letter I had from him. The appointments to the different places are made

without judgment; and I verily believe, if the war lasts, Ibrahim Pacha will get a party in his favour. I understand Izzet openly says when Ibrahim is put down, the next thing to do is to disarm the mountaineers. This, I suspect, will be no easy matter; and I see no prospect of any good coming out of all this to the Sultan; he ought at once to give them the same government they have at Samos.

“I before mentioned to your Lordship that Sidon, Beyrout, and Tripoli should be added to the government of the Grand Prince; and as the mountaineers have land in the Bekaa, if that and Anti-Lebanon could be also added to their government, they would be quite content, and be the best supporters the Sultan could have. If Mehemet Ali was to offer it, even now, and they could depend upon him, I verily believe he would be supported.

“The Turks in Beyrout treat the mountaineers very ill, and they are beginning to find they will not be a bit better off than they were. At present I have great influence over them, and can make them do just what I like, but I am unfortunately going to Alexandria, where I do not believe anything can be done without troops, and there will be no one here to look after their interests. My son is come out to join me; he is Major in the 46th. I have some idea of sending him to the Emir, but he ought to have Turkish rank; he has great talent, great application, and knows a little Arabic, and will soon know more. If you could get him Turkish rank, as Major-General, he would be most useful. There is another thing that ought to be done immediately, viz., to send one who could be _trusted_, with a sum of money, say 5000_l._, to distribute amongst the mountaineers whose houses have been burnt. I was yesterday at Bechfaya; there is a town near it entirely destroyed, and the inhabitants without shelter or provisions, and the winter coming on; they cannot go into the plain to cultivate their lands, and there will certainly be a famine if magazines are not formed to provide against it.

“The garrison of Jaffa marched into Acre the other day, and 500 irregular horse are come in from Marash; I believe if Ibrahim was attacked with vigour, we should get all the Egyptian army; after another fortnight nothing more can be done, because the rains will set in. Should anything turn up at Alexandria I shall not fail to keep your Lordship informed. It is generally believed here that the French squadron are gone to Toulon, in that case we shall probably go to Malta; they are, I dare say, about something,—at least it looks like it,—or they may have determined on war, and are concentrating their squadron, which will be stronger than ours, till the arrival of the Britannia and Howe. The Admiral, for the present, talks of going to Marmorice Bay, and the ships from home are ordered to rendezvous there.

“Believe me, &c., “CHARLES NAPIER.”

“To the Right Hon. Lord Ponsonby.”

This letter I followed up by one to Lord Palmerston:—

“Powerful, Beyrout, Nov. 14, 1840.

“My Lord,

“By this time your Lordship will have known of the defeat of Ibrahim Pacha, and the total evacuation of Lebanon. Since then, Acre has fallen; but no military operations have taken place. Troops are arriving every day from Constantinople, and we cannot now have less than 12,000 men. Ibrahim Pacha is two days’ march from here, and is watched by the mountaineers only; and they are so neglected by the Pacha, that sometimes they are without provisions for three days. I send you the translation of the last letter I received from the Grand Prince; this is not the first, second, or third time. The Pacha here is the worst person that can be; and unless he is removed, there will be mischief. I have written fully to Lord Ponsonby on the subject. Nothing would give England so much influence here as giving Lebanon the same government as Samos. The Grand Prince ought to be a Pacha; Sidon, Tripoli, and Beyrout ought to be added to his government; and, if possible, the Bekaa and Anti-Lebanon. This would be a prosperous country; but agreeable to the present system, they are almost shut out from the sea. God knows how the Sultan is to govern the other provinces; but if his Pachas are all like the man here, they will be worse off than they were under Mehemet Ali; and I verily believe, should the war last, he will have a party in his favour, the Turks treat them so ill. If Mehemet Ali was a wise man, he would do with the mountains what I have stated, and he would get a strong party in his favour.

“I am going to Alexandria, which I am sorry for. I have great influence here at present, and can make them do what I like; and would have been of much more service here than off Alexandria, where nothing can be done at this season.

“My son joined me the other day, which I believe you know; I should have put him on my staff had I remained in command of the army. I have some idea of sending him to the Grand Prince, where he would be of use; but I fear it might create jealousies. I hope your Lordship will order him the same fit-out and allowances with the other officers. I wrote to Sir John Macdonald; at my request he sent him to me, and it would be hard if he was put to personal expenses.

