Lord Ampthill's place as Ambassador in Berlin has been filled
by the appointment of Sir E. Malet, now Minister at the Belgian Court. Sir E. Malet has done good service as Consul-General in Egypt, and is trusted by the Foreign Office ; but the main reason of his appointment is said to be that he is acceptable to Prince Bismarck, whose acquaintance he made during the siege of Paris. That is a sound reason, as is also the general liking which Sir Edward in very difficult posts has contrived to inspire ; but, after all, the main justification of an unusual appointment is that the Government have made it. They have every reason to select the fittest man, and Sir Edward Malet seems to them fittest. We cannot imagine a form of Government under which the public would be able to weigh the qualifications of Ambassadors—unless, indeed, some one candidate had achieved some striking public success—or under which a Government could be held responsible for its foreign policy, yet be hampered in its choice of diplomatic agents. How is the public to know that a clever diplomatist has an intolerable temper, like Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, or M. Challemel-Lacour ; or that a learned and successful one is an unacceptable bore ? The chiefs must choose, and take the consequences if they err. .
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