96 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

Office regularly of the state of affairs abroad, the feeling enter-
tained by foreign States toward this country, and any events
likely to influence our foreign policy. The Ambassador is
naturally expected to behave, in personal relations, in such a way
as to promote good feeling, and to refrain from taking sides in
the political controversies of the country to which he is sent.
In 18th century Europe, ruled by aristocracies which had much
in common, the chief qualification for this part of diplomacy was
polished manners and a good memory for rules of etiquette;
to-day, with Government in the hands of many different classes
and kinds of people, a deeper knowledge of the social forces at
work in each country is desirable.

2. Assisting British Subjects Abroad. This is sometimes
an Ambassador's work—for example, if British subjects are
arrested abroad on a serious charge, it is his business to see that
they are given a fair trial. But for lesser, or more private matters,
and particularly for advice about their property, British subjects
turn to the British Consul. The Consular Service, though in
close touch with the Foreign Office, is, strictly speaking, under
the control of the Overseas Trade Department. This Department,
controlled jointly by the Board of Trade and the Foreign Office,
is able, from the reports it receives through the Consular Service,
to supply business, men with a large number of publications
describing conditions abroad, the possibilities of trade and
investment, and the commercial laws of various countries. The
personnel of the Foreign and Consular Services are separately
recruited, nor do members of one pass into the other. This is
the more surprising in view of the close connection between the
feelings which States entertain towards each other, and the
opportunities for international trade. Unpaid debts, tariffs, and
other trade restrictions are certainly one cause of the uneasiness
in modern world politics.

3. Planning Foreign Policy. The Foreign Secretary has to
decide what general line of policy Britain will follow and what
attitude she will take on any critical question, such as the Spanish