon the sentiments I had expressed: that I might assure the President of this; for that he sincerely desired to keep up and improve the friendly relations subsisting between the two nations, which he regarded as so much to the advantage of both. I replied, that I would not fail to do so. Rush's Memoranda.

22. When it [the ceremony of reception] was over, I called upon each member of the royal family: a mark of respect omitted by no foreign minister after being received by the sovereign. The call is made by inscribing your name in books kept at their several residences. ib.

23. Under the federal constitution, the form of receiving and accrediting public ministers, is exceedingly simple: the individual is presented by the Secretary of State to the President in his House, (without any other ceremony than takes place on the occasion of a common visit) when his cre dentials are examined. The constitution directs the President to “receive ambassadors and other public ministers," but this government does not make the distinction, which, we believe, is maintained by the European states in relation to agents of the rank of Chargé d'Affaires, and under, who are accredited only by the Secretary, or Minister of Foreign Relations; whereas all public officers, above the rank of Chargé, are accredited by the sovereign in person. Lyman's Diplomacy.

24. When a Minister goes to a foreign Government. he presents his credentials to the head of the Government, accompanied by a speech, if he thinks proper-but this latter is discretionary. This, however, is not strictly a public address. Whenever, afterwards, any interchange of letters become necessary, an audience is demanded of the Minister for the purpose of presenting the letter, &c. There is one other occasion when a Minister has the right to present an address. If he thinks that that Minister of the Government, who holds diplomatic intercourse with him, is actuated by an unfriendly disposition, and manifests it, by unfair and improper treatment, he may demand an audience, and make his appeal to the head of the Government. Forsyth's Speech, in House of Rep.'s, April S, 1826.