“pélissir.” to (That letter circular was sent to the, July 28, 1852
“Circular.
“The consul-general and chargé d’affaires of France has the honor to inform his honorable colleagues that he has just demanded, in behalf of his government, from the Pasha of Tripoli satisfaction in what concerns him for want of which appeal shall be made to force. He warns them, too, that they and their fellow-subjects will find on board the French vessels the refuge and protection which they want.
“He requests them to take measures in order that the vessels of their nations, which are in port, may go to a place of safety, that is to say, quite without the lines of defense of the town and its surroundings, and that they fail not to hoist their national colors. The vessels named here the Eastern, (Levantins,) displaying the Ottoman flag, will be treated as neutral. It shall not be the same with those of Tripoli, which belong personally to the Pasha and his people.
(That letter circular was sent to the consuls of Tripoli on the eve of the intended bombardment of Tripoli by a French squadron, on account of two Frenchmen, claimed by the French consul as French subjects, and by the Pasha as Mussulmans and soldie in the Ottoman army.)