Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-01-29
PRESENT CONDITION OF PALESTINE.

cent report made by United States
Consul Wilson. at Jerusalem, will be
interesting to many of our readers:
Palestine is a small country, with
out navigable rivers, without min
erals, imperfectly watered, and al
most without roads, and with very
imperfect sort of civilization, and its
fortunes for good or for evil can
have but little influence on the dese
TIMES Of the world The world
the commercial and the civilized
world-has grown larger since the
days when Palestine was the battle
ground between the nations of the
Euphrates and the Nile. The adj
ventism Of the Moslems, of the
Jews, and of many Christians, causes
them to magnify the most trivial
events and unimportant circum
stances into grand epoch making
causative influences
Meanwhile, all things continue as
they were. The Orientis unchanged,
and apparently Interchangeable. The
language, the customs, aud the spirit
of Arabia are everywhere dominant,
and whoever has been the conqueror,
queror has been the CONQUERED.
The majority rules in the long run.
The European residents become orr
entahzed, enfeebled, and sooner or
later yield to the dominant Arabic
influences and tendencies. How
otherwise can we account for the
facts that Rome was overcome by
the Saracens, and the Crusaders by
Saladin? The Moslem has control
Of this land. The Turk is the ruling
class; his right is that of might by
conquest.
The native Arab, the "fellah, is
the agriculturist, and is almost the
only producer. The village and the
villagers are tributary to the task
master, while yet retaining under the
village sheick something of its origi-
nal character of government as an
independent tribe Or nation. The
scheick is the chief justice and 9Over-
nor, and is subject only to the requi-
sitions pecuniary and military of the
Pacha and of the Sultan. The
wealth of Palestine, the products of
the country for use and for export,
are the fruits of the labors Of the
fallaheen.
OF the 10000 Jews in Palestine,
not one thousand, probably not five
hundred, are agriculturists. They
axe waiting for and praying for the
coming of the Messiah. They are
congregated chiefly at Jerusalem,
Tiberias, and Safed There are also
a few at Hebron, Jaffa, and Nablous,
They are supported mainly by the
charities of their co religionists in
Europe and America, for whom they
are performing vicarious pilgrimages
to the Holy Land. Their support,
therefore, is esteemed to be their
right, as much so as the support of
the military in the Western nations,
or Of the ecclesiastics of the Greek
and of the Latin churches.
The German colonists of Jerusa-
lem, Jaffa, and Heifa, number about
one thousand souls. They are Second
Adventists. They have organized
a society called The New Temple .
or the Templars," and they are
waiting for the rebuilding of Jerusa
lem. They are industrious and eco
nomica1. AS agriculturists, they
have not had any marked success,
but they are very nearly self
supporting. Their idea is by coloni-
zation to take possession Of the
promised land
The rich converts of the Greek
and Latin churches have large pose
sessions in Palestine. They have
strong foothold in nearly all the most
important places, which they hold for
Christianity, supported as they are
by France and Russia, and which
they will not readily relinquish either
/ for the Mos'em or for the Jew.
The Armenian converts also are
wealthy and powerful and enterpris-
ing. Thus is Palestine the battle
| ground for the religions, Aloslem,
Jew, and Christian, as it was of the
nations, anciently, between the Eu
pirates and the Nile.
The Anglican church, with mis-
sions, schools, and resident bishop
at Jerusalem, has also considerable
and valuable possessions in Pales-
tine. There is also mission of the
German Lutheran church and of the
Friends or Quakers of England. Is
this country to be Moslem or Chris
tian? Is it to remain under the
control of the Turk, or is it to be
transferred to England, OF France, or
Russia,2 Or is it to be placed under