¹ Christian Observer, 1838, _p._ 443. To this period belong the following articles on the Restoration of the Jews in _The Christian Observer_ (Church of England): 1838 May, _pp._ 286‒7 1838 July, _p._ 443 1838 August, _pp._ 518‒520 1838 September, _pp._ 554‒556 1838 November, _pp._ 665‒670 1841 January, _pp._ 2‒4 1841 May, _pp._ 271‒273 “Paulinus” taking the opposite view, says: “In some circles a writer is almost unchristianized if he does not follow the opinion therein current ... the literal restoration of the Jews to Palestine; in favour of which there is a much more general concurrence of opinion than in any other of the particulars.”¹ ¹ _Ibid._, 1838, _p._ 286. CHAPTER XIX. THE PALMERSTON PERIOD The Conflict between Turkey and Egypt――Mahmud II., _Sultan_ of Turkey――Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt――The victory of Nezib――The Turkish Fleet――Wellington’s policy――The Eastern Question ――Wellington’s opinion――The London Conference, 1840――The Insurrection in Syria and the Lebanon――An Ultimatum――The Capture of Acre by the British Fleet, 1840――Schemes of annexation. THE Palmerston period, 1837‒52, was a great time in England for the idea of the Restoration of _Israel_. It was a time of stirring events in the East, events which raised some of the most momentous problems that can engage the statesman’s mind. The English people watched from day to day with the deepest interest the progress of annexations, of conquest, of negotiations, which they believed would go far to decide the future development and destinies of the greatest nations of the world. The European horizon was so disturbed that a great political authority of the day is said to have declared that “if an angel from heaven were in the Foreign Office he would not preserve peace for three months.” The facts are sufficiently familiar to most readers. But it will be necessary for our purpose to go over the oft-trodden ground, which must be done rapidly. In 1839 a tremendous crisis broke out between Turkey and Egypt as the result of a series of conflicts and struggles. In the brief space of eight years (1831‒39) Mehemet Ali (1769‒1849) had contrived to overrun the whole of Syria, having organized a fleet and an army beyond the legitimate necessities of his government, by acts of tyranny and oppression against the very people for whose defence he pretended to have raised them; and he forced these wretched people, whom he was bound to protect, to join him in rebellion, thus fastening more firmly the chains with which he had shackled them. Having concentrated 100,000 men on the Turkish frontier, he at once threw off the mask and intimated to the European consuls his intention of declaring his independence unless his demand for the government of Syria for life and of Egypt _en hérédité_ were conceded.