CONSUL, MERCANTILE, the name given to those officers whom the state maintains in foreign countries for the protection of its trade, and vindication of the rights of its mer chants, and to whom the further duty is assigned of keepinn. the home government informed of all facts bearing on the commercial interests 'of the country. The practice of appointing such officers ori,ginated among the trading communities of Italy about the middle of the 12th c., and gradually extendal itself; and in the 16th c., had been by all the countries of Europe. In addition to their commercial duties, others of a more strictly political kind were frequently confided to consuls in places in which there was no ambassador or political.agent. In almost all the countries of Europe, consuls are divided into consuls-general, consuls, vice-consuls, and consular agents. The C.'s first duty on his arrival, is to exhibit his commission to the authorities of the country to which he is accredited, in order that he may obtain their sanction to his appointment. This sanction is communicated to him in a document called an e.eequatur, which secures to him the enjoyment of such "privileges, immunities, and exemptions as have been enjoyed by his predecessors, and as are usually granted to consuls in the country in which lie is to reside." The general duties of English consuls are communicated to them in printed instructions. In these, the C. is ordered to make himself conversant with the laws and general principles which relate to the trade of Great Britain with foreign parts, and with the language and municipal laws of the country wherein he resides. Further,. it is his duty to protect his countrymen in the lawful exercise of their trade, to quiet their differences, to obtain the redress of injuries done them—failing which, to report the matter to the English ambassador at the court of that nation—and to forward to the secretary of state for foreign affairs an annual return of, the trade carried on at the dif ferent ports within his consulate, as well as a quarterly account of the market prices of agricultural produce during each week of the quarter, the course of exchange, etc. The C. must afford relief to British seamen or other subjects wrecked on the coast, and endeavor to procure them the means of returning to England. The commanders of.
queen's ships touching on the coast are entitled to call on for intelligence, and aid in procuring supplies of water, provisions, and the like; and it is his duty to endeavor to recover all wrecks and stores, etc., of queen's ships, whether found at sea and brought. into the port at which he resides, or thrown on the coast. As regards the "privileges and immunities" of a C., it is doubtful whether lie is in any case exempt from the civil jurisdiction of the state to which lie is accredited; and in the case of a trading C., it is at any rate plain that lie is not. But a C. sent out from this country, and not engaging in trade, has always been exempted from the taxes of the country in which he resides. lie is generally permitted to call in a guard when he requires it for his own safety, or the preservation of discipline; and in countries not inhabited by ft European population, he has all the privileges of au ambassador. A C. can perform all of a notary public; all deeds executed by him being acknowledged as valid by our courts of law. The fiction is, that the consulate is the territory of the country from which the C. is sent, and, consequently, that deeds and acts done within it, or under the 0.'s seal, are done in England. Hence the marriage of British subjects recorded in the books of a British C. is a valid ceremony.
In some cases, British consuls are allowed to trade; in others, they are prohihited from so doing. The salary of consuls-general varies from £300 to £2,000, the average being about £1000: the salary of a consul varies from £100 to £1500, and of a vice-con sul, from £50 to £800. A select committee of the house of commons reported in 1872. that the consular service was still too varied in character and arrangements to be the subject of such organization and classification as other branches of the civil service, but in• event of such regulation and revision of the posts as was then recommended, suggested that it would be desirable to introduce changes in that direction. Though of opinion 277 that some posts were underpaid, the committee was opposed to an indiscriminate raising of salaries.