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The Early Correspondence of Richard Wood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2009

Extract

I have received your letter of yesterday, in which you express a desire to be allowed to proceed to Syria for the benefit of your Studies in the Oriental Languages.

As your sole object at present is, or ought to be, to make yourself master of those languages, but more particularly of the Turkish, I see no objection to your going there to prosecute your studies for a year, taking care that I am regularly acquainted with your place of residence.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society 1966

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References

page 41 note 1 A great fire destroyed the British Embassy in the Grande Rue de Pear in 1831, and Mandeville was obliged to move out to the British summer palace at Tarabya, until the Foreign Office decided what was to be done; his successor, Lord Punsonby, refused to return to Pear and passed his entire embassy at Tarabya; an equivalent situation would have been one in which a Turkish ambassador to the court of St James decided to reside at, say, Bromley in Kent, or Bushey, Herts. No new embassy was built in the period covered by this volume; Ponsonby's resistance to Foreign Office pressure to rent accommodation nearer to the Sublime Porte caused immense irritation at home. The relevant correspondence is in the Public Record Office, Foreign Office Archives, F.O. 97/406.

page 41 note 2 H. S. Ongley, a principal of Kerr & Black, British bankers in Galata.

page 42 note 1 Franks, sometimes found as Frangi, Firengi; meaning non-Balkan Europeans.

page 42 note 2 British consul-general for Syria, 1831–37.

page 42 note 3 There are Phoenician, Graeco-Roman and later rock-tombs N.E. and S.E. of Sayda; the basalt tomb of the Sidonian king Eshmunazar was found in 1855; the famous Sidamara sarcophagi, including that once ascribed to Alexander the Great, and now in Istanbul, were excavated in 1877.

page 42 note 4 Peter Abbott, British consul at Beyrout, 1820–34.

page 42 note 5 The Grand Prince of the Mountain (i.e. Mount Lebanon) was the most usual English title for the Amir Bashir al-Shihab, theoretically governor and chief tax-farmer of the Mountain under the Sultan, but actually autonomous ruler through his own powers of self assertion. He ruled Lebanon from 1788 until Wood deposed him in 1840. The Shihab family were of Sunni Muslim origin, but had lived for centuries in mainly Druse districts in South Lebanon, and were elected Princes of Lebanon by an assembly of notables in 1697.

page 43 note 1 i.e., , Turkish, buyurun, a polite expression frequently used in welcome, and meaning, ‘Pray come in’, or, ‘Pray be seated’.

page 43 note 2 Stratford Canning was on a special mission in Turkey in 1832, negotiating with the Ottoman government on the frontiers of the new state of Greece, cf. Lane-Poole, S., Life of Stratford Canning (London, 1888), I, chap. xiv.Google Scholar

page 46 note 1 Sent to the Foreign Office in Ponsonby's despatch of 18 Sept. 1834, F.O. 195/118. Wood's impressions may be compared with those of Bowring, whose views of Syria under the Egyptians occupy the volume F.O. 78/380. See also, Barker, E. B. B., Syria and Egypt under the last Five Sultans (London, 1876)Google Scholar; Guys, H., Rélation d'un séjour de plusieurs années à Beyrouth (Paris, 1842).Google Scholar

page 46 note 2 There were 5 Patriarchs, the Greek Orthodox, the Maronite, the Armenian Catholic, the Syrian Catholic, and Greek Catholic.

page 46 note 3 i.e. Muslims. Englishmen in the Levant often used ‘Turk’ and ‘Muslim’ interchangeably. Thus Barker, , op. cit., ii, 152Google Scholar, speaking of the reaction of Muhammad Ali to the French invasion of Algiers, wrote, ‘He is Turk enough to feel that the humiliation of the Bey would be a blow’ [to Islam].

page 47 note 1 The independent Paşa of Acre, who resisted Napoleon's siege in 1799 and the intrigues of the Sultan for some years following.

page 48 note 1 Sharif Bey, later Paşa; after distinguished service in Upper Egypt, became Governor-General of Syria, residing in Damascus. Hanna Bahri, Syrian Christian of Greek Catholic sect, had been in Egyptian service for a long time; became Intendant-General of Finances in Syria during the Egyptian period there.

page 48 note 2 The Hawran, a volcanic plateau, lying between Tiberias, Deraa and Damascus.

page 48 note 3 Palmerston nevertheless believed it was the Paşa of Egypt's intention ‘to establish an Arabian Kingdom including all the countries in which Arabic is the language’ (Bulwer, , Life of … Palmerston (London, 1870), ii, 145Google Scholar). The Foreign Secretary was much influenced by the pro-Egyptian merchant, Samuel Briggs, in the formulation of this opinion (Granville Papers, Palmerston-Granville, , 5 02 1833Google Scholar, F.O. 29/415). The problem is further discussed in Dodwell, H., The Founder of Modern Egypt (Cambridge, 1931), 126, 256Google Scholar; Webster, C. K., Foreign Policy of Palmerston, (London, 1952), i. 274–88Google Scholar; Temperley, H. W. V., The Crimea (London 1936), 419–22Google Scholar. On p. 422, Temperley wrote, ‘During the years 1833–4 Wood, while in Iraq, produced “a report on the then plan of Mehemet Ali, encouraged by France, to erect the peninsula of Arabia into an independent kingdom”’. Actually Wood was never in Irak in this period, and never wrote the report Temperley mentions. The author of The Crimea seems to have misread Wood's ‘Memorandum on his services in Syria, Lebanon, etc.,’ F.O. 78/961, in which Wood wrote, ‘I was ordered to proceed to the Turkish Army, which was supposed to be in Mesopotamia … as well as to report on the encroachments of the Egyptians on the left bank of the Euphrates towards Bagdad, in pursuance of the then plan of Mehemet Ali, encouraged by France, to erect the peninsula of Arabia into an Independent Empire’. Ponsonby, who never allowed himself to be much impressed by either Ibrahim or Muhammad Ali, seems to have accepted Wood's opinion that Ibrahim was impartially tyrannical in Syria, tolerating only those persons who were pliant to his will; thus the ambassador thought it was entirely characteristic that Ibrahim should say, as he was reputed to have said, ‘I am the only man to manage the Arabs, I could and I did cut off their heads, which the Turks will never do.’ (Ponsonby-Palmerston, , 21 02 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/431.)

