DIPLOMATIC AGENTS. In the widest sense, all the officers to whom the intercourse of the Mate with foreign powers is committed. As thus employed. the expression would include the Foreign Minister, or Secretary of State for For eign Affairs, and, in the 'United States, the Senate in the exercise of its constitutional function of approving treaties with foreign States, as well as the regular and occasional representatives of the abroad. :More properly, how ever. it has reference only to the latter class of officials, who, under instructions from the home Government. carry on its intercourse with the powers to which they are accredited. Attention has been ealled in the article on Dini.oviAcy to the fact that for many centuries the diplomatic intercourse of States was carried on by oeca sic.nal embassies, appointed for a particular pur pose. and that it was not until the fifteenth cen tury. that permanent and continuous diplomatie relations were instituted by the establishment of resident embassies. Pry far the greater part of the international intercourse of the modern world is conducted through these regular diplo matie channels, though occasional are still employed for special occasions. principally of a ceremonial character, and the Foreign ()dice, or Deli:fitment of State, of one Government may, n occasion, communicate its views dinmtly, by eirculaivr otherwise, to the corresponding office of foreign States.
The transformation of diplomacy in the last century from the art of applying personal influ ence in the management of men, to the more prosaic and worthy art of managing the business of the State with foreign nations, has necessi tated a corresponding change in the organization and character of the diplomatic service. The personal qualities of shrewdness, a talent for intrigue, and smoothness of address, on which the old diplomacy was based, declined in im portance, and made way for the knowledge of international law, of history, of the laws and conditions of trade, of men and affairs, \Odell the new diplomacy required. Accordingly the management of diplomatic intercourse has in Europe generally- passed from the men of excep tional gifts or exceptional influenee, selected at random for the service, to a professional class of trained diplomatic servants. The comparative isolation of the United States hitherto, and the simplicity of her foreign relations, have delayed the adoption of this reform in her diplomatic service, but the new conditions resulting from the war with Spain and her recent extraordinary commercial expansion indicate that a similar change in the character and organization of her diplomatic service cannot be much longer de layed.
Formerly the term ambassador was applied to all accredited diplomatic agents, and it is some times still employed, interehangeably With ter, as a general term to describe such agents of whatever rank. But the title is now strictly appropriate' of only one, and that the highest class of diplomatic representatives. The process of classification began before the close of the seventeenth century. but did not receive inter national reen&mition until the beginning of the last century. In 1815 the eight principal powers represented at the Congress of Vienna agreed upon a gradation of diplomatic agents, who were thenceforth to rank. as follows: (1) Ambassa dors, legates and nuncios of the Pope: (2) en voys, ministers, and others accredited to the sovereign; (3) d'affaires accredited to the department of foreign affairs. At the Con gress of Aix-la-Chapelle a further distinction was made between ministers plenipotentiary, who were accorded the second place, and ministers resident, who became "an intermediate class be tween ministers of the second order and ehargIss d'affaires." As the rank of a foreign minister has nothing, whatever to do with his power or with the facilities afforded him for transacting diplomatic business, or with the immunities en joyed by him, but is a mere matter of precedenee and the ceremony of courts, the United States long refused to recognize the classification of the European powers and accredited all of its prin eipal diplomatic agents as ministers plenipo tentiary, i.e. ministers of full power and author ity. in 1893, however, the President was author ized by act of Congress to appoint ambassadors of full rank and of equal grade and dig city with those which should be accredited by foreign pow ers to this country. In accordance with this net the United state: is um: represented by ambas sadors at the courts of England, Germany, Italy. ..N.nstria-lInugary. and Ihissia, and the Republic of France. In addition to the regular diplomatic represtlitativ es above enumerated a state may also employ agents of an irregular and inferior sort who have a certain qualified diplomatic st.ons, as officers in of armed forces In foreign territory. command( rs of ships of war, seer, t sent on diplomatic errands, com missioners for special objects, lmarers of dk and/ under exceptional eiremustalleff, All of these enjoy some of the privileges and immunities which attach to the exercise of the dip', math. olli•e.