The Dominion. SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1917. THE NEW CRUSADE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3047, 7 April 1917, Page 8

The Dominion. SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1917. THE NEW CRUSADE

The recent British victory in Palestine may bo considered as marking tho beginning of a new crusade for the, ousting'of'tho Turk from the Holy Land. That Anzac troops from these remote parts of the_ world should be participating in this crusade is not the least strango of the remarkable happenings which have developed out of the war. The inhabitants of Palestine have suffered terribly from the effects of Turkish brutality and misrule, and the prospect of an early deliverance from the oppressor will put new hope into their hearts. The latest information from neutral sources regarding the state of 'Syria and Palestine 'shows that' things have been going from bad to worse. A correspondent of the London Guardian states that last July, a conservative estimate of tho number of deaths from starvation exceeded sixty thousand. Two-thirds of the inhabitants of the villages around Jerusalem have died of hunger' and typhoid' fever. During the summer and autumn disease would' work still more terrible havoc. In ■ the Lebanon the destitution, misery, and suffering are too, horrible, to describe. ■ The peace and progress of Egypt provides a striking contrast to tho awful condition of Syria and Palestine. Egypt is. described as being "extraordinarily quiet." All direct missionary work has been stopped in Palestine, but progress is being made in Egypt,. and the missionary schools are fuller than before. It is vain to hope for the regeneration of Syria and Palestine as long 1 as they are at the mercy of the Turk, who (as .Lord Br'yce recently stated) 'is wholly unfit to rule, and must not bo allowed to survive as a ruling Power! / Palestine formerly belonged . to Egypt, and the two countries might well be, joined together again.- English newspapers are now suggesting that Britain is likely to hold, a fifty-mile highway between ; Palestine and. Egypt 'after' the war, and to allow •the "Jews to-: return to the Holy Land. In discussing tho , national rearrangements Which must, be made when the-.time comes -for settling the terms of peace,' Sir Oliver Lodge suggests that the protectorate which has been exercised over Egypt with such admirable results should be extended to Syria (including Palestine), and that this strip of Asia Minor should be'offered to tho Jews. Sir Oliver Lodge goes on to say that

Some poople think tho Jews do not w.ant it, but they have not yet had the refusal of it. That responsibility should be offered them; but whether they accept' it or not the Turk should go, and bodio measure of untaxed prosperity be restored to a tract of country immeasurably sacred to tho greater part of mankind. Thero waß a time when we might liave acquiesced in the ousting of the Turk by Germany: that!did not.look at all improbable. Now it is a thing that cannot be . contemplated; it _ would bo merely replacing one desecration by another.

Tho restoration of Palestine to Egypt would secure _ its _ adequate protection. while leaving it free to develop 'its own .resources in accordance with the genius of whatever inhabitants, Hebrew or other, gojtb live there; for in the future it may once again'bo prosperous if it can get rid of the curse'of Turkish

tyranny. These views of Sir Oh-" ver Lodge appeal with much power to loverß of freedom, and to those by whom the sacred associations of Palestino aro hold dear. It should also be borne in mind that Palestine forms the communication between the Euphrates Valley and Egypt. 'It is a "bridge" between Asia . and Africa- This position accounts in a large measure'for its stormy history. -It has been overrun repeatedly by invaders from the north desirous of striking a blow at Egypt and by armies from the south marching out'to avenge these attacks.' - .

In''his book on "Turkey and the Eastern Question," Mr. John MacDONALD rematks that the term "Asiatic Turkey" is an ambiguous label attached to the vast group of • countries that lie between the Bosphorus, the Persian Gulf, and the portion of the Arabian coast which faces India. In this region the Turks' are strangers, mere armed tax-gathers, as the,y have been in Macedonia, ' Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece. They have no real kinship with tho vast majority of the popiilation of Asiatic Turkey. Anatolia is the only district- in which the Turks form the majority. Outside. of - Anatolia they are. sim-, ply -■• -an ■ "army, of occupation." Their authority has never been able to secure general recognition in the Bagdad region, -in which British troops are now fighting with marked success. Mr. :M'a'cdonald goes on to state that .■ '.•"•-.

in the Arabian peninsula tie Turks are utter Btrangers, save in the Hedjaz, parts of Yemen, and isolated fortresses elsewhere. In Asiatic Turkey the Turkish rule is as detested as it is anywhere in the Near Bast.' In Asiatic Turkey, as in Europe,. tho Turk haa lorded it over races of. a higher, type than his' own. It is popularly supposed' that in Asiatic Turkey-Turk and Musalman are synonymous terms. There -can be no greater mistake. Even among the Musalman populations the Turks are a small minority. And with the Musalman nonTurkish majority the Turk has been at strife for centuries. The distinction between Turkish Moslem and Semite (otherwise Arabian) Moslem is vital. The TurkeV |to quote [Professor Freeman, "have no claim to bo placed side, by side with the higher' specimens of his own creed." The Turk Moslem lacks the literary, scientific, poetic, artistic tastes and' capacities of the Semitic Moslem. To this day the Semite Moslem calls tho Turk "a barbarian."

.. The recent Arab, rising is an indication of the hatred of tho Turk which exists throughout the greater part of.Asiatic Turkey... The people .K'now.;'somethitig of the." justice of British rule.- Some, years ago the question was raised as to whether Mohammedans were bound by their ireligion to be foes of the ■ British Government in India. The quesjjion was submitted by leading Mohammedans to the doctors of. {he law. Tho Mecca .doctors replied that the "country of Hindustan" was "a. country of the faith," because the Mohammedan religion was as'free in India 1 as in any Mohammedan State, and the faithful were therefore bound by their religion to ba loyal to the British Government. The Indian doctors gave a.similar decision, and declared that 'rebellion against the British Government: would bo a crime—an infamy deserving death. The prosperity of /India and Egypt under British rulo is ah impressive object-lesson which is not likely to be forgotten when the time comes for the national and territorial rearrangement of Asiatic Turkey.