AMBASSADOR. 



AMBROSIA* l.ll'.KAKV. 



Mtueutn : 1. On twelve Ul< (nun the temple of Apollo Kpicuriuii 

 (the Deliverer) on Mount Cotylion, near 1'higalia, in Amulia; and 

 2. On several (lab* forming part of the friece of the fainoun i-ml. 

 erected at Ualioanamu, in honour i>f King Mausolus, l>y his wife 

 Artemisia. Figure* of the Amazons occur a* wall painting* at 

 Pompeii 



(Kawhe, Lent. Rei tow. ; Muller, Ua*db. der Arch&al. & 865, 412, 

 417. ftc.) 



AMBASSADOR it the tenn mort commonly used by writers on 

 piiMir law to designate every kind of diplomatic minister or agent, and 

 ii this sense, be denned to be a person sent by one sovereign 

 jiower to another to treat upon affairs of state. 



Among the ordinary functions of an ambassador, the following are 

 the moat important : First, to conduct negotiations on behalf >: l> - 

 country. The extent of his authority in thin respect is limited by tli.- 

 l-.n.-r which he has received ; he has, however, by the modem law of 

 nations, no authority to conclude any engagement definitively, the 

 treaty which he has negociated having no binding power till it has been 

 formally ratified by his government. Secondly, to watch over the 

 accomplishment of all existing engagements; and, Thirdly, to take 

 care generally that nothing is done within the territories of the state, 

 nor any treaty entered into with other powers, by which the honour or 

 interests of his country can be affected, without informing his govern- 

 ment of such measures. 



Besides these more public functions, an ambassador has certain duties 

 to perform towards private individuals of his own nation : such as to 

 provide them with passports; to present them at court, if they 

 produce the requisite testimonials ; to protect them from violence and 

 injustice ; if any manifest wrong has been done, or if justice has been 

 refused them, to obtain redress, and to secure for them the full benefit 

 of the laws ; and, lastly, to assist them in maintaining their rights in 

 courts of justice, as well by certifying what is the law of his country 

 upon the point in dispute, as by the authentication of private docu- 

 ments, which is usually confined in practice to such as have been pre- 

 viously authenticated at the foreign-office of his own government, and 

 thence transmitted to him. 



The right which exists in every sovereign power, of communicating 

 by means of ambassadors, implies on the part of the state to which 

 such communications are made, certain corresponding duties. (Orotius, 

 ii. c. 18.) 



The first of these duties is that of receiving the ambassadors sent to 

 it. This is a duty, however, which exists only between nations ut 

 |>eace with each other ; for, in time of war, a hostile power cannot 

 claim to have its ambassadors received, unless they are provided with 

 a safe-conduct or passport ; and the granting of these is merely a 

 matter of discretion. And in order to claim the performance of this 

 ilutv, it is, in all cases, requisite that the ambassador should be pro- 

 vided with the proofs of his authority; these are contained in an 

 instrument called his Letters of Credence, or Credentials, delivered to 

 him by his own government, and addressed to that of the state to 

 which he is sent. [CREDENTIALS.] A refusal to receive an ambas- 

 sador properly accredited, if mode without sufficient cause, is considered 

 a gross insult to the power that he represents. But if one of several 

 competitors for the sovereign power in any country, or if a province 

 which has revolted and asserts its independence, claims to send an 

 ambassador, a government, so far from being bound to receive the 

 person so sent, cannot do so without thereby taking u[>on itself the 

 n -|ionnibility of recognising the competitor in the one case to be 

 actually the sovereign, and the revolted province in the other to be 

 actually independent. Though this may be the general principle, the 

 practice is somewat different. In such cases, consuls are generally first 

 sent ; and when a de facto power has been established for some time, 

 H'lMTiiments think themselves justified in following up these consuls 

 by ministers, even though the mother country, to which the revolted 

 stales belong, may not have recognised their independence. This was 

 done by the British government and others in the case of the South 

 American States. 



The next great duty of a state, with respect to ambassadors sent to 

 it, is to protect them from everything which may in any degree interfere 

 with the due performance of tlicir functions. This duty commences 

 even before the ambassador has delivered his credentials, as soon as his 

 appointment has been notified to the court. This is the principle on 

 which are founded what may bo called the essential privileges of an 

 ambassador. 



The first of these privileges is that of perfect security ; for as ho is 

 necessarily placed among those who have always the power, and, from 

 the nature of his duties, not unfrequently the will to molest him, it is 

 requisite that he should be in the fullest manner protected from 

 kiml of viol.-nce whatever, either to his person or his property. The 

 breach of this privilege has, from the earliest ages been considered a 

 high offence against the rights of nations, whether proceeding from the 

 sovereign power iUelf , or from the unauthorised acts of individuals. 



The second essential privilege of an ambassador is, that no legal 

 process can affect him, in his person or his property; at least so much 

 of hi* property a* is connected with his official character, such as his 

 furniture, equipages, Ac. Ambassadors are therefore deemed not to 

 be amenable for their conduct before any ciril tribunal of the country 

 they reside in. 



No claim can be enforced against an ambassador by any compulsory 

 process whatever. It is a matter of dispute how far an ambassador i> 

 privileged in matters in their nature minimi/. (Blaclut ' C'omm.' Mr. 

 Kerfs ed. vol. i. p. 247.) 



