BACK TO PALESTINE SCHEME.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 213, 2 June 1908, Page 11

BACK TO PALESTINE SCHEME.

MR. ZANCWILL'S VIEWS. GATES OF ZION CLOSED TO THE JEWS. '■ Tho unusual' incidont of counsel quoting tho, Soripturos in tho Court of Chancery in aupport;:of; his argument was noticed while Mr. -Upjohn, K.C., was explaining his view ofjtho origin and ideals of Zionism. , :„Tho quotation occurred in connection with a by tho .'Jewish Colonial Trust Limited, for the Court, to sanction: a. restriction of its objects. ; The.! company was formed with a capital of £2,000,000 .in pursuance ; of a resolution passed .by ..the Ziori. Congress held at \Basle in ,U8D8,;.'." to. promote, ' develop, work, and carrion industries, .undertakings, and colonisation schemes: in -Palestine, Syria, , or any other parts of;the ; world which, in the opinion ofrtho company, might be to the interest of tho Jewish race in any country or place. The. object of the petition was to delete the '.words " or. in any: other part. of tho world'."'..and the scheme to the re-: patriation of . ' the . Jewish race in Palestine, Syria,-- . other /parts 'of ..Turkey in Asia, Sinai, and ; tho Island of Cyprus. : :.This;- tho .petitioners say, is the root doctrine of Zionism; ;., , .'Mr.;lsraeli .'Zangwillj author of The Children• of:- the^Ghetto,'' - and other shareholders 'opposedfjthei-petition..on: tho ground that the . ideal is unafltainablo ' and that "half a.loaf is better than' k rio bread." EXTRACTS FROM THE BIBLE. ; I':Mrlpjofri;" k'C*;Vfor .the: company, said that advertisements inserted in fortyeigKt'^newspapeis,. in' every part 6f, the_wqrld where it 'might, bo supposed that Zionists could be i found; Tho--r6Sult, was a :vote, of five to one in favour,i of, the petition; Thero wero 100,000 shareholders/' , _ _ ''-Mr/.Upjohn 'proceededT-tq ( deal.-wi..i tho origin and ideals. of,' Zionism;He:.-quoted Deuteronomy xxx., Verso 5. / And' the tord ' thy God -.will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and th'ou shalt possess it; and Ho, will do thee good, and multiply, thee above thy fathers.; ' said, was the, most. beautiful of all tho, psalms . /-By the .rivers of -Babylon, there .we' sat down; yea, we ' wept, whenVwe : remembered Zion. If ,1; forgot thee, O Jerusalem, let my right !hand forget her cunning. r If J do' not .remember. thee,' let my tongue 'cloaye "tb-.the' : i'ofa£-of ,my: mouth; if I prefer not; Jerusalem abovb;my 'chief, joy. : . These, early,'' and, sacred sources . showed that: Zionism;:was confined to : a return ,of the' chosen people to Palestine. • •.;• ■/ Mr. Upjohn • declared that tho evidence showed that . ' Palestine afforded an ample field for colonisation. There wore already some thirty. Jewish . settlements there, the majority of which were flourishing. Every attempt to, colonise the Jews * anywhere but in .Palestine —from . Oliver Cromwell - down to Baron-Hirsch—had failed.

; •• SNOT HAPPY IJf PALESTINE. ; Mr.. Jesscl, ;K.C./ {or'?sharchol_dcr3- oppos- . ihg|th6 : YpstrictiohV; their "yiew.' was that'.under. existing; circumstances'.and hav- : ihg : i regard to the attitude tof ...the Turkish ■ Government now,'it was untrue"to . suppose .that, the Jews 'could be' colonised in ,1 ales- • tine/- : Ho, would show from .the evidence' of persons: oil; the spot,that'their-existence • in Palestiiie : was' not : a 'ha^py 1 oneT.There prospect ;ofj .autonomous',: government .in Palestine. Anybody; thinking;there was blinded himself .to-the: facts. Any' proposal fot Jan ; independent: government 1 : would ■ moett-.with' iopposition:.;.froni , .the Turkish : Goveimrtieriti -.'and other Govern-ments-ffwho regarded -the place as sacred — which it would bo impossible ; to survive. - .■ In conclusion, .counsel-.stated that,ho,could prove that 'Baron Hirsch's colonies in the. . Argentine.had,been'estremelyisuccessful, arid. 'that.'iheV.stktement. to the'*coritrary' by Mr. Upjohn'/was to do considerable mischief'.. ' ■ x.;" Standing at ;the solicitors' table, Mn Zang- . will made'atiiimpassioned appeal, to his Lordship i not. to grant ; tho company's petition.,.. Back ".to .Palestine was the ,'most f ascinat- : ing,v the.; most'Hnspiring port of the move- : ment; ibut, it was' far. from, expressing. Zionism, which was very much larger than Pales- ■ tine.. '■■■■■. .. ■ . ' , ZION'S GATES CLOSED . ■ What was-'the uso of sitting'-'down -idly before the. closed gates, of Zion.?. Tho frontal attack', on Zion, had. /Why not try.',another' way.?'. Otherwise ' how.',, were they .to-.assist yin; the, great tragic; omigra-- " tion ~ of,'.: theiri. people ' from,. \Russia,; .which, ~ since the terrible...massacres ...of-.,-.two'., years ago, had increased to 200,Q0C£a 'year?;.ir;, v ■Mr.' Zangwill 'proceeded t<?. deal >with the business; objections .to the .limitation of .the companyls.operations to;'PSlestirie, and ridi-' culed; the " pious tourists V and " zealots ignorant of business " to" whom.Zionisrii was' all .poetry,' and who;shut .their eyes to. tho facts. /Their faith moved mountains, but to ' ■ Mr. Zangwill and the other .opposing share--holders tho mountains wero very. mucn- there, it was; said that'there ,weVe Jews' already in Palestine.. -".Yes/V. agreed. Mr. .Zangwill, but they, live there under' impossible conditions mitigated -by : backsheesh!" . (Laughter.) V.-:'/ -': A ; ' • ■ Tho company's .'adherents thought - that .what^the/'Sultan.,.,did .not,give them -they could take. (Laughter.) This policy of peaceable penetration: might do. for: England, France, ''or''Germany, who had warships; but for the Jews it was merely an idle'dream. (Laughter.) . Mr. Justice Eve ;saicT that as the parties attached so-much importance to the case he would reduce the conclusions to which he had already arrived,,;and his reasons for them, into writing end fdeliver his judgment shortly.