“I have, &c.,
(Signed) “Palmerston.”
“To his Excellency Lord Ponsonby.”
This letter shows that the British Government was not quite satisfied with the deposition of Mehemet Ali. The British Ambassador at Constantinople merely announced it in a short despatch; but his dislike of Mehemet Ali was so little concealed, that it was generally supposed he used all his influence with the Porte to induce the Sultan to depose him. Great praise is, however, due to his Excellency, for the vigour with which he had pushed the armaments at Constantinople, and I believe, had it not been for his exertions, neither a Turkish army or fleet would ever have appeared on the coast of Syria. Had the Ambassador stopped here, and recommended the Porte to be satisfied with the possession of that country, he would have shown himself a great statesman, and a wise man; but it will shortly be seen that he was so exasperated against Mehemet Ali, that he endeavoured to hurry the Porte into measures, that they had not the power of carrying into execution, against the wish of the Ambassadors of the other Powers, and at the imminent risk of a war with France.
I saw things through a very different telescope. We had met with great success, more than we had the least right to expect, and notwithstanding the menaces of France, a European war had as yet been avoided. I knew it was the intention of the Commander-in-Chief to leave the coast, and also shortly to recall the squadron from Alexandria. Ibrahim had collected his troops at Damascus, Zachle, and Malaka, and they could not have consisted of less than 60,000 men. He had the reputation of being a great General, and the talents of Souliman were undoubted; he had met with uninterrupted success in all his campaigns, with the exception of the last; and it was natural to expect he would seize the first opportunity of wiping off the stain on his military reputation. He must have known that the mountaineers were badly provisioned and unsupported by a regular force, and that the Turkish troops were scattered in various garrisons, and as the season advanced would be unsupported by a British fleet. I gave Ibrahim credit for attempting to do the same thing I should have done in similar circumstances, and I determined to take the responsibility on myself, and at once open a communication with Mehemet Ali. Captain Maunsell, of the Rodney, was an old friend of the Pacha's, and I decided on making him my negotiator, and next morning he proceeded with a flag of truce to Alexandria with the subjoined letter to Boghos Bey:—
“Sir,
H.B.M. Ship Powerful, off Alexandria,
November 22, 1840.
“This will be delivered to your Excellency by Captain Maunsell, an old acquaintance of his Highness Mehemet Ali. I send him to request his Highness will consent to release or exchange, the Emirs and Scheiks of Lebanon, who were sent to Alexandria last July by the authorities of Syria. The greater part of those unfortunate individuals were arrested only on suspicion of disaffection, at at the instigation of the late Grand Prince, whose government of Lebanon was anything but just, or moderate, and who at last deserted Mehemet Ali.
“The retaining those unhappy individuals in captivity can answer no good purpose at present: Lebanon is entirely free and armed; and come what may in other parts of Syria, the mountains never can again fall under the rule of Mehemet Ali.