THE REIGNS OF AHMED BEY AND HIS COUSIN MUHAMED BEY.
After the accession of Ahmed Bey in 1839, the French party in Tunis used
every means to obtain the ascendency. They decorated and redecorated the
Bey’s secretary, and brought a zealous ecclesiastic from Algiers to
obtain a preponderating influence in the Roman Catholic Mission. The
turn matters took in Egypt and Syria two years later seems, however, to
have seriously interfered with their plans. During the spring of 1841
the purport of the secret article in the treaty of 1830 transpired, and
the French began to build the St. Louis Memorial Chapel on the Carthage
Hill. As the walls gradually assumed the shape of a strongly fortified
_enceinte_, the Bey became thoroughly alarmed. Sketches and plans were
transmitted to England; Sidi Ahmed protested and threatened to construct
a martello tower to command the sacred edifice, and finally sent for Sir
Thomas Reade to tell him that “the French were the greatest thorn in his
side, and that he threw himself entirely upon the good offices and
protection of England.” A month later, with the view of further
conciliating Lord Palmerston, Ahmed Bey took the first step towards the
abolition of negro slavery in his dominions. He issued a decree
forbidding the exportation of slaves from Tunis, and liberated all the
negroes belonging to his own establishment. Unfortunately for the Bey’s
peace of mind, Tahir Pacha at this juncture became Grand Vizier at
Constantinople. Tahir was, rightly or wrongly, supposed to have a long
standing grudge against the Beys of Tunis on account of having been
(through the diplomatic skill of the French Chargé d’Affaires) refused
permission to land there after the capture of Algiers. Be this as it
may, the Bey soon received a letter disclosing a scheme of the Porte to
reduce the Regency to the status of a simple province. Ahmed Pacha
immediately addressed several letters to Lord Palmerston, requesting the
mediation of the English Government. “Only one thing,” he wrote, “can be
worse for Tunis than its extinction by the Porte, and that is its
absorption by France.” French ships now remained at Goletta almost
permanently, and care was taken to turn the coolness with the Porte to
the best possible advantage. England reassured the Bey by sending him a
sword and six field-pieces; and France, not to be outdone, lost no time
by offering him a gilded coach and four horses. On the 27th October 1841
“it was driven to the Bardo with great pomp, in the presence of the
French Consul and the officers of the steamer, by the coachman and
footman in the King’s full-dress livery.” Ahmed Bey sent Louis Philippe
“in return” an Arabian horse, a lion and lioness, two ostriches, and
four antelopes. On the advice of Lord Aberdeen, the Bey decided to
conciliate the Porte by sending an envoy to Constantinople as the bearer
of a more than usually magnificent offering. The list of the presents
thus forwarded fills several pages, beginning with “a new corvette, a
remarkably fine one, carrying 26 guns, and fitted with stores of every
description,” and ending with four snuff-boxes for the _Signori della
Camera del Grand Signor_. In April 1842 slavery was finally abolished.
In a letter to the English Government, the Bey declared that his action
in this matter was entirely due to the representations of Sir Thomas
Reade.
The Sultan does not appear to have been altogether satisfied with the
Bey’s munificence, and sent an agent to Tunis with instructions to
insist on “the establishment of _ever so little regular tribute_, which
might easily be remitted, but which would prove to some European Powers
that the Bey and the Regency were not independent.” Turkish bearers of
vizirial letters were always a serious matter at Tunis, and Ahmed Bey
made an almost pathetic appeal to England to help him out of his
difficulty. “It is not an easy matter,” he told Sir Thomas Reade, “to
satisfy my suzerain’s envoys. When the last came to take leave I offered
him 4000 dollars, but he disdainfully refused them in my presence, and I
was obliged to give him six.” This particular envoy proved to be
exceedingly difficult to manage, and when the Bey did not comply with
his demands, he did his best to excite an insurrection. He had the
pictures in his room pulled down as an insult to the faith of Islam, and
spoke in all public places of the Bey’s undue partiality for infidels.
To such an extent was this anti-christian _propaganda_ carried, that the
Turkish emissary had hardly left Tunis, before a riot occurred at
Goletta, which was quelled with considerable difficulty. The British
Ambassador at Constantinople appears, however, to have succeeded in
inducing the Porte to take a more favourable view of the conduct of his
vassal.
