The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-04 00:00:00

:',1.)1P. 1 T of th PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF TILTS DAY.
( From the Morning Chronicle.)
The affairs of the East begin now to assume an aspect
indicative of .1 speedy settlement. The people of Syria,
odivessed beyond measure by the Pacha of Egypt, have
e •gerly embraced the opportunity afforded by the hand-
fat of troops landed on th.Lir coast. The moment com-
munications were opened with the mountaineers, and
arms . were placed within their reach, the insurrection
because universal. To talk of Mehemet Ali being able
to govern Syria, as some of our Liberals do, is to have
a very strange idea of government. Mehemet Ali, by
rtainieg a rich country, Egypt, obtained the means of
naming Syria, by a system of grinding oppression, which
cost a great deal more than was covered by the revonues
of the latter country. If this be government, the
Paella, no doubt, governed Syria, but be made the peo-
ple ini.,:erablen We had imagined that the object of
government was the welFare of a people ; but Mehemet
Ali plunged the peop'e in wretchedness and despair.
Their 'lumbers e.iminishe.d. The only civilization
he understood was that bastard civilization
taught Lint by French soldiers of fortune—the orgam-
zatiou of an army, and this he obtained by drains
on the population altogether insupportable. Under
the Turks, the Syrians, according to the reports of every
traveller, enjoyed comparative happiness ; but Mehemet
Ali's conscription, rigorously enforced in every village,
by which mountaineers, accustomed to a life of inde-
pendence, have been torn from their homes to enter
ills abhorred army, filled the whole country with dis-
tress. How the French should have deemed it desir-
able to uphold this monstrous rule it is not easy to con-
ceive. \ perceive that. attempts are now about being
made throughout the country, but more especially the
towns in the manufacturing districts, to get up peti-
tions against the administration of our foreign relations.
As far as we can understand the drift of the reasoning
employed by the parties, it is this :—Our position is inst.'.
Jar, and we arc rot justified in interfering with the affairs
any other country. Should we be attacked we are able,
and shall be willing, to defend ourselves ; but beyond
self-defence, in no case ought we to have recourse to
arms. What is it to us that Turkey is either torn by
intestine wars, or is partitioned by her neighbours—
what is it'to us that different European Powers quarrel
;Omnt the spoil, and the Continent is involved in war
Our business is to trade, and not to fight. It might
not be difficult to show, that even on the calculations of
the most vulor economy, arrangements by which war
May be prevented are not to be despised. Would the
votemeree of England suffer nothing by a general war ?
But we will not now enter on the wide field which
the subject presents to us. Our object is to recom-
mend to these lovers of peace, a tout prix, to reflect
little whether they are not taking the most likely
course to produce war. Appearances in the East
a a no doubt favourable ; and our very irritable
oc.vglibours on the other side of the Channel will in
al! probability, reconcile themselves to an arrangement
which shall divest the Pacha of Egypt of Syria. But
madness is contagious. If a number of our Liberals
ifet up meetings of the nature of that of the Town
council of Bolton, fresh food may
be given to French
excitement now on the point of ydying out. The wise
men of the north are too late in the field to. prevent in-
terference in the affairs of Turkey, and Egypt, and
Syria, but they may be in time to continue hostilities
longer than they would otherwise be continued. Having
been patient so long, to their own credit be it spoken
it might be as well to continue patient a little longer.'
We consider the agitation of these lovers of peace, a
tout prix, anything but seasonable.
(From the Times.)
The news from Syria, which arrived yesterday by the
telegraphic despatch of the 31st of October from Tou-
lon is undoubtedly very important, and, though it shows
that the reports previously received were somewhat pre.
mature, it fully confirms the rumour of the success of
the Anglo-Turkish forces, the extension of the insur-
rection throughout the country of Mount Lebanon, and
the probable defeat of Ibrahim whenever he shall ven-
ture to meet the allied troops. The dispatch from
Malta of the ?7th ult., nt g ivin news direct from Sepia
of the.
of the 17th
2lst, confirms the intelligence fora Alexandria
board the ; and the presence of' the Emir Bechir on
Cyclops is likewise mentioned. It is, how-
ever, not mi.,
comprehend for what reason or in
a
what capacity the Emir is said to be on his way to Eng-
land—whether as hostage, a prisoner, or a negotiator.
We may, however, congratulate ourselves on having
nearly arrived at the
end contemplated by M. Thiers
in his ilOter: The. limits of Syria will be determined
by the fitt.e_ of war. The forces of Ibrahim being
thus reduced and donora lized t would be absurd to
suppose
that an army and a General so weak as
.-e operations of „),000noEt
uto
th
have been able to resist