ABSTRACT
In spite of constitutional developments and the growth of democratic institutions, in spite of the immense change effected in human affairs by the electric telegraph and railway travelling, the method of administration in foreign affairs has remained unaltered. Intercourse between nations is carried on between the accredited representatives and the Foreign Minister in each capital. The British Foreign Minister was in communication with the— German Ambassador. Mutatis mutandis, each other Foreign Minister also was in communication with the representatives of some most directly interested Powers, and in each case there is a double line of communication, and the two reports received by each Government do not always tally. The exclusive and surreptitious character of intercourse with foreign nations, due to the unrestricted powers of the Foreign Secretary is further accentuated by the aristocratic and unrepresentative nature of the instrument through which he works, and the medium through which all communications reach him.
