Page:The Practice of Diplomacy - Callières - Whyte - 1919.djvu/150

 will enable him to bridge the apparent difference. The diplomatist's functions cease automatically on the death of his master or on the death of the prince to whom he is accredited, and are not revived until new letters of credence are received. They also come to an end on his withdrawal or upon a declaration of war, but it should be noted that the privileges attached to the office of ambassador under the law of nations continue unbroken, notwithstanding any declaration of war or other interpretation of his functions, and these privileges remain in force until he reaches his own national territory.

Diplomacy is a matter for orally conducted and written communications. The first is the common method where one is dealing with a royal court, the second is usual in republics and those states in which assemblies, such as the Diet of the Empire of Switzerland, are the repositories of power. It is always the custom where states are assembled in France to exchange statements of policy in writing. But it is always more adyantageous for the practised diplomatist to negotiate face to face, because by that means he can discover the true intentions of those with whom he is dealing. His own skill will then enable him both to act and to speak in an appropriate and apt fashion. Most men in handling public affairs pay more attention