Nothing of any moment occurred till July 1843, when much excitement was
caused by the invasion of the Tunisian territory by a French force in
the direction of La Calle. Just at the same time an attempt was made to
absorb the whole of the Citadel Hill at Carthage, in the limits of the
St. Louis memorial buildings, and a French squadron appeared before
Goletta. The Bey became very much frightened, and as usual sent for Sir
Thomas Reade. At his request a letter was at once written to Lord
Aberdeen. “It appears to me,” wrote Sir Thomas Reade, “that the actual
proceedings of the French, in regard to this Regency at the present
moment, cannot be viewed without a certain degree of suspicion, for at
the same time they violate the territory in so open and outrageous a
manner, and send a squadron to countenance by its presence the
additional demands of the French Consul with respect to the monument at
Carthage, they despatch an armed vessel commanded by a very intelligent
Algerine decorated with the Legion of Honour to visit the various ports
of the Regency, and his object appears to be to mix with the Moors at
the cafés and other spots frequented by them, and harangue them upon the
advantages Algiers possesses in being occupied by the French.” The
storm, however, blew over, but the Bey issued a decree forbidding the
export of corn, which involved the Regency in an open rupture of
diplomatic relations with Sardinia. The details of the quarrel are very
uninteresting, and the difference was after much delay adjusted by the
intervention of England. About the same time the Bey managed to pick a
personal quarrel with the French Consul-General, whom he accused of
belabouring the coachman of one of the princes, and applying the
unparliamentary _bestia_ to the prince himself. In the following year a
Maltese miller murdered a servant of the British Consul-General,
together with one of his Tunisian police officers. Sir Thomas Reade
insisted on the criminal being tried by the Bey in person according to
the international conventions, and M. De Lagau, the French Chargé
d’Affaires, adroitly managed to take advantage of the general
unpopularity of the proceeding amongst the Europeans to form a strong
cabal against English interests. All the European representatives seem
to have joined in this association except Mr. John Howard Payne, the
American Consul, well known in Europe as the accomplished author of
“Home, Sweet Home.” Sir Thomas Reade carried his point, and the Maltese
murderer was condemned and executed by the Tunisian authorities. Mr.
Nyssen, the Dutch Consul, had gone so far as to intimidate the witnesses
in the case, and was summoned in consequence to appear before the Bey.
Prince Henry of the Netherlands happened to arrive at the time, and
insisted on the charge being abandoned. The Bey refused compliance with
the request, whereupon the Prince returned the rich presents he had
received from Sidi Ahmed, and left Tunis somewhat abruptly.
During the spring of 1845 the Duc de Montpensier visited Tunis, and was
received by the Bey with marked respect and attention. In the month of
December the Bey received the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. The
relations of France with the Tunisian government now became ostensibly
of the most friendly nature, but Sidi Ahmed never ceased to ask for the
aid of England in maintaining his _status quo_ as regards the Porte.
Almost at the end of the autumn of 1846 the Bey suddenly resolved to pay
a visit to France and England. The latter portion of his programme was
subsequently abandoned on difficulties arising as to his reception in
the character of an independent sovereign. In the following year the
British Government sent the Bey a present consisting of a carriage,
harness, and seven Axminster carpets, one of which still decorates the
smaller audience-chamber of the Bardo Palace. Although our gifts could
not advantageously be compared with the more magnificent offerings of
the French, Sir Thomas Reade was determined not to allow any slight to
be offered to British prestige in the Regency. On the 1st June 1847 he
wrote the following characteristic despatch to Lord Palmerston:
“MY LORD,—On the 1st May last the vessels belonging to this Regency
having fired a royal salute in honour of the King of the French, I
thought it my duty to require that an equal mark of respect should be
shown to our most Gracious Sovereign on the 24th ult., being the
anniversary of H.M.’s birthday, which was accordingly done. This is the
first year that such a practice has been established, and the 30th being
St. Ferdinand, the Consul-General of Naples advanced the same demand on
behalf of his sovereign, but no salute having been fired, the Consul, I
understand, has addressed a report to his Government on the
circumstance.”
The French representative now redoubled his efforts to induce the Bey to
break beyond hope of reconciliation with the Porte; and England, through
her ambassador at Stamboul, quite as actively endeavoured to impress
upon the Porte the necessity of maintaining the ancient ties of
friendship with Tunis. Sir Thomas Reade was fully alive to the
importance of the political intrigue then being actively prosecuted, and
did not fail to impress his views on the attention of Lord Palmerston.
On the 4th August 1847 he thus addressed the Foreign Office:—
“The Sultan should understand that the best means of destroying the
effects of French policy with regard to Tunis, is that of encouraging
and promoting a stricter connection with the Government of his vassal.
This, my Lord, I venture to submit, is the only practical remedy against
foreign intrigues in this country; and should the Bey see a frank and
open policy observed towards him by the Porte, what reason can he
possibly have to trust a dangerous neighbour more than a generous and
far-placed master?”
