The Express.
London, England, 1856-10-16 00:00:00

THE PRINCIPALITIES.

The &bats of this day has ea article of M. de
Sexy founded upon oorrespondenoe from Vienna and
Berlin, in which it is stated that Austria continues to
justify her occupation of the Principalities by the
doubtful conduct of Russia on the question of the Bee-
earabian frontier, and that the views of the cabinet
of Vienna are not at variance .with those of either
Turkey, Prussia, or Easkuld.
Advisee from Constantinople to the Bth state that
a firman had hese published touching the " national
representation" in the Principalities. It mime no
mention of the union of Moldavia and Wallachia.
A ministerial oriels wsa expected, and Baschid Pasha
wee looked upon as the future Greed Vizier.

A letter from St. Petersburg, of the btb, says :
so The Minister of Public Instruction has returned
here from the tour which he has been making for
several swaths put in the various governments of
Ruda, and particularly in the Central and Western
ones. He has sent in foil reports to the Emperor'
relative to the visits which he made to the several
universities. In general his reports expose 04U/-
faction at what be paw, bat they also point out
many items on which improvements are called for."
The same letter says:—" The incorporation of the
regiments of the old dragoon corps in the 7th cavalry
division of the active army has just been effected.
This proceeding lessens the Russian army by five
regiments."

Amounts from Teheran state that M. Bowie,
French minister at the mart of Persia, and Boron
Lejeane, the hewer of the dim estices sent by the
Emperor of the French to the Shah, had in July a
Dolma audience of 'the latter sonata. The two
diplomatists, in a outlay drawn by six horses and
precoded by outriders in fall livery, arrived at the
royal camp escorted by nemerous troops of cavalry
and Aare emit by the Xing. On reaching the
palms, they were introdeord with the meal eastern
eeremonial. Hie Majesty, dressed in a brilliant
aniline, mwered with diamonds and pearls, and with
the Persian head dress, einnonnted by an aigrette in
balsa% wee mated la the grand throne rasa,

where he received the Insignia from the Emperor'
Napoleon with marks of the highest satisfaction.
After a short audience the French diplomatists
withdrew, and were carried back to their residence
with the same ceremonial that had been arranged for
their coming.

(7110 M 01J11

BEYROUT, SIPT. 29.

Beyront is inhabited by some 50,000 souls, of
whom one half are males. Of these 25,000 there
are but 1,600 persons who are either Turks as to
country, or Mahometans as to religion. The re-
maining 23,500 are nearly all Syrian (or Arab, as
they are called, which word does not mean in this
part of the world an inhabitant of the desert—
called here a Bedouio—but a native of Syria),
Christians belonging to the Greek, the Greek Catho-
lic, the Maronite, the Roman Catholic, or the Pro-
testant churches. Of this population almost every
man is either a merchant, a trader, or a shopkeeper.
Such as have no dealings in Be root itself are either
agents for merchants at Tripoli, Latakia, Damas-
cus, Jaffa, Sidon, Caiffa, or Aleppo, or themselves
have agents in one or other of these places. Beyrout
is, in fact, not only a large trading place on its own
account, but is also a sort of Royal Exchange for the
whole of Syria, Cerement!, and Palestine. To be what
the French call dons les affairs. is here the rule—
not to trade is the exception. The few exceptions
are the Consuls of England, the United States,
France, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Greece, the
minor consuls—of whom more presently—being all
petty merchants or shopkeeper.. Besides these there
are here several houses of French and Italian priests,
friars, Jesuits, and Lazarists, and half-a-dozen or r
of that most excellent, hard working, and truly sin-
cere preachers of God's word, the American mis-
sionaries of the presbyterian church. Nor must I
omit to advert to the Turkish authorities—the Pacba,
his council, and many others too numerous to men-
tion. From all I can make out, the former great
man doss nothing at aU, while his other countrymen
help him. In fact, the Arab Christians of the
country appear to have got not only a great deal of
energy of their own, but also to have appropriated
all that of the Turks, who in attempting to govern
the land do nothing, and do that badly.
There is a vast deal of good about these native, or
Arab Christians. It must be confessed that, without
the slightest Russian or Greek sympathies, they hate
their present rulers with a consistency and ill will
at which no one can be surprised. I remember some
years ago attending Divine Service in au Irish prc
testant church, where the whole congregation con-
sisted of the clergyman, who read prayers and
preached, hie clerk, his wife and two daughters,
Wass myself, who WU only a passing stranger.
This clergyman, I was told, had a large income
attached to his living; whilst over the way—a
hundred yards off—there was a Roman Catholic chapel
crowded by some, fifteen hundred persons, whose
priest lived on the charity of his flock. itufatur
nornise, and this is the seats of affairs in Syria. The
Arabs, who own the land, create by their dealings as
merchants, the wealth of the place, and pay all the
imposts, hays no more to say In the management of
affairs than the King of Naples has in those of
England; whilst the Turkish officials are paid enor-
mous salmis. for really and truly doing nothing
whatever.

