14° _Lord Palmerston au baron de Bourqueney_.
_Foreign office_.--July 22, 1839.
Monsieur le Baron,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 19th.
instant, inclosing, by order of your Government, a copy of a despatch
dated the 17th. instant, which you have received from the duc de
Dalmatie, relative to the present posture of affairs in Turkey.
I have to express to you in reply the great satisfaction with which Her
Majesty's Government have received this communication, and lose no time
in authorizing you to assure your Government that the British cabinet,
like that of France, desires to uphold the integrity and independence of
the Ottoman empire under its existing dynasty; and is ready to use its
influence and its means of action for the purpose of maintaining this
essential element of the balance of power in Europe; and like that
of France, would not hesitate to declare itself openly against any
combination which might be be conceived in a spirit of hostility to the
principles above mentioned.
I have the honour to be with high consideration,
Monsieur le Baron,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
PALMERSTON.