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The Prince’s Cabinet extended the Serbian officers a warm wel-■come ⁵³ offering them a reception in the Prince’s Pałace attended by the Serbian agent in Bucharest. A permanent contact was maintained with them afterwards through the Eomanian agency in Belgrade. ⁵⁴

Prince Cuza further advised the ruling Prince of Serbia, that “j’ai tu avec la plus grandę satisfaction les deux officiers serbes que Y.A.S. a dćsignćs pour assister aux exercices militaires du camp de Cotroceni”, underhning that “ ... ils ont ćtó reęus dans mon armśe comme des freres d.’armes”.⁵⁵

In order to contribute to the mutual Information on military matters, the United Principalities’ agent in Belgrade informed the Prince’s Cabinet at the beginning of 1864 that he was preparing a report on the Serbian regular and irregular armed forces.⁵⁶

Mutual d plomatlc assistance. There are some highly significant conerete examples of the unreseryed mutual diplomatic assistance awarded by the Principalities and Serbia, yielding positive results.

Serbia assisted the Principalities in all their actions aimed at building np the national unitary State.

The dual election of Prince Cuza on the 5^th and 24^th January 1859 respectively, which set up the personal union between Moldavia and Wallachia — was immediately recognized “de jurę” by Serbia. Thus the delegation of the Serbian Uational Assembly continued its official visit in Wallachia and the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries maintained permanent official contact. ⁵⁷

⁵³    See Cuza’s Cabinet to the prefect of the Giurgiu district, Bucharest, September 16, 1863, vol no. XVIII, sheet 64^r ; Prefect of the Giurgiu district to Cuza's Cabinet, Giurgiu, September 18, 1863, loc. cit, vol. no XXXI, sheet 92^r.

⁵⁴    See Cuza^fs Cabinet to the United Principalities Agency in Belgrade, Bucharest, September 18, 1863, loc. cit , vol no XVIII, sheet 73^r, idem, September 24, 1863, loc cit, .sheet 101^r.

¹⁶ See Ruling Prince of the United Principalities to Serbian Prince, Bucharest, September 23/October 5, 1863, loc cit, vol. IV, sheet 161^r —162^r On the completion of their mission, each Serbian officer received as gift from the Prince of the United Principalities a case with pistols, through T. Callimaki, to mark the bond of fnendship between the two armies (See Cuza's Cabinet to the United Principalities¹ agency in Belgrade, Bucharest, De-cember 10 22, 1863, loc. cit, vol no. XIV, sheet 415^r; United Principalities¹ Agency in Belgrade to Cuza^fs Cabinet, Belgrade, February 15 27, 1864, loc cit, vol LI, sheet 47^r —47^T; Colonel Petrouitsh to the Prince of the United Principalities, Kraguewatz, March 3, 1864, loc. cit, vol XII, sheet 132^r)

^B# See United Principalities¹ agent in Belgrade to Cuza’s Cabinet, Belgrade, February 20/March 3, 1864, loc. cit, vol no XIV, sheet 437^r.

⁸⁷ See Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Wallachian Mimstry of Foreign Affairs, Belgrade, February 21, 1859, MAE, vol no. 277, sheet 31^r; Wallachian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bucharest, February 20, 1859, loc. cit., Packet no. 155 The Great Powers subseąuently recognized the dual election “dc jurę¹¹. Cf. Protocols no. 20, (Apnl 7) and no 21 (April 13), 1859. See p 173 supra.