SAIIA SOUTH AFRICAN DIPLOMATS ABROAD.pdf

On July 9th, 1884, weeks too late, Sir Hercules Robinson
cabled once again:
"Ministers request me to send message in the following
terms: Begins: 'As parliament will soon be prorogued
Ministers are anxiously awaiting information relative to
negotiations with German Empire on question of West Coast,
referred to in your telegram received on the 18thjune. Ministers
advise me that feeling in Colony strongly in favour of retention
of British authority over coastline from Orange River upwards,
and that the rumours that British jurisdiction over Walwich 1
Bay is to be abandoned has caused great uneasiness. Annexation
of Damaraland to German Empire is to be greatly
deprecated. Ends!"
The man of Blood and Iron allowed no one to take liberties
with him, as South Africa learnt too late.
We in this country learnt that even general elections, no
matter of what epoch-making local importance they may be,
play a very minor part in international affairs and realised the
need for men of suitable calibre to deal with external affairs.
Sir Hercules Robinson knew enough to gauge the position but
one is not so sure about all the members of the cabinet of that
time or about the civil service. It was the first occasion on which
we, as a very young country, were what the Americans call
"outsmarted" in international affairs. It is interesting to note
that the Americans are still very conscious that the quality of
some, though by no means all, of their diplomats places them
at a disadvantage, and this accounts for the acerbity and
isolationist tone of some of the debates in Congress. The
advantage of a country with a long diplomatic tradition in dealing
with a newcomer is recognised as a very re^l thing, for both
the mighty United States and a small country like South Africa.
We had a further experience of this in more recent times when
we discovered that a revised Mozambique Convention, negotiated
soon after the First World War, had somehow been turned
very much to our disadvantage and to the advantage of Portugal
by the skill of her more experienced delegates.
There is only one remedy—to continue to gather experience
and to obtain for our Foreign Service the best men South Africa
can offer.
Founding of the Department of External Affairs
THE first Colonial Conference (afterwards called the Imperial