That evening, a message was brought to Sir John from the Sultan, by his ‘Hajib,’ to express His Majesty’s regret that such an apparent insult had been offered to the Mission. The Hajib stated that the Sultan had sent for the chiefs of the tribes and asked for an explanation of their extraordinary conduct. They assured His Majesty that no insult was offered to or intended for the Bashador, but that some of the younger men of the tribes, excited by feasting and with gunpowder, had taunted and tried to annoy the escort, who had retorted; the Shloh had hoped to make the cavalry fly, as they were accustomed to do on meeting them in battle, and thus prove that the Arabs were unworthy to be guards to the British Mission.
The Hajib then continued, ‘Sidna says he cannot rest unless he is assured that none of you are injured, and he suggests and begs that you, your friends and family (meaning the ladies), will return to the same spot to-morrow to witness the “lab-el-barod,” but without the Arab escort, and attended only by your Tangier guard.’
Sir John agreed, and next day, accompanied by his younger daughter and some of the gentlemen, rode to the palace outside the walls—attended only by the six faithful Suanni men. As we left the city, each tribe sent a body of armed men to perform the gun-dance before us.
We witnessed again the ‘lab-el-barod.’ The Sultan was, at first, mounted on a coal-black horse—in token of his deep displeasure—but changed soon to a chestnut, and, lastly, mounted a milk-white steed. Afterwards we rode over the plain, mingling with the tribes. They cheered wildly, calling down blessings on the Bashador and on all the English—‘For they are brave and just,’ they cried.
The matters which Sir John especially pressed on the attention of the Sultan’s advisers on the occasion of this visit were principally those which, promised in 1873, had not been carried into execution, in consequence of the death of Sultan Sid Mohammed. Amongst the more urgent of these demands were the following:—
The placing of a light at Mazagan, to facilitate the entry of ships into the harbour at night; the building of a pier at Tangier, and of breakwaters in the harbours of Saffi and Dar-el-Baida; the erection of more houses and stores for merchants at the ports; permission to export bones; permission to import sulphur, saltpetre, and lead at a ten per cent. duty, and the abolition of the Government monopoly on these articles; the extension of the term placed on removal of prohibition to export wheat and barley; inquiry into and punishment of outrages on Jews; immediate settlement of all British claims. Most particularly he pressed the importance of allowing a cable to be laid between Tangier and Gibraltar. When he had previously obtained from the Moorish Government permission for an English Company to lay such a cable, one of his colleagues informed the Moorish Government that, in case the concession was granted, he should insist on telegraph wires being laid between Ceuta and Tangier overland, and hold the Moorish Government responsible for the safety of the wires. The Moorish Government, frightened by this menace, and aware that no inland wires would be safe in the then state of Morocco, availed themselves of the excuse to withdraw from their promise to Sir John. On this subject he wrote to Sir Henry Layard:—
When I presented the proposition to my colleagues, I premised by telling them frankly of past opposition, and I asked what would have become of the network of telegraph wires spread throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, if the petty spirit which had prevailed here had existed on the part of the Representatives of Foreign Powers throughout the world. I ridiculed the advantages which it was supposed we should derive in case of war and if the cable became the property of the British Government. ‘Imagine,’ I said, ‘my informing my Government some day by telegraph that the Sultan was about to send a force of 30,000 Moorish troops in the Moorish squadron to act against Spain or France. Such a dream,’ I said, ‘would soon pass away, as any gunboat could cut the cable in this defenceless bay whenever it pleased the officer in command. . . .
‘Once,’ I said, ‘the cable or cables introduced at Tangier, the time would not be far distant when this Government and people would follow the example of the rest of the world, and have telegraph wires throughout this Empire.’
In a series of letters written to his sister, Mrs. Norderling, Sir John describes various incidents of the Mission. The first of these letters, dated April 24, gives an account of the flattering reception the Mission had received:—
Though we are the pets of the Harem we long to get away, but a message has just been brought that the Sultan will not let us go till May 1. Never have I met such a welcome at the Court as on this occasion. Royal honours paid us everywhere, not a word, not a gesture, not a look that could be called unfriendly. From the pompous Basha down to the humble labourer, all vie in being civil to the Englishman who has been, as they say, the friend of the Moor, and who loves ‘justice.’ Even the women don’t hide their faces, or run away from me, but smile brightly at my grey beard when I peer over the terrace wall, though they are more shy when my young friends attempt to have a look at them, in their smart dresses, walking on the terraces.