The Express.
London, England, 1858-06-24 00:00:00

SYRIA.

(PROW OCIIL OWN

WORMY.)

BEYROUT MAY 27.
There has been a disturbance at Zahleh since my
last, which is likely to be talked of on both sides of
the Atlantic. Zahleh, I must tell you, is the largest
town in Mount Lebanon, and with its suburb,
Mafinakah, contains about 10,000 inhabitants. It
is situated on the east slopelof it* rull4 just above
the plain of the Bukia, and ilia Want-114m Beyrout
a day's journey of tight hours, or about half-way
between this and Damascus. It is considered the
headquarters of Romanism in this place, the people
priding themselves upon being all members of either
the Latin or the Greek Catholic churches. The
Jesuits—all Frenchmen—have a large establishment
in the place; and the 'Greek Catholics—that is, the
members of the Greek Church who are in communion
with Rome—have a. Bishop, a large convent, and
numerous priests in the town. Some six months
ago an American missionary of the Presby-
I terian church took up his residence at Zahleh,
with the intention of learning the Arabic language,
and also of seeing whether, in time, schools could not
be established in the place. The people themselves
were glad to see this gentleman, as all over Syria
the American schools have a first-rate name ; but the
priests were all exceedingly angry at his presump-
tion fur coming amongst their frock, and several
times wrote him letters warning him to leave the
place. The missionary—whose name, by the way, is
Dod—replied that he was in his own nght in living
where he liked, that he was not aware of having
given anybody any offence • and that with all
due deference to the indignant eeelesiutics,
he would remain where he was. For a time
he was left unmolested; but upon his con-
cluding a bargain for the hire of a house,
which he engaged for a term of seven years, the
storm burst out again. One of the chief Greek
Catholic priests visited him at the small hotel where
he was living, and said, that unless he took his de-
parture forthwith the people of the town would rise,
and stone him out of the place. Mr. Dod answered,
that he did not think that likely, for the inhabitants
of Zahleh had always shown themselves kind to-
wards him. A few days afterwards (only a fort-
night ago), some ten or a dozen of the same order of
priests, together with one of the French Jesuits,
came to his house, and brought with them mules,
upon which they said he must pack up his baggage
and be off. They were not accompanied by any of
the townspeople ; but they said they were acting
under the orders of the Bishop. Mr. Dod said to
them that if forced to go he could not help himself,
but declared he would never move from what
he considered his post of duty of his own
accord. Upon this, these gentle ministers of
the gospel, with their own sacred hands, threw out of
the windows all his books, clothes, and furniture •
as also all that belonged to his wife and child—the
latter an infant in arms. The French Jesuit took no
active part in the proceedings ; but he did not pre-
vent-which he might have done by a word, as the
native priests in Syria have the greatest fear and re-
verence for all European monks, and more particu-
larly for those of his order—the others acting u
they did. The woman—an old Italian, who keeps
the small ins at Zahleh where Mr. Dod was living
—remonstrated with these holy ruffians for treating
her lodger as they did ' but all she made by her
move was to be beaten by them very severely. They
were then proceeding to eject Mr. Dod and his
wife ; but as the former did not wish to expose a
lady to the hands of these fellows, he volunteered
to move off at once. Onei would have
thought that in a lonely far-off place like
Zahleh, and, above all, ander the circumstances I
have mentioned, an establishment composed of Euro-
pean men of education, more particularly men who
profess to be ministers of the Gospel, and who call
their older by the name of our common Saviour,
would have offered Mr. Dod some assistance, some
shelter, at least until he could make arrangements
for his departure. But not so. The Jesuits of the
place never so much as made him the slightest offer
of assistance in auy way whatever, and under a
burning Syrian sun, at a moment's notice, was this
gentleman obliged to move off over the mountains
with his wife and young child on a journey of eight
hours, to the house of a brother missionary who lives
at Bhamdoon.

It is but just to the Turkish authorities to say that
they are not to blame for this outrage. Zahleh has
loog been in a sort of passive rebellion against the
Pacha, and his paid no taxes for two years. In fact,
the people of the place do very much as they like,
and the only persons who have any command over
them are the pnests and monks of the town. The
incident I have related seems to prove that there is
much truth in what many resident' in this country
assert, vie. that where the Christians possess power
in Asia, they are to the full as tyn mike', bigoted,
and bloodthirsty is the Moslems have ever shown
themselves to be.

Mr. Dod, as a matter of course, could not allow
the matter to drop. After taking hia family to
Bhamdoon, he came on to Beyrout, and reported the
cue to Mr. Moore, the English • Consul-General,
who is acting as American Consul, there having been
no consul for the United States in Beyront for some
time put. Mr. Moore has taken up the matter with
great spirit, and through the Puha of Beyrout husent
an order to Zahleh for the chief Sheiks of the place
to proceed to Bhamdoon and escort Mr. Dod back to
their town, making them responsible that he will not
be ill-treated or molested for the future. To this the
Sheiks have agreed, urging that they had nothing
whatever to do with the outrage, which was the
work of the priests, and of them alone. But I ques-
tion much whether the affair will be allowed to re-
main in statu quo. Brother Jonathan is not the man
to allow his fellow-countrymen to be insulted with
impunity.