The grand pensionary also took care of the total correspondence of the Estates. He thus handled communications with lower administrative bodies, the other provinces of the Republic, the States General of the Netherlands, and foreign powers. This means his function combined elements of the duties performed by modern ministers of internal and foreign affairs. Letters to the Estates could be read by all the members. Therefore messages of a more secretive nature were sent to the grand pensionary personally. Large parts of the correspondence of the various grand pensionaries have been preserved, forming an important source of information for later historians. The diplomatic contacts of the Republic were in principle managed by the States General. However, they were ill equipped to receive and entertain envoys with the pomposity needed in the seventeenth century to avoid offending foreign rulers. In practice, this was delegated to the court of the stadtholder of Holland, who also resided at The Hague. When no stadtholder was appointed, the grand pensionary received envoys.