HC Deb 12 July 1860 vol 159 cc1769-75
SIR CHARLES NAPIER

said, he wished to put a question to the noble Lord the Foreign Secretary on the subject of the recent massacres in Syria, and that he might put himself in order, he would move that the House do now adjourn. The House would not be surprised that, having taken some part in the war in Syria some years ago, he should sympathize with the unfortunate victims of the massacres which had lately been committed in that country. He understood from a statement which had been made in "another place," that the Government had sent a squadron, under Admiral Martin, to Syria; but that force, although it might protect the inhabitants of Beyrout, Sidon, and other parts of the coast, would be of little advantage to the population of the interior. This was not the first time that atrocities of this kind had occurred in Mount Lebanon; and attacks made by the Druses upon the Maronites had been encouraged by the Turks. During the war of 1840 the allied forces saw a large party of Druses marching through the country with the heads of thirty Christians upon pikes. Unhappily no reliance could be placed on the Turks, who thought they had an interest in setting the Druses and Maronites by the ears, and were in the habit of standing by, and looking on complacently, while they destroyed each other. Unless the Maronites of the Lebanon had come forward in the gallant manner they did during the war in Syria, and assisted his small force in driving the Egyptians out of the country, that object could not have been accomplished. These unfortunate people were detested whenever they came into contact with the Druses, and he therefore, begged to ask the noble Lord the Foreign Minister for an assurance that some effectual steps would be taken to prevent further massacres among the Christians in the interior of Syria as well as on the coast, and also to afford protection to British subjects.

SIR JAMES FERGUSSON

said, he rose to second the Motion, not for the purpose of making a speech, but of asking the noble Lord for some information, which he thought would be most acceptable, on this subject. The House, in common with the rest of the country, must have seen with deep pain and regret the accounts given by the newspapers of the recent shocking occurrences in Syria. He was anxious to induce the House, and if possible the country, while their information was still necessarily so imperfect, to suspend their judgment upon the responsibility for those events until it received more authentic intelligence. Great injustice would be done, and possibly great and permanent evil inflicted on that country if people here ran away with the idea that one party only had been to blame in this unhappy matter, or if the influence of England should cause vengeance to be taken upon one race alone, while others who were as much or perhaps more in fault than those who were at present victorious remained unpunished. Two years ago he spent some time on Mount Labanon, where he resided for a short period with these very Druses, now accused of being concerned in the recent disturbances; and he thought the House would commit a very great mistake if it concluded that these disturbances had had in the main a religious foundation. He believed that they originated in an irreconcilable quarrel between antagonistic races, and that religion had in fact had very little to do with them. It was well known that two great races, the Druses and Maronites, divided between them the chief part of that fertile region, and he feared there must always exist a deep-seated hostility between them. Nor should it be forgotten that it was the interest, not only of the Turks, but of some European Powers to foment their contentions. He was sure the noble Lord, whose attention had been so much directed to this question, must be aware that other nations in Europe had constantly encouraged these disputes on Mount Labanon with a view to establish their own influence in that quarter. While he was there himself two years ago it was well known that efforts were made by French and Russian agents to rouse hostile passions and excite disturbances in the mountain. From living there for a short time he became so sensible of the imminent danger thus threatened that he was induced to make a communication to the noble Lord, the then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on the subject. He was sure the Government must have received intimations from the intelligent gentleman who was our Consul General at Beyrout, which must have placed them in possession of important information on this question. But great injustice would be done if the European Powers did no more than to leave these people to the tender mercies of their Mussulman rulers. If the Turks were enabled to establish their authority in the Lebanon in a more sovereign manner than they had lately exercised it, not only would that fertile and flourishing region be seriously injured, but there was great risk of its being reduced to the same state of misery as prevailed in other parts of Syria and to a great extent throughout the Turkish dominions. In most districts of Syria the traveller was struck with the squalid and wretched condition of the villages; but when he arrived in the Lebanon he observed evidences of the greatest wealth and prosperity among the inhabitants. On inquiry he would find the reason of this to be that the Porte had no immediate authority there, and the people were, so to speak, self-governed. But if the Turkish Pashas were now to be sent down to those regions for the purpose, as it was called, of allaying disturbances and checking disorder, they would be glad to have the opportunity of fleecing the unfortunate population and enriching themselves at their expense, producing under the name of tranquillity what was merely ruin and desolation. He was satisfied Her Majesty's Government must also see that other dangers were impending. France would probably not be unwilling to gain the means of establishing her power in the East. He had seen a report in the newspapers, and he believed the Government had made statements to the same effect, that assurances had been received from the French Government that it was their determination not to interfere in this matter beyond securing protection to French subjects. But could they depend upon such assurances? Had not similar assurances been given respecting countries nearer home? And, knowing that the interest which Franco took in this question was not only political but religious, were they sure that these disturbances would not be fomented by French agents as affording an opportunity for establishing that influence which she had long been anxious to gain in the East? The question was so interesting, and involved considerations of such magnitude and importance, that he trusted the House would pardon him for having seized that somewhat irregular occasion for claiming its attention.

