The Greeks saw with no little regret the arrival of these foreign agents, who not only checked their authority over the foreign trade, but became also competent witnesses of their political system and administration, and the accredited reporters of all their actions. But, as it was out of their power to oppose the arrangements of the imperial courts, they thought it best to set their submission to the profit of their vanity in receiving the consuls as envoys sent by foreign powers to independent princes. They introduced for their reception the formalities and ceremonial of the public audiences given by the Grand Vezier to European ambassadors at Constantinople, and they revived the custom of the Voïvodes, of being seated on an elevated throne on similar occasions. Under the republic of France, French consuls were sent for the first time to reside in the principalities, and their establishment has been kept up without interruption under the successive governments of France. On several occasions they were very useful to Buonaparte. A British consul-general was for the first time appointed in 1802 to reside at Bukorest, chiefly for the purpose of facilitating the overland communications between England and Turkey. After the peace of Tilsit he was recalled, and the consulate was renewed in 1813, with the additional motive of promoting commercial intercourse with the principalities. The pope has for many years been represented by a bishop in Wallachia, and by a vicar in Moldavia; the latter has recently been promoted to the rank of a bishop. The number of Roman Catholic inhabitants is considerable; most of the Servian, Bulgarian, and Transylvanian settlers belong to that persuasion. They have two fine churches at Bukorest and at Yassi. There are also two protestant churches originally founded by Charles XII. of Sweden during his long residence in the principalities. They are superintended by a vicar appointed and paid by the archbishop of Stockholm. The protestant inhabitants are German, and their number amounts to one thousand. All foreign churches, provided they profess the doctrines of christianity, are not only tolerated in the principalities, but allowed a variety of privileges which they cannot enjoy in any part of the Turkish dominions. The metropolies seldom interfere with their affairs, and when any circumstance obliges them so to do, they bear every possible regard to their institutions, and never assume the tone of superiority.