page 49 note 1 Computed on the basis of the pound sterling being worth 100 piastres, and the ‘purse’ being equivalent to 500 piastres. Actually, in 1834, the exchange rate was 97 piastres to the £, reaching 100 in 1836. It had been at 25 in 1815, 35 in 1820, 77 in 1830.

page 49 note 2 Abdullah, a son of one of the groups of Mamluks trained by Djezzar in the Paşalik of Sayda. Born Acre, about 1799, paşa at 18, he remained there until the fall of Acre in 1832.

page 50 note 1 ‘Previous to my appointment as Consul General in Syria’, Farren wrote to Wellington (7 April 1835, F.O. 78/262), ‘there were no direct relations here with England, nor was there a single British Commercial Establishment existing in the Country … the trade of Syria is now of some importance’. The first two firms to establish themselves in Lebanon did so in 1831 (Farren-Stratford, Canning, 27 01 1832Google Scholar, F.O. 195/94; ‘Since my appointment four merchant ships, three English and one foreign, have come direct from the ports of Liverpool and London with cargoes of British manufactures and Colonials, for Bairout and the Coast, an event which I believe never took place at that port before…. Another English merchant under the auspices of some respectable Houses in England, is now on his way in a vessel freighted with goods, and the two other merchant vessels are either chartered or in passage, direct from England to Syria.’ The influx of British merchandise led the Egyptians to farm the customs of Syria in 1836 at three times the 1829 valuation (Campbell-Palmerston, , 27 05 1836Google Scholar. F.O. 78/282).

page 50 note 2 Rubia Tinctorum, a climbing plant which provided a popular red dye.

page 52 note 1 Anaza; Arabian tribal federation of ancient lineage, migrated into Syrian desert from late-17th until late-18th century, and became dominant element there. The most powerful element was the Ruwala family.

page 52 note 2 This was now a fairly empty title; numerous influential members of the Shihab family were Maronite, and Amir Bashir was certainly Christian by the time he died. He was buried in the Armenian Catholic cemetery in Istanbul.

page 53 note 1 Wood's figures may be compared with two other estimates, those of John Barker and consul-general Farren (see continuation overleaf).

page 55 note 1 George Wood died 30 Aug.; on 9 Oct., consul-general Cartwright appointed the widow, Lucy Wood, and Richard Wood as trustees. Palmerston nominated Richard Wood to succeed his father as dragoman on 8 Oct.; to Ponsonby, F.O. 78/234.

page 56 note 1 What the office in question was and whether Wood ever took it up, are not known, but the arrangement was probably made with the imminent departure of Urquhart for England in mind, since the latter claimed to have provided ‘means of communication and information wholly distinct from the regular diplomatic routine’. (Urquhart-Palmerston, , 28 02 1834Google Scholar, F.O. 78/249). Ponsonby was pressing the Reis Efendi at this time to give him a clear interpretation of the treaty of Hunkyar-Iskelessi, and within three weeks of giving Wood the above conditional authorization claimed to get it. So Wood may have been the go-between who brought the vital and confidential opinion that it was ‘an offensive treaty against Great Britain’ (Ponsonby-Palmerston, , 12 01 1835Google Scholar, F.O. 78/252).

page 56 note 2 Ponsonby was highly excited by the most recent news from Syria of a serious outbreak against Ibrahim's authority; Parren was his informant. The consulgeneral reported that if the Turks invaded now it would ‘be very serious and probably lead to the total defeat of the Egyptians’, but that otherwise the uprising would surely fail (Ponsonby-Palmerston, , 11 07 1835Google Scholar, F.O. 78/254).

page 57 note 1 Zahir-al-Umar; a local notable from North Palestine who became governor of Safad and Acre in 1705, and ruled for over half a century. He attracted European merchants, and in 1772 occupied Sayda. Recognized as Governor of Sayda by the Ottomans, but became too powerful and was suppressed in 1775.

page 58 note 1 These instructions seem sufficient answer to Temperley's remark that Ponsonby ‘does not appear to have disapproved of Wood's actions though it is not certain he authorised them beforehand’ (The Crimea, 424Google Scholar). Temperley also writes (p. 91) that Palmerston ‘demanded all sorts of reports on Ibrahim's government in Syria, and was delighted to learn that it was unpopular’, yet the initiative was really Ponsonby's; ‘The critical position of affairs [in Syria] making it necessary that I should obtain the most extensive and precise information’, he sent Wood back to that country to interview the Amir Bashir ‘who is so placed as to have in his hands much if not the whole of Mehemed Ali's fate…. Mr Wood is very well known to the Emeer Beshir and intimate with several of his chief men. He is … a young man of judgement and talents. He will state to the crowd that he goes to that Country in search of Arab horses for me … I hope your Lordship will not forget him. I think his mission of the highest importance’ (to Palmerston, , 19 08 1835Google Scholar, F.O. 78/254). The Foreign Secretary approved the mission in a despatch to Ponsonby of 22 Oct. 1835, F.O. 78/251.

page 60 note 1 Dayr al-Qamar; small market town, centre of craft industries, a mainly Christian town in a Druse district.

page 61 note 1 The Amir Amin, Amir Bashir's elder son, was known as the Pen of the Mountain, and collaborated with the Egyptians; the younger son, Halil, the Sword of the Mountain, associated himself with the malcontents. The ‘Emir Beshir Isghir’ mentioned here is the Prince of the Mountain's nephew, better known as Bashir al-Qasim; it was he who led the Lebanese guerillas in 1840 during the Egyptian expulsion, and became Prince of the Mountain in succession to his uncle, whom Wood deposed.

page 62 note 1 Kisrawan; a rich agricultural district, centre of silk cultivation north of Bayrut; mainly Maronite centre of Khazin family, under whose protection there were several Patriarchates and monasteries.

page 64 note 1 From the points raised by Ponsonby in this letter, it is clear that the letter from Wood of 28 Sept. to which he refers is not that published above; there was either another letter of that date, or one whose date Ponsonby misread. Either way, the letter in question is missing.

