sulate was besieged, the American flag insulted and your life endangered by an armed mob of Europeans residing here under the protection of the representatives of foreign governments, and you further state that-

The circumstances connected with the history of this outrage leads me to believe that there was no intervention by any of the representatives before mentioned to put down the mob directions were given by the Moorish minister for foreign affairs.

In reply I beg to repeat what I have already had the honor to say to you verbally, viz, that Her Majesty's consul, Mr. Reade, previously to the receipt of any message from the minister for foreign affairs had on hearing of the tumult amongst the European community taken the necessary steps to prevent any persons under our jurisdiction from breaking the peace or in any way interfering with your acts as consul for the United States.

On my return from the country at about 4 p. m. I found the tumult had been quelled, but I nevertheless reiterated the orders which had already been given by Mr. Reade to British and other subjects under our jurisdiction.

I avail myself of this opportunity to repeat to you my regret if any individual within the pale of our jurisdiction should have taken part in the proceedings you describe and which I entirely disapprove of.

Should you, however, think proper to prosecute any person under the jurisdiction of the British consulate-general you have only to take the usual steps for bringing the matter before Her Majesty's consul.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

J. H. DRUMMOND-HAY.

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Madrid, March 5, 1862.

JAMES DE LONG, Esq., U. S. Consul, Tangier.

SIR: Your spirited and patriotic action in arresting within your consular jurisdiction Messrs. Myers and tunstall was reported to me by Mr. Sprague, of Gibraltar, in the course of his official duty as consular agent for Algeciras.

Allow me to offer you my personal compliments for the proceeding which will certainly be appreciated by the President and commended by our people.

Mr. Sprague seem sto have been a little fearful at first that you might have exceeded the strict limits of your authority in the proceeding. He is an experienced and able officer, but perhaps in this instance has been led involuntarily to measure the e xtent of your consular duties in some degree by the rules which would govern his own.

Your position, however, is entirely distinct from that of any consul in a Christian State, and I did not therefore hesitate as soon as the affair was known to me to request Captain Craven, of the Tuscarora, to aid and sustain you in every respect. From subsequent accounts I suppose that this was in fact done spontaneously on his part or on that of the captain of the Ino before communication could have reached him. I have no doubt it was well done.

As Mr. Sprague has informed me since that there was or had been some disturbance in Tangier and that you might still be molested on this account, I have again written to Captain Craven, giving him my idea of some of the political considerations connected with the affair and the opinion that you ought to be sustained at all hazards.