14 APRIL 1838, Page 2

All the accounts from Constantinople speak of the warlike pre-

parations of the Porte. It is expected that the Sultan will attack the forces of MEHEMET Ant in Syria, contrary to the advice of the Ambassadors of all the Great Powers. In the meanwhile, MEHEMET ALI has suffered a reverse. A rebellion having broken out among the tribe of Druses in the province of Hooran, ACHMET PASHA, MEHEMET ALI'S chief Minister of War, put himself at the head of 20,000 men, and advanced against the in- surgents. He encountered them on the 11th of February, and expected an easy victory ; but the Druses, who were advan- tageously posted, fought with great courage, and completely de- feated their assailants, who tied to Damascus ; where, in defiance of the large Egyptian garrison, the inhabitants testified extreme delight at the defeat of their masters. If this feeling is prevalent in Syria, the Sultan has some chance of recovering part of his ancient territory from the old Pasha of Egypt.