page 65 note 1 Ponsonby had been won over by this date to the idea of an Anglo-Turkish offensive against Egypt. Vogorides, the Anglophil Prince of Samos, was very actively involved in the scheme, his opinion of the position in Asia coinciding with Wood's; the Prince wrote secretly to Ponsonby, ‘la Sublime Porte ne pouvant plus laisser la Syrie entre les mains du Pacha d'Egypte, se voit forcer de céder aux necessités impérieuses qui lui prescrivent… de la delivrer’. An alliance was urged on the British Government, Ponsonby backing the idea zealously. The bearer of the proposal was M. Blacque, an intimate of the Sultan and editor of the Moniteur Ottoman; he died on passage to England. Urquhart thought the Russians poisoned him. See Ponsonby-Palmerston, , 10 01 1836Google Scholar, F.O. 78/273.

page 65 note 2 Physician to the Embassy.

page 66 note 1 See Bolsover, G. H., ‘David Urquhart and the Eastern Question’, Journ. Mod. Hist., viii (1936), 444CrossRefGoogle Scholar; ‘Lord Ponsonby’, Slavonic Rev., xiii (1934), 99Google Scholar; Webster, C. K., ‘Urquhart, Ponsonby and Palmerston’, Eng. Hist. Review, lxii (1947), 327CrossRefGoogle Scholar. In acknowledging his appointment, Urquhart wrote, ‘I must land as it were in the Seraglio, and reach at once the Sultan’ (Urquhart-Backhouse, , 29 09 1835Google Scholar, F.O. 78/266).

page 66 note 2 Stratford Canning was originally proposed for the post, but Durham was sent when the Tsar declared Canning persona non grata.

page 66 note 3 By municipal law, European pedestrians were required to carry lanterns after sunset, whether in Pera, Galata or Stambul, and to call out at intervals. The Kaplan Paşa, who was responsible for public order in Galata, operated patrols of sailors through the streets at night time; the delinquents rounded up were usually lodged in the ‘Bagnio’, the gaol attached to the dockyard in Kasim Paşa.

page 67 note 1 Of the Euphrates Expedition, led by Colonel Francis Chesney.

page 67 note 2 Mehmed Reşid Paşa, a former Grand Vezir, was taken prisoner by Ibrahim after Konya in 1832. On his release, the Sultan appointed him supreme Ottoman commander in Asia.

page 68 note 1 Palmerston underlined and queried the words, ‘which is also Your Lordship's opinion’, as well as the section in which Wood recommends rescuing the Sultan from his intolerable situation; but Ponsonby soon showed that Wood had interpreted his sentiments correctly. He sent Wood's despatch home on 6 Feb. 1836, and demanded action from Britain in an excited despatch of 7 Feb., writing, ‘I have for years past urged His Majesty's Government to be prepared for the crisis that is now approaching’, F.O. 78/273.

page 72 note 1 i.e. the campaign against Diebitsch on the Danube in 1828.

page 73 note 1 Ibrahim's physician.

page 74 note 1 A gift from the Amir Bashir to Ponsonby.

page 74 note 2 Ponsonby was convinced the Sultan was about to declare war on Egypt and invoke Britain's aid; ipso facto, it could not be the Sultan who was obstructing the Euphrates Expedition. ‘I think the Sultan will make war on Mehemet Ali. I am certain he ought to do so. He cannot long support the present state of things … unless he shall be completely victorious, you must interfere,’ Webster, , Palmerston, ii, 599.Google Scholar

page 74 note 3 i.e. the peasantry of Mount Lebanon, whether Druse or Maronite, though in this instance it applied particularly to the Druses who began a resistance which lasted until 1839, and for the suppression of which Ibrahim called in the Amir Bashir and his following of ‘Mountaineers’.

page 75 note 1 Wood did not go into print for another twenty years yet, and then he produced two works; A Report on the Sea of Triton and the Chotts of Algeria and an Essay on the Mohammedan Religion and Islamitic Jurisprudence. The latter work was in Arabic; the former made a great impression on de Lesseps, who presented a copy to the French Academy of Sciences. Standard, 8 01, 1879Google Scholar. Both were privately printed.

page 75 note 2 A reference to Farren in Syria, not the consul-general in Constantinople, Cartwright.

page 77 note 1 Wood exaggerated the effect of the monopoly system upon British trade in Syria. It was quite true that the system impinged severely upon native trade, and Wood was justified in claiming that it extended to wines, spirits, meats, fish, salt, coal, building timber, pottery, hides, vegetables, silk manufacture, boats, public baths, coffee houses, and soap factories (Ponsonby-Palmerston, , 23 11 1834Google Scholar, F.O. 78/240). But the new British firms exaggerated their difficulties, which in any case did not prevent 3,400 tons of British goods entering Syria through Bayrut by 1835; one observer estimated this figure to exceed Britain's trade with the whole of Egypt, and when Colonel Campbell visited Syria in 1836 he declared that ‘no obstacles appear now to exist to the free exercise of our commerce’ (to Palmerston, 27 05 1836Google Scholar, F.O. 78/282).

page 79 note 1 It is difficult to estimate what fraction of the male population was seized by Ibrahim, whether of Syria as a whole or the Lebanon in particular. Most writers found it easier to give estimates for Lebanon, and to multiply by 4 or 5 to obtain a figure for Syria. For Lebanon, Volney estimated 105,000 in 1784; Poujade, E., Le Liban et la Syrie (Paris, 1860), 200,000 in 1860Google Scholar; the Maronite Patriarch in 1840, 482,000; Ubicini, J. H. A., État présent de l'Empire Ottoman (Paris, 1876)Google Scholar, 200,000, basing his figure on the British Blue Books of 1861. The Patriarch's estimate can be discounted. Moore estimated 167,000, which Bowring took as an authoritative figure in his Report on Syria, F.O. 78/360.

page 81 note 1 Even so, British goods continued to arrive in growing quantities. The merchants in Aleppo notified Farren, who notified the Foreign Office (June 1836, F.O. 78/291) of the ‘extraordinary’ increase of imports; ‘there having arrived within a period of 2 years from London and Liverpool direct at the port of Alexandretta alone 20 English vessels of the registered tonnage of say 2934 and conveying for this market no less than 9430 Bales, Barrels and Cases of English Manufactures and Colonials … exclusive of what has been landed at the ports of Beyrout and Tripoli intended for the Damascus Market’.

page 85 note 1 Colonel Sèves, Napoleonic soldier, went to Egypt 1819, became Muslim, helped create the new Egyptian army, and played an important part in its campaigns.

