64-560: William Tufnell Le Queux ( / l ə ˈ k j uː / lə- KEW , French: [ləkø] ; 2 July 1864 – 13 October 1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat ( honorary consul for San Marino ), a traveller (in Europe, the Balkans and North Africa), a flying buff who officiated at the first British air meeting at Doncaster in 1909, and a wireless pioneer who broadcast music from his own station long before radio
128-636: A baronetcy on 12 July 1916, whereupon he took the title Sir Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet of St Dunstan's , London. He received the GBE in 1917. Pearson was a close friend of the pioneer of the Scouting movement Baden-Powell , and supportive of his efforts in setting up the movement and publishing its magazine The Scout . When Pearson's scheme for publishing in Braille was faltering due to lack of funds, on 2 May 1914 Baden-Powell publicly requested that "all Scouts perform
192-696: A 'good turn' for The Scout magazine publisher Mr C. Arthur Pearson, in order to raise money for his scheme of publishing literature in Braille for the blind." In 1919, Pearson wrote the book Victory Over Blindness: How it Was Won by the Men of St Dunstan's . He founded the Greater London Fund for the Blind in 1921, funded by the establishment of its annual 'Geranium Day' appeal. Pearson died on 9 December 1921 when he drowned in his bath after knocking himself unconscious in
256-635: A 1908 operation, Pearson was progressively forced from 1910 onwards to relinquish his newspaper interests; the Daily Express eventually passed, in November 1916, under the control of the Canadian–British tycoon Sir Max Aitken, later Lord Beaverbrook . Through the British and Foreign Blind Association , Pearson published his Pearson's Easy Dictionary in Braille form in 1912. Later completely blind , Pearson
320-403: A cooperative relationship with Pearson's old employer, George Newnes Ltd , and as Pearson gradually gave up his publishing duties to due to his blindness, by 1914, Pearson had essentially become an imprint of Newnes. With Pearson's death, this arrangement was formalized, and in 1929, Newnes purchased all outstanding shares of Pearson's company. Decades after the founder's death, into the 1960s,
384-644: A fall. He was buried in Hampstead Cemetery after a service to which the Cabinet, the British and Norwegian royal families, and many institutes for the blind all sent official representatives. Two of his pallbearers were blind. He was survived by his wife, son and three daughters. In 1922, a biography, The Life of Sir Arthur Pearson , was written by Sidney Dark and published by Hodder & Stoughton . Pearson's publishing company, C. Arthur Pearson Ltd. , had had
448-668: A friend, a certain Baroness Nernberg, who is one of the leaders of Society in the Swedish capital. This letter explained that my visitor was a well-known civil engineer in Sweden, that he was highly trustworthy, and that he had a very curious disclosure to make to me. We sat down, and certainly what he told me caused my eyes to bulge. Briefly, it was that a friend of his, a certain Professor Afzelius (sic), at Abó University, had discovered in
512-481: A home country within another country belongs to the single ambassador. Another definition is the leader of the consular section of an embassy. This consul general is a diplomat and a member of the ambassador's country team. Consuls of various ranks may have specific legal authority for certain activities, such as notarizing documents. As such, diplomatic personnel with other responsibilities may receive consular letters patent (commissions). Aside from those outlined in
576-711: A merchant guild to control trade with Latin America . As such, it had branches in the principal cities of the Spanish colonies. The connection of "consul" with trade and commercial law is retained in French. In Francophone countries, a juge consulaire (consular judge) is a non-professional judge elected by the chamber of commerce to settle commercial disputes in the first instance (in France, sitting in panels of three; in Belgium, in conjunction with
640-550: A minor power may accredit a single ambassador with several neighbouring states of modest relative importance that are not considered important allies). Consuls are posted in a nation's capital, and in other cities throughout that country, especially centres of economic activity and cities with large populations of expatriates . In the United States for example, most countries have a consulate-general in New York City (the home of
704-453: A professional magistrate). In the social life of 19th-century Lübeck as depicted in Thomas Mann 's novel Buddenbrooks – based on Mann's thorough personal knowledge of his own birthplace – an appointment as the consul of a foreign country was a source of considerable social prestige among the city's merchant elite. As depicted in the book, the position of a consul for a particular country
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#1733106267419768-453: A small fortune for Le Queux, eventually being translated into twenty-seven languages and selling over one million copies in book form. The idea for the novel is alleged to have originated from Field Marshal Earl Roberts , who regularly lectured English schoolboys on the need to prepare for war. He was a member of Legion of Frontiersmen . Le Queux was reportedly less than happy about an abridged German translation (with an altered ending) appeared
832-548: A writer, and wrote a number of tourist guides to locations in Britain and Europe. Under the pseudonym of "Professor P. R. S. Foli", he wrote Handwriting as an Index to Character in 1902, as well as works on fortune-telling and dream interpretation . Pearson was a strong supporter of Joseph Chamberlain 's tariff-reform movement, and organised the Tariff Reform League in 1903, becoming its first chairman. In 1904 he purchased
