XXXII. 1832. of so essential a kind as to insure future gratitude and CHAP. dependence, and counteract in a great degree the growing influence of the Muscovites at the court of Constantinople. Incalculable would have been the effects of such aid, if promptly rendered; it would probably have restored the balance of power in the East, and averted, if not altogether prevented, the terrible war of 1854 in the Black Sea. Unhappily, England was not at this period in a condition to take advantage of the extraordinary good fortune thus thrown in her way, and she now began to experience the fatal effects upon her external influence of the political passions by which her people were convulsed, and the new line of foreign policy which the triumph of the Liberal party had imposed upon her Government. So great had been the reduction of her land and sea forces in consequence of the growing passion for economy which had prevailed ever since the peace, and which the contraction of the currency had now rendered a matter of necessity, that Great Britain had no forces at her disposal adequate for an Eastern war, and the few which she had were, as will immediately appear, absorbed in propping up a rickety and unpopular government against the feelings of the Portuguese at Lisbon. The Cabinet of St James's ac- 1 Cap. vi. cordingly returned for answer to the Turkish application 307, 308; for succour, that however much inclined to have rendered 1832, 267; it, they had not at that moment the means of affording xvi. 446. the assistance required.1 * Ann. Reg. Ann. Hist. 22. not applying France was the power which, next to England, seemed capable of rendering the most efficacious aid to the Porte Reasons for in its distress, but there were many reasons which ren- to France. dered it unadvisable, and indeed hopeless, to make any application in that quarter. The French had never lost sight of the ambitious designs which Napoleon had entertained in regard to Egypt, and their recent expedition to, and permanent occupation of Algiers, had proved that change of dynasty had made no alteration in the CHAP. views of their government in that respect. Even if the cabinet of Louis Philippe had been as favourably inclined as possible to succour the Porte, they had not the means at that period any more than the English of doing so. They had only just recovered from the double shock of the Royalist insurrection in La Vendée, and the Republican in Paris; and a great expedition was preparing to march into Flanders, to unite with the British fleet in planting the tricolor flag on the citadel of Antwerp. Nothing therefore could be hoped from France in this emergency, yet something absolutely required to be done, for Ibrahim's forces might in a week reach Scutari, and his approach, it was well known, would be the signal for an immediate insurrection, and probable dethronement of the Sultan.1 In this extremity the Divan had recourse To RUSSIA, and skilfully represented the revolt of the pacha of Egypt as a part of the general system of insubordination which had invaded Europe, and which all its monarchies, and Russia in particular, were deeply interested in crushing. The Emperor of Russia, as may well be believed, was not slow in accepting the offer of exclusive protectorate thus made to him by the Sultan. The Russian consul was immediately recalled from Alexandria, and a tender made of a Russian fleet under Admiral Greig, with 5000 troops on board, and a corps d'armée of 25,000 men to operate on the Danube. These offers gave the most extreme satisfaction at Constantinople, and their gratitude was evinced in a circular to the other European powers, which bore, "The rebellion of Mehemet Ali will, without doubt, be considered by the other powers of Europe, as it has been by the Emperor of Russia, as a criminal enterprise, which nothing can justify, and which should be punished by the recall of the ambassadors of all the powers who are interested in the maintenance of legal order. The insurrection which the troops of the Sultan are at this moment combating, has its XXXII. 1832. origin in the vilest ambition and rapacity: it menaces the CHAP. commercial interests of all nations which are attracted to the shores of Egypt by their riches. The true way to ruin it is to isolate it. Such a measure, adopted by the Emperor of Russia, and imitated by the other powers of Europe, will at once evince the sincerity of their friendship for the Sublime Porte, and advance the interest of their own subjects, none of whom can be indifferent to the fatal example of rebellion given by Mehemet Ali, and many of whom, if it succeeds, will be inclined to imitate it."1 Note of The autograph letter of the Sultan to the Emperor of minister, Russia requesting assistance, is still preserved in the im- 1833; Cap. perial archives of St Petersburg, and is justly regarded as vii. 101. one of the proudest trophies of the Russian empire. the Turkish Jan. 21, vi. 308, and The Cabinet of St Petersburg stood in no need of these 24. skilful and well-conceived considerations to accord the Which is joyfully assistance requested by the Sultan. The long-wished-for accorded. opportunity had at length arrived: Turkey was so reduced that she was compelled to solicit the assistance