about... by their reliance on fixed pensions and casual alms without the exercise of industry, either in agriculture, commerce or other employments; . . . Why, therefore, continue a life of pauperism, which will endure until the springs of poverty are stopped-and what will be the use of a collection, which can but mitigate the evil for a moment? "My dear brethren,-Before you accuse the sufferers of indolence, and their leaders of neglect, let us assure you that the people are most anxious to free themselves from the thraldom of dependence; that the Rabbis and the heads of the Congregations have proved to Sir Moses Montefiore, who has been at all times the strenuous advocate of industrial pursuits, the willingness of the people to till the soil, if only it could be done with security. But hitherto the great impediment to agriculture has been not alone the want of pecuniary means, but the want of protection on the part of the Government, it being absolutely impracticable to labour outside the walls of the cities, owing to the depredations of the roving and lawless Bedouins, for whatever the inhabitants sow is speedily seized by others. "Without, however, alluding to the happy restitution that we anxiously look for, which lies in the hand of the Lord who commandeth us not to stir, neither to awake His love, until He please '-the present war may, by the Divine blessing, bring about a great and beneficial change in the Holy Land. It is more than probable that the Government of the Porte will concede to our brethren in Palestine the right of holding land; and that this right will be placed under secure protection. It will then become the duty of our leading men to organise a proper plan of operations, put themselves into communication with the different Committees abroad, to raise the necessary means, to send men of ability, properly authorised, to Jerusalem, to bring about a unity of action among the different congregations there, to purchase land, to establish farms and factories, and to devote a portion of the money annually collected, as wages to those who will labour therein under the charge of the persons superintending those undertakings. The time for the realisation of such a scheme may not be remote, as the munificent legacy of the philanthropist Judah Touro, New Orleans, was bequeathed for this very purpose, which bequest will have an important bearing on the improvement of the Holy Land. “. . . I remain, yours very faithfully, "N. ADLER, Dr., Chief Rabbi." 1 An Appeal on behalf of the famishing Jews in the Holy Land. Donations will be thankfully received by The Rev. The Chief Rabbi, 4, Crosby Square, and Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart., Alliance Assurance Office, Bartholomew Lane. Rev. Aaron Levy Green, Hon. Sec. London: Printed by Wertheimer and Co., Circus Place, Finsbury Circus. 1854 (8°. 16 pp. in printed wrapper), pp. 3–7. In February, 1855, Dr. Adler and Sir Moses published their first Report enumerating the appropriations of money they had made and the sums set apart for the establishment of institutions designed to relieve distress, and to encourage and promote industry. In May, 1856, Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore set out on a mission to the Holy Land to organize means for the appropriation of the funds with a view to the utmost benefit of the supplicants." The Trustees resolved to attempt the organization of some industrial scheme, and, says their Second Report, dated 1856: "In a land naturally so fertile as Palestine, offering so prolific a return for industry, but altogether wanting in commercial resources, agriculture must of necessity be the first object of attention, as likely to prove the most powerful auxiliary in bringing about a healthful reaction, by alleviating distress, by promoting industry, and by exciting a feeling of self-reliance." The Trustees were confirmed in their views by the opinion of experienced agriculturists in the Holy Land, and by the valuable suggestions of munificent donors. On the 17th June Sir Moses had an audience with the Sultan, and on the 27th July the first meeting was held with the representatives of Zapphed. "The desirability of cultivating land was discussed at this sitting, and the great probabilities of success in the undertaking were shown by the mention of numerous well-authenticated facts. The views entertained by the Trustees having been confirmed by the best evidence, a Committee of practical agriculturists-men distinguished by their probity, and of acknowledged skill-was, without further delay, appointed to aid in the selection of land, and to advise as to the fitness of the parties to be employed in its cultivation. Assisted by this Committee, Sir Moses selected thirty-five families from the Holy City of Zapphed, provided them with means to commence agricultural pursuits, and also secured for them local governors. Some orphan lads were also provided for, by being placed under the care of the Committee, to be trained as agriculturists. A district in the vicinity of Zapphed, called the Bokea, having been pointed out as a most desirable spot for agricultural purposes, sufficient means were granted to give employment to fifteen families, to be engaged in the cultivation of that fruitful district; the whole being placed under the supervision of the Agricultural Committee at Zapphed. The claims of Tabaria were next considered . . . and means afforded to thirty families to enable them to engage in agricultural pursuits. At Jaffa some land, with a house, and well affording an abundant supply of excellent water, was purchased, and a number of our poor co-religionists are already engaged upon such land." An establishment for weaving was instituted. "Sir Moses eventually succeeded in purchasing a tract of land to the west of the Holy City, in a most beautiful and salubrious locality, within a few minutes' walk from the Jaffa and Zion Gates. Here a considerable number of our co-religionists and others at once found employment on the land and in the building of the boundary wall." A windmill was erected on this site to supersede the expensive method used at Jerusalem for grinding corn. LVII THE FINAL EXODUS AND what now is the aspect of Palestine? Still, truly, it is a land rich in the grandeur and beauties of nature's handiworkstill, in some parts,... hills, plains, and valleys, fields of wheat and barley, vineyards and olive-yards, are spread out before you as on a map '--still does the benign influence of the sun's warmth engender in