896-470: Is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consul is generally part of a government's diplomatic corps or foreign service , and thus enjoys certain privileges and protections in the host state, albeit without full diplomatic immunity . Unlike an ambassador , who serves as
960-418: Is an official who heads a consulate general and is a consul of the highest rank serving at a particular location. A consul general may also be responsible for consular districts which contain other, subordinate consular offices within a country. The consul general serves as a representative of their state in the country where they are located, although ultimate jurisdiction over the right to speak on behalf of
1024-491: Is not admitted publicly, consulates, like embassies, may also gather intelligence information from the assigned country. Contrary to popular belief, many of the staff of consulates may be career diplomats, but they do not generally have diplomatic immunity unless they are also accredited as such. Immunities and privileges for consuls and accredited staff of consulates ( consular immunity ) are generally limited to actions undertaken in their official capacity and, with respect to
1088-470: The Netherlands and Portugal . The office of a consul is a consulate and is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy or – between Commonwealth countries – high commission . Like the terms embassy or high commission , consulate may refer not only to the office of consul, but also to the building occupied by
1152-566: The Parker Expedition to Jerusalem . Le Queux wrote about it in his autobiography Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks (1923). He wrote One day, during the five years I lived at the Hotel Cecil, a waiter brought me a card bearing the name of Broström, with an address in Stockholm. A tall, middle-aged, clean-shaven Swede was ushered in, and handed me a letter of introduction from
1216-537: The United Nations ), and some have consulates-general in other major cities . Consulates are subordinate posts of their home country's diplomatic mission (typically an embassy , in the capital city of the host country). Diplomatic missions are established in international law under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , while consulates-general and consulates are established in international law under
1280-487: The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations . Formally, at least within the US system, the consular career (ranking in descending order: consul-general, consul, vice-consul, honorary consul) forms a different hierarchy from the diplomats in the strict sense. However, it is common for individuals to be transferred from one hierarchy to the other, and for consular officials to serve in a capital carrying out strictly consular duties within
1344-471: The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , there are few formal requirements outlining what a consular official must do. For example, for some countries, consular officials may be responsible for the issue of visas; other countries may limit "consular services" to providing assistance to compatriots, legalization of documents, etc. Nonetheless, consulates proper will be headed by consuls of various ranks, even if such officials have little or no connection with
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#17331062674191408-567: The consolat de mar was established by the Cortes of Aragon , the consuls were independent from the King. This distinction between consular and diplomatic functions remains (at least formally) to this day. Modern consuls retain limited judicial powers to settle disputes on ships from their country (notably regarding the payment of wages to sailors). The consulado de mercaderes was set up in 1543 in Seville as
1472-441: The consular section of a diplomatic post, e.g., within an embassy. Between Commonwealth countries, both diplomatic and consular activities may be undertaken by a High Commission in the capital, although larger Commonwealth nations generally also have consulates and consulates-general in major cities. For example, Toronto , Sydney and Auckland are of greater economic importance than their respective national capitals, hence
1536-688: The Australian commission had been renamed the consulate-general in 1986. Owing to Hong Kong's status as a special administrative region of China , some countries' consulates-general in Hong Kong report directly to their respective foreign ministries , rather than to their embassies in Beijing , such as those of Canada , the United Kingdom and the United States . Some consuls are not career officials of
1600-575: The French as the villains in works of the 1890s, though later he assigned this role to Germany. Le Queux mainly wrote in the genres of Romance , mystery , thriller , and espionage , particularly in the years leading up to World War I , when his partnership with British publishing magnate Lord Northcliffe led to the serialised publication and intensive publicising (including actors dressed as German soldiers walking along Regent Street) of pulp-fiction spy stories and invasion literature such as The Invasion of 1910 , The Poisoned Bullet, and Spies of
1664-626: The Hastings, St. Leonard's and District Radio Society, whose inaugural lecture was delivered on 28 April 1924 by John Logie Baird . Le Queux was eager to help Baird with his television experiments but said that all his money was tied up in Switzerland. He did however write an article, Television-a fact which appeared in the Radio Times in April 1924 which praised Baird's efforts. In addition to his providing
1728-590: The Kaiser . These works were a common phenomenon in pre-World War I Europe, involving fictionalised stories of possible invasion or infiltration by foreign powers; Le Queux's specialty, much appreciated by Northcliffe, was the German invasion of Britain. He was also the original editor of Lord Northcliffe 's War of the Nations . In 1908 Johan Millen approached William Le Queux about finding funding for what later became known as
