Palmerston opposed an Arab kingdom only because it meant dismembering Turkey

Evidence

For as Palmerston himself said he did not object, in principle, to Mehmed Ali’s gaining independence or to his founding “an Arab kingdom including all the countries of which Arabic is the language. There might be no harm in such a thing in itself; but as it would necessarily imply the dismemberment of Turkey, we could not agree to it.” — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1574

For as Palmerston himself said he did not object, in principle, to Mehmed Ali’s gaining independence or to his founding “an Arab kingdom including all the countries of which Arabic is the language. There might be no harm in such a thing in itself; but as it would necessarily imply the dismemberment of Turkey, we could not agree to it.” — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1537

Categorization

• XREF: Direct evidence of the British rationale the reader is tracking for Ottoman-Egyptian conflict.
• SHARE: Quotable Palmerston line worth sharing with anyone interested in British imperial policy.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1574; Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1537