Footnote 46: Born 1782; at this time the Austrian Ambassador in France.
Viscount Palmerston to Queen Victoria.
MEHEMET ALI
Panshanger, 11th October 1840.
Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty.
Viscount Palmerston submits to your Majesty some interesting letters, which he received some days ago from Paris, showing that there never has been any real foundation for the alarm of war with France which was felt by some persons in this country.
Viscount Palmerston also submits a despatch from Mons. Thiers to Mons. Guizot which was communicated to him yesterday by Mons. Guizot, and which seems to open a prospect of an amicable and satisfactory understanding between France and the Four Powers.
Viscount Palmerston also submits a note from Mr Bulwer intimating that the French Government would be contented with an arrangement which should leave Mehemet Ali in possession of Egypt alone, without any part of Syria, and Viscount Palmerston submits that such is the arrangement which it would on all accounts be desirable to accomplish. There seems reason to think that the bombardment of Beyrout47 and the deposal of Mehemet Ali by the Sultan have greatly contributed to render the French more reasonable on this question, by exciting in their minds an apprehension that unless some arrangement be speedily effected, the operations now going on in the Levant will end in the entire overthrow of Mehemet Ali.
Footnote 47: On 10th October Ibrahim was defeated by the Allies, and next day Beyrout was occupied by British, Austrian, and Turkish troops.