Arthur Stewart Raikes

Arthur Stewart Raikes was a career diplomat whose service extended from European capitals to South America and Washington. Born in 1856, he was educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge, and entered diplomatic work as an attaché at Athens in 1880. Later appointments included Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Rome, and Rio de Janeiro. He became secretary of the Brussels legation in December 1898, before his transfer to Washington. ^{1, 2}

As chargé d’affaires in Washington, Raikes signed the convention of 31 May 1902 with Secretary of State John Hay concerning import duties in the portion of the Sultan of Zanzibar’s dominions under British protection covered by the agreement. The United States withdrew its objection to those duties, subject to limits on the tariff and guarantees against discriminatory treatment of American trade. The agreement was ratified in October. ³

He also assisted negotiations affecting other parts of the British Empire. In September 1902, he informed Alvey Adee that Foreign Secretary Lansdowne had instructed him to help Newfoundland premier Robert Bond pursue a reciprocity agreement in Washington. The following year, on 21 November, Raikes and Postmaster General Henry Payne signed a convention establishing a parcel post service between Hong Kong and the United States. It specified admissible goods, parcel limits, and administrative arrangements, with operations to begin on 1 January 1904. ^{4, 5}

Raikes subsequently became Britain’s minister in Chile. A contemporary report in the Chilian Times describes his presentation at the Moneda in the week before 8 April 1905: he delivered the letters announcing Gerard Lowther’s departure and his own appointment. He retired in 1907 and died in March 1925. ^{6, 1}