page 86 note 1 Temperley, , op. cit., 101Google Scholar, claims that Ibrahim began a road to the forest districts of Adana even before the defeat of the Turks at Konya. In 1837 alone, over 80,000 trees were said to have been sent from Cilicia to Egypt. See Rustum, A. J., ‘Mehemet Ali and Sultan Mahmud’, Compte Rendu du Congres int. de Geog., (Cairo, 1926), v, 44.Google Scholar

page 86 note 2 At Kurnayl.

page 86 note 3 Ponsonby did not believe Der was actually in the Paşalik of Bagdad (to Palmerston, , 2 02 1836Google Scholar, F.O. 78/273), but Ibrahim's interest in Mesopotamia generally produced a famous warning from Palmerston in 1838, printed in extenso in Temperley, H. W. V. and Penson, L. M., Foundations of British Foreign Policy (Cambridge, 1938), 124.Google Scholar

page 89 note 1 Churchill, who represented the Morning Chronicle, was gaoled and beaten by the Turks after he had inadvertently shot a Turkish boy while out hunting. In demanding redress for Churchill, Ponsonby came to see the issue as a contest between himself and the Russians for supremacy in the Divan; he broke off relations with Akif, the Reis, and demanded his dismissal. Palmerston defended his envoy vigorously against the loud criticisms of ‘the Tory Party in Europe’; Akif was finally removed from his post, but Ponsonby did not recover his former influence until about mid-1837. See Puryear, V., International Economics and Diplomacy in the Near East (Berkeley, 1941), 4549Google Scholar; Webster, , Palmerston, ii, 530–6.Google Scholar

page 90 note 1 This was the Pole, Chrysanowski, a ‘remarkably intelligent, well informed little fellow’ as Palmerston called him, who was now attached to Reşid Muhammad Paşa's headquarters in Asia, to advise the general and study his army. As a former artillery officer in the Russian army, Chrysanowski was afraid to visit Constantinople in case he was abducted and shot by orders of the Tsar. He never got the high command Palmerston hoped the Turks would give him. See Ponsonby-Palmerston, 29 Dec. 1835, F.O. 78/256; Webster, , Palrmerston, ii, 545.Google Scholar

page 90 note 2 Muhammad Kor, the Blind, inherited the small principality of Rawanduz from his family, ruled severely but justly, and expanded it at the expense of his Kurdish neighbours.

page 90 note 3 Mustafa Paşa, Inje Bayraktar, Governor of Mosul, 1835–43: subdued the Kurdish states, established order, and carried out public works.

page 90 note 4 Ali Rida Paşa, former Paşa of Aleppo, recovered Bagdad for the Sultan in 1831 after many years of virtual independence. He destroyed the power of the Mamluks, and ruled himself for a decade, to good effect. See Coke, R., Bagdad, the City of Peace, (London, 1927), chap, xivGoogle Scholar; Longrigg, S. H., Four centuries of Modern Iraq, (London, 1925)Google Scholar, chaps, x, xi.

page 92 note 1 Robert Taylor, British Resident in Bagdad, and a leading advocate of the Euphrates route to India. His brother was slain in 1830 by desert Arabs during a survey of the river, his son testified in favour of the route before the parliamentary committee of 1834, and his daughter married Lieut. H. B. Lynch, of the Chesney Expedition. Hoskins, H., British Routes to India (New York, 1928), 151, 173Google Scholar. Palmerston appointed Taylor as consul in Bagdad in 1841 (to Ponsonby, , 14 08 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/429).

page 95 note 1 Jebel Sinjar, hilly district west of Mosul; main stronghold of Yezidis, adherents of an Islamic sect which seems to have sprung up in the eleventh century in Kurdistan out of a pro-Umayyad feeling. This feeling was canalized by a religious reformer, Shaykh ‘Adi, who gave it mystical doctrines of its own. At one time widely spread; by nineteenth century restricted to Sinjar.

page 98 note 1 Wood evidently did not know that Bethune had been fighting the Russians in Persia, on and off, for about twenty years, and had fought against them at Aslanduz in 1812. In 1836, however, British influence at Tihran was subordinate to Russian, and the Sha’ began the siege of Herat; John McNeill, who replaced Ellis as British Minister, broke off relations with the Sha’, while Herat held out under the direction of a British agent, Eldred Pottinger. The breach between Britain and Persia was quickly closed when the Bombay government sent an expeditionary force to seize Kerrack, the island opposite Persia's biggest port, Bushire. Sykes, P. M., History of Persia, (London, 1915), ii, 428Google Scholar; Fontanier, V., Voyage dans l'Inde par l'Egypte et la Mer Rouge, (Paris, 1844), i, 346Google Scholar; ii, 199; Webster, , Palmerston, ii, 741.Google Scholar

page 100 note 1 Henry Blosse Lynch, eldest of three brothers who served on the Euphrates survey, and the only one to survive, one brother dying at Diabekr, the other drowning when the ill-fated Tigris went down. H. B. Lynch was an excellent linguist, and Chesney's second-in-command; after the break-up of Chesney's expedition, Lynch completed the Tigris survey. See Lynch, H. F. B., Armenia, Travels and Studies (London, 1901).Google Scholar

page 101 note 1 i.e. the Dog days, the days of the year which are about the time of the helical rising of the Dog star, noted in the Near East as the hottest and most unwholesome period; late July and early August.

page 103 note 1 There was no conjoint Anglo-French démarche, such as Wood here suggests, but by this time Palmerston had rejected Ponsonby's idea of a military alliance with Turkey, and Thiers was trying to negotiate a permanent Turco-Egyptian settlement based on a new delineation of frontiers in Syria. See Hall, J., England and the Orleans Monarchy, (London, 1912), 226.Google Scholar

page 104 note 1 British minister to Tihran, presently replaced.

page 109 note 1 Cf. Temperley, , Crimea, 10Google Scholar, where it is claimed that Reschid ‘overwhelmed the old feudal chiefs of Kurdistan and Mosul as easily as a player scatters chessmen on a board. His detractors, of course, said that his success was incomplete.’ Whoever they were, the detractors were right.

page 110 note 1 As Secretary of Embassy.

page 111 note 1 Muntafik: Arabian tribe resident in South Iraq since eleventh century. Gradually gathered other groups, some nomadic, others breeders of buffaloes, to form a powerful federation under the noble family of Shabib [Sa'dun] from seventeenth century.

