§ Mr. PENNEFATHERasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will enumerate all the ordinary and nominal duties of British Consuls, Vice-Consuls, paid and unpaid, Consular agents, and Consular inspectors at ports and at inland places; and will he define the duties of Consuls-General and also of commercial attaches as far as the Consular service is concerned?
§ Lord R. CECILIt is not possible within the limits of a reply to a Parliamentary question to detail in full the multifarious duties and services performed by a Consular office, but I am prepared to furnish to the hon. Member a printed Memorandum in which those duties are shortly summarised. Should the hon. Member require further information, I would suggest that he consult the "General Consular Instructions," a copy of which will be found in the Library of this House. Much valuable information on the organisation of the Consular Service will also be found in the "Fifth Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service," issued in the year 1914 (C.B. 7,748). With regard to the latter portion of the question, I would say that the duties of a Consul-General are similar to those of any other Consular officer. Consuls-General are stationed at the more important posts. 1443W The duties of the commercial attaché differ from those of a Consular officer in that they are exclusively concerned with the furtherance of British trade.
§ Mr. PENNEFATHERasked what variations exist between the conditions and objects of the general Consular service and the Eastern services?
§ Lord R. CECILIt is quite impossible to give the information asked for within the limits of a reply to a Parliamentary question. The methods of recruitment for the Near Eastern and Far Eastern Services differ from those for the general service in many respects. I am prepared to communicate printed Papers to the hon. Member setting forth the existing conditions of entry in each service. It is probable, however, that changes in these Regulations may be introduced after the War. The conditions of pay and pension differ for the various branches of the service, and for details I would refer the hon. Member to the Estimates laid before the House and to the Pension Acts. The objects of all the different branches of the service are the same, namely, the furtherance of British trade and the protection of British interests generally and of individuals in particular.