LABOUR IN VAIN.
Ir will be curious if Lord PALMERSTON'S tenure of office, brief though it evidently must be, shall outlast the boasted arrange- ment of the internal affairs of the Ottoman empire, the fruit of his foreign policy. Recent accounts from the Levant announce, that MEHEMET ALI has made a remittance to the Porte on account of the arrear of tribute due by him, and that no difficulty is antici- pated in the final settlement of the tribute he is to pay in future. In addition to this it is reported, that, in consequence of the disturbed state of Arabia, and the danger to which the Holy Cities are ex- posed, the Sultan has granted the government of that province to the Pasha of Egypt. This is far from being improbable ; the Pasha of Egypt being the only vassal of the Ottoman empire who can retain possession of Turkish Arabia. The only Turkish pos- sessions in Arabia at this moment are the Holy Cities and the roads along which the pilgrims travel to them. Even these are held by a precarious tenure ; and, before they were reconquered by MEHEMET ALI, had been for years wrested from the grasp of the Porte by the independent natives. The only three Ottoman chiefs whose position renders it possible for them to act against the Holy Cities are the Pashas of Bagdad, Damascus, and Egypt. The two former must conduct their operations across extensive deserts, while the Red Sea carries MEHEMET ALI with ease into the territories of Mecca and Medina. The military force, too, of the Pasha of Egypt, far exceeds that of the other two. In the present disturbed state of Arabia, the Porte does not seem to have any choice left beyond the alternative of intrusting the government of the Holy Cities to MEHEMET Am, or relinquishing the possession of them. Elated with this news, the partisans of the Pasha already look forward to his having the government of Syria restored to him ; and the condition of that country, as described in the private letters of mercantile residents, gives an air of plausibility to the anticipation. It is not very probable that the Allies will interfere to prevent these acts of the Sultan ; which will be as much the acts of his free-will as ttny thing rendered unavoidable by the necessities of his position can well be. MEHEMET Ala, thus holding Egypt, Syria, and Ara- bia, by the voluntary grant of the Sultan and with the consent of the Allies, will be stronger than he was before. The critical state of affairs in these countries favours such a consummation ; and the Pasha, being a man who can learn from experience, will act with prudence, bide his time," and seize it when it comes. And then the results of all Lords PoNsorinfs and PALMERSTON'S meddling 'will have been, after no inconsiderable waste of money and life, to leave things exactly as they were. The only tangible result of the Syrian crusade will have been to invest Sir CHARLES NAPIER with the character of a legislator (for which his temper, habits, and want of the requisite knowledge, alike disqualify him) till the next election.
Previous page
