"POOR SYRIA!"

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 124, 29 May 1922, Page 5

"POOR SYRIA!"

THE STORY OF ,ITS SUFFERINGS.

"Syria and the Western Influence was the title 'of a paper read at the Trades Hall, Vivian-street, on Saturday night by Mr. C. A. Corban. Mr. J. Akel was in the chair.

After dealing with the age and history of the country, Mr. Corban said that the population, though sharply divided by differences "of race and religion, displayed many of the characteristic virtues of mountaineers, and . was on the whole very industrious, energetic, and patriotic. It. might be put roughly at four millions for Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, of whom one million were Christians. Dealing at length ywith the history of the country. Mr. Corban said one of the most important features had been the "intriguing of the-i Western Powers to secure control, which was due to the country's commanding geographical position, its potential wealth, and the desire of all nations to control the Holy Land. Britain's keenness to assist the Zionists he put down, with Mr. S. W.. Boggs, F.R.G.S., to the fact that her control of Palestine assured the protection of the Suez Canal and afforded a substitute military base should coming events in Egypt deprive her of her prerogative there. On? tl^e other hand,' iii Armenia's case, as Mr. Boggs had written^ the four vilayets contained no coveted resources, and for either of ,;the Powers who signed. the Tripartite ■'Agreement tp' assume -the: protection of .Christian Armenia from the Moslem Turk would embarrass that Power in its rule over Moslems in Africa or Asia. ;Mr. Corban described in some detail'the events of the past' few decades in the Lebanons, which he said were the key to the Syrian situation. He contrasted the Allies'; handling of the situation during the.war with the action of tlie Germans, who, by winning over Bulgaria and Turkey, and overrunning Rumania, secured a passage to the granary of the Near East, which they did not fail to exploit. He also recalled the terrible massacres under the Turkish regime, as a result of which about '350,000 of the population perished. He dealt with the French activities andysecret agreement with Britain by which she secured control of Syria and Lebanon. In the words of General Gourand: "Pour resumer d'un mot. L'affaire- payera- Voila pourquoi nous devons rester en Syrie et pourquoi nous.y resterons." So much for poor Syria, torn away by political magic from that goal of freedom and independence fought for by such men as Colonel1 Lawrence and Emir Feisal and his Syrian and Arab comrades. Mr. Corban described the commercial possibilities of the country, and what benefits had been brought to it in .road-making, water supply, public health, and so forth by Western control. Of the morals.of the people he said the morals of the Christians weife on as high a. plane, or even higher, than those of the rest of the. Christian world. The Bedouin Arabs were no less zealous of their moral code. He did not think Kipling's phrase was true beyond a certain point. East and West needed each other;'old barriers must be broken down, ihisunderstandings swept away, and a spirit of brotherhood quicken to life the instinct of progress. Several questions were put to the speaker at the close' of the lecture.