With Regard To His Being A French Consul, It Is Said By The French
Government, That He Was Not Their Consul At The Time, Having Resigned.
It Appears Besides That Members Of His Family Are French, And Others
Moorish Subjects.
Indeed, these Mauro-European Jews give great troubles
to the consuls; the various persons of a single family being often under
the protection of three or four consuls.
It will thus be seen how full
of difficulties was this Darmon affair, and what a door it opened to
tedious Moorish diplomacy. The French Government arranged ultimately
with the Sultan a compromise, a sum of money being paid to the murdered
man's family, and the Governor of Mazagran was dismissed.
When young Darmon fell into disgrace, his father, one of the Imperial
merchants, was at Morocco. The father inquired of the Minister whether
the Sultan would receive his present now his son had fallen into
disgrace. The cruelly avaricious tyrant deigned to accept it of the
father it is said, at the very moment when the order to decapitate his
son had been sent to Mazagran. No doubt it was a barbarous action, but
the extreme imprudence of the young man provoked the government to
extremities. The court was so irritated at the time, that it even issued
an order to place all Jews, natives, foreigners, or Europeans upon the
same level of exposure to Moorish insult and oppression. Speaking to Mr.
Willshire about this order, he smilingly observed: "Say nothing, it will
soon be forgotten." The government never intended to carry it out.
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