assistance in the government of the country. If, then, the regeneration of Syria is to be attempted, it must of necessity come from without, and can only be brought about by an influx of an industrious and more enlightened people. Fortunately this last resource is not denied to us. The restoration of the Jews to their own land, seems to me the only practicable means by which the regeneration of Syria can be effected. You must not imagine that this event, important though it unquestionably must be, need cause any great perturbation in Europe, or prove in any way a strain upon the resources of England. All that is required is that England should create the conditions under which a large number of Jews would gradually migrate on their own account to Syria and Palestine. The first condition of such a movement is that law and order should be introduced under our Protectorate. . . . "But there is another influence which would greatly assist the colonization of the country. It has long been a cherished project with the Jews to establish a college in the Holy Land, which would serve as a centre of Jewish philosophy and science. Such an institution would readily meet with support, and incalculably quicken the pulses of their national life. With an extensive literature in their own language, in which every branch of philosophy and science is represented, the Jews would be able to make such an institution a genuine centre of intellectual activity. The leading learned men of the Jewish race would be naturally attracted to such a national centre, and would form a nucleus round which all the intellect of the nation would gather, by means of which the necessary elements of the future government of the country might be formed. I understand that the most suitable site for this college has already been generally agreed upon. 'I have still to show you that these attractions would be sufficient to induce numbers of Jewish families to migrate to Syria. The total number of the Jews throughout the world is variously estimated from eight to ten millions. Of those the greater number-probably six millions-inhabit Russia and the old Polish provinces which now belong to Austria, Germany and Roumania. The condition of the Jews in Russia is deplorable in the extreme. They are denied civil rights. They are forbidden to hold landed property. They are treated as aliens, and are restricted to limited areas in which they suffer from the evils of over-population. These conditions have induced no fewer than 250,000 Jews to emigrate to America within the last thirty or forty years, and it may be confidently predicted that Syria under our protectorate would offer still greater attractions. The land of Palestine alone, is capable of supporting ten times its present population. It may seem strange to say of the Jews who are scattered throughout the world, that they still consider this to be their fatherland. But, if they are denied the actual possession of it, they still bear it in their hearts. Three times a day every Jew offers up a prayer for the restoration of his race to the land and the temple, from which he has been exiled for eighteen centuries. It is a remarkable fact that this scattered and downtrodden people possess within themselves all the elements which go to form a united nation. They have a code of laws for their own government; they have a literature, a history, a language and a religion, which are peculiar to them. Their education is, with some exceptions, on a par with that of the most civilized nations. Numbers of them excel in all the different branches of mechanics and art; and in trade and finance they are, as we all know, unrivalled. Though last, not least they are a people who would fight bravely in the defence of their country. "During the last twenty years of the reign of the Emperor Nicholas, the military conscription fell heavily upon the Jews. In proportion to their numbers, for every Russian that was enlisted, five Jews were compelled to enter the service; and during the late Turkish war they bore themselves bravely in the face of the enemy. No one who has any knowledge of the Jewish character can for a moment doubt that if the Jews were restored to their country under an English protectorate they would prove true to our na'ion, and that Syria would become as firmly united to England as if it were peopled by our own countrymen.' LXXIII "1 A COLLECTION OF OPINIONS OF ENGLISH CHRISTIAN AUTHORITIES ON THE COLONIZATION OF PALESTINE 1. General Sir Charles Warren's Views My proposal is simply an arrangement by which,... Palestine, this unfortunate land may yet be placed in . . . a position which may enable her again to take a place socially among the kingdoms of the earth...." "It will probably at once occur,' And what of the Arabs of Palestine? I ask in reply, 'Who are the Arabs? They are certainly not Turks in any degree; they are for the most part not Arabs of Arabia, of the Desert. Then who are they? It has long been known, and no person has thrown more light upon the subject than M. Ganneau, that the people of Palestine are of a very mixed race: some of Canaanitish descent, some Jewish, some of Arabia. It is evident that many of them being Moslems are so for convenience, . . . We cannot, therefore, look upon the natives of Palestine as rigid Moslems of one race; but we must 1 England's Policy in the East: our Relations with Russia and the Future of Syria. By Edward Cazalet. Second Edition. London: ... 1879. [8°. iv+32 pp. in printed wrapper.] pp. 22–26. recognize them as descendants of Canaanites, Israelites, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Crusaders, now professing the Moslem or the Christian faith, according to circumstances, but retaining above everything the ancient traditions-yes, and in some instances, I have little doubt, their veritable old religion." "Palestine is about the size and shape of Wales, and has now a population of about one and a half millions. Give her good government, and quicken the commercial life of the people, and they may increase tenfold, and yet there be room. The soil is so rich, the climate so varied, that within ordinary limits it may be said that the more people it contains, the more it may. Its productiveness will increase in proportion to the labour bestowed on the soil, until a population of fifteen millions might be accommodated there. "Let us observe how the country may be improved. It consists of the hill country, or mountain districts; the Shephalah or swelling hills, or wolds; the maritime and Jordan plains, and the tablelands of Arabia. "All these are most productive naturally; but are, for the most part, at present enjoying a long Sabbath. "In the hill country, even now the white skeletons of the old system of terracing are visible in parts; but the rich loamy soil is washed down into the wadies, leaving the hillsides bare and desolate, and glaring in their nakedness. A cultivated strip may be seen at the bottom of the wady, subject to being swept away by any storm of rain forming a torrent down the bare hillsides, or withered before its time by the reflection of the