the bosom of the earth the germs of fruits and flowers, that languish for want of culture, and never arrive at perfectionstill do the hills uplift their heads amid the clouds, which drop down, as though with tears of sorrow, upon their barren and exposed sides, once covered with artificial soil and by the hands of a favoured race rendered fruitful as the vale beneath. The mountains remain unshaken, but where are the countless flocks ? the stones of the water-course are there, but where is the limpid stream? Alas! the promised blessing has been withdrawn from the land; the flocks no longer multiply as heretofore, neither as in former days do springs and fountains burst forth everywhere out of the valleys and the hills; and her cities are desolate and forsaken, and of many even the site is not accurately known; literal, indeed, has been the fulfilment of the prophetic declaration 'the land shall be desolate.' Solitude now reigns where once the busy hum of voices enlivened many a glad city, ay, even in the wilderness-ruins now mark the spot where once rose the sound of harp and tabret, and where heart joined with hand in mocking with merriment the threatened desolation . . ." "... But more than this-Britain! rejoice! it is for you to lead back to their beautiful land the long-dispersed members of Judah's neglected race, and by planting in their native country a colony of whose attachment to its protectors there could be no doubt, " " . . . Jerusalem shall, indeed, become again the glorious city among the nations: no longer shall her name be Jerusalem, but 'the City of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel,' for there shall be holiness,' and in the midst of her 'the King of Israel, even the Lord;' . . . Her walls shall be called 'Salvation,' and her gates Praise'; and her children shall enjoy the former and the latter rain; the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. "Among these there are many whose wealth-... has caused the name of the Jew too often to be coupled with the idea of sordid gain ... but it will be well for the few, who by . . . prosperity, ... occupy now an elevated postion, ... prepare to head with energy every warrantable occasion for furthering the restoration of their unhappy people to Palestine. Providential is it for them, that among them are men possessing influence and wealth sufficient to become their leaders. . . . "Once again-Britain, beware! and hasten to exert the means which, lying at your disposal, may be made use of as a defence for your valuable possessions in the East, and for the advancement of God's glory, by the return of His people to the land whither He has said He would bring them again that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." "1 LVIII Disraeli and the Purchase of the Suez Canal Shares THE story of the purchase of the Suez Canal shares by Lord Beaconsfield has been told many times, but Mr. [afterwards Sir] Henry Lucy, in "Sixty Years in the Wilderness," throws fresh light on the subject. "On a certain Sunday night in the spring of 1875 he chanced to be dining in Bruton Street with Henry Oppenheim, one of the original proprietors of the Daily News. During a residence in Paris and Egypt that gentleman, just settling down in London, was brought into close connection with Egyptian financial affairs. On the previous day he heard of the intention of the impecunious Khedive to sell en bloc his holding in the capital of the Suez Canal. Greenwood instantly saw the opportunity for a great stroke of State. On leaving Bruton Street he went direct to the private residence of the Foreign Secretary (Lord Derby) and told him of the rare chance. Lord Derby informed the Prime Minister, whose Oriental mind glowed at the prospect of so stupendous a 1 The Final Exodus; or, the Restoration to Palestine of the lost Tribes, the result of the present crisis; with a description of the battle of Armageddon, and the downfall of Russia, as deduced wholly from prophecy. London ... .. 1854. [8°. 30 pp.] pp. 4–5, 13-14, 27, 30. • Frederick Greenwood, one of the ablest journalists of his day. deal. Inquiry secretly made at Cairo disclosed the fact that the Khedive would' part' for a sum of four millions sterling. But it must be money down. "It was, Greenwood told me, on Lord Beaconsfield's personal suggestion that the difficulty, at the moment apparently insuperable, was overcome. The consent of Parliament was necessary to confirmation of the deal. That involved both delay and publicity, either fatal to success. Late on the Thursday night following the Bruton Street dinner, the Premier sent his private secretary, Monty Corry, to call upon Baron Rothschild, the Sidonia of 'Coningsby,' at the time head of the great financial house. Even a Rothschild did not happen to have about him at the moment a trifle of four million sterling. Nor was it possible, in accordance with the traditions of the house, that such a transaction should be entered upon without having been considered in family council. Corry accordingly returned to the Premier without definite reply. It came promptly on the following morning, the terms being that the money would be advanced on a commission of 21 per cent. "These terms were pretty stiff, involving a payment of £100,000. The City heard of them with envy, and they were discussed with much severity when the matter came before the House of Commons. The Rothschilds and their friends defended them on the ground that the colossal transaction involved a certain measure of risk. There was absolutely no security beyond the influence of the Premier, still master of a majority in the House of Commons, and pledged to invoke its aid in order to obtain Parliamentary sanction. The whole thing happened between two Sundays. On the first Greenwood dined at Bruton Street; on the second, calling on Lord Derby, he learned that the transaction had been successfully carried through, and was invited to say what form his personal recompense should take. He declined to specify a request, protesting he had done nothing but his duty, and was content that its accomplishment should be his reward. . . ."2 LIX CYPRUS AND PALESTINE THE Anglo-Turkish Convention had given a new and unexpected addition to the already extensive list of British territorial responsibilities. It is true that a "conditional" element . . . enters into the connexion formed with the Turkish Government; and the claims to interpose between the Sultan and his subjects, 1 Afterwards Lord Rowton. • Cornhill, January, 1912, pp. 64-65. |