1749. CONSULS, Native Citizens for.—[continued].
The office of vice-consul
may be given to the best subject in the port,
whether citizen or alien; and that of consul
be kept open for any native citizen of superior
qualifications, who might come afterwards to
establish himself in the port. The functions of
the vice-consul would become dormant during
the presence of his principal, come into activity
again on his departure, and thus spare
us and them the painful operation of revoking
and reviving their commissions perpetually.
Add to this that during the presence
of the consul, the vice-consul would not be
merely useless, but would be a valuable counsellor
to his principal, new in the office, the
language, laws and customs of the country.
Every consul and vice-consul should be restrained
in his jurisdiction to the port for
which he is named, and the territory nearer to
that than to any other consular or vice-consular
port, and no idea be permitted to arise
that the grade of consul gives a right to any
authority whatever over a vice-consul, or
draws on any dependence.—
To John Jay. Washington ed. ii, 496.
(P.
1788)
