refer to the affairs of Tunis. If there was provocation
for the French occupation of Algiers in 1830, there was none for that
of Tunis in 1881.[94] It was a pure piece of aggression, stimulated by
the rival efforts of Italy, and encouraged by the timidity of the
English Foreign Office, then under the guidance of Lord Granville. A
series of diplomatic grievances, based upon no valid grounds, was set
up by the ingenious representative of France in the Regency--M.
Theodore Roustan, since deservedly exposed--and the resistance of the
unfortunate Bey, Mohammed Es-S[=a]dik, to demands which were in
themselves preposterous, and which obviously menaced his
semi-independence as a viceroy of the Ottoman Empire, received no
support from any of the Powers, save Turkey, who was then depressed in
influence and resources by the adversities of the Russian invasion.
The result was natural: a strong Power, unchecked by efficient rivals,
pursued her stealthy policy of aggression against a very weak, but not
dishonest, State; and finally seized upon the ridiculous pretext of
some disturbances among the tribes bordering on Algeria to invade the
territory of the Bey. In vain Mohammed Es-S[=a]dik assured M. Roustan
that order had been restored among the tribes; in vain he appealed to
all the Powers, and, above all, to England. Lord Granville believed
the French Government when it solemnly assured him that "the
operations about to commence on the borderland between Algeria and
Tunis are meant solely to put an end to the constant inroads of the
frontier clans into Algerian territory, and that the independence of
the Bey and the integrity of his territory are in no way threatened."
It was Algiers over again, but with even more serious consequences to
English influence--indeed to all but French influence--in the
Mediterranean. "Perfide Albion" wholly confided in "Perfida Gallia,"
and it was too late to protest against the flagrant breach of faith
when the French army had taken Kef and Tabarka (April 26, 1881), when
the tricolor was floating over Bizerta, and when General Breart, with
every circumstance of insolent brutality, had forced the Treaty of
Kasr-es-Sa'[=i]d upon the luckless Bey under the muzzles of the guns
of the Republic (May 12th). It is difficult to believe that the
feeling of the English statesmen of the day is expressed in the
words--_Haec olim meminisse juvabit._

The Bey had been captured--he and since his death Sidi 'Al[=i] Be