“The Tunisian Regency is now _de jure_ and _de facto_ an integral part of the Ottoman Empire. Indeed, the Porte never alienated his sovereign right over that country, but practically the existence of such right had for many years been totally ignored by the Regency, and I may say, by all the Powers which dealt with it. Now it is different; the Tunisians having frankly avowed their dependence on the Sultan. This change is the more creditable and satisfactory to the Porte, as it has not been brought about by any encouragement or pressure on their part. It must, indeed, be acknowledged that they have not been in search of the sheep that has gone astray, but merely welcomed it when, of its own accord, it returned to them. It is the population that has demanded the removal of the old ties between the Regency and the Empire. It is Mahommed Sadyk Pasha himself who, apologising for the past, has humbly besought the Imperial Throne to confirm him in the government of the province of Tunis, and to allow him to transmit it to the eldest member of his family after his death. “The Tunisian ruler has been for several years alive to the dangers of his position. In 1864, after the insurrection of his Regency, he fully understood that he could neither consolidate his Government, nor protect his territory from external oppression, except by putting himself on a true footing with the Sovereign Court. He, therefore, hastened to send Keiredine Pasha to Constantinople ostensibly to thank the Porte for the moral support it had given him during the insurrection, but in reality to unite his country to the Empire, and to secure its government to his country. Keiredine Pasha has then been assured that the Porte was neither desirous nor willing to waive or diminish the privileges enjoyed by Tunis _ab antiquo_, and that a firman, conferring on Mahommed Sadyk Pasha’s family the hereditary government of his province, would be granted if he were to apply for it in writing. Keiredine returned to Tunis with a letter to this effect from Fuad Pasha, then Grand Vizier. Nothing more was heard of the matter until a month ago, when Keiredine Pasha arrived unexpectedly at Constantinople, and presenting a formal demand from Sadyk Pasha, together with a petition signed by all the chiefs of the Tunisian population, applied for the firman which had been promised to his master in 1864, and was accordingly issued on 3d October 1871.