The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-27 00:00:00

Mehemet Ali had any intentions of destroying the Otto-
man empire, or of going to Constantinople, he would have
done it a hen he was flushed with victory after the battle of
Nezib, and two days after the death of the Sultan
Malirnond. At that very instant, too, the Turkish fleet
deserted. Again, he would ask., what right had Russia
to interfere with the affairs of Syria? Nicholas might
just as well go to Ireland and say that he would settle the
repeal question, and that the Government of England had
nothing to do with it. He therefore contended that the
priciple on which Russia and this country interfered with
Syria, was most thischeiveus, and that the Noble Lord
had failed to make out a case. The Noble Lord had not
given an answer to the lion. Member for London. He
had not stated why or upon what ground this country
had interfered. Did any human being believe that Nicho-
las had any disFsition to maintain the integrity of the
Ottoman Empire? If the British Government had been
anxious to secure peace without any of the evils that had
arisen, they had only to have allowed the Sultan and Me-
hemet Ali to make such terms as they might have thought
proper. The last wish of the Sultan was that his son
would make peace with Mehemet Ali.—(" No, no 1" from
Lord Brabazon. ) The Noble Lord might say " No, no,"
but he (Mr. 11.) had heard that such was the fact. The
Divan immediately applied itself to the subject, and sent a
messenger to Alexandria, and received a favourable an-
swer. But there was a little difference with respect to
Acre, which British influence might have adjusted. But
instead of that, this country was now to be subjected to
increased taxation, in consequence of the violation
of the sacred principle of nun-intervention. This
was the subject of his heavy complaint against the
Ministers. He thought he could show that there was no
grour.d for charging Mehemet Ali with treasonable de-
siges. He would refer to the character given of him by the
Noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs. With great sorrow
and regret he (Mr. Hume) saw the public organs of the
Noble Lord—( A laugh)—he knew that the columns of
the Morning Chronicle were open to the Noble Lord—
(Laughter)—at least so the public said— (A laugh)_.
these columns were quite open to receive all the trash that
was sent to them, and goodness knew that plenty of it
came,—(Laughter.) It was said that the Whig Minis-
ters were ju,-tified in resetting Syria from the tyranny of
Mehemet Ali, but the Ministers intended to relieve only
one-half of Syria from that grinding tyranny. He had
the Noble Lord's proposition to that effect, in his own
despatch, in which doubt was expressed whether Acre
should be thrown in or net. There never was a more
vascitlating policy than the Noble Lord's. Indeed he
could net say her khew what that policy was. The
Speech said they were on the eve of completing their ob-
jects, but he did not know what those objects were. The
Noble! Lord spoke of the grinding tyranny of iSlehemet
Ali, and he (Mr. Hume) would not deny that there had
been oppression, that the conscription was odious, and that
money was raised by all possible means ; but he asked was
there no oppression under the Ottoman rule, or why was
the Noble Lord willing to leave all Egypt and part of
Syria under the grinding tyranny of Mehemet ? The
Noble Lord (Brabazan) said that the Government of the
Pacha was spreading riot and anarchy throughout Syria,
forgetting that the English Government was trying its
hand at the same game, ths. the Noble Secretary for
Foreign Affairs had his spies sprending disaffection
throughout Syria. Mr. Wood, the agent of Lord Ponsonby,
distributed arms and money amongst the people, and
spread insurrection to afford a pretence for our interfe-
rence. One of the reasons given for interference was
that the Pacha threatened to declare himself independent,
but it was evident, from the correspondence of the British
Consul (Colonel Campbell) with Lord Palmerston, in
1838, that whatever intentions the Pacha might have en-
tertained to that effect was reasoned out of him by the
British and French Consuls. The Hon. Member then
read from a despatch of Lord Palmerston a high eulogy
upon the Pacha, his sense of justice, and his success in in-
troducing peace and order and respect for property in the
provinces subject to his rule. He (Mr. H.) asked had
not the Noble Lord substituted in Syria anarchy and in-
security for life and property, instead of the state of
things which he eulogized in that dispatch ? He (Mr.
H.) knew a person whose camel died in the Desert on the
road to Suez, and he was obliged to leave his goods and
trunks unguarded for several days, but on his return he
found all were perfectly safe. He asked would so much
respect for property be experienced on the road to Brent-
ford ? Fifty thousand stand of arms had been placed in the
hands of the Druses, and he asked how was the Sul-
tan, under such circumstances, to maintain his autho-
rity ? Were we to keep up an army in Syria, and a
fleet of twenty-two ships? The purposes of Russia
could not be more t ffectually promoted than by the civil
war in those parts of the Turkish dominions, at the
same time that a rupture subsisted between this country
and France. The proposition of the Pacha that he and
the Porte should maintain an army of 50,000 men, to be
prepared against the common enemy was wise and for the
good of the Ottoman empire, and, if attended to, would
have prevented the occurrences which had since taken
place, and by which all Europe had been compelled to
arm, at an expense of forty or fifty millions, in
which, no doubt, England would have taken part.
He regretted that there was not one word of
conciliation offered towards France in the Speech.
He was sorry to say that every thing that was bona fido
connected with the real interests of the country had been
neglected. There was no notice taken in the speech of
that great and important question education, there was no
intimation of any intention on the part of her Majesty's
Government to follow out the education of the people,
which was so much required and for which the Noble Lord
had got so much credit last year ; no notice was taken
with reference to the state of commercial improvements, of
which the country stood so much in need ; in fact there
was such an indifference shown to the real interests of the
country as he had never before witnessed in a Speech from
the Throne. He considered the Speech as far as it
wpri. —.ot objectionable, as it took credit for an
-act that Was a dir.crape to any Government. lie alltivded
to the convention entered into between tne o ers
of Europe and this country to circumscribe the power
of Mehemet Ali. On the whole, he felt bound to protest
against the Speech, because it did not state what it ought
to have done—it did not call the attention of the House
to the condition of the people, or to home affairs ; the
foreign policy, it appeared, occupied more the attention of
the Government than the home did, the latter of which
was so necessary to be attended to for the benefit of the
country. He trusted, in conclusion, that her Majesty's
Government would apply itself to remedy the evils under
which the country laboured, and endeavour to put an end
to them crc it was too late. He would now read to the
House the amendment he proposed to the Addresa,
whether or not he should take the sense of the House
upon it he would not then say, but, at any rate he wished
it to be put upon the Journals, as, probably, if he took the
sense of the House upon it, be should stand alone.
1 • Mr. WARBURTON here intimated to the Hon.
Member that he would second the amendment.

