Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/401

* CONSUL. 341 CONSULATE. of consular officers pertain chiefly to commercial transactions, they are not limited to them. These officers "stand as protectors and advisers of their countrymen present in foreign lands; they act as judges, notaries, administrators of interests and of all projjcrty of such as have no legal rep- resentative; they have to prevent frauds on the revenue; to notice infractions of treaty stipula- tions relating to trade; to advise their Govern- ment of new laws or regulations within their dis- trict; to preserve the discipline of the commer- cial marine; to guard seameu from oppression; to aid the destitute; and to make reports upon matters alTecting commercial, industrial, finan- eial, and agricultural jjursuits." Some of the specitic duties of consuls included under these general duties are; in connection with their control of the shipping of their coun- try, the arbitration of dis])utes between master and crew, the relief of destitute seamen, the care of property of their countrymen in case of ship- wreck, etc., the issuing of passports, the authen- tication of documents, and the certification of marriages, births, and deaths. The consuls of the United States are expressly prohibited from performing the marriage ceremony; but the statutes provide that when a marriage is duly solemnized in accordance with the law of the country in which the consul resides, the consul shall, upon proper application, issue a certificate of such solemnization, provided such persons would have been authorized to marry if residing in the District of Columl)ia, and the consul must forward a duplicate to the Department of State at Washington. Such a marriage is valid in the District of Columbia and in the Territories of the United States; but how far it is valid in the Tarious States of the Union has not Ijeen judi- cially determined. Ministers and consuls of the United States in China, Siam, and JIadagasear have the judicial ])owers which are bestowed upon them by Chap- ter XLVII. of the Revised Statutes, including jurisdiction in minor criminal cases and in civil •cases involving sums of .*.500 or less. The per- sonnel of the consular courts is specially deter- mined, varying with the country and the subject matter under dispute: thus, in ca])ital cases it is provided that the consul must sit with four of his countrjnnen as his associates, and that their verdict must be apjiroved by the ^linister before conviction can be had; and in some countries provision is made for a consular mixed court consisting of natives of the country and of the United States. Consuls have the judicial powers above referred to also in Turkey so far as relates to crimes and ofi'enses of the citizens of the United States, and in civil cases where such powers are permitted by the laws of Turkey or its treaties with civilized nations or by its usages with the Franks or foreign Christian nations; and in Persia, as to suits and disputes between citizens of the United States. Special provisions exist granting special powers to the consuls of the T'nited States in the Barliarv States, JIuscat. Samoa, and in some other places where treaty has provided for them. In China, ^Madagascar, Siam, Turkey, and other non-Christian countries the property of deceased persons, both real and personal, is administered under the probate juris- diction of the consular courts of those countries. (The judicial powers of the United States Consul in Japan were terminated on July 17, 1899, by the treaty with .Japan which took elTecl upon that date.) I'rovision is made for an appeal from the consular courts under certain conditions to the Minister, and to the circuit courts of the United Stales. N'ariims attempts have been made during re- cent years to reorganize the consular service of the United States, but without success, and its consular system has remaineLl practically iniehanged since 1792. In 1895, and again in 1900, liills were introduced in Congress to provide a system by which persons shall be trained to the duties of the consular service, so that they shall be able to ])erforiii them in the best ])ossible way at a reasonable exjiense to the Government, Fitness for the particular place, jiermanency of tenure, and promotion for effi- ciency were the principles upon which the new system was to be based. While Congressional action has not been secured, a step in the direc- tion indicated by these bills was taken by Presi- dent Cleveland in 189.5, when he issued an execu- tive order providing for an examination, by a board of three persons to be designated by the Secretary of State, of applicants for certain places in the consular service. Consult: Warden, On the Origin, Is a hire. Progress, and Influence of Consular Establish- ments (Paris, 1813); Tarring, liritish Consular Jurisdiction in the I'last (London, 1887); the Consular Regulations of lSO(i (United States Public Document, Washington, D. C.) ; House Report J'o. oG2, Fifty-sixth Congress, First Ses- sion; Henato Report No. 1202, Fifty-sixth Con- gress, F'irst fiession. CONSULATE (Fr. consulat). The fonn of government in France from 1799 to 1804. After the sudden overthrow of the Directory on the IStli Brumaire (November 9, 1799), the members of the Council of Ancients and the Five Hun- dred, or rather such of them as approved of that act of violence on the part of Bonaparte, ap- pointed three Consuls — Sieyfes, Bonaparte, and ftoger Ducos. Sie.'iE's and Ducos were quietly got rid of by pensions and Cambacor&s and Le- brun took their places. This approach to a nionareliica! government was conlirmed Decem- ber 24, 1799, by the Constitution of the Year VIII., by which Bonaparte was made First Con- sul. The Consuls were elected by the Senate for ten years, and were eligible for reelection. There was a Conservative Senate (scnat conservateur) of some sixty members appointed for life, a Tri- bunate of 100 members, and a Legislative Assem- bly of 300,' but their powers were ve:-y limited, wliile those of the ]''irst Consul were made al- most absolute. He promulgated laws and ap- pointed or dismissed ministers, ambassadors, members of the Council of State, military and naval officers, and all civil and criminal judges, excepting justices of peace and members of the Court of Cassation. Bonaparte at once took up bis residence at the Tiiileries, and held a splen- did Court. In May, 1802, he was reelected for ten years, and in August of the same year was made First Consul for life. Xothing but the imperial name and insignia were wanting to complete the picture of absolutism, and these were supplied May 18, 1804, when Napoleon was made Emperor. Consult: Hcdice. Les constitu- tions de la France (Paris, 1S7.')-S0) ; Thiers, Histoire du consulat el de I'empire (Paris, 1845- (!2) ; and the various lives of Napoleon, the me-