AMBASSADOR in WASHINGTON

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 308, 28 December 1940, Page 2 (Supplement)

AMBASSADOR in WASHINGTON

By Cyrano

THE death of Lord Lothian redirects attention to the importance of the post of British Ambassador in Washington and the peculiar conditions that surround it. Diplomatically, in the strict sense of the word, the post has always been very important, but probably the corps of English professional diplomatists have considered, at any rate until recent years, that Paris was the height of their ambition. That post has nearly always gone to a professional. Washington differs from every other capital in this, that while the ambassador is among foreigners, those foreigners speak his language, are to a large extent racially akin to his countrymen, and share their traditions of politics, law and general culture. He may be said to be among relations. It follows that, unlike a representative appointed to a European capital, he is ambassador not only to a government, but to a people. life in the Capital This may make life much easier and more pleasant in some directions. The ambassador and his staff have no language difficulty. They can mix with the American official world and American society just as easily as they could do business and enjoy themselves in England, and through American newspapers and books they can get a clear view of the American scene. Moreover Washington, though its summer heat can be trying, is a very agreeable place to live in. In the early days there was a good deal of grumbling among foreign representatives, and no doubt among civil servants, at having to live in a "made," out-of-the-way,' only partly developed capital, a place described as little better than a large village, just as there are similar complaints to-day about Canberra, which was set up on the Washington model. But Washington was planned wisely, and to-day is one of the most beautiful capitals in the world—"a most important and charming backwater, a city with only three industries, politics, diplomacy and society." Keeping the Peace The difficulties of the post are partly those that arise from living among relations. Much is expected of you and much known about you. The very ease of contact makes pitfalls. The temptations to express yourself with more zeal than discretion are many, and there is an ever-watchful Press." The British Ambassador is naturally expected to be more of a public figure than his colleagues, and many people are ready and even eager to catch him out. Some 50 years ago ' the Ambassador was

trapped into expressing an opinion about the Presidential election and had to be recalled. But while the war created special difficulties for Lord Lothian, I should say that in certain•• respects his task was much easier than that of some, of his predecessors. Before the war there was an improvement in the general attitude of the American people towards Britain; for one. thing, the setting up of the Irish Free State had a marked effect. In this war, especially since the collapse of France, sympathy with Britain has been wider and deeper than in the. last. In earlier days ambassadors had to take into account certain forces more formidable then than now; feelings engendered by the War of Independence and the war of 1812, England's record in Ireland and objections to British Imperialism elsewhere. As Owen Winter shows in "A Straight Deal," generations of Americans were taught from biassed history books (I'm not suggesting that we haven't such books), and American politicians were all too ready to exploit this ignorance and prejudice. We may be very, thankful that so often there was coolness and wisdom on one side or the other, or both, in London and Washington. The last public act of the Prince Consort was to tone down a despatch to Washington which he considered meant war. At the other end our ambassador, Lord Lyons, was a model of firmness and understanding. "My mind is almost unremittingly employed in divising means to maintain the "peace," he wrote to his chief in 1861, but he was not at all confident of success. A Great Ambassador Fortunately the situation was never ~ P, a< * ,n latcr y ears *s it was in the Civil War and we must give credit to our representatives in Washington for a share in bringing about this improvement. The most successful of these was the famous James Bryce, historian of the Holy Roman Empire and author of the leading book on the American Constitution. His appointment to Washington in 1907 was an inspiration. His study of the Constitution was in use as a text book throughout the cou:itrv His encyclopaedic knowledge, his keen interest in so many things and his willingness to talk about them appealed lo a people who have a genuine love of being instructed. Bryce became an American institution. Whenever he attended the Old Presbyterian Church in Washington he was shown as a matter of course into Abraham Lincoln's pew. Bryce gave-up the post in 1913. The following year he was appointed chairman of the commission set up to inquire into Germany'ss breaches of the laws of war, especially in Belgium, and millions of Americans

must have been led to accept its horrifying findings because of his eonnectioa with the investigation. Bryce's ■» years at Washington must have bees of incalculable value to Britain. Importance of Temperament It was not always thus. Sir Mortimer Durand had a distinguished career nt the East and a Viceroy of India described him as "about the ablest civil servant we have and certainlv the loftiest minded man I have met m India," but he was not a success i» Washington, and we may find 1 the explanation in the Viceroy's further

judgment that he had "a tremendous sense of the obligations and of the dignity which should attach to an Encash gentleman." The President, Theodore Roosevelt, found Durand too stiff to work with, and said so, and he wag recalled. The incident shows that both Governments consider it most important that the British Ambassador should have the right temperament. A stood mixer is what is needed. It was said of Lord Lothian bv a London journal: "For one thing he "is a Christian Scientist, and the whole of the American continent is consciouslyor subconsciously influenced by that faith. Another point is that he is an idealist, and all Americans arp idealists." Finally the very heavy strain of such positions should be noted. Durin* one year of the Civil War the British Legation handled nearly fifteen thousand dispatches and letters and Lord Lyons broke down under the burden. The last war killed Walter Pa«e the American Ambassador in London? It is" pretty certain that Lord Lothian's lea th was caused or hastened by overwork. Such men die for their country is surely as the soldier on the battlefield. \'.'-'<"'"• :V 1 h''-. ~"