Mr. HUME said that such being the ctire he would
submit his amendment to the consideration of the
The lion. Member then read his amendment which he
proposed should be inserted after the first paragraph. It
was to the following effect :—Thanking her Majesty fee
calling them together, but regretting that her Majesty had
not called their attention specially to thu finances of the
country, and the condition of the working classes; stating
that they regarded war is destructive to a civilized com-
munity, and that they could net but view with apprehen-
sion any interruption of the peace which had been so hap-
pily enjoyed for 30 great a number of years. Btatiiig
that they viewed with special eneatinets the elite of the
country with respect to Prance, and that they
regarded with distrust the Convention formed
between this country, Austria, Russia, and Prussia.
Humbly stating to her Majesty that while they admitted
her prerogative to declare war, they tensiaared it their
duty to examine the exerciee b., that prerogative ; and
they therefore humbly requested her Majesty to command
her 111444:era to lay before that House the grounds on
which they had adopted their policy with rest:eat tO
Egypt. To express to her Majesty tacie: tairiirise that her
Majesty's advisers should has t recommended increased
establishments, ccr!!'Arting the present state of the country,
and regretting that liar Majesty had not directed their
attention to the increased expenditure of the coantey, and
the distress and discontent that exitted in it. This he
(Mr. Hume) considered to be a fit and proper Address to
present to her Majesty in answer to the Speech, and be
should theretero move it as an amendment to the one
proposed by the Noble Lord.
Mr, WARBURTON seconded the atteriiitnetit.
Sir ROBERT PEEL then rase, and addressed the
House as follows—a... Vie, there is one subject of such over-
powering importance connected with the peace of Europe
and the general interest of mankind, and that to 'dom.
pietely casts into the shade any other topic, lroweVer
portant, that it is hardly necetsaty to !icititV! Omissions
made in the Speech, er the lantaage In which those topics
are introduced inte the speech. It is an old saying, that
speeches feel's the Throne were always intended tta be as
tanintelligible as possible, and I certainly must say, with
respect to the Speech delivered by het' Majesty this day!
I never recollect a Speech to k.tlcit:h thn appellation of
being unintelligible email be better applied. It says as
little as possible epee all the leading questions that have
agitated the country, and, looking at it as the Speech Of
her lqaicaty's Ministers, it might justly be said of it that
it bad been given to titan , rOf the laiirtioia of
concealing his thoughts. Itir, I *Oa -amused by the
speeches of the MoVea atttl aceonder of the Address, for
they did Oricl it so utterly impossible to eke out their
slot:Mtn to a becoming decorous length, that they found
it was absolutely incumbent upon them, at the risk of of-
fending the Government, to suggest all those topics that
might have been introduced into the P,,ipeech ; namely,
the state of Canada., th BoUndary question, the state of
the country at horae, the state of Ireland, the state of the
war on the north-west frontier, and so on. All these
topics were introduced by the mover and settund6r, With
reiections on her Majesty's Ciokiettnnent for not having
introduced that thigh they would haVe inteodeted; bad
they had to prepare the Speeth.LaOghter.) It was
evident that the Mover and secondet ivere in possession of
information which had not reached her Majesty's Minis-
ters—(Lattghter)—for in talking of China one of the
gentlemen had indulged in a tone of trinmplii which I
think those who prepared the flpeeeli did hot bantidet
themselves entitled to ladttig•e 111, It was tied• that the
edict of the Emperor of China, of which so mach had
been said, was not genuine, if the ttAteiilents of one of
the Honourable Members was to ho.`:t atly weight attached
:a it. With respert to the Address itself, no man, I
think, eprt refuse to assent to the cautious manner in
which it has been drawn up.—( Hear, hear.) With re,
spect to the military movements that have taken place,
I cannot help feeling great regret that, after the
lapse of 25 years of peace, it should become necessary
again to resort to war. I had hoped that new interests
had arisen which would have had the effect of putting an
end to any necessity again to resort to it. With respect
to France in alliance or in opposition, I never held but one
opinion. I think a cordial good understanding between
England and Franco essential to the peace and welfare
f Europe.
e:(ejluul:ii,!agdo not mean to say that individual alliance
of a
whicnh i„rre: t betweenouffreenee to
the
thwi,sh
other Powers
rasnodf
Europe,Fran c e
iastiannecceesswaroyuld lan,
b not prepared to say that such an
berte4cial; bqt I consider that the

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