We most sincerely hope that Baron liarscliall's appoint- ment may
lead to a better understanding between his countryman and ours. That being so, and if any one so humble as a journalist may aspire to advise an Ambassador may we he permitted a word of counsel ? We trust that he may recognize that a diplomatic agent is accredited to the sovereign power in the State, that is, to the Government, and not to the Press or the -general public. What he should aspire to create is a sense of real confidence in the minds of the Foreign Office and of the Cabinet, and therefore the less he has to do with the newspapers or other outside elements the better. An Ambassador who attempts to foster good feeling in the Press or to create and stimulate a party favourable to his nation is, we are convinced, doomed to failure. The attempt to appeal over the head of the Foreign Minister to the nation, however well-intentioned, is sure to be resented. Gondomar's example is a warning. He never really succeeded in making his Spanish masts,* popular. In truth, the less a foreign diplomat is known to the general public the better. The very interesting account. of Baron Marschall published in Friday's Time dwells upon his affability to the Press at the Hague Conference. Possibly that quality may have been useful in a member of an in- ternational Parliament, but we are certain that it can only be a snare and a delusion foriall Ambassador.
