| Publication |
2014.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Clerks employed in the Foreign Office before 1906, and in the offices of the secretaries of state before 1782, were scribes rather than advisers; often little is known about either their opinions or influence. An interesting exception is Sir David Nairne, who worked for many years for the secretaries of state in exile employed by King James II and his son, King James III. Nairne's career falls into three unequal parts: 1689-1713, when little more than a clerk carrying out the instructions of his superiors; 1713-1719, when promoted as one of James III's principal advisers; and 1719-1728, when demoted once again to a clerk, albeit with enhanced status. Yet even when one of James III's two most influential advisers, he remained primarily an assistant rather than a councillor putting forward his advice with caution. For both James II and James III, Nairne was not a civil servant in the modern sense but, rather, a domestic or household servant employed and used as circumstances demanded. For a short time, Nairne had a significant diplomatic career, but he always remained primarily a servant.
|