CONCERNING THE JEW.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5832, 24 February 1906, Page 13

CONCERNING THE JEW.

Tiio power of (ho .Tew in the modern i world can hardy bo exaggerated. In the 1 world of finance, about which all tho , other worn!:, of human activity revolve, he in supreme: and in a sense statesmen nnd kings, soldiers and diplomatists, are . depetulent on Ids will. In l.oudcu ho is everywhere. Yet it is not a little mir- ' prising to learn from tho now edition ol < “The dervish Year Book” that in Greater : London, out of a population of G.500,(KK), | there are only 133,360 Jews in all, or a , fi act ion over 2 per cent. Tho statistics of the Jews in various parts of tho world are exceedingly interesting. The following are the figures of - the British Empire;— British Isles 227,166 Canada and British Columbia 30.000 Australasia 17,103 i India ... 18,228 South Africa -IS.StM Jamaica 2.100 Trinidad and Barhadoes ... .">0 Gibraltar 2.000 Cyprus and Malta 165 Aden - 3.059 Ilona Kong and Straits Settlements CSO Total 319.071 Tho high figure:' in South Africa aro perhaps to he expected. In Europe, Russia accounts for more than half tho total of Jews, and Kursua, Germany nnd Austria-Hungary for nearly 90 per cent. Tho proportion of .low.-, to too total population is—ln Poland. 16.25 per cent.; in Russia (outside Poland!, 4.03 per cent.; in Germany, 1.04 |>cr cent.: and in tho United Kingdom, .50 per cent. It is exceedingly curious that, despite the fact that tho Spanish Jews are ono of tho divisions of the race. Spain's proportion is only .01 per cent., nnd Tortuga R: .02 per cent. In Palestine the ratio is 12 per cent.: in tho United Staten 1.97 per cent., nearly four times greater than in Great Britain; while in NonZealand it falls to 2 per cent. Tho total Jewish population of tho work! in calculated in this way: Europe 8,786.123 Asia 342.410 Africa 382,432 America 1,574.022 Australasia .., 17.403 Grand total ... ... 11,103,389 A sociological problem is presented by a consideration of tho foregoing figures*. The Jews were a distinct nation of some iiullioiifl in number, long before tho Christian era. They are notedly, at alt events in modern times, a healthy nnd long living people. They oro also passably prolific. Given that they were even a million in number 2000 years ago. why are they only about eleven times as many to-day?