UNCLE SAM ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 157, 5 July 1926, Page 4

UNCLE SAM ABROAD.

HIS CONSULAR SERVICE. ! I \AKIEP AND IMPORTANT DUTIES. I "Hows-.fr. I have Lii a ne-a experience ;n Auckland .-a: is of giving u.vay in rnp.rriage an American r:ri who camu out to marry a citizen of New Zealand. *' T!j:s was one :•: the incidents n-lated by Mr, \V. F. Boyle, speaking to his fellow Rotarian* 10-daj un the American Consular Service. He was illustrating The diversity of a consul's duties and. apropos of tho privileges, he mentioned •hat it is ont of *:;c duties o; an American consui to officially visit naval ves?r'ls calling (•.: hi.* consular" port and t> , 'votive ii;p iii-t'inwrv -n 1 ■ i *• ■ : *even

g-11115. j l'rinr :. '.'.'"6. -a.: >h. Buy le. _ppointmi-ms to the American Consular Service were political. When the Americans voted a new party to power, practically every officer in tiie Consular I Service «as changed to the end of pro- ' viding position- for persons whose i politic.i! service was reputed to have been ! oi material service in placing the sarceeding political party in control oi the l_overnment. However, in 10ot>. President Roosevelt, with the assistant- ■•; one of America"? greatest Secretaries ■<: Mate, Mr. Kliiiu Boot, set about to place the service on a different basis, declaring that henceforth it would oe tne policy of the Government to make of it a career for the officers attached thereto. that henceforth men would 'illy be appointed as a result of competitive examinations and that removals would only be for some dehnite cause. At the same time the system of basing consular salaries on the percentage '.-;' fees collected was abolished and fixed -aiaries nere arranged. Since that time further developments bad taken place, particularly that relating to the grading of the service. At the present time, counsellors and secretaries of the diplomatic service, and all consul-generals, and what they '..new as "vice-consuls of career were all subject to the same classification.. In his own case, he drew his salary no: as Consul at Auckland, but as a Foreign Service officer of class 5, so that by a simple instruction of his Government and a proper commission to the Government interested, he could be shitted to t.ie Diplomatic Service to-morrow.

In addition to those referred to there -was another class of officials known as honorary vice-consuls, who had no salaried connection with the service, bu* who held a commission which authorised him to take charge of the office during the absence of the principal officer. For actual service he was paid. This was the case in Auckland where Mr. Leonard A. Bachelder held the position, lie had heen American Consul at Zanii.ar sump 40 years ago. Afterwards -ie was commissioned as Vice-Consul at Aden. On his coming to New Zealand 25 years a_o. lie received a similar commission, which he had held since that date, and which he. the speaker, trusted he would fill for many years to come.

Consular Agents. In the American consular service, tbe only officials or employees receiving their compensation on a basis of fees were those known as consular agents. These wore, as a rule, local business men, -who were authorised to perform for fees a limited number of routine functions. Where available Americans were appointed. However, in Christ-church and Dunedin. there were consular agencies, both being under the jurisdiction of the American Consul-General at Wellington, and both were in charge of gentlemen who were British subjects. At posts at which he had previously served, the dean of the Consular Corps had often been, according to local agreement, the officer holding the oldest commission for that city, without regard to whether he was a career officer salaried by his Government, or merely held what might be termed an honorary commission. Howerer, in Auckland the basis ■was much better. The local cons-uls had organised themselves into a corps, having an elected head, and the deanship was at the present tim, in the competent hands of his consular colleague. Monsieur Paul Serre, the Consul for

France. Coming to tie duties of an American consul, the speaker mentioned that any American ship entering Auckland harbour must deposit its papers with the consul, whose business it was to see that the ship had discharged all its obligations, particularly the wages due to the crew, before returning them to the captain. Theoretically, the value of a. ship was always sufficient to enable it to discharge its obligations, but he was now holding the papers of a shrp which, from present indications, might never leave the port of Auckland. This was a new experience to him in the service, but in this respect Auckland had proven to him a very difficult place, for never a day passed but someone brought into his office some new and difficult problem that lie had never handled before.

A feature of the American consular service was that its officers were called upon to certify invoices of all outward shipments to the United States, and also that certain protective measures had been carried out. For instance, certain food stuffs, hides, skins, pelts, hair, etc., must be subjected to a thorough disinfection before entering the United States, and to the consular office was allocated the duty of supervising this disinfection. However, in some countries such as New Zealand, certificates from local Government officials were accepted in regard to meat inspection. Another function of their consular work that had grown up with the advent of their restrictive immigration laws, was that of acting in an advisory capacity to the American immigration officers. The commercial and economic branch had been a feature of American consular work since IDOR, and under this system various branches of the American Government, often on behalf of American trade interests, requested reports from consular officers relative to markets for certain products in foreign countries, and in the same way American merchants were constantly writing abroad for information relative to market conditions for their particular products. Occasionally the office was utilised to bring about "an understanding in regard to some trade dispute that had occurred between an American and a foreign merchant.