British Indirect Rule
As diplomatic Residents (as diplomatic ranks were codified, this became a lower class than Ambassadors and High Commissioners) were sometimes appointed to native rulers, High Commissioners could likewise be appointed as British agents of indirect rule upon native states. Thus High Commissioners could be charged with managing diplomatic relations with native rulers and their states (analogous to the Resident Minister), and might have under them several Resident Commissioners or similar agents attached to each state.
In regions of particular importance, a Commissioner-General was appointed to have control over several High Commissioners and Governors, e.g. the Commissioner-General for South-East Asia had responsibility for Malaya, Singapore and British Borneo.
Read more about this topic: High Commissioner (Commonwealth), History
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