THE JEWS IN RUSSIA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 372, 4 June 1880, Page 9

THE JEWS IN RUSSIA.

(From a correspondent of the Times.)

St. Petersburg, March 10. An attentive observer of the circumstances attending the recent attempt at assassination in St. Petersburg, which was tried and repressed in 48 hours by the execution of the criminal, must have been struck by one feature in the case which would appear to merit more than a passing notice. The mere fact that the would-be assassin, Mladetski, was of Jewish descent has sufficed to renew in certain circles of the community and in some of the public organ* more especially those circulating among the lower orders of the people, the old war-cry of persecution against the Jews in general. It may be that a certain class of patriots find a consolation' in their grief by rejecting the guilt of a crime which makes them blush for their country and laying it upon a man belonging to a race considered as foreign, or that the> gladly seize every opportunity of glutting a hatred originating more or less in jealousy ; but the fact remains, that any one listening to the flood of invective which is being poured forth against the Hebrews must imagine the evil days to have returned when hatred of the Jews was prevalent in respectable society. It must be acknowledged, however, that the Government has kept absolutely aloof from the movement. There has been no official encouragement of the attacks upon the Jews ; and on the other hand, no expression of disapproval. Ostensibly, the Russian Government is passive and neutral. How are we to explain this illfeeling towards the Jews manifested by a part of the population— an uterly groundless aversion, which is in our days truly an anachronism. It appears useless to reflect on the circumstance that there is nothing in the Jewish religion or in the traditions of the race which has even the remotest affinity with the ideas, tendencies, and mode of action of the Nihilists. Believing Jews are «ssentially, instinctively, and resolutely conservative through their acknowledged attachment to the laws of the family and to the laws of proDerty— the laws which constitute the basis of society. With regard to Jewish students who are educated in the midst of orthodox 'Christians of the Greek Church, attend the same public schools, and complete theiT education at the same universities, they share with their Christian companions the most complete indifference to religious faith. There is nothing specially Jewish to be perceived in the young Jew on leaving school. This is so true, that we find him associating himself with all his heart in the patriotic, literary, and scientific pursuits which characterise the Russian youth of our times. We have seen the Jewish young men inflamed with Panslavistic ideas, and volunteering for the brigades destined to free the Servian and Bulgarian. Where, then, are we to look for a plausible ground for the unjust accusations against the Jews 1 We must answer boldly, the Government is responsible. The Russian Government, in maintaining in the law and administration the sort of d'iminutio capitis to which it condemns the Jews, solely on account of their origin, maintains also among the people that superannuated prejudice against the Jews fo frequently manifested in this country, and which has almost disappeared in more enlightened countries. The Russian nation, endowed by Providence with the highest qualities, has preserved among the masses a religious respect— sometimes considered to border on servility — for the ordinances, measures, and dispositions of their Government. Even the opinions attributed to its representatives exercise an undeniable ascendency over the masses of the people. If, then, the Russian Government wishes it, the hatred or the Jews will no longer exist. Let Russia consent to adopt the enlightened policy of the Western nations, and proceed resolutely in that course, and we shall soon see that hatred of race which is a disgrace to our century completely disappear, and the ground for the future reforms which must be effected in this country will be cleared of one vexed question, and one which is of no slight gravity.

Hoartrending reports come from famine-stricken districts of Armenia. In Van alone fifty-two persons, ifc is said, have already died of starvation. Thousands of peasants are endeavouring to emigrate to neighbouring Persian provinces, but as the roads are covered with deep snow many perish from cold and exhaustion on the journey.