§7. Embassadors are entitled to the same protection in the countries through which they pass in going to, and returning from the government to which they are sent. And to insure them a safe passage, some governments have given them passports to be shown if required. A _passport_ is a written license from the authority of a state granting permission or safe conduct for one to pass through its territory. Passports, though named in our law, are not known in practice, being deemed unnecessary. §8. If a minister at a foreign court treats the sovereign with disrespect, the fact is sometimes communicated to the government that sent him, with a request for his recall. Or, if the offense is a more serious one, the offended sovereign refuses intercourse with him while his master's answer is awaited. Or, if the case is an aggravated one, he expels him from the country. §9. Ministers at foreign governments, in their negotiations or business correspondence with those governments, sometimes consider themselves ill treated, and their own nation dishonored, and take their leave and return home; or the minister informs his sovereign, who either recalls him, or takes such other measure as he thinks the honor and interest of his nation demand. §10. The peculiar condition of a country, the nature of the business upon which an embassador is sent, or the personal character of the embassador, may be such as to justify a government in refusing to receive him. But to preserve the friendly relations of the two countries, satisfactory explanations ought to be made, or good reasons offered for the refusal. §11. A minister can not bind his sovereign to any treaty or agreement, conclusively, under the authority of an ordinary credential, or letter of attorney. He can not do so without a special power, containing express authority so to bind his principal. Ministers act under secret instructions which they are not bound to disclose. Even the treaties signed by plenipotentiaries, (a word signifying full power,) are, according to present usage, of no force, until ratified by their governments. §12. Consuls are not entitled to the privilege enjoyed by ministers, but are subject to the laws of the country in which they reside. Their principal duties have been described. (Chap. XL, §9.) The office of consul has been found to be one of great utility; hence, every trading nation has a consul in every considerable commercial port in the world. As in the case of ministers, consuls carry a certificate of their appointment, and must be acknowledged as consuls by the government of the country in which they reside, before they can perform any duties pertaining to their office. Chapter LXV. Offensive and Defensive War; just Causes and Objects of War; Reprisals; Alliances in War.