460 
 
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
tribes in the regency stood forth in the attitude of bold defiance to the
Bey. 
To-day they are most of them faithful servants of the Bey, or humble suppliants

for his mercy; a few of them have been hung or shot, a few are in prison,
anp 
one or two have escaped to parts unknown. 
Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
AMOS PERRY. 
Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 
Secretaryof State, Washington D. 6. 
M. Perry to Mr. Seward. 
No. 55.1                            UNITED STATES CONSULATE, 
Tunis, Nocemher 17, 1864. 
Sin: Some incidents have occurred and scenes been enacted in this neighbor-

hood within the last few days which I deem it my duty to report. On Sat-

urday, the 12th instant, the Bey sent a messenger, according to established

customs, to say to the consuls of France, England, Italy, and Austria, that
his 
envoy, General Kheridine, would depart for Constantinople on Thursday, the

17th instant, and would be pleased to take a letter of introduction to their
re- 
spective ministers accredited at the Sublime Porte. A courteous answer was
re- 
turned by the last three consuls named, while the French consul seized the
occa- 
sion to display his ill humor, expressing to the messenger his astonishment
that the 
Bey should venture to take such a step without consulting him. 
At 5 o'clock p. m. on the same day the French consul appeared at the Bardo,
and 
had an interview with the Bey in presence of his prime minister and some
sub- 
ordinate officers. After the usual compliments, the consul stated his objection

to the proposed mission, and told the Bey that such a measure could not receive

his approbation or countenance.  He took to himself the credit of having

recently extricated the Bey from difficulty and embarrassment, by inducing
the 
Ottoman envoy to leave his capital, and suggested that if the Bey refused
to 
heed his counsel he might be left to take care of himself in future. Preserving

his self-possession and dignity, the Bey replied that neither the consul's
coun- 
tenance nor approbation was asked, and that he was notified of the proposed

mission simply as an act of courtesy. The Bey pronounced counsel in such

a case as out of place. Upon this the consul became more imperious in his

bearing, and protested in the name of his master, the Emperor of the French,

against the step which the Bey proposed to take. Still, with apparent calmness,

the Bey replied, that regarding himself as an independent sovereign, he could

accept no dictation from any foreign representative. At the conclusion of
his 
remarks, presuming from the silence that the interview was ended, he reached

out his hand as an act of parting courtesy; whereupon the consul scornfully

drew back from the Bey, giving an unmistakable expression of disrespect.

Meanwhile, the letters of introduction arrive from the other consuls named,

and it is decided that the envoy depart on Mionday, the 14th instant, instead
of 
Thursday, the 17th. Towards evening on the 14th instant the appointed envoy,

General Kheridine, arrives, after visiting the tomb of a M oslem saint on
his way, 
at the Bey's Goletta palace; when forthwith appears the lieutenant of the
French 
iron-clad Invincible; and requests an interview. Being received, the lieuten-

ant informs the general that he was instructed by his commander to use his

utmost efforts to dissuade him from attempting to set out for Constantinople,

adding, as a final argument, that fibree would be employed, if necessary,
to prevent 
his departure. The general replied : "Be it so; I have received my orders
from 
my sovereign, and must obey them to the extent of my ability. If the force

which you threaten is employed, the responsibility will not rest with me."