Our Prime Minister has brought to our knowledge the communication which has been made to him in your name by M. Sumaripa. You state that additional anxiety has been created amongst the European colonists by reason of the recent declaration which we have made to you and the representatives of the friendly Powers, and suggest that this impression should be removed by the landing of a force of marines with two cannons from the frigate at Goletta, in order to reassure the European population of Tunis. You add that this measure can only be adopted with our consent, because by God’s goodness we are at peace with your Government, which desires to remain on friendly terms with us. We must first thank both you and your Government for this spontaneous declaration of its wish to continue at peace with us. We are obliged also for your solicitude for our good and for the preservation of public order, of which we consider your proposal itself as an evident proof. We regret, however, to be obliged to decline your assistance because the result would be contrary to what you imagine, and its acceptance would amount to a confession of our inability to maintain order, which is far from being the case. You are yourself a witness, that, under God’s providence, nothing whatever has happened to justify the fears entertained by the colonists, and that order everywhere prevails. The interpretation you seek to give to our declarations is at variance with the declarations themselves. We have assured both your honourable colleagues and yourself that as long as things continue in their normal course we will answer for the public order and tranquillity, and that in any case we will do our utmost to prevent the smallest breach of the peace. We repeat to you, however, once more, that if any portion of the Regency is invaded by the French troops, we may find ourselves in the presence of a general rising, which will spread all over the country notwithstanding our efforts to suppress it. It is this danger we have endeavoured to point out, and for which we must decline all responsibility. We still hope that the Government of the Republic will take all this into serious consideration, and will reflect on the various perils which an invasion of our country may engender. We trust, therefore, that we may be permitted to exclusively treat the matter of the Khamírs, concerning which we shall arrive at a solution of a satisfactory nature, and such as will secure the end we both profess to have in view. M. Roustan was very wroth at this unexpected refusal, and in the course of the afternoon sent one of his janissaries to make a round of the Consulates with the following protest in the shape of a circular:— _M. Roustan to the Corps Consulaire (April 23d)._