Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/400

* CONSUL. 340 CONSUL. tlie Republic, one consul was generally com- mander-in-chief in the lield, while the other re- mained to administer utiairs at Rome; but often both were forced to lead the armies in battle. They presided at meetings of the Senate, at elec- tions, and at tlie chief public festivals. As a mark of their high ollice they wore a white toga with a ])nrple band {toya prwtexta), sat in public in the •curule cluiir' {sella curulis), and were accompanied by twelve attendants (lictois) bear- ing the fdsccfi, or axe bound within a bundle of rods. The consuls were elected at the Comitia Cen- turiiila (see Comitia). In the earlier period the date of the election and of the entering upon office was irrcgiilar and dependent on cirevim- stances; but if convenient the election took place generally in July, and after B.C. 153 the consul- ship began regularly on Januarj' 1. At first only patricians were eligible to the otfice. and a con- sul could not be reelected. After a long struggle of the plebeians for recognition, it was estab- lished by the Leges Liciniw Scxtiw (see Licinian RoGATio>s ), in B.C. 367, that one of the consuls must be a plebeian. In 342 both consulships were opened to the plebs bj' a popular vote, and it was ordained that ten years must elapse be- fore a consul could be eligible for reelection; liowever, it was not until 215 that two plebeian consuls were elected together, and one of these ^•as quickly ousted. Not until B.C. 162 did the plebeians succeed in obtaining two effective con- suls. With the organization of the Empire by Au- gustus, the consulship ceased to be of real im- portance. In the division of functions between the Emperor and the senatorial body the consuls remained the head of the latter: but their nomi- nation became a prerogative of the Emperor, and their election a farce. They still gave their names to the year, and the position was simply one of honor, so that we very often find several consuls named in succession in one year, the eponymous consuls holding office only for four, or even two, months, and then being replaced by others. The original pair were called con- sules ordinaril. their substitutes coiisules siif- fecti. Under the later Empire nothing but the name and honor of the consulship remained. The Emperor Honorius was made consul in the very year of his birth! Official dating bj^ the name of the consuls came to an end in a.d. 537. Consult: Jlonnnsen, Jioniische Staatsrecht, ii. f Leipzig. 1887-88) ; Daremberg et Saglio, Die- tionnaire (les nntiqiiitcs romaiiies, vol. i. (Paris, 1892) ; Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encpclopadie der classischen Alteriumswissenschaft, vol. iv. (Stutt- gfirt, 1830). CONSUL, Mercantile. An agent appointed by one nation to reside within the territory of another for the special purpose of promoting commercial intercourse between them. The earli- est prototype of this official is the ancient Greek ■proxeniis, whose functions were to repi'esent his country, and to protect its citizens while trading at the place of his residence. Modern Greek ap- plies this term to the consul of to-day. That •consul' has superseded 'proxenus' as the title of the international agent of commerce is due to the supremacy of Italian commerce in the Middle Ages. During that period Italian traders in a foreign country were accustomed to have their disputes settled by magistrates of their own upon «liom they conferred the proud title of 'Consul.' In 1485 Hiehard III. appointed the first consul for English merchants (Lorenzo Strozzi, at Pisa), being moved thereto, it is said, "by observ- ing from the practice of other nations the advan- tage of having a magistrate for settling di.sputes among merchants trading in another country." This judicial function of the early consul is maintained at present only in Oriental and Afri- can countries. In other lands his primary duties are those of an international commercial agent. The exact nature of his activities and the man- ner in which he is to perform them are deter- milied mainly by the regulations of the Govern- ment appointing him. The consular service of the United States em- braces one consular agent and consul-general (located at Cairo, and enjoying a quasi-diplo- matic position), consuls-general, vice-consuls- general, deputy consuls-general, consuls, vice- consuls, deputy consuls, consular agents, com- mercial agents, consular clex'ks. and office clerks, numbering, in 1902, over 1000 persons. Their salaries and fees amount to about two million dollars annually. Jlost of the fees (which aggre- gate nearly a million) are covered into the L'nited ' States Treasury, but many consuls are paid for their services wholly or in part by fees. It is said that the American consuls-general at London and at Paris receive about $20,000 each, although the salary is but $5000. The number of consul- ates-general (.Tuly 17, 1002) is 44, of consulates 256, and of commercial agencies 25. As a rule, the incumbents of these offices are not allowed to transact business in or with the countries to which they are accredited, but a few of the con- suls and commercial agents are exempted from this rule, becau.se of their limited official income. Commercial agents are peculiar to the service of the United States and are not recognized by other countries as entitled to the rank or privi- leges of consuls. They are appointed by the President without confirmation by the Senate, and enter upon their duties without an exequatur from the Government in whose territory they reside. All other consuls are appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. They qualify by taking a prescribed oath of office, and by executing a bond to the United States for the faithful discharge of their dvities and for accounting for, paying over, and delivering up all fees, money, goods, elTects, books, records, papers, and other property com- ing to their hands, L^pon filing the oath of office and the bond a commission issues, and a re- quest is made by the State Department to the Government within whose jurisdiction the office is situated for an exequatur, upon the receipt of which the consular officer is entitled to perform his functions and enjoy the privileges of his sta- tion. The exact extent of these privileges de- pends upon the conventions or treaties existing between the United States and the countries to which they are accredited. In the absence of any convention, a consul, after receiving his exequa- tur, while not entitled to the exemptions of a diplomatic agent (see Diplomatic Agents; Alien ), is a recognized officer of a foreign State, under the special protection of international law: be may raise the flag and place the arms of the United States over his gates and doors: .nnd his official papers and archives are exempt from seizure and destruction. While these duties