1792-573: The Order of the British Empire (DBE). The couple had a son, Neville (birth registered in Farnham, Q1 1898), and three daughters. In 1890, after six years of working for Newnes, Pearson left to form his own publishing business and within three weeks had created the periodical journal Pearson's Weekly , the first issue of which sold a quarter of a million copies. A philanthropist, in 1892 he established
1856-507: The Strand full of suppressed excitement. When Le Queux informed Millen that he had secured the funding Millen told him that they were not pursuing the matter. This was because they had decided to move forward with the syndicate led by Montagu Parker. However, he did not tell Le Queux this and he was left bemused. The author was not completely frustrated as it gave him the idea for a novel, The Treasure of Israel (known as The Great God Gold in
1920-510: The US), which was another international bestseller for him. In it he took much of the cypher information that Millen had given him and then added many of the elements from his earlier work The Tickencote Treasure . The Invasion of 1910 , which originally appeared in serial form in the Daily Mail newspaper from 19 March 1906, was a huge success. The newspaper's circulation increased greatly, and it made
1984-497: The charitable Fresh Air Fund, still in operation and now known as Pearson's Holiday Fund, to enable disadvantaged children to partake in outdoor activities. In 1898, he purchased the Morning Herald , and in 1900 merged it into his new creation, the halfpenny Daily Express . The Express was a departure from the papers of its time and created an immediate impact by carrying news instead of only advertisements on its front page. He
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2048-469: The claim by Le Queux that he saw a manuscript in French written by Rasputin stating that Jack the Ripper was a Russian doctor named Alexander Pedachenko who committed the murders to confuse and ridicule Scotland Yard . Le Queux wrote 150 novels dealing with international intrigue, as well as books warning of Britain's vulnerability to European invasion before World War I: Honorary consul A consul
2112-448: The consul and their staff. The consulate may share premises with the embassy itself. A consul of the highest rank is termed a consul-general and is appointed to a consulate-general . There is typically one or more deputy consuls-general , consuls , vice-consuls , and consular agents working under the consul-general. A country may appoint more than one consul-general to another nation. A consul general (CG) (plural: consuls general)
2176-404: The consulate itself, to those required for official duties. In practice, the extension and application of consular privileges and immunities can differ widely from country to country. Consulates are more numerous than diplomatic missions, such as embassies . Ambassadors are posted only in a foreign nation's capital (but exceptionally outside the country, as in the case of a multiple mandate, e.g.,
2240-400: The explorer and adventurer Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard to Patagonia to investigate dramatic reports of a giant hairy mammal inhabiting the forests, and conjectured to be a giant ground sloth , long since extinct. Hesketh-Prichard's reports from 5,000 miles away gripped readers of The Express , despite his finding no trace of the creature. During this same period, Pearson was also active as
2304-555: The functions of the modern consul were fulfilled by a proxenos , which means an arrangement which a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. Unlike the modern position, this was a citizen of the host polity (in Greece, a city-state ). The proxenos was usually a wealthy merchant who had socioeconomic ties with another city and who helped its citizens when they were in trouble in his own city. The position of proxenos
2368-621: The governments which they represent. As a matter of U.S. policy, honorary consular officers recognized by the U.S. Government are American citizens, or permanent resident aliens who perform consular services on a part-time basis. The limited immunity afforded honorary consular officers is specified in Article 71 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR). Such individuals do not enjoy personal inviolability, and may be arrested pending trial if circumstances should otherwise warrant. However, appropriate steps are provided to accord to such officers
2432-441: The job with their own (often commercial) private activities, and in some instances may not even be a citizen of the sending country. Such consular appointments are usually given the title of honorary consul or consul ad honorem . Such hosting and appointing varies from nation to nation, with some doing both, one or the other, or neither. The transparency also varies, with some nation-states not even including such information on
2496-492: The missions, United States Government policy requires that the maintenance and establishment of consular posts headed by honorary consular officers must be supported by documentation which makes it possible for the Department of State to be assured that meaningful consular functions will be exercised by honorary consular officers on a regular basis and that such consular officers come under the supervision of, and are accountable to,
2560-457: The modern consul (i.e., helping Genoese merchants and sailors in difficulties with the local authorities). The consolat de mar was an institution established under the reign of Peter IV of Aragon in the fourteenth century, and spread to 47 locations throughout the Mediterranean. It was primarily a judicial body, administering maritime and commercial law as lex mercatoria . Although
