On the 18th of September 1834 a Turkish brig arrived at Tripoli, bringing Mohammed Cekir, Private Secretary of the Seraglio, as Envoy or Commissioner from the Sultan. For some days the objects of his mission were unknown; it was however soon rumored that he was the bearer of firman or Imperial order recognizing Ali as Pasha, and requiring the people to submit to his authority. This rumor was fully confirmed on the 25th, when the firman declaring such to be the will of the Sultan, was publicly read at the castle in presence of the principal persons of the Government, and of the foreign Consuls who had been invited to attend. The friends of Ali now considered his success assured; the Consuls with the exception of those of Great Britain and Tuscany, immediately offered to him their congratulations without reserve, and M. Bourboulon delivered his credentials as Chargé d'Affaires of France. The people of the town, probably supposing that the termination of their miseries was at hand expressed their joy by shouts of triumph and felicitation, which were responded to by yells of defiance from the country. The Envoy having formally acknowledged Ali as Pasha, then proceeded to execute the remainder of his charge, and issued a proclamation calling on the insurgent chiefs to submit within the space of six days to their lawful sovereign; he moreover privately despatched to Emhammed letters written to him by the Grand Vizier and Capoudan Pasha, exhorting him to yield without delay. Neither Emhammed nor his followers however were disposed to obey the mandate of a distant monarch, whom they regarded rather as their spiritual than as their temporal chief, particularly as the summons was unaccompanied by adequate means of enforcing it; the period fixed in the proclamation consequently expired without manifestation on their parts of any intention to cease their opposition to Ali. Mohammed Cekir then considering it possible that his proclamation might have been withheld from the people of the country by their chiefs, determined to communicate with them directly in person; accordingly on the 3d of October he left the town and proceeded with great ceremony, under the escort of a body of the Pasha's troops, to the vicinity of Emhammed's encampment, where being soon surrounded by a crowd of curious Arabs he ordered the firman to be read. The effect by no means corresponded with his wishes; the firman was written in the Turkish language with which the auditors were entirely unacquainted, and when its meaning was at length explained to them, they replied by shouts and movements so little allied to respect, that the Envoy found it most prudent to retreat without further parley within the walls of Tripoli. While on his way however he received a letter from Emhammed and his Sheiks, professing great veneration for the Sultan, but declining to comply with his will on the subject in question.
After this failure a consultation was held at the castle, the result of which was another proclamation addressed to the people of the country inviting them in more conciliatory terms to make their submission within a period of six days as before allowed. The reply of the insurgents to this summons did not differ from that given to the former; it was however signed by all the chief men of their party. They also sent a circular letter to the same effect to the Consuls in Tripoli, enclosing an expostulatory manifesto addressed to the Sovereigns of Europe, setting forth the causes of their appearing in arms and their determination to resist the authority of Ali, notwithstanding the Sultan's firman which they averred had been obtained by corrupt means. These papers are supposed to have been drawn up by Hadji Mohammed Bet-el-Mel (whom Emhammed had made his first Minister,) with the aid probably of Colonel Warrington.
The Turkish Envoy in revenge for this contumacy, declared the part of the country occupied by the insurgents in a state of blockade; and the brig which had brought him to Tripoli was forthwith employed in cruising off its coast. Emhammed on his part repeated his assurances, that he should maintain the investment of the town by sea as well as by land, and having again warned the Consuls that their vessels would be prevented from entering the harbor, a few days after gave proof of his power as well as of his determination to effect what he had threatened. On the 6th of November he fired upon an Austrian vessel which attempted to enter the port and compelled her to put back, although she was under the French flag, and supported by a French brig of war, as well as by that in which the Ottoman Envoy had arrived; several other vessels, European as well as Tripoline, were treated in a similar manner. The Turk not choosing to expose the flag of his Sovereign to such indignities returned to Constantinople.
In the spring of 1835 reports were circulated in Tripoli that a Turkish armament was about to be sent to that place from Constantinople; some supposed it was for the purpose of overthrowing all opposition to Ali; others hinted that the Sultan meant to take possession of the country. The latter opinion was confirmed by all the European Journals; and indeed it could scarcely have been expected that the Ottoman Government, which at that moment seemed to need all its forces and funds for its own defence, could have been disposed to send a large and expensive expedition for the mere purpose of settling a dispute with regard to the Sovereignty of a distant country.