On the 20th December 1847 Her Majesty’s steam frigate “Avenger” was
wrecked on the Tunisian coast. Lieutenant Francis Rooke and three other
persons were the sole survivors of the catastrophe. Mahmoud Ben Ayad,
one of the Bey’s ministers, now acquired complete influence over his
mind, and in the short space of two years succeeded in reducing the
finances of the Regency to a state of hopeless confusion. Under the
pretence of raising a loan for the Government he obtained permission to
quit the country, to which he never returned. About one year previously
his father and nephew had been obliged to seek refuge in the British
Consulate from his persecution, and Lord Palmerston ordered Sir Thomas
Reade to give them protection and inform the Bey that the Queen would
not “allow a hair of their heads to be touched.” The Ben Ayads were once
hereditary rulers of Jerba, and belong to one of the few remaining
families of the ancient Arab nobility. They have ever since been
considered British subjects, and the nephew, General Sy Hamida, is still
alive, and prior to the crisis of the 12th May was one of the most
trusted councillors of Muhamed es Sadek Bey.
The fall of Louis Philippe seems to have brought about a lull in the
constant interference of France in the destinies of the country. Sir
Stratford Canning succeeded in placing the relations between Turkey and
Tunis on a more friendly footing, and by a judicious explanation of the
real interests of suzerain and vassal, counteracted the distrust sown in
the minds of both by parties interested in promoting discord. In the
summer of 1849 Sidi Muhamed, Governor of the Sahel, was sent as an envoy
to offer to the Sultan presents of the value of £66,000. Sir Thomas
Reade was then on his deathbed, but the jewels and other articles of
value were brought to his house to satisfy him that Sidi Ahmed was once
more acting in accordance with his advice. Three weeks later Sir Thomas
Reade died. By the especial desire of Ahmed Bey his remains were
honoured with as splendid a public funeral as the resources of the
Regency permitted. General Kheir-ed-Din, now an ex-Grand Vizier of the
Ottoman Empire, commanded the guard of honour which escorted the coffin
from the Manonba to Tunis. No British representative ever understood the
important questions bound up in the future of Tunis more thoroughly than
he did, nor have any before or since striven more manfully to support
what he conceived to be the English view of the case. Thirty-three years
later, his son and successor, Thomas Fellowes Reade, saw the realisation
of his father’s misgivings, as to what would inevitably happen, whenever
England came to view with indifference the fate of her once faithful
ally the Bey of Tunis.
Sir Thomas Reade’s successor, Sir Edward Baynes, K.C.M.G., did not
arrive in Tunis till the 14th March 1850. No event of public importance
occurred till the close of the reign of Sidi Ahmed, who died in May
1855. Two years before he had improved his position as regards the
Sultan by cordial offers of support in case of the outbreak of a war
with Russia; and when this actually occurred, men and money were at once
despatched from Tunis to Constantinople.
Ahmed was the last of the Beys of Tunis who enjoyed a shadow of the old
power and prestige. In the formation and direction of an army altogether
out of proportion to the wants of the country, he endeavoured to forget
the perplexities of his constant diplomatic complications. He employed
both French and English military instructors, some of whom have
published more or less interesting narratives of their stay at his
court. The English words of command brought into use by General
Considine, still survive amongst the few remaining regiments of Tunisian
soldiers, and I last heard them on the day they were drawn up to conduct
the French troops into the Tunis citadel. The only memorial which still
remains of the once rich and popular Ahmed Bey, is the dismantled palace
of the Mahamedia, of which I have already spoken in a former chapter.
Ahmed was succeeded by his cousin Muhamed, the eldest of the sons of
Hossein Bey. He at once wrote a dutiful letter to his suzerain demanding
the caftan, sending at the same time £40,000 instead of presents, and a
further contingent of 1800 men with horses and arms to assist the Turks
in the Crimea. Muhamed Khaznadar, the Vizier of Ahmed, retained his
post, but most of the favourites of the late Bey were either arrested or
dismissed. Many wholesome reforms were suggested and planned by Sidi
Muhamed, but their execution was impeded by the cares and anxieties
entailed by his enormous seraglio, which literally surpassed in extent
anything known in history since the time of King Solomon. The fall of
Sebastopol seems to have awakened considerable enthusiasm at Tunis, and
a Te Deum was celebrated in the Cathedral, which was hung with French,
English, and Turkish flags. On the 9th October the Sultan’s envoy
arrived, and presented the Bey with his patent of investiture, the Grand
Cordon of the Medjidieh, and a jewelled sword, in the presence of the
civil and religious officials and the _corps consulaire_. Sir Edward
Baynes died in July 1855.