These privileges are not confined to the ambassador alone, but are 

 extended to all his suite his companions as they are wmetimes called, 

 including not only the persons employed by him in diplomatic 

 services, but his wife, cliaplain, household, ftc. The law of nat 

 this respect is fully recognised by the law of England. By the statute 

 of 7 Ann. c. 12, all legal process against the person or good* i .m 

 ambassador, or of his domestic, or domestic servants, is declared to be 

 void. (Blackat. ' (.'mum.' /ra.) 



The third essential privilege of an ambassador is, that his residence 

 enjoys a security similar to that of his person and property : it is not 

 only protected from open outrage, but is likewise exempted from being 

 searched or visited, whether by the police, by revenue officers, or under 

 colour of legal process of any description whatever. 



The salaries and pensions for diplomatic services are paid out of the 

 consolidated fund, and are regulated by 2 & 3 Win. IV. c. 116. 



For further information on the subject of ambassadors, the reader 

 may consult Wicquetort, ' De 1'Ambassadeur ; ' ' Lea Causes Calibres 

 du Droit dea Gens,' by C. De Martens ; and the writers on the law of 

 nations, particularly Vattel and G. F. Martens; and likewise the 

 ' Cours de Droit Public,' par Pinheirc-Ferreira, 



The functions of permanent ambassadors appear to have originated 

 in modern times. The ambassadors (vptf/itu) sent by the Greek states, 

 au'l those sent by the Romans (legati) or received by them, were 

 limited to extraordinary occasions. Among the Romans, ambassadors 

 were often sent by foreign nations to them, and sent by the Romans 

 to foreign states, and the law with respect to them (Jus Legation!* ; 

 I.ivy, vi. 17)became in course of time well settled. Ambassa-i 

 Rome were under the protection of the state, whether tlirj < :uin- from 

 a hostile or a friendly nation. They were received by the Roman 

 senate and transacted their business with th.it body. The senate 

 appointed the ambassadors who were sent from Rome to foreign states. 

 The expenses of such ambassadors were paid by the Roman stat 

 the ambassadors were also entitled to make certain demands from the 

 provincials in their progress through a Roman province. 



The word ' legatus ' is a participle from the verb ' lego,' and signifies 

 a person who is commissioned or empowered to do certain things. 



AMBER. A resinoid body, either exuded from certain plants of 

 the coal epoch or produced during the formation of coal ami lignite. 

 It is found most abundantly on the shores of the llaku , win-re it is 

 often washed upon the beach during the autumnal storms. It has also, 

 though rarely, been found on the Scandinavian coast, in" Qrevnl.in<l, 

 England, Italy, Spain, Sicily, Siberia, China, and the United States. 

 Its colour varies from light yellow to brownish yellow, orange-red, ami 

 I in iwnish black. It is generally translucent, but sometimes milk-white 

 and opaque, hasa resinous conchoidal fracture, and hears a good polish, 

 hence its employment in jewellery. When rubbed it becomes strongly 

 electric. Heated to 650 it fuses, gives off an agreeable at 

 odour, and burns with a clear flame. Its specific gravity i. l-mi.'i t,. 

 1'070. It is inodorous and tasteless, entirely insoluble in water, but 

 soluble in spirit of turpentine by the aid of heat. 



Amber contains a volatile oil (oil of amber), succinic acid, and two resins 

 soluble in alcohol and ether ; its chief o uistitueiit, however, is a peculiar 

 substance amber Itilumen, insoluble in alcohol and ether. Amlx-r, when 

 freed from everything soluble in ether, has the same composition a* 

 laurel camphor, which may be expressed by the formula C M H ,,0,. 



A M IIERORISE. An organic substance of uncertain origin, said to 

 be a diseased secretion of the Spermaceti Whale, and to be found 

 floating on the sea near the coast* of Madagascar, Coromaudel, Japan, 

 and the Moluccas ; it is of a greyish colour with darker streaks running 

 through it. In the hand it softens like wax, and exhales an agreeable 

 odour. Its specific gravity is about 0'91. It contains a volatile oil, 

 and benzole acid, but its chief constituent is Ambrein, of wliieli it 

 contains about 85 per cent. 



AMBREIC ACID. [AinwEra.] 



AMBREIN (C M H M O). A fatty body analogous to cholesterin found 

 in ambergris. From boiling alcohol it crystallises in fine colourless 

 needles, tasteless, but possessing an agreeable odour. Ambrein fuses 

 between 86 and 104, or may be distilled without alteration. It i- 

 vcry soluble in ether, and in fixed and volatile oils, but is not Ka]>ni- 

 Gable. Nitric acid converts it into ambreic acid. 



AMBROSIAN LIBRARY at Milan. The Ambrosian Library owes 

 its existence to the munificence of Cardinal Frederick Borromeo, arch- 

 bishop of Milan. He laid the foundation of it in 1602, and H 

 opened to the public in 1609. Its name was given in memory of St. 

 Ambrose, archbishop and patron-saint of Milan. Frederick Borromeo 

 not only placed his own collection of books in this library, but sent 

 his librarian, Anthony Oggiati, into different countries to purchase 

 additions. Montfaucon assures us that numerous manuscript.* W<TI> 

 obtained for it from Thessaly, Chios, Corcyra, and Magna Gnccia : the 

 founder added to these some very valuable accessions from the monas- 

 tery of Bobbio (anciently Bobium), in the northernmost Apennines, 

 together with a considerable assemblage of manuscript* from the I'm, Hi 

 collection ; the Utter cost no less than three thousand four hundred 

 ducats. It was the founder's original intention to join to the endowment 



