The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-07 00:00:00

SYRIA.

TRANSLATION OF ARABIC PETITIONS ADDRESSED BY CEA*
' TAIN MARONITE SHIERS TO TILE SUL.TANt FORWARDED
EY SECRET DELEGATES TO CONSTANTINOPLE, JUNE 8.
No. I.

" 17 Rebi-ul-Evel, 23 April, 1258.
- " Divine Providence having confided to your Majesty the
important care of the Lebanon population—penetrated with the
most Lumane, pious, and generous sentiments, desirous to re.
store peace to the Lebanon, agitated by intestine dissensions,
and to put a speedy stop to disorders, your Majesty conde.
seended to send Saint Bey to Beyrout, in order that he having
made himself acquainted with the wants and wishes of the po-
pulation, might refer to your Majesty, so that proper means
might be adopted to secure tranquillity and prosperity to the
mountain.
" By these benevolent dispositions, your Majesty showed that
you were disposed to accede to the Lebanon the faculty of se.
lecting its own governor.
In conformity with the general desire expressed by the
Lebanon Christians, we candidly set forth in our supplications
to wine Majesty that the Syrian Christians wished for
nothing but the return of the Sheilah family, and to be go-
yenned by a Christian individual of that family, either in toe
person of Emir Besehir, or of his son Emir Emir), they being
known to us as well apt and better qualified than any ethers to
administer the government equitably and uprightly, and to re-
. store peace to the Lebanon. This we earnestly implored of
your Sovereign clemency.
" But our demands and prayers produced no effect; for-
getting your Majesty's bounty, frankness, and greatness of
soul, the Commissioners of your Court,,on the contrary, have
only thought how they might best deprive us of the faculty 'of
freely expressing our sentiments and exposing our grievances ;
inspire terror and dismay among your subjects, betray the
Lebanon people, and prevent the truth from being made mani-
-fest to your Majesty's throne.
•• When the Lebanon people ardently expressed their desire
to be governed by a Christian Prince of the Sheilah family,
the agents of Mustafa Pacha overran the mountain in order to •
obtain signatures to opposition petitions, which they procured
by bribes, promises, or force, thus deceiving your Majesty, is order that the Lebanon Government might be confirmed to
Omer Paella. If any one resisted these orders, and dared to
manifest a desire that a Prince of the Shebat) family should ba
recalled, he forthwith drew upon himself the hostility of the
Grand Seraskier's agents, and was vi,ited with chastkement i
for hi: audacity.

" Thus obstructed and menaced, we are compelled to declare
that our addresses to your Majesty are our free sentiments.
"In the meantime your Commissioners, all dependent on
Mustafa Pacha, farward to your Majesty new addresses, con-
trary to the wishes of the Lebanon Christians, in order, to our
great detriment, Sire, to surprise your good fa;th. Neverthe-
ess, all oppressed as we are, we humbly dare to have recourse
to your most excellent Majesty, and to beseech you to extend
.your humanity and btlunty over us and the Lebanon people—
atilt to listen to these our just and calamitous supplications,
-which of our free will we deposit at. the foot of your Majesty's
:.tad not to any others Clat may be expedited by t..e
agents of Mustafa Pacha, because the signatures attached to
letter, whether our own or tlios;! of our kintlr,d, do not
merit consideration, these signature having been extorted f. um
us by the agents of 31ustr.fAPacha.
(Nigued by the Chief: of the people)
Family of Emir A HOLEMEK. and JlCjl.s,ti, (2; seals). .i
91, 1; A ZZENO (20 seals).
IP, 11 13A 1851 (17 seals).
DAHL/All(13 seals). . • I
ft CI`VI SAl.Etf (8 scale.).
No. 2.

