FRUITLESS APPEALS.
Another day passed away in feverish suspense, but at noon on Monday, the
25th of April, a messenger arrived from the governors of Kef and Beja,
and rode in hot haste to the Bardo Palace. An hour later, and all Tunis
knew that the invasion had begun. Shortly afterwards, an urgent message
called me to the Prime Minister’s city house. I found Mustapha in his
favourite sitting-room over the great gateway. The corridors leading to
it were crowded with Arabs, but nobody seemed to know what to advise.
The _boudoir_ of the Tunisian Premier was arranged, as I soon found out,
with an evident view to Oriental diplomacy. A long sofa lined the side
of the room, which was almost entirely occupied by the grated window
looking into the court below, upon which Mustapha habitually sat and
smoked. Opposite the entrance was a handsome walnut-wood wardrobe with a
long looking-glass, and a similar piece of furniture faced the window. I
remember nothing else in the apartment except a coloured print of the
King of Italy, half-a-dozen clocks all indicating a different hour, and
a horrible mechanical toy which represented over and over again the
death of Cleopatra. I found General Muhamed Bacouch, Director of the
Tunisian Foreign Office, in consultation with the Prime Minister, who
had before him the letters received that morning from the interior, as
well as two or three of the memoranda of Sy Ali Bey. Holding up the
latter, Mustapha said, “Here are the proofs of the Khamírs having
entirely submitted, and yet you see the invasion has taken place? Is it
possible that war can be made against us without notice? What is to be
done?” I very naturally suggested that what had happened was as yet
unknown in Europe, and that the time had now come to make another
protest, and address an appeal to the Powers. Just at this moment an
energetic knocking was heard at the outer door, and the servant
announced that General Musalli had brought a communication from M.
Roustan. Mustapha said quite collectedly, “Prepare a protest for us
while I get rid of him;” and touching a spring, the wardrobe door opened
and disclosed a passage leading to a second chamber, which seemed also
to contain nothing but sofas and clocks. I had barely time to draft the
papers he required with a pencil in a note-book, when General Bacouch
called me back to the Minister’s room. What had passed in the meantime
seemed to have strengthened Mustapha’s determination to resist, and he
summoned M. Conti to translate the protests. “This will do very well,”
he said, “but we must show them to the Council.” Taking my hand, he
opened the glass door of the second wardrobe, and we entered the large
drawing-room, to which the Cabinet had adjourned its meeting from Kasr-
es-Said. Here there was a large console table, around which General
Bacouch, General Arbi Zerouck, Sidi El Aziz, General Muhamed Khaznadar,
and two other members, were sitting in the midst of a wilderness of
gilding, looking-glasses, and ruby velvet. The Prime Minister took his
seat, and the state of affairs was discussed at length. A messenger was
sent to the office of the Rubattino Steamboat Company, and the agent,
Signor Ravasini, agreed to get one of the packets under steam at Goletta
by ten o’clock. The protests were adopted, and M. Conti never left his
seat till copies had been prepared for Constantinople, London, Vienna,
Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Rome. At last all was ready, and a special
train conveyed the packet containing the messages to Goletta. As we
parted, General Bacouch said to me, “Now at any rate England must say
something, she cannot remain silent, and we shall at least know our
fate.” Sy Arbi Zerouck answered, “England has always protected us, she
will not abandon us now.” They were both doomed to be disappointed.
After a brief gleam of sunshine under the new _régime_, General Bacouch
was “placed upon the retired list;” General Sy Arbi Zerouck was banished
from Tunis within a month of the anxious evening we spent together at
Mustapha’s palace, and the faithful and honest Antonio Conti was
dismissed from the Government service before the Kasr-es-Said Treaty was
hardly a week old, because he had done his duty to the prince he served.
Next morning the following protest was tendered to M. Roustan:—
“Our Governor of Kef informs us that a French military column has
entered the territory of the Tunisian tribe of Sharen, and threatens the
city of Kef. The Governor of Beja informs us likewise that another
French column has penetrated into the Khamír territory. The invasion of
our Regency has taken place without any notice to our Government, and at
a time when you yourself admit that peace exists between Tunis and
France. We declare this invasion of our territory to be a violation of
the law of nations. We, therefore, solemnly protest against it, in our
own name and that of His Majesty the Sultan, of whose empire Tunis is an
integral part, and must appeal to the justice of the Great Powers. We
declare the French Republic to be solely responsible for the
consequences which may ensue from this invasion of our state.”