page 113 note 1 Ponsonby decided at the last moment to forgo this leave, disliking to leave Urquhart, with whom he now fell out seriously, in charge during his absence. There was even a fear on Ponsonby's part that he might be supplanted by his Secretary of Embassy unless he remained at the helm. See Webster, , ‘Urquhart, Ponsonby and Palmerston’, Eng. Hist. Rev., lxii, (1947), 327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

page 113 note 2 The extract from a despatch to Ponsonby, 1 Sept. 1836, F.O. 78/272: ‘I have to acquaint Your Excellency and to desire you to communicate to Mr Dragoman Wood, that His Majesty's Government duly appreciate the zeal and diligence with which he has executed the service upon which Your Excellency directed him to proceed to Syria.’

page 114 note 1 Farren was dismissed for becoming involved, as Palmerston thought, unnecessarily, in disputes with the Egyptian administration in Syria. Furthermore, Farren failed either to consult with Campbell in Egypt, or to send his dispatches for the Foreign Office under flying seal via the Consul-General, and Palmerston's despatch of dismissal (to Parren, 25 09 1837Google Scholar, F.O. 78/315) indicted him for not being ‘sufficiently acquainted with the nature of your situation and Duties’.

page 115 note 1 Slade, Adolphus, Records of Travels in Turkey & Greece (London, 1833).Google Scholar

page 115 note 2 The acorn crop from the East Mediterranean oaks, Quercus aegilops and Quercus vallonea, known as Valonia, was highly valued as a source of tannin.

page 116 note 1 J. B. Fraser, living in Pera but without any official position, was consulted by Ponsonby on various matters; for instance, he prepared a report on local commercial conditions (20 July 1837, F.O. 78/309) as a preliminary to the negotiations for the famous 1838 Convention between Britain and Turkey.

page 123 note 1 For the Vixen dispute, and Urquhart's part in sending this British merchant ship to the coast of Caucasia over which Russia was extending claims, see Webster, , Palmerston, 570Google Scholar; Parl. Debates, XXXVI, 133Google Scholar; XXXVIII, 621; Gleason, J. H., The Genesis of Russophobia in Great Britain (Harvard, 1960), 164Google Scholar. Palmerston would not oblige Urquhart with a war on Russia, and indeed admitted that Soujouk Kale, the port off which the Vixen was taken, had been ceded to Russia by the treaty of Adrianople.

page 123 note 2 Charles Wood, medical student, London University; practised in Smyrna until death in 1863.

page 124 note 1 This system was adopted in 1841 by the Foreign Office. See Cunningham, A. B., ‘Dragomania: the Dragomans of the British Embassy in Turkey’, St Antony's Papers, No. 11 (London, 1961).Google Scholar

page 124 note 2 Count Antonio Pisani, embassy cancellier, or archivist.

page 124 note 3 William IV died 20 June; Parliament was dissolved following the accession of Queen Victoria.

page 125 note 1 Kurd Mahmud Paşa, or Mahmud Paşa Baban, member of ruling family of Kurdish principality of Sulimaniye. Ruled the principality for a time. After long struggle with other members of his family, and intervention from Bagdad and Persia, was defeated. Made a final attempt to return with Persian aid in late 1830's.

page 126 note 1 Henry Lytton Bulwer, brother of the novelist, arrived in Constantinople in 1838.

page 127 note 1 An Arab tribe, formerly powerful, in Mohammera.

page 128 note 1 The official announcement at the Porte was to the effect that Pertev ‘fell dead’, but he was actually the victim of an intrigue among jealous ministerial colleagues; he died by the bowstring. The Dutch minister, Testa, thought Ponsonby had a hand in the plot (Temperley, , op. cit., 403Google Scholar), but this letter disposes of the suspicion.

page 129 note 1 One of the Prussians was von Moltke, then a Captain.

page 129 note 2 The son, Abdülmecid, recovered, and succeeded his father exactly 16 months later, on 1 July 1839.

page 130 note 1 These ministerial changes produced Turkey's first modern ‘Cabinet’, in which Husrev, Said, and Reşid were the leading figures; see Ponsonby, to Palmerston, , 15 03 1838Google Scholar, F.O. 78/330.

page 131 note 1 John MacNeill, British minister to Persia, 1836–42.

page 132 note 1 Dragoman to French embassy.

page 133 note 1 Kadiköy, on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, where the terminus of the Bagdad Railway was later built.

page 134 note 1 Strangways, Staveley, and Hammond were Senior Clerks, Backhouse was Permanent Under-Secretary.

page 135 note 1 Turkish, küçük, little: a reference to the tiny Etienne Pisani.

page 136 note 1 Ponsonby sent Rassam to Mosul as vice-consul in October.

page 136 note 2 i.e. to Resici Paşa, who had just returned from England and was now, as first minister, weeding out of the cabinet those men who were ready to surrender Syria to Muhammad Ali, as the price of a settlement with the victorious Paşa.

page 136 note 3 Qasim al-Qadi, member of an ancient Druse family, who, as his name signifies, frequently held the office of judge under the Princes of Lebanon. Yusuf Nakad, member of a famous Druse family, lords of Dayr al-Qamar.

page 138 note 1 Ponsonby supported Reşid Paşa stoutly, and was anxious to use the English to chastise Muhammad Ali. But the British government was, in his opinion, slow to declare its attitude and keep the Russians out of the ‘Fortress of the World’. As late as November 1839 he could still write to Palmerston, ‘I am ignorant what may be the intention of Her Majesty's Government with respect to the affairs of this country,’ (7 Nov. 1839, F.O. 78/360), and he felt the situation would be exploited by France as well as Russia unless Britain committed herself to an active defence of Turkey. One of the few things he could do was to keep hope of final assistance alive in the Lebanon, where revolt grumbled while Europe made its decisions.

page 138 note 2 James Redhouse, later Secretary of Royal Asiatic Society; at this period dragoman to Reşid Paşa.

page 138 note 3 Sultan Mahmud died without hearing the fateful outcome of Nizip, where his army of Asia was defeated. ‘In the course of a week (Temperley, , op. cit., 105Google Scholar) Constantinople learned that she had lost a battle, an army, a fleet and a Sultan.’ Abdülmecid I succeeded on 1 July.