" 2a Rebt-ul-Evel (6th May ).
Sire,—.Moved by compassion at the miserable state in
which the inhabitants of the Lebanon have long fallen, your
Majesty condescendingly accorded to them the faculty of
pasts. ,
piling to the Sublime Porte the person whom they might con side: best qualified to govern them, and to re.eatablisla -
p
peace and tranquillity in their districts, übhe
" In virtue of this sovereign condeseensioo .we, upon the 17
of Rebi-ul-Evel, forwarded a petition
thione, in which it was set forth to the. foot of your
tiat the only means of re •
moving our sufferings was
.by -restoring to the government
old Emir lieschir, or hi; "soli, Emir Emin, they 'being endowed •
with all necessary qualities indispensable for such a charge, and
requisite for obtaining reparation from our enemies
(the
Druses) fur the losses which they have inflicted upon us, by •
plundering and ruining our properties and means of existence.
44 This reparation, although repeatedly demanded, has not
vet been accorded, and as regards the first demand, nut only
has it been withheld, but, what is worse,. the Commissioners of
your Court have adopted every possible means to frustrate our
expectations.
" In despite of your sovereign commands they have thought
proper to manufacture a petition, pretending to show that •
tile whole Population is perfectly satisfied with the Government
nf Omer Pacha; wishing for no other, and desirous to see
the Government of the Lebanon confirmed in his hands, to the
exclusion of the Shebab family. In order to obtain this, they extracted, by means of terrorism and force, the signatures of !
the principal Chiefs of the Lebanon, as representatives of the
Lebanon population.
" Another similar petition was annexed to the former, upon
the return of his Excellency Mustafa Pacha from Jerusalem. This was effected simultaneously through the menace of the •
agents of Mustafa and Omer Paellas, who thereby obtained
signatures.
" Not content with this, after the arrival at Be.yrout of the
Commissioner of the Porte, Selim Bey, a third petition was
got up in the name of the people, conceived in the same sense,
and adding, moreover, that should any similar petitions be pre-
sent( d to your Majesty, they should not. be attended to, as
being opposed to truth. To this third petition were the seals
of the principal Christian chiefs of the Lebanon obtained, as
procurators and delegates of the people. Such a mode of pro-
ceeding, at once base and iniquitous, cannot fail greatly to dis-
please your Majesty, while it insults and outrages the Lebanon
people, who thus see themselves cruelly prevented from express-.
tug their true sentiment'.
t. In or3e.r to confirm the truth of this assertisn, we have
a,ked those who yielded to clic orders of thie Commissioners,
if effectively the wish of the nation was conformable to the
petition signed by them—if they vrere debuted by. the people,
paitt by what right they had signed such a petition; in the name i
of this Lebanon people. There reply was, that they *ere not
delegated by the people to make ally snob dement!!! ; that they
I ad do,ie so through dire necessity, in compliance with the in-
timation given to them by the agents and emissaries of Mustafa l'acha, ac.=ding to a letter written by the delegates of the
pegige tuthe emirs and sheiks, who signed the aforesaid petition,
and frez the answer of these princes, your Majesty will receive the certitude that the above acts of menace and injusticellare I
been committed in the mountains by the agents of the Porte,
against your most faithful subjects.
" Prostrate, therefore, at the feet of your august throne, we
implore you, Sire, not to listen to the petitions which, through
the means, of his Excelleucy Mustafa Pacha and his agents,
have been placed before you, but to these our fervid and anxious
players, freely made, and not extorted by violence—intreating
that you will generously condescend to nominate the Emir
lieschir, or his son Emir Emin, as our governer,lor the common
good and security of the Lebanon. This being done, your
heneVo.lent desires will be accomplish-ed, and we shall receive
r<liaration for the injury inflicted upon us by our enemies.
4( We place our utmost faith in your Majesty's Imperial
clemency.

(‘ Signed and sealed by the Deputies of the Pre-
mier of Ghebail, Behan, Curia, Kesman, Metin,
Zahli. flarbilbacan, Harbilguird, Seehan, Sehil,
Seiuf, Darul Kancar, Manasif, and Aealm—ln
all 66 seals."

MOTHER,
THE MANCEUVRING MOTHER, BY THE AUTHORESS
or= " THE HISTORY OF A FLIRT."—This new work has
placed the authoress in the very foremost rank of female
novelists. (' We were the first to call attention," observes the
Athena not, " to the excellent truth and nature of The His-
tory of. a Flirt, and looked with more titan usual expectation
for the appearance of another work from a hand which hadleen
sl fortunate in its pictures of life among our middle classes
'I his new book will sustain the reputation of our authoress.
She is many degrees nearer to Alias Austin than any of her
contemporaries; she writes, too, with as much care as pur-
pose ; and she will keep her place, we are inclined to think, as
she has won her way—that is, steadily but unobtrusively.
There is great skill in her conception of the Manoeuvring
Mother's (Lady Wet herart) intrigues for the brilliant establish-
ment of her five daughters, net so much from selfish designs
for her own aggrandisement in theirs, as front a mind perverted
—which regards rank, wealth, and show as the absolute neces-
sities of existence. We could mention almost every personage
of the tale with a note of commendation, but enough is s-(llo
merits I
make our readers seek for the work, and once foati yi,
will presently ensure for it as healthy a popularity as
to its predecessor," it'beloop
Her :Majesty's steam-frigate Penelope, now Ltittil;
0:t Chatham, it ordered to be 'rigged with with Andrew Smith's 1
.VAtent wire-rope. The
in experimentsthpeqence of Admirals Codring. this rope a fortnight since,
dime presence
v-other naval officers of high
ton, Bouverie, and Percy.
and many
satisfactory, both in proof of
rank and experience,
andwel'ethe fac...y
lilt of splicing and knotting,
its-immensef, kl'"l4' v WITH THE SOUTH OF IRE.
NAAIL uoNIMUNICATIO.
—We hear
1.,A-N is that the Committee appointed AU -inquire into
..
' ' the above snie
• et have reported favourab4 of Brean, near
Uphill, in the
Bristol Channel, a 4. a packet station. A depute?
flint bent down
to the view the spot arrived at Breen, by rail-
- v
w in the sbo4 space of five hours, and were very favourably
Imia'; sked with Its advantages.—Brieol Mercury
e