OF EMBASS1E5• 1. By Public Minister, is commonly meant the person whom the state has charged with its public affairs ; in a more particular sense, the person who is at the head of some department of the government; and in a still more confined sense, the person whom the sovereign has ap pointed to superintend his affairs at some foreign court. This last sort of minister. (ambassador in a general sense,) is that of which we are to speak here. The sending of this sort of ministers being a necessary means of treat ing of state affairs, the right of send them becomes one of the natural rights of sovereignty. These ministers are now employed, not only to negotiate the affairs of the sovereign by whom they arc sent. (though all their rights are grounded upon their acting in that capacity,) but on points of ceremony also ; and, since the introduction of pc: petual embassies, sometimes the principal business of such a minister is to watch over the interests of his master, and give him an exact account of every thing that passes, and of which it imports him to be informed. What ever difference a rigorous attention to theory might make as to prerogatives. Ste. between negotiators and other minis ters, in practice the same prerogatives that are enjoyed by negotiators are also enjoyed by embassies of ceremony, perpetual embassies, and embassies in ordinary.
2. The universal law of nations acknowledges but one order of mioisters. It considers them all as public man datorics of the slate which they represent, as far as relates to the business with which they are charged, and entitled to the rights essential to that quality, and to no other rights whatever. But the modern law of nations has established several orders of public ministers or ambas sadors, which differs essentially in whatever concerns the ceremonial.
Formerly, there was but one class of public ministers, who were all called ambassadors. On their private affairs, sovereigns sometimes sent agents ; and on missions of ceremony, or of little importance, they sent gentlemen of birth ; but neither of these enjoyed the rights, or were honoured with the ceremonial, due to ministers. In the fifteenth centui y, ministers began to be received as the re presentativesof their sovereign; but the disputes resulting their rights in that capacity, and the expense, which became more considerable as perpetual embassies grew more customary, gave rise to an order of ministers under the title of Residents, much inferior to ministers represent ing their sovereigns. These latter now took, exclusively,
the title of Ambassadors. Residents were considered as the agents above mentioned, even when they were charged with affairs of state. These agents were afterwards call ed Charges des Afaires, and the title of agent fell into disuse, except for those who were charged with the private affairs of the sovereign only, or as a mere empty title.
In time it became customary to grant to the gentlemen of birth a certain ceremonial, which, though very vague in the beginning, sometimes came nearly to that of ambassa dors, but oftener resembled the ceremonial of residents. The custom of the present century his raised them above residents, and they now form a separate order between ambassadors and residents, called envoys. Many causes gave rise to a multiplication of the qualities of ministers, particularly of the second and third orders. Hence mi nisters plenipot. ntiary, ministers, ministers resident, re sidcnt,, ministers charges des affaires.
3. The next point to be considered relates to the re tinue of the minister, and to his being acknowledged in his dipl The military proc.:ssum accom panying ministers formerly is faller, into disuse,. except in the great embassies that the Turks send to some European powers. and those they receive in return The retinue of a minister varies according to his order. In that of an ambassador, there are olten several gentlemen and pages, secretaries, clerks, (sometimes a chancellor at their head) one or more interpreters, a numerous train of servants, in and out of livery, &c. NVith respect to his moveables, plate of all sorts and in abundance, and several coaches and sets of horses, seem necessary accompani ments. The retinue of ministers of the second and third order is much less : the envoys have rarely any gentle men, and seldom more than one secretary. The heavy expences attending embassies of the first order, and which must be defrayed either by the court who sends the ambassador, or by the ambassador himself, have much contribute d towards the disuse of perpetual embassies of the first order. Some courts, for different reasons, never send any at all of the first order.