No intelligence whatever of these events appears to have reached
Paris, but M. Jules Ferry, the Premier, assures the Cor- respondent of the Standard that he had received intelligence of Mr. Gladstone's speech with the "greatest surprise." He pro- tested against the faintest idea of any but cordial feelings towards the British Government, which, in " its dealings with France, notably in the matter of the Tunis capitulations, had been so thoroughly fair." He hinted that Consul Pakenham had very strong anti-French feeling, and that the Missionaries were not quite trustworthy reporters, but bade the correspondent tell his readers that the " most sincere wish of the French Government is to live on peaceful and amicable terms with your country." That is satisfactory, and it is, of course, possible that the death of Consul Pakenham produced too deep an impression of the way in which he had been treated;. but two facts must be remembered. One is that the German and other Consuls, on bearing of his expulsion, hauled down their flags; and another is that the news received by Government is a summary of despatches, probably, though not certainly, written by the Captain of the Dryad,' and forwarded by the Dragon' to Zanzibar. The chance of misrepresentation of the facts is, therefore, small.