2624-492: The more limited sense of consular service. Activities of a consulate include protecting the interests of their citizens temporarily or permanently resident in the host country, issuing passports ; issuing visas to foreigners and public diplomacy . However, the principal role of a consulate lies traditionally in promoting trade—assisting companies to invest and to import and export goods and services both inwardly to their home country and outward to their host country. Although it
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2688-480: The nearest Finnish embassy or consulate. Certain types of notarized certificates can be acquired through an honorary consul. Together with diplomatic missions, an honorary consul promotes economic and cultural relations between Finland and the country in question and takes part in strengthening Finland's image abroad. An honorary consul can advise Finnish companies, for instance, in obtaining information about local business culture and in finding cooperation partners. Over
2752-407: The need for consulates there. When Hong Kong was under British administration , diplomatic missions of Commonwealth countries, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand , India, Malaysia , and Singapore were known as commissions . After the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, they were renamed consulates-general , with the last commissioner becoming consul-general. However,
2816-605: The original text of the Book of Ezekiel preserved in the Imperial Library at Petrograd a cipher message that gave the whereabouts of the concealed treasures from King Solomon's temple. The individual he calls Afzelius was in fact Valter Juvelius. After he was approached Le Queux says that he took the papers to a Dr Adler, a friend who was also the Chief Rabbi, to verify the documents. Le Queux says that Adler came back and said that there
2880-556: The protection required by virtue of their official position. In addition, the consular archives and documents of a consular post headed by an honorary consular officer are inviolable at all times, and wherever they may be, provided they are kept separate from other papers and documents of a private or commercial nature relating to other activities of an honorary consular officer or persons working with that consular officer. Sir Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet Sir Cyril Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet , (24 February 1866 – 9 December 1921),
2944-412: The represented state. They may be local people with the nationality of the sending country, and in smaller cities, or in cities that are very distant from full-time diplomatic missions, a foreign government which feels that some form of representation is nevertheless desirable may appoint a person who has not hitherto been part of their diplomatic service to fulfill this role. Such a consul may well combine
3008-677: The same year: Die Invasion von 1910: Einfall der Deutschen in England translated by Traugott Tamm. In 1914, the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced The Raid of 1915 an updated version of The Invasion of 1910 , that was the first British film to feature German spies and invaders. Prior to the commencement of the Great War, the film was banned by the British Board of Film Censors , founded just one month earlier. The film
3072-435: The single representative of one government to another, a state may appoint several consuls in a foreign nation, typically in major cities; consuls are usually tasked with providing assistance in bureaucratic issues to both citizens of their own country traveling or living abroad and to the citizens of the country in which the consul resides who wish to travel to or trade with the consul's country. In classical Greece , some of
3136-580: The story of The Raid of 1915 , he also wrote the films The White Lie (1914) and The Sons of Satan (19i5); he also wrote and co-directed Sadounah (1915). Apart from fiction, Le Queux also wrote extensively on wireless broadcasting, produced various travel works including An Observer in the Near East and several short books on Switzerland, and wrote an unrevealing and often misleading autobiography, Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks (1923). The latter contains, among other fantastic stories,
3200-746: The struggling The Standard and its sister paper the Evening Standard for £ 700,000 from the Johnstone family. He merged the Evening Standard with his St James's Gazette and changed the Conservative stance of both papers into a pro- Liberal one, but was unsuccessful in arresting the slide in sales and in 1910 sold them to the MP Sir Davison Dalziel , and Sir Alexander Henderson . Beginning to lose his sight due to glaucoma despite
3264-413: The websites of their foreign ministries. Furthermore, some do not use the honorary consul system at all. The United States of America limits whom it will recognise as honorary consuls and grants only some limited rights. In some cases "accused terror financiers, arms traffickers and drug runners" have misused their position as honorary consuls. Despite their other roles, honorary consular officers (in
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#17331062674193328-605: The widest use of the term) in some instances also have responsibility for the welfare of citizens of the appointing country within their bailiwick . For example, the Embassy of Finland states that the tasks of Finland's Honorary Consulate include monitoring the rights of Finns and permanent residents of Finland residing in the area in which the consulate is located, providing advice and guidance for distressed Finnish citizens and permanent residents traveling abroad to that area, and assisting them in their contacts with local authorities or