MR. DARBY GRIFFITH

said, that having had a personal acquaintance with these regions, he wished to corroborate what had been so well stated by the hon. Baronet, and to express his hope that the House and the Government would not hastily espouse the cause of either of these contending races.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL

Sir, I quite agree with the hon. Baronet (Sir James Fergusson) that no doubt we must be very cautious in imputing the blame of these unhappy transactions to one of the parties concerned rather than the other. It is well known that the Druses and the Maronite Christians have long been divided by sentiments of deep-seated hostility; and those sentiments have from time to time broken out in wars and contentions. Unfortunately there has lately been such an occurrence. With regard to the immediate cause, one party lays the blame upon the other, while the other party says that it was the first who attacked them. No doubt there have been individual murders on both sides. Whatever may be the cause of the outbreak, and whatever measures it may be desirable to adopt, I think the House can have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that, the European Powers are bound to do their utmost to put a stop to the massacres which have been going on. We have been told first one village and then another has been attacked by the Druses, and that great slaughter had ensued, and our Consul informed us that he believed that not less than 20,000 people were wandering in the mountains in a state of the greatest distress. The hon. and gallant Officer (Sir Charles Napier) says, that merely sending ships to the sea coast will not save those who are in the mountains. Undoubtedly that is true, but when the Turks are reproached with regard to the apparent indifference that they have shown, or at all events the very little exertion they have made, there is this to be said, that during the winter reports have been very current and very prevalent indeed, that in Bosnia, the Herzegovina, and Bulgaria, there would be risings in the course of the spring. The Sultan naturally directed regular troops to be sent to those districts, and his army not being very large, I am told by the Turkish Ambassador in London that at the time of this outbreak there were only 400 regular troops in Syria, Of course it was not to be expected that 15,000 or 20,000 armed men should be put down by this small number of regulars, but even allowing for that, I am afraid it is too true that the Turks have showed but little activity or desire to put down these disturbances. It appeared to us that it was desirable to have ships on the coast, not only for the protection of British subjects, but in order that the Pasha who might be sent from Constantinople should be better enabled to send troops into the interior, and to relieve Damascus from the apprehensions of an attack which have lately prevailed there. We were informed that at Damascus there was the greatest apprehension of an attack by the Druses, and, of course, the British Consul and British subjects there were in the utmost danger. The Pasha who was sent from Constantinople might have said, "I should be ready to put an end to the massacres in the mountains and to relieve Damascus, but it will be necessary to keep all the troops on the coast, in order to prevent the Christians and the foreign subjects there being murdered." Therefore, it will be a great satisfaction to him if he is enabled by the presence of foreign ships of war to feel quite at ease with respect to Sidon, Beyrout, and other places on the coast, and to transfer his troops to the neighbourhood of Damascus. To show the effect that may be produced by even a very small force, I will state that while these massacres were occurring an English gentleman was cruising in the neighbourhood of Tyre with his yacht. Repeated messages were sent requesting him to approach the harbour, and place himself in a position to protect the town, and ultimately, although his guns were of very small calibre, and could be of little use, he warped in and placed them in a position to command the entrance to the town. It afterwards appeared that there were then in the town two spies of the Druses, who that same night sent word to the camp that an Eng- lish ship of war was in the harbour, and that an attack in the face of such a force would be of no use. There was no attack, and the place was saved. This shows that not only a British naval force, but what may be taken to be a British naval force, may save the lives of the inhabitants of the seaports, and prevent massacres which were likely to take place. The graver subject to which the hon. Baronet has adverted is one of very large extent, and one into which I cannot properly enter now. It is one which must be considered by the representatives of all the Powers at Constantinople. I do not believe that those jealousies or those wishes to obtain influence on the part of European Powers which have acted so powerfully in former days would now be detrimental to the settlement of the question, and I quite agree that the Turks ought not to be allowed to extend their power, which frequently does not so much establish order as corruption and venality, over this district. At the same time it is very desirable to provide, if possible, that these very hostile parties should live in peace together.

MR. GREGORY

said, he wished to call the attention of the noble Lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the fact, that there was a servant of Her Majesty who, if he was upon the spot, would have more influence upon the tribes of the Lebanon than any demonstration, naval or military, which the noble Lord might propose to send out. The gentleman to whom he alluded, and who was, be believed, well known to every one who travelled in Syria a few years ago, was Mr. Wood, our Cousul-General at Beyrout. He was a gentleman of great ability, and when Consul at Damascus obtained an influence among the mountain tribes such as had been possessed by no other European. He spoke the language like a native. He was thoroughly acquainted with Oriental sentiment and opinion, and by means of various good offices which he had done to different sheiks and rulers of tribes in the mountains he had obtained a personal influence among that people which was perfectly extraordinary. He believed that if that gentleman was sent to Syria in the present emergency he would be able to exert an influence most material to the settlement of this question, and would afford to Her Majesty's Government information which, amid the conflicting testimony that would be received, would be most important and most reliable.

SIR HENRY WILLOUGHBY

said, he understood that the Turks were in 1846, by a Treaty with what were called the Five Powers, bound not to occupy the district in which these massacres took place with troops, and it therefore seemed rather hard to blame them for these occurrences.

VISCOUNT PALMERSTON

The hon. Baronet is wrong in his statement. There is no treaty which excludes the Turks from Lebanon in the same manner in which they are excluded from the Principalities. There was an arrangement made a good many years ago according to which no Turkish administrative authority was to be paramount in Lebanon, but the people of that district were to be left to govern themselves under officers appointed from the races therein. For a long time great endeavours were made by the Turks to get out of that engagement, but they were held to it, and I believe that it is still in existence. It docs not, however, preclude them from appointing a Pasha to represent the Turkish authority in those districts.

Motion made, and Question, "That this House do now adjourn," put, and negatived.