The Foreign Office has selected Sir. Mortimer Durand, now Ambassador
at,Xadrid, as the new Ambassador at Washini- ton. ' The appointment• is an unusual 'one,' Sir Mortimer's experience having been principally in the East, and he himself
having been for years an Indian civilian. There is, however, no ground for objecting to it, as the new Ambassador has discharged delicate missions at Kabul, Teheran, and Madrid, and is well known for his warm feeling towards America and all things American. He will be well received at Washington, the report of his unfriendliness to the Union during the Spanish War being palpably absurd. We wish we could feel that Sir Mortimer Durand in going to Washington was about to receive a salary from the nation commensurate with the importance of the post he is to fill. Washington is now the most important station in the British diplomatic service, and should be the best paid, even if it were not a singularly expensive post. Yet strangely enough, our Ambas- sador in a capital where the cost of living and service is so immensely high is only paid £6,500 a year, while the pay in Paris is £9,000, and in Constantinople, Berlin, and Vienna £8,000. In Washington the pay should be £10,000.