of her inveterate enemy Fortune, the revolutionary passions, and political nullity of the French and English people, had now thrown the much-coveted prize within her grasp; and not only without increasing the hostility, but with the concurrence, and even by the advice, of the Western Powers. No sooner, therefore, had the Porte, under this pressure of the advance of Ibrahim from Konieh towards Scutari, solicited the immediate support of a Russian corps of 4000 or 5000 men sent by sea, than the Russian minister, M. Boutenieff, at once promised not only that aid, but the assistance of an auxiliary corps of 30,000 men, who were to cross the Danube and advance to the support of the capital. So wise had been the foresight, so active the preparations of the Cabinet of St Petersburg, that everything was prepared at Sebasto VOL. V. 2 K CHAP. XXXII. 1833. pol to turn the crisis to the very best account. The troops were ready to step on board the ships of the line prepared to receive them, and set sail, and the admirals prepared with secret instructions to take their orders from the ambassador at Constantinople. No sooner, accordingly, did the formal demand for succour from M. Boutenieff arrive, than the Russian squadron of four sail of the line and six frigates, having on board 6000 troops, set sail 1 Ann. Hist. from Sebastopol, made straight with exulting hearts for Constantinople, and reached the Bay of Bourgas, near the mouth of the Bosphorus, on the 20th February.1 xvi. 448, 450. 25. in vain seeks mand the succours, of the nego tiations. Before they arrived, however, the imminence of the The Porte crisis had passed, and the Porte was fain to be delivered to counter from the perilous protection of the Muscovites. The French government, more alive than the British to the and breach incalculable consequences of Constantinople being occupied by a Russian subsidiary force, had sent Admiral Roussin with a squadron to Constantinople, and hastened by negotiation to avert the danger, and proposals for an accommodation had been transmitted to Ibrahim, at Kutaya, which had been accepted by Halil Pacha on the part of the Porte, and occasioned the halt of the forces of the conqueror at that place. These terms consisted in the cession of the entire pachalic of Syria, with the district of Adana and Egypt, in perpetuity to Mehemet Ali. The Divan agreed to these terms, very much in order to avert the dreaded intervention of the Russians, and in consequence the Reis Effendi intimated to M. Boutenieff that the aid of the Russian auxiliary force was no longer required, and that it might retire. The Russian admiral, however, would only agree to anchor his fleet in the Bay of Bourgas instead of entering the Bosphorus ; and while lying there, intelligence arrived which caused the breaking off of the negotiation, and the military occupation of Constantinople by the Russians. Mehemet Ali positively refused to ratify the treaty proposed by the French, and agreed to by the Turkish government, and his emissaries, XXXII. 1833. dispersed through Asia Minor, occasioned such a ferment CHAP. that it became evident that the hearts of the entire inhabitants were with him, and that the dethronement of the Sultan, if he advanced to Scutari, would be effected without firing a shot. Wherever his emissaries appeared, his authority was recognised, and the Turkish officials dispos- 1 Ann. Hist. sessed; and without violence or resistance, the richest xvi. 452, 453; Cap. part of Asia Minor, including the great city of Smyrna, vi. 310, 311. had already passed under the power of the Egyptians.1 sian expedi from Odessa. No sooner did the Russian government receive intelli- 26. gence of the rupture of the negotiations, than they des- Fresh Ruspatched couriers in all directions to hasten the march of tion sails the troops they had prepared in various quarters, and em- March 29. bark them at Odessa. This was accordingly done with the greatest expedition. The embarkation took place there on the 29th March, and immediately set sail under the convoy of a division of the Russian fleet, commanded by Admiral Roumani. They effected a junction with the expedition which had come from Sebastopol, in the Bay of Bourgas, and the united squadrons made sail for the Bosphorus. There they arrived on the 5th April, and April 5. immediately passed the straits and disembarked the troops on the Asiatic shore, within sight of Constantinople, opposite Buyukdere and Therapia. At the same time, to evince the concurrence of the Western Powers in this extraordinary occupation, the English and French consuls struck their colours and left Smyrna, then in the hands of the Egyptians. Thus, as if to demonstrate the universality of the change in the policy of the whole European powers by the effects of the Revolution of July in Paris, at the very same time an English and French force combined for the siege of Antwerp, and its restoration to the sway of the tricolor flag, English and French diplomacy united in destroying the barrier erected by Marlborough Ann. Hist. and Wellington in Flanders against France; 2 an English xvi. 455, fleet was busied in establishing a revolutionary throne in vi. 311, 314. Lisbon; and with the consent of France and England, a 2 456; Cap. |