sun from the bare rocks. "Place the valley in proper hands, and note the results. The earth from the bottom will be carefully carried up the hillsides, and laid out in terraces, on which are planted young trees-those of a more delicate nature being placed on the northern declivity, in order that they may suffer less from the sun's rays. The trees thrive rapidly, as they will do in Palestine; the rain falls, but not as heretofore, rushing fiercely down the bare rocks, and forming a torrent in the valley. No; now it falls on the trees and terraces, percolates quietly into the soil and into the rocky hillside, and is thus absorbed, scarcely injuring the crops at the bottom of the valley. The rain that sinks into the rocks will shortly reissue in perennial springs, so refreshing in a thirsty land. The trees, having moisture in the soil at their roots, spread out their leaves in rich groves over the land. The sun's rays now do not fall on the ground, but on the green leaves and fruit, by which they are intercepted and absorbed, giving no glare or reflection. The heat of the sun causes a moisture to rise from the trees and soil beneath them, which, on reaching the higher and cooler winds, is condensed into visible vapour, constantly forming as the breeze passes over the grove, so that each grove, so to speak, supplies its own umbrella. The climate is thus changed. Where were hot, glaring sun, dry wind, dry earth, stony land, absence of vegetable products, are now to be found fleecy clouds floating through the balmy air, the heat of the sun tempered by visible and invisible vapours, groves with moist soil, trickling streamlets issuing from the rocks, villages springing up apace, Palestine regenerated. "This is no dream. I have seen this change take place in Palestine in three years, on a small scale. Why is the Lebanon so different to the hill country of Palestine? In a great measure, because, by reason of its position and conformation, its woods have not been cut down.... "Again, on the east of Jordan, in Gilead, I have seen the same. After riding for miles through the ruins in the glaring summer atmosphere, through a country denuded of trees, nearly choking with the scorching wind, I came upon a district where the ancient woods had not been cut down. Immediately a change was felt clouds were seen hanging over the woods, the air became soft and pleasant, the sun's rays beat less fiercely, flowers were seen under the trees, blackberries on the brambles, water gushing out from the hillsides, birds chirping in the shade. This was not due to any change in the atmosphere generally, but was entirely local, and due to the presence of trees. In fact, there are spots where you can, on the same level, change the climate in an hour by passing from the bare land to that which is well wooded. "This matter I have frequently examined into in Palestine. I mention one particular instance. During the prevalence of hot winds at Jerusalem, I noticed two clouds constantly stationary a few miles off, in an otherwise cloudless sky. On riding over towards them, I found them to be hanging over two large olive groves about seven miles off, recently planted by the Greek convents. Although the wind was blowing briskly, the moisture ascending was condensed as quickly as it rose, and formed an umbrella over these groves. "In the wolds of Palestine the same process may be continued. Not so much terracing is wanted, but much planting of wood, particularly on the south side-trees of a hardy growth; so that, with a green southern slope opposite, the delicate fruit trees planted on the northern slopes may bring their fruit to perfection. "The water, which will now be found gushing from the rock, from springs which have long been silent, will be carried in ducts along the hillsides, and used for irrigation purposes, passing thence into the plain, where it can still be used for irrigation, or else assist in filling up the wells near to the surface of the ground-wells which have hitherto been between thirty to ninety feet deep. "Now again we shall find a difference in the crops in the plain. Hitherto there has been but one season, and then a long interval of desolation, from July to November, when the heaven is of brass and the earth iron. During this long period, scarcely a green blade can be seen over the vast plains-nothing but sticks, and stones, and dust; the monotony relieved only by the noise of the gulgul careering on the wings of the whirlwind.... The presence of water brought down on the surface from the hills, together with the vast groves of trees to be planted, causes a change. The latter rains of June will be found to fall, giving a second season-a never-ending succession of crops. The fulfilment of the Prophecies will commence taking place-when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed. . . "The advance of the rolling sand-hills, which is now overwhelming the fairest of the maritime plains, may now be arrested. The rich ground between Gaza and Ascalon, which the sand has swallowed up, must again be recovered. This can easily be effected, by the planting of conifera along the sea coast, as has been done already at Beyrout. . . . If we examine the Jordan valley, we find even greater changes can be effected: it can be made far more fertile than it ever was. . "The whole valley, however, may be made one vast garden, not merely by rebuilding the great aqueducts, remains of which still exist, and by means of which the great cities were watered, but by means of the Jordan river itself. The Jordan, out of Tiberias, falls ten feet to the mile, or 600 feet in sixty miles. . . . The waters of the Jordan might be brought out of Tiberias in aqueducts falling one foot to the mile, and thus be brought over the great plain of Basan and of Jericho, and be made to irrigate all the lands which the streams have not touched. At the same time, the streams themselves will have increased exceedingly from the development of the country in the high lands. "The country can thus be transformed."1 2. The Rev. James Neil on the Colonization Movement "At a moment when all eyes are turned to the East, it cannot be unimportant to learn that, after the slumber of ages, Palestine is awakening to new life, and Israel are actually returning to its shores in such numbers, and at the same time in such a way as they have never been known to do, or could have done, since their formal banishment by the Emperor Hadrian, in the year A.D. 135. Many Jews, it is true, driven ruthlessly out of Spain in 1492, found a home in the Holy Land. To go still further back, the celebrated Hebrew traveller, Benjamin of Tudela, tells us in the twelfth century that he found considerable numbers residing in the various towns of Palestine which he visited-descendants, perhaps, amongst others, of some of the 30,000 who joined the arms of Chosroes the Persian in his capture of Jerusalem, A.D. 616, or even of the Jews whom 1 The Land of Promise; or, Turkey's Guarantee. By Charles Warren. London: George Bell and Sons, York Street, Covent Garden. 1875. (8°. 24 pp. in printed wrapper) pp. 5–6, 8, 14-20. |