The text of the telegram sent to England from Trapani by the steamer
which left Tunis on the night of the 25th April is as follows:—
_The Bey of Tunis to Lord Granville, Foreign Office, London._
His Highness the Bey of Tunis begs your Excellency to lay the following
message before Her Majesty the Queen of England and the British
Government. In spite of the protestations which we have made in our own
name and in that of our suzerain the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and
notwithstanding the proofs we have given of our ability to repress any
excesses of the Khamír frontier tribe which may have given cause for
complaint, and the fact that the troops commanded by our brother and
heir now occupy that portion of our dominions which they inhabit, the
Government of the French Republic has caused its troops to invade our
country, and, not content with entering that portion of the Regency
where the Khamírs reside, have occupied a part of our territory far
distant from the locality in question, and entirely unconnected with it.
The repeated protests which we have made, both in our own name and in
that of our suzerain, have been disregarded, and our territory has been
violated without a declaration of war, either against ourselves or our
political superior, and this with a total disregard of the usual rules
and observances prescribed under circumstances by the law of nations. We
are at a loss to understand the reason why we are so treated by a great
and powerful Government, with which we have always been on the most
cordial terms, and whose interests in our Regency we have studiously and
constantly endeavoured to promote. We are the more astonished at the
measures resorted to against us because the French representative has
not interrupted his relations with us, and only two days ago he assured
us that as peace prevailed between the Republic and ourselves, a landing
of French soldiers on our coast could only take place with our own
consent and concurrence. Under these circumstances we appeal to our
august ally, Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, as well as to all
the Governments, signataries of the Treaty of Berlin. We do this the
more readily because the country which we govern is, as an integral part
of the Ottoman Empire, entitled to the protection sought for. We are
willing to submit unreservedly all complaints brought against us to
their friendly arbitration. We feel assured that the Great Powers of
Europe will take into consideration the treaties they have entered into
with my predecessors and myself, and will not ignore our constant
endeavours to guarantee equal privileges and impartial justice to all
European subjects residing in our state. In our hour of dire distress we
implore the Great Powers to interpose their friendly offices on our
behalf. We believe that justice is on our side, but we leave the
consideration of our position, as well as our own interests and those of
our suzerain, to the justice, impartiality, and generosity of the Great
Powers.
(Signed) MUHAMED ES SADEK.
The invasion of the Regency was begun by three military movements—viz.,
the taking of Kef, the bombardment of Tabarca, and the advance into the
Khamír mountains. On the 26th of April the citadel of Kef was
surrendered by its governor to General Logerot. There had at first been
some ideas of resistance, and the French cannons were already in
position on one of the adjoining hills, but the Bey’s orders were at
last acted upon, and the French flag floated over the Tunisian standard
on one of the oldest and most renowned fortresses of the Regency. The
fall of Kef opened the whole of the Medjerdah valley to the column
Logerot.
The taking of Tabarca gave rise to a number of exaggerations. The Arabs
reported some hundreds of deaths to have been caused by the shells of
the besiegers, while the French affirmed that the resistance was
confined to “a little skirmishing with sharpshooters.” A few weeks later
I met in Tunis Colonel Taib Masmuri, the defender of the old stronghold
of the Lomellini. Although he was prudently reticent as to whether he
had or had not returned the French fire, he showed no disinclination to
tell the tale of his adventures. “It is untrue,” says Masmuri, “that any
one ever fired at the French gun-boat. On the 25th April a French
captain landed and _offered me many inducements_ to surrender the fort.
I refused to do so, and in the evening the Admiral himself sent me a
letter reiterating the demand, and telling me that, if necessary, force
would be used. I cannot write myself, but I got a notary to frame an
answer saying that I had referred the matter to Sy Ali Bey. On the 26th
April about two P.M., suddenly and without any notice a heavy fire was
opened on the fort from the ironclads. The second shot killed three of
my soldiers, and in a few minutes a piece of falling wall brought me to
the ground and wounded me in the thigh. When I managed to rise I saw
several dead soldiers near me. Meanwhile some of the Khamírs had crossed
from the shore, and managed to get twelve barrels of powder from the
magazine. I contrived to swim to the land, and after wandering about for
three days reached Ali Bey’s camp.” After the bombardment the Khamírs
were greatly frightened by an exhibition of the electric light, which
has never been quite forgotten. The details of the advance across the
frontier will be found in Mr. Perkins’ journal of the fortnight he spent
in the heart of the seat of war.