page 142 note 1 A reference to the famous decree issued at the Porte on 3 Nov. 1839, which was a Turkish charter of liberties, intended to introduce western concepts and ideals into the Ottoman administration. It was the work of Reşid Paşa, and was partly intended to qualify Turkey for European aid against ‘enlightened’ Egypt. Text of the decree in Hertslet, E., Map of Europe by Treaty, (London, 18711895), ii, 1002.Google Scholar

page 143 note 1 Ponsonby first heard details of the 1840 insurrection from two British peers, travelling in Lebanon, who had stayed at the Embassy. Lord Francis Egerton wrote from Bayrut of ‘the most formidable specimen of revolt’; Lord Alvanley supplied details, writing that Ibrahim tried to recall 15,000 muskets, originally issued to the Christians to assist in the suppression of the Druses. The demand was refused, Sayda was besieged, and Bayrut cut off from the grinding-mills outside its walls. ‘What is wanted is an English and Turkish Emissary, the former bringing firmans confirming … rights and Liberties … and a special one should be kept in reserve for the Emir Bechir's Eldest Son, in case the Old Man should, from fear, refuse to act’. (Ponsonby, to Palmerston, , 23 06 1840Google Scholar, F.O. 78/394.) Bashir al-Qasim presented himself at the British consulate, requesting instructions from Moore on how the rebels should act. Ponsonby urged Rear-Admiral Louis to send all the British naval force from the Dardanelles to the coast of Syria, and promised Reşid British protection if only the young Sultan would stand firm against Egyptian menace, French intrigue, and the malign influence of Husrev Paşa, the Sultana's favourite, who was trying to secure a hearing for Sami Bey, an Egyptian envoy.

page 143 note 2 Amir Haidar Ismail Abi Lami’, one of the leaders of the revolt, and exiled after its failure to Senaar in the Sudan. Subsequently, when Lebanon was divided into Christian and Druse districts, he became the Kaymakam of the Druse districts 1843–54.

page 145 note 1 H.M.S. Cyclops. Wood arrived at Bayrut on 3 July.

page 146 note 1 Sir Robert Stopford was senior naval officer in the Levant; Sir John Louis was his deputy while Stopford was in Malta.

page 147 note 1 Wood's letters of the 3rd, 22nd, were Ponsonby's chief sources of information on the progress of the revolt. Both were sent to Palmerston (despatches of 14 July, 1 Aug. F.O. 78/395) and Napier thought ‘the exaggerated statements of Mr Wood and Mr Moore’ misled Ponsonby as to the extent of the rebellion and ‘very much accelerated the signing of the Treaty of the 15th of July’, that is, the Convention for the Pacification of the Levant. The second charge is clearly unfounded, from the dates on which the reports in question were sent home. Wood described a confused situation, with the Egyptians restoring order in some parts of the Lebanon, while fresh trouble broke out elsewhere, and actually admitted that ‘the Insurgents are so little united’, the course of the revolt could not be predicted.

page 150 note 1 Khanjar Harfush: member of the leading Matawila family of the Baalbek district, deprived of their rule by Muhammad Ali and so favoured the rebellion.

page 150 note 2 Mutuwali, local name for Shi'as of central and south Lebanon.

page 151 note 1 These 3 petitions, couched in almost identical terms, were signed by Prince Paris Shehab, Amir Haidar, Paris Habeish, Yusuf Shehab, and Francis el Khazin.

page 152 note 1 Bracketed sections omitted from the Blue Book. The Great Powers, excepting France, signed the Convention for the Pacification of the Levant, on 15 July in London; news of the Convention reached Ponsonby on 3 August, and the same day the ambassadors visited Reşid together to organize the war effort; muskets were shipped to Syria, and the Grand Vezir agreed to write to the Amir Bashir.

page 153 note 1 There is no doubt that Ponsonby was as afraid of France in 1840 as he had been of Russia in 1839, and that he fully expected war between the French and the Allies. He countered Pontois’ allegation that the Sultan was damaging Islam by attacking Muhammad Ali, with an article inserted in the official Moniteur Ottomane, which stressed that the Allies were helping the Sultan hold the Kalifat together.

page 155 note 1 Snutt, collective name for the Arabs of Laja.

page 155 note 2 Amadi, Hanadi, a Beduin tribe of the Egyptian delta, who had begun to migrate to Palestine and Syria in the early 19th century. Large numbers followed Muhammad Ali's army, and were used by him as irregular troops.

page 158 note 1 It had not been possible to appeal to the Syrians to overthrow the Egyptians until the outcome of the Sultan's offer was known; by the Separate Act of the Convention of 15 July, Muhammad Ali was offered Egypt hereditarily, and Syria south of a line joining Ras-en-Nakora on the coast, to the shore of Tiberias. If this offer was not accepted within 10 days, the offer of southern Syria would be withdrawn. If the Paşa failed to signify his submission within another 10 days, the Sultan reserved the right to take back Egypt also. On 1 September, Ponsonby heard that no satisfactory reply had been received by the Porte; at his urging, Reşid proceeded to nominate new paşas to rule over Syria.

page 159 note 1 On 1 Sept. 1840, F.O. 78/396.

page 161 note 1 Ponsonby suspected Admiral Stopford and Sir Charles Smith were incompetent and lukewarm in the cause; Stopford, supreme commander, never stepped ashore, Smith was ill. The Convention reached Stopford on 3 August, but the Admiralty's instructions were late in arriving, and Ponsonby remonstrated with Stopford more than once, viz. Admiralty Records, I, 5503Google Scholar. On the naval campaign, see Temperley, Crimea, Appendix III; Napier, C., War in Syria (London, 1842).Google Scholar

page 163 note 1 Steindl, Austrian embassy official.

page 163 note 2 Because of the price on Wood's head.

page 164 note 1 Napier was Captain of the Powerful; he and Wood got on badly.

page 165 note 1 Driault, , La Question d'Orient, (Paris, 1905)Google Scholar, says, ‘l'emir de la Montagne, Bechir, passa aux Anglais et aida puissament en 1840 au succes de leurs intrigues’. This is not simply untrue; it is meaningless. Temperley, , The Crimea, 181Google Scholar, is also wrong in saying ‘In the middle of August Wood made a last overture to the old Prince’, for Wood made repeated approaches in September and October. The last personal interview took place about 18 September, when the above letter was left with the Prince, but several further appeals were made by Wood, Napier, the Grand Vizir, and even Bashir al-Qasim who succeeded him. Temperley's remark that the Sultan's firman, appointing Bashir al-Qasim Prince of the Mountain, was dated 2 September, is also misleading, for 2 September is the date on which the firman was issued at the Porte. The date filled in by Wood, as Ponsonby instructed him, was 8 October. The ex-Amir was then taken to Malta on a British warship, and later allowed to retire to Constantinople, where he intrigued without success to obtain his reinstatement. Bashir al-Qasim became Prince of the Mountain but was deposed in 1842.

