THE FATE OF JERUSALEM.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16508, 25 March 1914, Page 8

THE FATE OF JERUSALEM.

When the Turkish Empire finally falls, as some competent observers say it must do before many decades have passed, the Christian nations will have to decide what is to become of Jerusalem. A cablegram mentions that the sacred city is being provided with electric light, waterworks and tramways, and that development is tak\ng place in many other directions. The Jewish colony in Jerusalem is growing and industries are being established. The primitive farming methods of the agricultural population in the surrounding districts are being modernised slowly and other signs go to show that the city is destined once again to be an important centre quite apart from its sacred and historic associations. But the nations of Europe are interested in Jerusalem as the cradle of the Christian faith and already proposals have been made in responsible quarters for ensuring that it shall be given the security and peace it can never enjoy under Turkish rule. One plan involves the success of the Zionist movement, Jerusalem becoming the capital of a Jewish State carved out of Turkish territory, but it would be difficult for the Powers to agree upon a settlement along those lines. Another suggestion is that Germany should be allowed to declare a protectorate over Palestine and introduce the social end administrative reforms the country requiries in order to enable it to attract and support a large and prosperous population. German statesmanship appears to assumo that Asia Minor is destined to become the German nation's field of expansion and the Kaiser himself is suspected of being very far from averse to the suggestion that he should become the protector of the Holy Land. But the most practical proposition probably is that the country should be created a self-governing State with its independence assured, by international guarantees and that it shored be assisted in the early stages of its development, perhaps, by advisers selected by the Governments of Europe. Certainly the Christian sentiment' of the white races would never tolerate the relapse of Palestine into conditions of barbarism, and the danger of that occurring will continue to exist as long as the Turk rules in Jerusalem.