On the 20th of May Mohammed Cekir returned to Tripoli where he announced the Turkish Squadron as near, and assuring Ali that it was sent entirely for his benefit, advised him to show his gratitude to the Sultan, by the liberal distribution of presents among its officers. The Ottoman ships appeared on the evening of the 25th, and in the course of that night the whole armament, consisting of one ship of the line, five frigates, two sloops, two brigs, a schooner, a cutter and ten transports, anchored in the roads and harbor, without any opposition either on the part of the Pasha or of his rival. The next morning presents of fresh provisions were sent to the ships from the Messeah as well as the town; salutes were fired from the batteries on each side, and the Turkish Admiral received visits and communications from each quarter. The Pasha attended by his ministers and chief officers also paid a formal visit to the Admiral, by whom he appears to have been received with the respect usually paid to one of his rank; it was then confidently expected in the city that he would be detained, however after having spent about four hours on board the flag ship, he returned to the castle in his boat receiving salutes as he passed, from the guns of the squadron. Immediately on landing, he issued an order that none of his subjects should appear in arms. This order having been circulated the disembarkation of the troops began, and by mid-day of the 27th more than four thousand Turkish soldiers with nineteen cannon and four mortars had entered the city, which was thus placed entirely at their discretion.
On the morning of the 28th, Ali again went on board the Admiral's ship, in order as it was understood to accompany that officer and the commander of the troops to the city; two hours afterwards the guns from the ships announced that the high personages were on their way to the shore, and the barges supposed to contain them were discovered approaching the water gate. The Turkish Admiral and General landed and attended by their guards entered the castle; the Pasha however did not appear, and it was soon ascertained that he was a prisoner on board the flag ship. At four o'clock the Sultan's firman was publicly read, by which the General Mustapha Nedgib was appointed Pasha of the Province of Tripoli.
The Turkish Pasha no doubt considered his work imperfect, until he had also possessed himself of Emhammed's person; with this view therefore he immediately despatched a messenger to the Prince, requesting him, his brother Hamet and his Minister Hadji Mohammed, to appear at the Castle and declare their submission to the will of the Sultan. Hadji Mohammed at once evinced his readiness to submit, recommending to the Turk to issue assurances of pardon to all who had been engaged in the opposition to Ali; Emhammed however declined entering the castle, except upon the guarantee of the British Consul. Mustapha without hesitation gave the assurances of indemnity as recommended by Hadji Mohammed, and ordered the gates of the town to be thrown open; he however peremptorily refused to assent to any interference on the part of a foreign Consul.
The Arabs as soon as they were certain of Ali's imprisonment, and of their own freedom from danger, abandoned their tents and batteries and flocked into the town. Their chief in vain called on them to remember their promises of fidelity to his cause; he in vain entreated the British Consul to interfere in his behalf; at length night coming on he retired to his tent exhausted and dispirited, and fell asleep. On awaking he found himself almost alone; the Sheiks with their followers had all deserted him, and even Hadji Mohammed had sought refuge on board of a British ship of war which lay in the harbor. With a few followers the two young Princes then betook themselves to flight. Hamet succeeded in reaching the frontiers of Egypt, but Emhammed, overpowered by the sudden disappointment of all his hopes, blew out his own brains with a blunderbuss on the day after he had left Tripoli; at least such was the account of his death given by his attendants.
Ali and his Minister Mohammed D'Ghies were sent to Constantinople; what has been their fate we have as yet no means of ascertaining. Hassuna D'Ghies after many mutations of fortune, is at present established at Constantinople as the editor of the Moniteur Ottoman the official Gazette of the Sultan. The old Pasha Yusuf who appeared to be sinking into idiocy, remains in honorable durance in the castle, where Hadji Mohammed Bet-el-Mel is allowed to attend him. Thus has the Caramanli family been a second time deprived of the sovereignty of Tripoli, which will not probably be regained by one of their name.