The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-15 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 15, 1852.

PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS TO THE

PASHA FROM BUITISII MERCHANTS.

A deputation waited on his Highness, by appoint-
ment, at his Palace, near Cairo, on the 27th December, to
present to him an address, voted at a meeting held in Lon-
don on the 14th of October last, of merchants and others
intertsted in the trade with India, China, Australia, and the
east generally, convened tor the purpose of considering the
existing crisis in Egypt, and what steps were necessary to
secure to the Pasha the power of maintaining order, trait.
quillity, and good government. Mr. ANDIIISoN, M.P.,
and Mr. Sestcst. Ducua, formed the deputation, and the
annexed arc copies of the address and reply:

ADDitEsS.

That this meeting desires to convey to his Highness the
Pasha of Egypt the assurance of their sympathy and their
support by every legitimate means in the present position
of stfairs—a sympathy and support which they consider
he has fully earned by the liberal, active, and judicious
manner in which he has di voted, and purposes to devote,
his reseurees to the security of the transit of the B ' Is
mails, travellers, and property to and from the East. That
a copy of this resolution he transmitted or presented to his
Highness in such manner as the committee befure-named
may think proper.

RIPLY.

Gentlemen,—l have read with great satisfaction the re-
solution posed at • public inectimr in the City of London,
which you have this day presented to me. 1 feel highly
flattered by the sympathy expressed on that occasion, in
favour of the measures I have adopted for improving the
social condition of the people entrusted to my govern-
ment. It is also gratifying to me to find that the steps I
have taken for facilitating the transit of the mails and pas-
sengers through Egypt, base met with the approbation of
so distinguished and influential a body as the merchants
of the City of London. These facilities will, I trust, in •
short time he gre ttly improved by the construction of
a railroad between Alexandria and Cairo. Some delay
has taken place in the commencement of this great
work, consequent on the unfortunate and much to be
lamented differences which have arisen between the
Sublime Porte and myself as to the interpretation of certain
articles of the firman of investiture. 1' hese, however, I
trust in God, will be soon removed. First, because 1 have
every confidence in the justice of the Sultan ; secondly, be-
cause I claim nothing beyond thole powers which it must
have been the intention of the learners of the Erman to
grant when tne hereditary !resentment of Egypt was ceded
to my grandfather, Mehemet Ali, and his successors, and
depnved of which good government becomes impossible.
Tell the gentlemen who have so kindly and so energeti-
cally expressed the interest they take in the welfare of
Egypt, that, in resisting all encroachments on the right of
myself and family, I have but one object in view—to main-
tam public order, as the only means of developing the
resources and promoting the happiness of the people it has
pleased God to place under my rule. Acting upon this
principle, I feel strong in the support of the British nation,
confident that the community of interests which suits be-
tween Eng:and and Egypt, when properly understood,
must inevitably tend to the advantage of both countries.
In introducing the resolution, Mr. Anderson, on the part
of the deputation, made the following preliminary remarks:
Ilti; it N FA's ; It presenting to you tlus resolution, we feel
it to he our duty to explain to you that the sentiments
therein expressed am not limited to the great and influential
assembly of British merchants and others in London from
whom it emanates, but that the feelings and opinion demon-
strated at that meeting sow pervade the wholellritish nation.
The questions which have recently been raised by the Sublime
Porte in reference to the internal administration of Egypt
have been publicly discussed, and are now well understood
in England. It is the general feeling there that, to deprive your
Ilighnessof any part of that authority which was guaranteed
to the Viceroys of Egypt by the treaty of 1841, and which
your highness s predecessors have exi mimed without ques.
tion since that time, would be tantamount to a great public
calamity, inasmuch as such interference would be incom-
patible with the efficient government of this country.
That thu consequences would be to endanger that order
and tranquillity which have hitherto been so happily esta-
blished and 111 indented by your Highness's illustrious pre-
decessor, Mehemet Ali, and yourself; that the prediction
and security to persona and property in Egypt could no
longer be depended upon; that the social and industrial
improvement of Egypt, so energetically and judiciously
promoted by your Highness, would be greatly impaired, if
not altogether destroyed; that Egypt would soon fall into
that state of political and social disorganization now so
unhappily exhibited M other provinces of the Ottoman
Empire, where neither persons nor property are secure;
and that the great highway to India, China, and the eastern
colonies of Great Britain, so vitally essential to the political,
commercial, and social interests of our country, and of
Europe in general, would be jeopardized by any relaxation
of the powers possessed by your Highness (or enforcing slue
subordination among the Arab population of Egypt—more
especially for controlling the Bedouin tribes who inhabit
the Desert between Cairo and Suez. The former predatory
habits of those tribes are well known, and still rememberep
—and that their present obedience, and the security of
trade enjoyed, are attributable to the vigorous mei-
SUMS of your illustrious grandsire, Mehemet Ali.
Such being the feeling of the British people upon the
questions new understood to be pending (since tho settle-
ment of the railway question) between the Sublime Porte
and your Highness, we respectfully venture to suggest to
you that the maintenance intact of the powers of admini-
stration, hitherto exercised by your Highness, would be •
course of policy highly satisfactory to the British nation,
and best calculated to ensure to your Highness that moral
support which an powerful a community can so efficiently
offer.—Cairo, December 27, 1851.