Egypt -- History -- Mohammed Ali, 1805-1849; Syria -- History; Turkey -- History -- 1829-1878
_Internuncio._ As for me, I must repeat it, I look upon the letter of
Mehemet Ali, as a first step towards his submission.
_Ambassador of England._ It will not be in my power to act in the sense
of the instructions of my Government, until the Sublime Porte shall have
declared that it considers the submission of Mehemet Ali as complete.
But I cannot demand of the Sultan any declaration whatever on that
matter, for I should think that I trenched upon his rights. It is for
his Majesty to decide.
_Envoy of Prussia._ I think, as I have already said, that the Sublime
Porte ought not, in the present case, to act with too great severity,
and I must always exhort it to act with moderation.
_Minister for Foreign Affairs._ The Porte has never wished to act with
severity; facts have already proved it. It does not wish to do so even
now. It wishes, on the contrary, to act in concert with its Allies; and
although it is doubtless for the Sultan to decide on the submission of
Mehemet Ali, nevertheless, as his Allies have declared their intentions
in the Memorandum, I have thought it right to consult their
Representatives to know whether Mehemet Ali’s proceeding is in
conformity with the spirit of the Memorandum: but, since their opinions
are at variance, they might refer to the decision of the Conference of
London.
_Internuncio._ But there is no variance between us; we all think that
Mehemet Ali’s submission, in order that it should be complete, must be
followed by the execution of the conditions which are imposed upon him.
I think, moreover, that to refer the question to the decision of the
Conference of London would be to appeal from the Conference to the
Conference, and lose time in useless adjournments.
_Minister for Foreign Affairs._ I think that Mehemet Ali must first
execute the conditions imposed upon him; as for the hereditary
succession, that is another question upon which I am not prepared to
explain myself.
_Internuncio_ once more declares, that when the time arrives, he will
concur in the steps of the Ambassador of England on that point, and the
_Envoy of Prussia_ makes the same declaration.
_Minister for Foreign Affairs._ You are aware, gentlemen, that on his
accession to the throne the Sultan had granted to Mehemet Ali the
hereditary administration of Egypt; he rejected that favour. Still
later, with the view of sparing the shedding of blood, the Treaty of
July 15 granted it to him; Mehemet Ali equally rejected it. It was
necessary to have recourse to measures of coercion, and the Sultan
withdrew this favour from him. At present it appears to me that there
can no longer be a question of a right in favour of Mehemet Ali, and the
Sultan is free to take his decision on this point.
_Representatives_ unanimously admitted that the Sultan possesses his
entire freedom of action in this respect, and that Mehemet Ali could not
appeal to any right.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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