1921 LORD ELGIN'S REPORT 235 sive trade which France certainly has in contemplation towards the Levant. The first point which presents itself is the schemes of Bonaparte directed against Egypt : schemes which (independently of numberless other decisive proofs) M. Sebastiani's late mission amply ascertains to be anxiously cherished and very imperfectly even now kept under •restraint. On this point there can be no doubt that Bonaparte considered the possession of Malta as indispensable for his invasion of Egypt : x that no attempt for the recovery of Egypt could be undertaken by England while the French remained in occupation of this Island ; and that incal- culable advantages were secured to the Military and Naval advantages [sic] of the expedition under Sir R. Abercrombie and Lord Keith from the depots and port of La Vallette. ' The next point, on which the influence of Malta is no less obvious, is also brought into evidence by Colonel Sebastiani's Mission, namely, the disposition said to have been created in the Ionian Islands of declaring themselves French. M. Italinski 2 informed me at Constantinople of the Emperor's determination to withdraw the Russian Troops from those Islands in the ensuing Spring. He also assured me of his conviction, to which M. Sebastiani has since given a confirmation, that Bonaparte would not neglect that or any other object of aggrandisement in the Mediter- ranean. At the same time there does not exist a spot more ripe for the admission of any new Government, or more apt for the extension of French intrigue than these Islands. Corfu, on the other hand, tho' now defenceless, could easily be rendered impregnable by the French : and already they are busy in creating an interest with Ali Pasha of Albania, now Governor also of Roumelia, thro' whom they could by influence or force, arrive at the gates of Constantinople without possibility of resistance.
- Nor are the views of France less dubious against the Morea ; the plans
for the dismemberment of Turkey which have been in agitation, may for the present be opposed by Russia ; but even under this favourable circum- stance, the Porte, in the present temper of the two Governments has surely more to dread from the ambition of Bonaparte than hope from the modera- tion of the Emperor. At all events your Lordship is well aware from the frequent proofs of solicitude which the Porte has evinced for Great Britain to retain Malta, and especially from the Memorial on this subject addressed to His Maj. in Nov r 1801 (as strong a measure, perhaps, as that cautious Government ever adopted) that the Porte does estimate the duration of its independence by the period of our continuance in possession of this Island. ' There remains one fact, which ought never to be neglected, when con- sidering this question, namely, that the total disorganization and im- potency of the existing Government in Turkey, while it leads to the expectation of great internal convulsions, heightens also the danger from foreign attacks. But, from whatever source, it is obvious that any change of dominion in Turkey, more especially any conquest there by France, must be of the utmost importance to the British Interests in Europe and 1 In 1797 he sent a French agent, Ponssielgue, to Valetta to undermine the alle- giance of the Knights of St. John. 2 Italinski had been Russian envoy at Naples, and then for a time at Corfu.
