Alexandria is a tolerably good town, and is fast improving. The naval establishments of the Pacha are wonderful, and whatever may be said against Mehemet Ali, it must be admitted, that no man of ordinary abilities could have in so short a time accomplished what he has done. I am not sure that the means employed were justifiable, but judging him by an Oriental standard, which is the only fair way of judging him, he must be considered an astonishing man. In less than twenty years he has created an army and a navy, and a dockyard that would do credit to any nation; he has constructed nine or ten sail of the line, and some of them very fine ships; he has made officers and sailors of his Arabs, and has instilled some of his own activity into the minds of the indolent Turks in his service. His dockyard is very complete; there is a large basin capable of holding all his squadron; his storehouses are well built, and full of stores, and the whole establishment is well arranged. Everything is done in the arsenal. He builds his ships, makes his masts, yards, sails, rope, cabin furniture, compasses, quadrants, clothing for the crews, (out of his own manufactures,) shoes, &c.; he paints oil-cloths for the cabins of his officers, and even the sealing-wax and wafers they are supplied with are made in the arsenal. He is now constructing a dry-dock, which is, however, getting on very slow, and I do not think they are going the right way about it. His principal officers, and, indeed, many of the inferior ones, have been brought up in our arsenals, and appear perfectly to understand their business. Outside of the dockyard is a tolerably well built village for the wives and families of the crews, half of which are allowed to be on shore every night. Previously to my interview with the Pacha, the following letters passed between the Minister and myself: “H.M. Steam-ship Medea, Alexandria, Nov. 25, 1840. “Sir, “I wish your Excellency to acquaint me whether in informing me that the Druse chiefs had been sent back to Lebanon, your Excellency means that all the chiefs that were removed from Syria last July have returned to their homes. “I observed to your Excellency in my letter of yesterday, that I had no direction to suspend hostilities by sea, unless his Highness would surrender the fleet, and give immediate orders for the evacuation of Syria, much less can I insure the discontinuance of military operations; on the contrary, I feel perfectly satisfied that operations will be carried on, until orders are given for its complete evacuation. “I am perfectly ignorant of the despatches brought by the last French steamer, nor have I any knowledge that the French Government has entered into negotiation with the Allied Powers.