(Signed) COWLEY.
No. 33.
_Sir Stratford Canning to the Earl of Aberdeen_.--(_Received March_
30.)
My Lord, _Constantinople, March_ 6, 1844.
The confidential interview to which I was invited by Rifaat Pasha,
took place yesterday, and the French Minister was also present. In
order to mark more emphatically the private character of this
meeting we trusted entirely to Foad Effendi, who accompanied Rifaat
Pasha at my request, for the interpretation of what passed between
us. I am happy to say that although the Pasha repeated all the
arguments stated in M. Pisani's report, of which a copy has been
already transmitted to your Lordship, nothing occurred to shake my
confidence in the information previously conveyed to me and recorded
in my preceding despatch. The French Minister participated fully in
this impression, and gave me his support in a most frank and
effectual manner.
The Pasha's main position was this: if we refuse, we lose the
friendship of Europe; if we consent, we hazard the peace of the
empire; you come as friends, and therefore we reckon upon your
helping us to find some course by which we may satisfy you without
injuring ourselves.
In answer we confirmed his persuasion that our intentions were
friendly; but we added that our course was prescribed by the
instructions; that we could not admit the supposition of our
Governments having acted without a full consideration of the
consequences; and that although we were not called upon to require
an express and formal repeal of the law which they termed religious,
we must, at the very least, require an official declaration that
effectual measures would be taken to prevent the recurrence of
executions for apostacy, and a disclaimer of every idea involving
insult to Christianity, or the persecution of its followers, on
account of their faith.
This explanation appeared to produce a good effect on the Pasha's
mind, and I observed with particular satisfaction, that he admitted
that the Mufti had expressed to the Porte a personal opinion, which
drew a very desirable distinction between the strict language of the
law and the discretion warranted by State necessity.
Upon the whole, my Lord, it was sufficiently apparent that the
objections entertained by the Porte are far from insuperable; that
much of the remaining difficulty arises from the reference unwisely
made to the Ulemah; and that, with every wish to escape from our
demand, and every determination to give us the least acceptable
degree of satisfaction, there is no intention ultimately to refuse,
although it is possible that we shall not be able to obtain as
complete a declaration as we could desire without a reference to
London and Paris.