His successor, Mr. Richard Wood, did not arrive in Tunis till the 26th
June in the following year. The mantle of Sir Thomas Reade could hardly
have fallen on a more able or energetic successor, and he managed to
gain in a short space of time the entire confidence of the Bey. In
August 1856 Sidi Muhamed sent to the French Prince Imperial, a cradle in
silver Moorish work and the Tunisian decoration (which had been
instituted by Sidi Ahmed Bey), set in brilliants. The value of this
magnificent gift was not less than £10,000. In September, however, the
Bey took no notice of the Emperor’s fête, and M. Roches, the French
Chargé d’Affaires, viewed this omission in so serious a light that he
suspended diplomatic relations. The Bey, after forty hours’ reflection,
decided to apologise. The language used in Count Walewski’s despatch was
very severe, and if satisfaction had not been at once accorded, M.
Roches was prepared to embark on a French frigate. Shortly afterwards,
the Emperor declined the Nishan for his son, on the ground that the
_Porte disputed the Bey’s right to confer decorations_. Mr. Wood was now
admitted to long interviews with the Bey, the result of which soon
became apparent. Sidi Muhamed resolved to preserve intact his status as
regards the Porte, to strengthen as much as possible his alliance with
England, and to grant a constitution to his subjects. On the 17th June
1857 an event occurred which seemed to belie Sidi Muhamed’s assurances
and promises of reform. An Israelite carter named Samuel Sfez, being
ill-treated by some Moors, cursed the Moslem faith and roundly abused
the Bey and his Government. He was at once dragged before the Bey in
person, who referred the case to the Cadi. After hearing some native
witnesses he was condemned to death by having _molten lead poured down
his throat, and his body burned_. His distracted wife appealed to the
Consuls, who hastened to remonstrate with the Bey. It was, however, too
late. To hasten matters the unfortunate blasphemer had been beheaded.
“The head of the wretched man,” wrote Mr. Wood, “was kicked about by the
boys, while men were endeavouring to smash it with stones. A large
number of Moors went to meet the corpse in order to drag it through the
town, in which design they failed, owing to the interference of the
police, but the Moorish women, who repaired to the Jewish cemetery,
assisted at its burial with songs and exclamations of joy.”
It is impossible to describe the general panic which ensued. Christians
and Israelites alike demanded the protection of the European Powers, and
several ships of war, including the French squadron, were sent to
Goletta. Both Mr. Wood and M. Roches, as well as the French Admiral, had
several audiences with the Bey, and the necessity of his at once
granting a constitution, of which religious equality was to be one of
the fundamental portions, was strongly pressed upon him. On the 9th
September, Sidi Muhamed consented to act in compliance with their
wishes, and a liberal constitution, embodying many reforms and creating
regular tribunals, was forthwith promulgated. The following are the
heads of the Bey’s decree, which was certainly the most important
innovation achieved since Ahmed Bey abolished slavery:—1st, Perfect
security of life and property; 2d, Equality of taxation; 3d, Equality of
all classes and denominations before the law; 4th, Religious freedom;
5th, Limitation of the period of military service; 6th, Admission of
Israelite assessors in criminal cases; 7th, Abolition of immunities
enjoyed exclusively by Moslems; 8th, Establishment of a mixed commercial
court; 9th, Liberty of commerce and abolition of monopolies; 10th,
Permission to foreigners to exercise all trades and professions and
introduce foreign industries; 11th, Right of foreigners to hold and
possess landed property. As a recognition of his conduct, the French
Emperor conferred on Sidi Muhamed the Grand Cordon of the Legion of
Honour. The English fleet visited Tunis during the spring of 1858, but
the Bey was unable to return the visit of Lord Lyons, as an agreement
could not be come to regarding the salute he was to receive.
The English Government, after much deliberation, rewarded the
enlightened behaviour of the Bey by a present of cotton seed, which was
duly delivered to him by Mr. Wood with some statistics concerning the
growth of that useful product. In the month of January 1859 Prince
Alfred (the Duke of Edinburgh) visited Tunis, and was entertained by
Sidi Muhamed. The arrival of the Prince undoubtedly awakened a very
unusual amount of enthusiasm at the Tunisian Court, and the Bey himself
placed round the neck of his guest the diamond medal worn only by
members of the Husseinite family. “I hail the arrival of your Royal
Highness,” said Sidi Muhamed, “with a delight which words cannot
possibly express. That the son of the Queen of England should be with
us, that I should have been afforded the pleasure of beholding him in my
own palace is more than I ever hoped to realise. Myself, my family, and
my whole people feel highly flattered by your visit, and consider it as
being in harmony with the unbounded respect with which your Royal
Mother, her Government, and the British nation are looked upon in this
country.” Sidi Muhamed, whose state of health had been long very
unsatisfactory, died on the 22d September, and two days later his
brother Muhamed es Sadek took the oath prescribed by the new
constitution in the presence of the whole of his ministers, the civil
and ecclesiastical functionaries, and the foreign representatives.