THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE 1821 TO 1833 BY W.ALISON PHILLIPS 1897

152 THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE
ties;
and the Turkish navy, owing to the causes mentioned
elsewhere, had not proved itself efficient in war,
though
it was now in a far better condition than at the
outbreak of the revolt, and doubtless in time the vastly
greater resources of the Ottoman empire might have
worn out the naval power of Greece.
Under these circumstances, the Sultan's thoughts
turned to his vassal Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt; and
to him he determined to apply for aid.
This remarkable
man, who had raised himself from the lowest
ranks ot the people to sovereign power, was already
plotting those vast schemes of ambition which subsequently
brought him into collision with the Ottoman
Empire;
and, in preparation for these, he had organised
an army on the European model, and a magnificently
appointed fleet. The Sultan, fully awake to
the importance of modern methods in warfare, had
viewed these preparations of his powerful vassal with
considerable misgiving;
and, in proposing to him to
help in the suppression of the Greek revolt, he doubtless
hoped to serve a twofold object, in using the instrument
which seemed the most effective for his immediate
purpose, and at the same time, perhaps, blunting
a weapon which he suspected would, sooner or
later, be directed against himself. He, therefore, now
proposed to Mehemet Ali to use these newly disci-