page 170 note 1 The offensive phase of the war, associated with Napier's activity on shore, culminated in the victory of 10 October over the Egyptians at Boharsef; Smith, recovered from his illness but, showing little zest, was in command during the defensive phase which lasted to the end of the year. Ibrahim had too many men, and the allied land forces hesitated to close with him. Ponsonby had no time for such timidity; his letters to Wood reveal how his view of Smith changed.

page 171 note 1 The Turkish Seraskier, or senior military commander.

page 173 note 1 Butros Karam, Maronite notable. Father of Yusuf Karam who rose to power in the next generation as the most important Maronite leader.

page 174 note 1 Emir Jousuf, Emir Melham, Emir Abdallah, Emir Ismael; Sheiks Janus Murad, Lahoud Asaf, Auton Hauna, Abu Mansur, Nadir, Laloum, Laloum Nadir.

page 175 note 1 Wood was strongly backed by Ponsonby in urging Stopford to take Bayrut and Acre, mainly because the ambassador feared British ships would otherwise have to quit the coast for the winter, and that would be ‘disgraceful and mischievous’ (to Palmerston, , 27 09 1840Google Scholar, F.O. 78/397). Wood was the less hesitant to tax Sir Robert Stopford now that he had some status himself; besides Ponsonby's nomination of him as vice-consul of Bayrut, the Grand Vizir, Rauf Paşa, invested him with power ‘for the regulation and settlement of the actual affairs of the Porte’ in Syria.

page 176 note 1 Bracketed section omitted from the Blue Book.

page 181 note 1 On this same day, Palmerston in London was drafting Smith's letter of recall, although only 3 weeks had passed since the Foreign Secretary was urging Smith to act independently of Stopford (Admiralty, I, 5503, 23 10, 15 11, 1840Google Scholar). Smith repudiated Palmerston's criticisms, which were largely inspired by Napier, but nevertheless retired (Temperley, , op. cit., 495).Google Scholar

page 182 note 1 Shibli al-Arian, a Druse hero who led the first Druse revolt of 1837 in Wadi al-Taym. Submitted and became commander of irregular detachments in Egyptian forces.

page 182 note 2 Janbalat, Druses of the Shuf district of south Lebanon, Kurdish by origin, settling in Lebanon late in the 17th century. Helped Bashir to come to power, but he turned against them in the late ‘twenties. In the ‘thirties, they were anti-Egyptian and pro-Turk.

page 183 note 1 ‘Abd’ al-Hadi, notables of Nablus district of North Palestine, a relatively new family challenging the power of the Tugans. Favoured by Muhammad Ali, and after the occupation one of the family, Husayn, was governor of Sayda district.

page 189 note 1 But also on the 1st, news was received at Bayrut of Napier's famous Convention, an unauthorized agreement between the impulsive Commodore and Muhammad Ali. The Paşa agreed to relinquish Syria and restore the Turkish fleet if the Sultan would confer the hereditary rule of Egypt upon his family. Napier was not sure ‘whether I have done right or not in settling the Eastern Question…. I shall either be hung … or made a Bishop’. Stopford and Smith disowned the Convention and an officer was sent to tell the Paşa so, but the military situation in Syria was, throughout December and early January 1841, greatly confused by the political hiatus. Jochmus and Wood wanted to annihilate Ibrahim by forcing him to retreat through the desert; Stopford, conscious of his inability to stay on the coast much longer, thought it best to let Ibrahim evacuate by sea from Gaza unmolested, the more so as the allied forces were in no condition for another major effort without fresh infusions of food, money and equipment. Jochmus was ignorant of the political considerations which curbed Stopford, who expected Napier's abortive Convention to be quickly followed by a final settlement between Sultan and Paşa. Jochmus finally suspended hostilities on 17 January.

page 189 note 2 Amir Efendi, Rashaya ruler, member of Sunni Muslim branch of Shihab family.

page 190 note 1 Ahmad Aga al-Yusuf; of Kurdish origin, played leading part in Damascus politics. Now came out against Egyptians, and after withdrawal ruled Damascus until Ottoman resumption of power.

page 198 note 1 Qasim al-Amad; of a noble Nablus family, involved in 1834 Palestine revolt against Muhammad Ali.

page 202 note 1 After the destruction by bombardment of Acre on 3 Nov. 1840, the Egyptians evacuated Adana, Tarsus, Aleppo and Jaffa, retreating towards Damascus before beginning the southward retreat, and leaving the coast in the undisputed possession of the Allies. Damascus was evacuated on 30 December, and Jochmus moved across Ibrahim's line of retreat by seizing Jerusalem on 6 Jan. 1841. His outposts to the north of the city were in skirmishing contact with the Egyptians when the final submission of Muhammad Ali became known. Driault, L'Egypte et l'Europe (Cairo, 19301934)Google Scholar, put the army which reached Egypt at 32,000; Jochmus put the army which left Damascus at 51,000.

page 202 note 2 President of the provisional government set up in Jaffa.

page 204 note 1 Michell, Smith's successor, would not budge. He had already refused Jochmus’ plea to attack Gaza, because Stopford ‘did not wish it’ (to Palmerston, , 31 12 1840Google Scholar, F.O. 78/415). Stopford's biggest vessels had already sailed away. When the Egyptian surrender was known, Colonel Hugh Rose was sent out to find Ibrahim and give him a letter from his father confirming that it was all over; Ibrahim was drunk and had jaundice when Rose met him; ‘his camel-rider and chief groom were also endeavouring to read [his father's letter] over his shoulder’ (in Ponsonby, to Palmerston, , 21 02 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/431).

page 233 note 1 Palmerston thought likewise; ‘it is for the interest of the Sultan to diminish… the extent of these anomalous authorities such as that of the Emir Bechir, which exist within the Turkish Empire, and although it would be very imprudent and unjust to attempt to deprive the Druses of any of the privileges and immunities which by long prescription they enjoy, it would be inexpedient unnecessarily to extend the Druse jurisdiction and system over a town like Beyrouth’ (to Ponsonby, , 19 04Google ScholarF.O. 78/428).