An English joint stock company's bank, called the
Ottoman Bank, bu lately sent out an agent here,
and a branch of the establishment is about to be
opened. Everyone says that its spoorss is certain,
and that, by greatly lowering the rates of interest,
discounts, &c., it will afford a very great help to both
oommercial and private interests in Syria. The people
here put immense trust in the good faith of English.
men, and I think that an English bank must prosper
in Syria. The other day I went over the premise'
which the agent of the bank has taken in the town.
They consist of the hest house in the most central part
of the business quarter of Beyrout, and are being
fitted up quite in the style of an English bank.
Hitherto the people of this country Save been
obliged to pay for money on good security,
tee, twelve, eighteen, and even twenty-four
per cent. I do not know what interest the
Ottoman Bank will charge, but it is said that it will
greatly reduce these rates, and still leave a consider-
able margin for profit. Beyrout is, as I said before,
the greatest place of business in Syria. In fact the
natives call Alexandria, Beyrout, and Smyrna, the
only three real places of business in the Levant. At
the former place the " Bank of Egypt" has an esta-
blishment, of the prospects of which I am ignorant.
At the two latter towns the Ottoman Bank has esta-
blished branches. The Arabs, or Syrians, admire
this English energy very much, and they one and all,
as well as the European merchants of the place,
have determined to support in every way the new
honk at Beyrout. Not that the " shroffs," or native
bankers, who are de facto mere lenders of money at
prices which would niche even the months of Lon-
don" West end discounting attorneys" water, approve
much of the undertaking. Their occupation is evi-
dently gone, and they have forever lost the sweets ot
usury, the unmixed delight of putting out their
capital at a compound interest of 12 to 24 per cent.
However, as most of these unfortunates are of the
tribes of Israel, their troubles excite but little sym-
pathy in Christian breasts. They have rough-ridden
those who were so unfortunate se to be "in their books"
long enough, and all persons rejoice at the changes
which an English bank must in time work in Syria.
As an instance of the manner in which the natives of the
mountains about here—the chain of Lebanon—borrow
money when they want to improve their lands, repair
their houses, or marry their children, I may be
allowed to relate the following anecdote, told me by
an English gentleman who has long been a resident
in Syria.
The mountain prince or chief comes down to
Beyrout, and goes to a European merchant, saying
he wants to purchase so many thonsaad piastres
worth of goods, but that the seller must give him
credit until the time of the next harvest, or for per-
haps a period of six months—often indeed ten. To
this the merchant replies that be has no objection
whatever to do so, provided the intending purchaser
can obtain the guarantee of a respectable " shroff"
(native banker) or other pavan residing in the town.
This security is procured by paying the party who
backs the bill from 1 to 3 per cent., according to the
time of payment. The bargain is then struck, but
the mountaineer only removes the goods into the
street, where he then and there sells them to others
at a discount of from 24 to 30 per cent, for ready
mousy. Thee supposing at the time he wants the
coin the period of the harvest is six months off, he is
actually paying, when all charges are taken into con-
sideration, at the rite of 60 per cent. per annum for
money, he being the owner of lands and houses within
very few miles of the town. I should tell you that as a
collateral security, the borrower makes over the titles
of more or less property to the Miro& or other who
guarantees the payment to the merchant ; 8o that, io
point of fact, he is borrowing on mortgage of landed
property, at the rates mentioned above. All this will
bee/ready changed no doubt by the establishment of
an English tusk in Beyrout, and the thousands of
lodastrious, intelligent Arab Christians who inhabit
Lebanon, have hailed with pleasure the advent of
this establishment here. I bare no doubt whatever
bat that it will return a very considerable profit, and
Ile_good at the same time.
In town or country, city or village, the hills or
the plains, no public work of any kind is ever, by
any chance whatever, undertaken by the Turkish
government. At present—the end ot the hot season
—water is so very scarce in the town of Bryront
that the wealthy classes send for it on mules some
miler away iato the country, whilst the poor tske
their torus at the few wells in the city, and all night
es well as all day are on the look out to procure a
small quantity of it. For all this there are within
ten miles of the place constant flowing rivers of the
very best water, which at an outlay of a few thou-
sand pounds might be brought into the town in any
quantity. The Syrians have a proverb which is not
without a considerable quantity of truth, "God
made Arabistan (Syria) and afterwards peopled it,
bat for oar sins the Devil sent u our government."

A Berlin letter, addressed to die Conefilefionisel,
sap The beakore of Bream, followhig the esaniple of
those of Lapis, Lave entered foto in arraosement not to
upset ellyee. ♦ lianas moan b talked of In Ale city."