Morning journal and courier., 1880-01-21
Palestine For The Jews.
NIT. Lawrence OIiphant,s Project f0
 COlOnizin9 Gideon and Moab.

NIT. Lawrence OIiphant,s Project for COlOnizing Gideon and Moab.
 [From the London Post.l
 A correspondent writes to the Jewish Chron- icle that, in conversation at Constantinople | with MT. Lawrence Oliphant, that gentleman was kind enough to confide to him for publi- cation the hitherto unpublished details of 8 scheme which he has been maturing for long time past, and which has received the (unofi- ciaD appreciation of Lords Beaconsfield, ,Sallis- bury and others. There can be no doubt, the writer says, but that the Sultan's irman will shortly be given to a scheme which can only be source of profit to his Government in it's great. at.fnanciel extremity and of strength to his empire at large. MT. Oliphant, anxious to discover 8 means by which the Sul tan might show that prosperity is possible un- der his rule, ,has, after mature deliberation, hit upon the colonization of Palestine by the Jews-a people composed of varied national ities-as the only possible solution of his problem which would not offend political prejudices. "A great opportunity" MT. Ol- phant said, s'is now being afforded to the Sul- tan of manifesting the sincerity of his desire to introduce reforms into one of the Asiatic provinces of his empire, which stands in much need of it. have submitted scheme to the Turkish Government for the coloniza- tion of the fertile and unoccupied tract of land lying to the east of the Jordan, now sparsely inhabited by tribes of nomad Arabs This tract, which I myself have visited and exam ined, consists of the land of Gideon and the northern portion of the plains of Moab, which formed the former heritage of the tribes of God and Reuben. This country is far superi- in productive capacity to the territory on the west of the Jordan, the mountains of Gil cad rising to height of A. 900 feet above the level of the sea, and being heavily timbered, we'll watered and susceptible in the highest degree of agricultural development. They can scarcely be said to be inhabited, the plains in the south forming a lofty plateau about 2, 500 feet above the sea level, consisting of rich arabic land, cultivated in patches by the Arabs; but with the exception of the town of Salb Mur there is no resident population or land owners. The whole tract belongs to the Gov ernment, which, emitting only small sheep tax levied on the Arabs, derives no revenue from it. The entire region proposed for col onization comprises an area of about million and half acres, which would have been the property of an Ottoman company, through whose agency, in conjunction with the Turk ish authorities, it should be administered. The advantages to the Turkish Government of the proposed scheme are as follows It would bring into cultivation rich tract of country, at present unproductive. It would be re- form involving no expense to the Porte, but, on the contrary, be the means of providing it with an immediate sum of money to be deriv- ed from the sale of the lands. It would prove
 
 ties for toleration and protection in Turkey than in some Christian countries. It would in no way interfere with the sovereign rights of the Porte, as the administration would be under. the auspices of an Ottoman "Compag- nie Anonyme," and the colonists would be- come Ottoman subjects, while good govern ment would be guaranteed to them by special regulations having the Imperial sanction. It is proposed to constitute the district set apart for colonization into separate sanjak (prov- inee). The emigrants would not be exclusive ly Jewish, but an asylum would be afforded to many Moslem refugee families from Bull garia and Roumelia who have proved by the character of their farms, which they have been obliged to abandon, that they are excel lent farm laborers. The ssfellaheen" would also flock over to be employed from Western Palestine, where they are in a state of extreme poverty. It is not intended in the first in stance to utilize Jewish labor on the soil, but it is anticipated that out of the 200, 900 Jews Asiatic Turkey (to say nothing of the millions in Europe), enough men of more or less capi tai could be found to become landlords. As an investment, farming in Palestine, when properly conducted, is most remuneratiye The colony would be connected by rail with the port of Haitee by way of the Valley of Jor- dan, which has good incline the whole way, presenting no engineering dificulties.''