page 235 note 1 Wood and Moore were brothers-in-law.

page 236 note 1 The ex-Amir also appealed to Palmerston, who replied that the exile must accept ‘the consequences of defeat’ (to Ponsonby, , 29 04 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/428). The ex-Amir had offered Consul Moore £20,000 to let him stay in Syria in 1840 (Temperley, , op. cit., 181Google Scholar).

page 241 note 1 Abdul Hadi assisted Ibrahim in the taking of Acre in 1832, and was its Superintendant under Egyptian authority until Stopford's bombardment in November, 1840. Palmerston lodged a complaint against his appointment as Governor of Gaza, in a letter to the Turkish ambassador in London, on 15 June 1841. A. & P., [1843] LX [455], 2.

page 244 note 1 Ponsonby, Sturmer and Titov held a conference at Tarabya on 12 May, at which they formulated their propositions respecting Syria. Ponsonby felt that the battle was won by late June, thanks to Wood's ‘ability and courage’, as he told Palmerston. The negotiation was protracted by the reactionary influence behind the throne of Riza Paşa, reputedly the lover of the Sultana Valide. Rifat, the Reis Efendi, was the miserable victim of Turkish colleagues and European envoys, torn by appeals to his patriotism from the one side and flattery and bullying from the other. Rauf, the Grand Vizir, was an enlightened man but not a strong one. The points formulated at the Tarabya conference were as follows: (1) Faithful execution of the promises made during the war to re-establish the ancient rights and privileges of the Syrians. (2) Revocation of all illegal taxes being levied in Syria. (3) The Maronite Patriarch and the Amir Bashir al-Qasim to be represented at the Porte by accredited agents. (4) A ferik to be nominated for the special task of protecting the Christians in Jerusalem. (5) Turkey to reward men who distinguished themselves by their loyal conduct in the war. Ponsonby notified Palmerston, prematurely as it transpired, that the Syrian question was settled, in a despatch of 21 June, and enclosed 7 documents, all composed by Wood, to unfold its history. These documents passed into the Blue Books on Syrian Affairs, with modifications which show Palmerston's intention to let down both France and Turkey lightly (to Palmerston, , 8, 15, 16, 21 06Google Scholar, F.O. 78/435; A. & P., [c. 455] pp. 9–22).

page 246 note 1 Bracketed section omitted from the Blue Book.

page 250 note 1 The Musteshar asked the Amir for a tribute from Lebanon of 5,000 purses annually.

page 254 note 1 The plans formulated at the Tarabya conference on 12 May were reconsidered in a second conference held at Pera on 4 June, and adopted finally. Wood was ordered to present the demands at the Porte immediately.

page 255 note 1 i.e. to Prince Vogorides.

page 256 note 1 23 May 1841, F.O. 78/434.

page 256 note 2 Austrian Consul-general, Alexandria.

page 257 note 1 Ponsonby thought Wood was nominated consul-general, as he had recommended him for that post, and that Damascus was to be his seat of office as such.

page 257 note 2 Wood had seen the Grand Vezir earlier on the 14th, and harangued him concerning Ottoman misgovernment in Syria as Ponsonby suggested. Rauf clearly disliked the lecture, insinuated that Europe was showing favouritism towards the Syrian Christians, yet ‘expressed his thanks for the friendly and open advice I gave him’ and even persuaded the Council to allow the Amir Bashir to have an agent at the Porte. Rifat communicated the good news to Wood late that afternoon and Wood wrote Ponsonby the same evening. Wood's draft is missing from his papers; the letter announcing success is, however, in A. & P. [c. 455], 16.

page 258 note 1 Arabic, ‘in the land of Syria, you will understand me’; a hint that the writer hopes Wood will get a better appointment yet, namely, that of consul-general for all Syria.

page 259 note 1 i.e., , Koumbari.

page 259 note 2 The despatch said: ‘It is to him [Wood] that the Syrians look as the man who knows best what is necessary to be done. I am at a loss to imagine why Your Lordship has not considered it expedient to make the appointment…. As Consul of Damascus, Mr. Wood must confine himself strictly to the affairs of his Consular District’ (to Palmerston, , 21 06 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/435). Palmerston's reply, to the effect that Wood, as a Roman Catholic would favour the Maronites, whereas Britain could profitably establish contacts with the Druses, is dated 16 Aug. 1841, F.O. 78/429.

page 265 note 1 Ponsonby to Palmerston, 27 July 1841, F.O. 78/436: ‘I have had information from Syria that not one of the promises made by the Sublime Porte of which Mr. Wood was the bearer, has been performed. I have in consequence thought it right to detain here Mr. Wood, as Mr. Wood must either allow the Syrians to hold him a liar and deceiver, or must declare that the Porte is guilty of breaking its promises.’

page 265 note 2 Son of Muhammad Ali.

page 267 note 1 The plans of Captain Williams, R.A., covered the defence of the Straits, military schools in Turkey, the exploitation of copper deposits, and the creation of a steam flotilla (to Palmerston, , 28 08 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/435).

page 268 note 1 The American missionary, Thomson, was only anxious to convert Druses to Protestantism, and for this purpose readily conveyed the request for British protection from the Druses of the Hawran. The Druse wish for commercial and educational links was relayed to London by Colonel Rose (to Palmerston, , 22 05 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/455); the reply is dated 15 July 1841, F.O. 78/429. A young Druse was actually sent to Oxford University.

page 269 note 1 For dividing Lebanon into Druse and Maronite zones.

page 272 note 1 Wood's letter from the Grand Vezir described him as ‘un personnage de distinction, et trèle pour les Interêts de l'Empire Ottoman’; Ponsonby agreed he should supervise, ‘as Turkey requests’, the introduction of the promised reforms in Syria (to Palmerston, ; 3, 11 08 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/435). Palmerston ordered Wood to return to Syria as soon as possible (to Ponsonby, , 17 08 1841Google Scholar, F.O. 78/429); Wood went before this instruction reached Turkey.

page 273 note 1 Ponsonby left Turkey on 10 Oct. 1841; Stratford Canning was appointed ambassador by the new Peel ministry.

page 276 note 1 Chargé until the arrival of Stratford Canning.