He struck the first blow, and was very successful during the first stage of the war. The victory of Nezib (24 June, 1839) was the last of his triumphs. The new army, which he had taken pains to organize, was only half trained. Still his power was unshaken, and his advantage was not confined to the land. The Turkish admiral, beaten by Mehemet Ali, and fearing for his life if he returned to Constantinople, determined on an act of treachery, which would ingratiate him with the victorious ruler of Egypt. He took the Turkish fleet, with some 20,000 men aboard, to Alexandria, and surrendered it to Mehemet Ali. The surprise and astonishment which the suddenness of these occurrences caused did not allow English diplomacy much time to consider. It was necessary to intervene at once, unless the Ottoman Empire was to be broken up. Palmerston determined to carry out Wellington’s (1769‒1852) policy, and to reduce the apparently invincible Pasha to “a state of obedience and subordination to the _Sultan_” (1808‒1839), Mahmud II. (1785‒1839). The difficulties seemed formidable, but Palmerston’s conception of the diplomatic situation was unerring. He scouted the idea of actual intervention on Egyptian soil. The lessons of the battle of the Nile and of the earlier siege of Acre had not been thrown away upon a survivor of the struggle with Napoleon Bonaparte. A different strategic plan was adopted: a British squadron was to compel the evacuation of Syria by Mehemet Ali. The imminent perils and dangers which surrounded this undertaking from the political point of view were evident. A great international problem arose. The solution of those important and complex problems which include what is usually called the “Eastern Question” had long occupied a considerable place in the field of international politics, especially in England. There was scarcely one, perhaps, of the more eminent English diplomatists who had not distinguished himself in this department in a greater or a less degree; and there was scarcely an aspirant to foreign political activity and distinction who had not thought it one of the surest paths to his ambition to come forward as a champion in this arena. It must, however, be borne in mind that this question was continually taking on a new form, and accordingly opinions and interests were always changing. In 1839‒40 controversy about this question attained its greatest intensity, and the interested powers were in a position of the darkest perplexity.¹