“I said that I would not attempt to represent as being of no value or importance a sacrifice which is unquestionably a great one, because such a representation could not convince the Sultan. But I begged Chekib Effendi to request his Government to consider the immense importance of the moral and physical strength which the Sultan has gained by the events of the few last months, and to remember that all which the Sultan has gained, Mehemet Ali has lost. That thus their relative positions have been so entirely changed, that the Pacha can never again become really dangerous or seriously troublesome to the Sultan, if the Sultan avails himself properly of the stipulations of the Treaty of July; and if he shall well organize his army, navy, and finances, and shall place those branches of his public service upon an efficient footing. I desired Chekib Effendi to bear in mind that the Sultan has recovered, for his direct authority, the whole of Syria, Arabia, and Candia; points which, with reference to military, naval, financial, and religious considerations, are of the utmost importance, and for the recovery of which the Sultan would, at this time last year, have gladly made very considerable sacrifices. I further reminded him, that a faithful execution of that stipulation of the Treaty of July, which says, that all the laws and treaties of the empire are to apply to Egypt as to any other province, will afford a most essential security for the sovereign authority of the Sultan. I therefore requested Chekib Effendi to urge his Government to conclude this matter without further delay, because it is of great importance for all parties concerned, that it should be brought to a final settlement as soon as possible.
“Chekib Effendi promised me to write to Rechid Pacha to this effect, and he said that he had no doubt that the Sultan will comply with the advice of his Allies.”
The day after this conversation, and in conformity with Lord Palmerston’s views, the Allied Ministers sent a note to Chekib Effendi, expressing their opinion that the Sultan should confer on the descendants of Mehemet Ali in the direct line, the Pachalic of Egypt[[93]].
CHAPTER XVII.
Determination of the Allied Courts to secure the Hereditary Pachalic for Mehemet Ali—Correspondence between Baron Sturmer and Lord Ponsonby—Decisive Instructions from Lord Palmerston to Lord Ponsonby—Conference of the Allied Ministers with Rechid Pacha—Project for settling the Egyptian Question—Lord Ponsonby’s Observations at the Conference—The Firmans decided on—Refusal of Lord Ponsonby to allow the English Consul-General to return to Egypt—Lord Ponsonby’s Letter to Rechid Pacha.
Before the last communication could reach the British Ambassador, indeed before it was written, Baron Stürmer in a letter of the 7th of January[[94]], had told him that Prince Metternich had written in the most peremptory terms, that the Four Courts had pronounced that the hereditary succession in the functions of the Government of Egypt should be granted to the family of Mehemet Ali, and he finishes by condoling with Lord Ponsonby, that the Allies have destroyed the hope they both had of seeing the power of Mehemet Ali crumble to pieces. He adds, “My part is played, and it only remains for me to await in silence the orders which my Government may be pleased to transmit to me, and execute them scrupulously.”
The English Ambassador, in no way daunted, replies[[95]], “It is wholly indifferent what may be the private opinion of any of us as to this question, which is the affair of our Governments, and for which none of us are responsible; but it is another thing to act ‘without orders,’ and I will not incur ‘that’ responsibility, and therefore I must decline acting in concert with you until I am authorized to take the steps you propose, by instructions to that effect. It is necessary I should acquaint our colleagues and the Ottoman Ministers with my position, and I shall do so without loss of time. I have been told by the best authority, including yourself, if I mistake not, that your Government had not decided to grant the hereditary right to Mehemet Ali; and at the Conference it did appear that you had no authority to mention that point. This matter, however, is not of a very recent date, and it is not at all impossible that more than one alteration may have taken place in the language or opinion of that Government, and that which is erroneous now, may have been right before, or possibly may be so again, for in this affair there has been a perpetual fluctuation of circumstances. If my Government has not sent me orders, it cannot be for want of time, as they would have reached me through Vienna as soon as the instruction you have received.”
The Ambassador wrote in the same sense to M. Titow and Count Königsmark[[96]], complaining of the breathless haste they were proceeding in, in recommending the hereditary succession, and urging every argument to prevent it in the first instance; all of which happily failed, and at last he got decided instructions from home, which produced a couple of short notes to the other Ministers and M. Pisani.
“My dear Sir,
“Therapia, Jan. 10, 1841.