The Thames Star. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MAT 1, 1894. RUSSIAN JEWS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Thames Star, Volume XXV, Issue 4723, 1 May 1894, Page 2

The Thames Star. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MAT 1, 1894. RUSSIAN JEWS IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Papers to hand by the last mail state that the British vice-consul at Buenos Ayrea has made report to the Foreign Office concerning Baron. Hirsch's scheme for the establishment of agricultural colonies of Russian jews in South America. The Baron's original idea was to give the colonist land and money, and to let him do the best he could for himself; but thia was found to be impracticable, especially at the commencement of colonisation, when the settler would have everything to learn, and, as a matter of fact, to be practically taught his business. This conclusion was the i -more obvious when it was considered that the new colonist in the Argentine Kepublic, if left to take care of himself, knowing no Spanish nor where to obtain any information, would be almost sure to make mistakes fatal to his advancement, and much more so to his prosperity. Baron Hiraph's plan at the outset was to settle abroad, on lands cf their own, many hnndreds of thousands of Russian Jews—2s,ooo the first year, 30,000 the second, and so on progressively ; and the Argentine Republic was chosen as the country where this great experiment of "benevolent philanthropy" was to be tried, in the hope that it would be successfully carried out. A company was formed, to which the Baron himself subscribed £2,000,000, and it was registered in London under the title of the " Jewish Colonisation Association." The capital was divided into. 1000 shares, of which Baron Hirsch retained 993, his friends taking the other seven. The object of the association is to assist Jews to emigrate from Russia to any countries other than European, and to enable them to become agricultural colonists ; in other words, self-support-ing producers of agricultural produce, backed by a liberal investment of capital on their behalf. Although in one sense a private .enterprise, it appears that there is a stipulation, as set forth in the prospectus, that any dividends accruing in the future are not to be distributed amongst the shareholders, but ara to be added to the original capital for the purpose of extending the work of the association. The knowledge of the existence of this clause, the British vice-consul observes, " effectually does away with the general idea, often expressed by an ignorant public, that this association might prove profitable both to Baron Hirsh and the other shareholders as a commercial speculation." As to the practical results of the scheme we have thus far no information, We have no reason to question the philanthropic spirit which suggested it, but it is not clear how the Jewish settlers are to avoid the difficulties which have beset the path of British emigrants,