“The weather is still fine; but if a movement does not take place at once, it will be too late, and the troops must remain in garrison all the winter. Ibrahim will probably establish his head-quarters at Balbeck, if he intends remaining in Syria; but as he has given up the north, and lost Acre, I do not see what he is to gain by remaining in this country.

“We hear the French fleet are gone to Toulon; I fear they are up to some mischief. If this is true, we ought to be at Malta; but we never can, with our present force, watch both the French and Egyptians. I do not, however, apprehend the latter will proceed to sea; if they do, I shall see what I can make of them. I believe the best thing to settle this affair would be at once to say to Mehemet Ali, 'Withdraw from Syria, and give up the Turkish fleet, and you shall keep Egypt.' If your Lordship and the allies have any notion of that, try me as a negotiator with six sail of the line, which I am to have, and I dare say I should succeed. I believe Egypt would be just as well governed by him, as it would be by one of the Turkish Pachas; he is an old man, and it is hardly worth while risking a European war to turn him out.

“I have the honour to remain, &c., “CHARLES NAPIER.”

“To the Right Hon. Lord Palmerston.”

“P.S. If your Lordship expects a French war, for God’s sake full man the ships, or we shall meet with disasters. I have frequently written on this subject, both to Parker and Lord Minto.”

I next wrote as follows to Lord Minto:—

“H.M.S. Powerful, Beyrout, November 14, 1840.

“My Lord,

“I learn, with great pleasure, from Sir William Parker, that my son is to be employed, for which I beg to thank your Lordship. The defeat of Ibrahim Pacha has led to greater events than I was aware of when I last wrote to your Lordship. It appears that he immediately sent orders to evacuate all the north, and blow up the batteries in the passes; at the same time he evacuated Tripoli.

* * * * *

“Ibrahim is now at Zachle with about 12,000 men, including 3000 cavalry. I believe there is some intention of moving, but I fear it will be too late, as the rains are expected every day. We have had a very fine week, but I do not think a forward movement will take place till the officers arrive from England; it will be then too late.

* * * * *

“The Pacha they have sent here is the greatest —— on earth; the appointments to the different posts are given without judgment, and I believe, are bought right and left. The inhabitants are ill-treated by the Turks, and begin to ask what they are to gain by the change. The Pacha countenances all sorts of intrigues against the new Grand Prince, who is left for days without provisions, and his men are forced to go to their houses; and I verily believe he is in the pay of the old Prince and his family, who are very rich, and are trying to regain their places. I go into the mountains occasionally, where I have great influence, and they all tell me this. Had I been Commander-in-Chief, at my own risk and my own responsibility, I would have shipped old Izzet Pacha of to Constantinople, which would at once have shown a determination that oppression should not go on. I have written to Lord Ponsonby, who has promised to have him removed, but if it is not done speedily, it will be too late.

“The taking of Acre has had the same effect in the south. The garrison of Jaffa has marched to Acre, and a body of Naplouses have come in from the mountains. Five hundred irregular cavalry have marched in from Marash. A vigorous attack on Zachle would finish the war which was so happily begun. I hope the Admiral will not leave the coast: the anchorage in St. George’s Bay is quite open, but the holding-ground is good, and country vessels lay there all winter, therefore there can be no reason why a fleet should not lay there. It never blows home.

“The Austrian squadron is to remain, and I hope ours will remain too. I am to have six sail of the line off Alexandria. If I get them out, I hope to give a good account of them. Blockading is of no use, particularly when you have not the power to stop neutrals. One or two ships there, to give notice if they come out, would be quite sufficient, and the fleet, if they did come out, never would get back again. I most sincerely think the best thing to do would be to leave Mehemet Ali in Egypt; he will govern it better than a Turkish Pacha. Let him withdraw from Syria, give up the whole of the fleet as a counter-balance for the expense of the war, and pay the Syrians for the damage he has done them; this would be clipping his wings, and punishing him with sufficient severity. He is an old man, and it is hardly worth while to risk a European war to turn him out. I wish Lord Palmerston would make me a negotiator with six sail of the line under my orders; I think it is most likely this affair of the East would be soon finished.

“I have the honour to be, &c., “CHARLES NAPIER.”

“To the Right Hon. Lord Minto.”