PALESTINE.

Evening Star, Issue 12926, 24 September 1906, Page 3

PALESTINE.

At the Anglo-Israel meeting held in the Trades Hall yesterday afternoon Mr J. A. D. Adams gave an address descriptive of his visit to Palestine. He prefaced. his remarks by stating that those present regarded Palestine as the land of their ancestors, and .".aving tliat belief it was natural that they should feel their hearts warm when reference was made to it, and that more especially as ihey also confidently believed that it would in the course of time be restored to the race. One thing that particularly gratified him when there was that he was able to trace to some extent tho footsteps of Clirist in that land where His life was spent. In dealing with tlie country as he found it, he commenced with the town of Jaffa, which at once stamped the country as being under a government of misrule. While Jaffa might with ease be made a good port, safe and convenient for shipping, by engineering skill and outlay, it was left open to the inrush of the storm-tossed waves, that often made it impossible for vessels to approach the landing. The formation of a natural reef made the means of constructing a breakwater a matter of small difficulty, but Turkish rule was not sufficiently interested in the welfare of the country to carry out a work which was of such vital importance. While he and his party were landed with comparative comfort, during his stay there other vessels arrived, but the western swell of the sea having set in they carried their passengers on to Beyrout, and landed them there regardless of their comfort or destination. On being landed at Jaffa he and his party were marched through the town to the Custoni-houst by a band of policemen, but having arrived there, and their papers having been duly examined, they found themselves free to traverse the country. Under the direction of a most efficient dragoman the5 r commenced sight-seeing in Jaffa, and visited such places of renown as the " House of Simon the Tanner." There they saw the pit in which Simon tanned the leather and the well from which he drew the necessary water; and it was asserted that the place was genuine by Joseph, the dragoman, who would not vouch for the correctness of all the other sights, sitch as the " grave of Dorcas." Tlie house of Simon has been converted into a Moslem mosque, and a charge ''made for entrance, as are most other places of note from which a revenue can be' gathered. Having done the sights of Jaffa, 1 they made for the railway station to take train for Jerusalem. At the station a, i seller of oranges offered a basket containing thirty of such oranges as are never seen in New Zealand for sixpence, with the basket given in. The train, in its ascent to Jerusalem, first traversed the great plains of Sharon, which were covered with a luxuriance of the most beautiful flowers. On reaching the hill country the. eye fellon the endless formations of terraces that in older times had been the scenes of industrious cultivation, but were now, while monuments of the skill and toil of the ancient owners,' simply barren wastes of rock and stones, the rains of centuries of neglect having carried all the soil down to the plains of Sharon. One of the first things that attracted his attention on reaching Jerusalem- waj the " Tower of David," most probably thi very spot where this great personage lived. It bore, to his mind, all necessary evidences of being the actual dwell-, ing of Judah's greatest sovereign, standing there still |o bear witness to his name. They had not \fell made themselves comfortable in the hotel when they were waited on by the " best merchants " of the city, who came with many flattering compliments to secure business, j The "merchants" of Jerusalem were mostly all Syrians; there were some Jews, but not many. These men were persistent in their efforts to trade, but were sent awiy with the assurance that tley would be called upon, on a round of inspection, and the man who. asked the most

reaeonahle price for his goods vould bs patronised. While in their hotel in the evening of their first day's visit they wore startled by a loud explosion. This, they found, was a signal most welcome to the Moslem inhabitants. It was the season Ramadan, in which, the good Mussulman may only eat food at 6 o'clock p.m. each day. Hence the whole community were anxiously waiting for the report of tlie big gun to announce the moment when they might commence their evening meal. But, of ocur3e, there were some who disregarded the fast under favorable circumstances. For instance, as on a subsequent occasion, when they were descending the Jordan road, they encountered a "plague of locusts," so thick that they made both earth and sky a dark brown, ana could bo caught by holding out the hand and grasping them. As they passed through this swarm the men did catch, and "eat," in spito of the fact; but, of course, there were no priests there to censure them. He was assured that it was these same locusts that John the Baptist ate with wild honey. Many of the sights of Jerusalem were described in a most interesting fashion, such as the Church of tho Holy Sepulchre, the' site of the Great Temple, the Mosque of Omar, the location of Calvary, etc., as well as many of the curious customs modernly pecular to the ancient city, most of them introduced as a means of revenue for the priests. For all sigihts fees had to be paid. Ono instance was interesting. It was well known that no one might enter the great mosque witlrout slippers provided for the occasion, but once the fee for the use of the slippers was paid no more notice was taken of how the feet were covered. He was greatly affected by his visit to "the Jews' place of wailing," where every Friday the Jews assembled, and presented a scene of a most thrilling kind. Some imagined it was a mere piece of acting, but to him it seemed so real that his heart went out in deep sympathy, so that he might almost have joined them, as he listened to their bitter cries and deep moans, and heard the rabbi read the " Lamentations of Jeremiah." Having only pot well into his subject after speaking for three-quarters of an hour, Mrj Adams was by vote unanimously requested i to continue his address at the next meet- ■ ing, wliicb. he consented to do.