“TO HIS EXCELLENCY SOULIMAN PACHA.

“After the usual compliments, &c.

“Notwithstanding that the conditions of the Convention signed in London have not yet transpired, nevertheless, the Russian, English, and Austrian Consuls, in their vain attempts to intrigue, have been employing their clerks day and night to make drafts of the aforesaid Convention, with the intention of distributing the same in Syria, to bring about an insurrection there if necessary. By way of aid, 6000 troops will be conveyed from Constantinople to Cyprus, and arms and ammunition will be sent to Syria. We have also learned that a firman has been sent to the Emir Bechir, notifying to him, that as by the Convention of London he is to be freed from the government of Mehemet Ali, he had better be aware of it in time, and not be found in allegiance with him. In the hope of creating an insurrection and disturbances in Syria, the aforesaid Consuls have made drafts of a Convention as above described, and have transmitted them to Syria in the English steamer. The French Consul at Beyrout will be deposed, and sent to Paris, for having acted contrary to the policy of his Government, and will be replaced by Monsieur Delvasy, who is now at Damascus for the affair of the Jews. On the other hand, the French Consul-General at Alexandria has been graciously decorated by his Government for having followed its views. The French are with us, and have agreed, out of friendship, to furnish us with 100,000 troops, 600,000 purses, and 24 ships of the line, with 80 steamers. That such is the resolution taken in France, we have it from the proper quarter.

“By the grace of God, after the above becomes known to you, let the quarantine be strictly enforced in the principal sea-port towns in Syria as before, by which you will ascertain the destination of all letters brought by vessels. Vessels must not be allowed to go to places where there are no sanatory establishments, it being irregular; and should any vessels go to such places, and desire to land any passengers, let them be slightly opposed; but should any one resist the quarantine, let him be informed that the sanatory regulations are the same for all. Our Master, the Viceroy, is in Upper Egypt; but on his return to-day or to-morrow, he will necessarily write to you in detail on the conduct you are to pursue, and until you receive his instructions, the present notification will serve you as a guide, &c.

“A copy of the same instructions has been addressed to the Governors and Kakya of Beyrout, and to the Governor-General of Damascus.

On the 20th, an Egyptian frigate, armed en flute, bound to Scanderoon with stores, was detained by the Castor, stationed off the Point, to give notice should the Egyptian fleet appear off, to raise the blockade.

On the 27th I heard from the Admiral, announcing his arrival off Alexandria, and was shortly after reinforced by the Revenge, Benbow, and Magicienne. The Consuls, on their first audience, had laid before the Pacha the Treaty of the 15th of July, which he rejected at once; and he gave them to understand it was useless coming to him at the expiration of either the ten days or the twenty, for they should have the same answer; and that what he had won with the sword, he should defend with it; and he added, that after the expiration of the twenty days, the sooner they took themselves off the better, as their longer stay would neither be for their honour or his interest. The old man kept his word; on the 5th of September Raifat Pasha and the Consuls again presented themselves, and they were dismissed with the same answer.

The Admiral, in his last dispatch, gave me to understand I might shortly expect a small Turkish force would arrive at Cyprus, under the orders of Captain Walker, who had been promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral in the Turkish service. This appeared business-like, and we anxiously looked forward to some active service during the remaining two months of summer.

Shortly after this, I received a dispatch from Lord Ponsonby, announcing that a war with France might be expected at any moment, and recommending the ships to be on their guard, and that the Turkish Government had recalled the expedition. Some of the Turkish vessels had already sailed, and Admiral Walker, with great judgment and decision, pushed on, and sent me word of his approach. Not a moment was lost; the Hastings, which had joined, was sent to Cyprus to reinforce him, and supply his ships with provisions, and I removed my pennant to the Gorgon steamer, and ran down the coast as far as D’Jebail, to ascertain the best landing place; from there I crossed over to Cyprus, where I arrived next afternoon. Admiral Walker had anchored the day before.

The Turkish troops, to the amount of 5300 men, had been landed. The Government, with their accustomed want of foresight, had started them with only a fortnight’s provisions, of which only three days remained. With all my desire to commence active operations, it would have been madness to have brought this force to the coast of Syria, where nothing could be procured in the event of a reverse. The troops had really a very respectable appearance, and were much better than I expected. After a conference with the Admiral and General, it was decided to leave it to Admiral Walker’s discretion to start the moment he could procure a moderate supply, and we agreed to meet off Sidon, as by that time I should have determined on what part of the coast we should strike the first blow, on the success of which all our hopes depended.

From Cyprus we ran over and reconnoitred St. Jean d’Acre, which I was glad to see did not present any great obstacle to an attack from sea. Many men were employed completing the works on the land side; but the sea front, I suppose, was considered sufficiently strong.

From Acre we went off Tyre, which was occupied by Albanian troops, and in the evening anchored at Beyrout, having run over all this ground in little more than forty-eight hours. The following day the Carysfort was despatched to Cyprus with more provisions. On the 9th of September, the ships in the offing, who had directions to bring Admiral Walker to Beyrout, made the signal for a convoy. Sir Robert Stopford, in the Princess Charlotte, also hove in sight, and before sunset the whole were at anchor off the town. Sir Charles Smith, who had arrived in the Pique a few days before in bad health, was still too unwell to take the direction of the military affairs, and Sir Robert Stopford did me the honour of placing the troops under my command.

Souliman Pacha at this time was at the head of the army at Beyrout, and was supposed to have 15,000 men under his orders. Ibrahim and Osman were at Balbeck with 10,000 more; the garrison of Sidon consisted of 3000; that of Tripoli, and in the neighbourhood, 5000; the rest of the Egyptian army, consisting of from 40,000 to 50,000 men, were stationed in various parts of Syria.

Had the Egyptian troops at Beyrout, with the exception of the garrison, marched to the heights of Ornagacuan and the high land over Nahr-el-Kelb, those at Balbeck on Gazir, Harissa and Antoura, and those at Tripoli pushed along shore by D’Jebail the moment we landed, there is little doubt but we should have been withdrawn, and the troops sent to Cyprus, and Mehemet Ali would now have been in possession of Syria, and England, in all probability, involved in war with France; or even had we remained inactive, and contented ourselves with occupying a strong hold only, we should have incurred the same risk.