3392-579: The words of Edward Henry (head of the Metropolitan Police) saw him as "not a person to be taken seriously" and saw no need to fulfill his request. Le Queux was interested in radio communication; he was a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers and carried out some radio experiments in 1924 in Switzerland with Dr. Petit Pierre and Max Amstutz . That same year he was elected the first President of
3456-460: The years, Honorary Consulates have assumed growing importance particularly for Low and Middle Income Countries and for countries looking at cutting costs and has emerged as a powerful diplomatic pillar of strength. The United States Government appreciates that honorary consular officers provide important services both to the governments which they represent and to United States citizens and entities. Nevertheless, for reasons previously communicated to
3520-554: Was English. He studied art under Ignazio (or Ignace) Spiridon in Paris. He carried out a foot tour of Europe as a young man before supporting himself writing for French newspapers. In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines Gossip and Piccadilly before joining the staff of The Globe as a parliamentary reporter in 1891. In 1893 he abandoned journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. His partial French ancestry did not prevent him from depicting France and
3584-604: Was a British newspaper magnate and publisher, who founded the Daily Express . Pearson was born on 24 February 1866 in the village of Wookey , Somerset, a son of Arthur Cyril Pearson and Phillippa Massingberd Maxwell Lyte, who was a granddaughter of the hymn-writer and poet Henry Francis Lyte . He was educated at Winchester College in Hampshire. His father became rector of Drayton Parslow in Buckinghamshire. His first job
3648-554: Was as a journalist working for the London-based publisher George Newnes on Tit-Bits magazine. Within his first year he had impressed Newnes enough to be made his principal assistant. In December 1887, Pearson married Isobel Sarah Bennett, the daughter of Canon Frederick Bennett, of Maddington, Wiltshire , with whom he had three daughters. In 1897, Pearson married, as his second wife, Ethel , daughter of William John Fraser. Ethel, Lady Pearson, would be appointed Dame Commander of
3712-481: Was generally available; his claims regarding his own abilities and exploits, however, were usually exaggerated. His best-known works are the anti-French and anti-Russian invasion fantasy The Great War in England in 1897 (1894) and the anti-German invasion fantasy The Invasion of 1910 (1906), the latter becoming a bestseller. Le Queux was born in London. His father was a French draper 's assistant and his mother
3776-428: Was in practice hereditary in a specific family, whose mansion bore the represented country's coat of arms, and with that country confirming the consul's son or other heir in the position on the death of the previous consul. As repeatedly referenced by Mann, a consul's wife was known as "Konsulin" and continued to bear that title even on the death of her husband. Characters in the book are mentioned as consuls for Denmark ,
3840-1006: Was made president of the National Institution for the Blind in 1914, raising its income from £8,000 to £360,000 in only eight years. On 29 January 1915, he cofounded The Blinded Soldiers and Sailors Care Committee (later renamed St Dunstan's and now known as Blind Veterans UK ), for soldiers blinded by gas attack or trauma during the First World War . Its goal, radical for the times, was to provide vocational training rather than charity for invalided servicemen, and thus to enable them to carry out independent and productive lives. Not only were blinded soldiers trained in work such as basket weaving or massage, but also in social skills such as dancing, braille reading or sports to give them back self-confidence. Upon releasing them, they were gifted little tokens of independence such as braille watches. Pearson's dedication to this work led to his receiving
3904-628: Was often hereditary in a particular family. Modern honorary consuls fulfill a function that is to a degree similar to that of the ancient Greek institution. Consuls were the highest magistrates of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire . The term was revived by the Republic of Genoa , which, unlike Rome, bestowed it on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to the highest. Among these were Genoese officials stationed in various Mediterranean ports, whose role included duties similar to those of
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#17331062674193968-608: Was released in October 1914, retitled If England were Invaded . At the beginning of World War I Le Queux became convinced that the Germans were out to get him for "rumbling their schemes" and requested special protection from German agents, leading to a continual struggle with the Metropolitan Police both at his local Sunbury station and through correspondence with its headquarters at New Scotland Yard . The authorities, however, in
4032-474: Was something to the documents. On the basis of the positive response to the cypher documents Le Queux approached Sir C. Arthur Pearson , the proprietor of the Standard newspaper for funding for the expedition to Jerusalem. He described what happened next: To this he most generously acceded, and an initial sum was agreed between us for its cost. I was to head the expedition to Palestine. That afternoon I walked along
4096-515: Was successful in establishing papers in provincial locations such as the Birmingham Daily Gazette . He came into direct competition with the Daily Mail and in the resulting commercial fight almost took control of The Times , being nominated as its manager, but the deal fell through. In 1898, Pearson founded The Royal Magazine , a monthly literary magazine which remained in publication until 1939. In 1900 Pearson despatched
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