“Racial rivalry is natural in every country, and is not to be disapproved so long as the aims are good, as, e.g. emulation in acquiring of knowledge in its multiple domains, such as agriculture, industry, etc.: but as soon as rivalry exceeds these bounds, it is to be deprecated. The legal power must resist with all its power this nefarious kind of rivalry, as nobody wishes to differentiate between the inhabitants in their liberties. All must be equal before the law, without the least distinction. But misunderstandings may always occur, and people with interested motives will try to make capital out of these misunderstandings. Everything depends on the goodwill and tact on both sides. Even the Bedawi may be won over to friendship more easily than he may be driven into subjection. And he is worth the winning over. Besides being a fighting man in his own style, he is, as history proves, quite capable of making valuable contributions to the welfare of the country, if he is properly treated. Experience shows that he responds more readily to appeal than to command, and is more easily led than driven. They must be given the blessings of a good administration and trained to take a gradually increasing share in the government of the country. Friendliness will replace inveterate mistrust: the inhabitants of the country will be bound together in close harmony by the ties of common interest. From a strictly Christian standpoint such a course is clearly the highest and wisest: while from that of the Moslems the old fears that closer intercourse with Christians might sap the religious earnestness of the followers of the Prophet are now generally seen to be groundless in the light of a longer and more intimate acquaintance. But there are reasons of a more practical nature than these ethical considerations. The position of Islam in the world’s political and religious geography supplies the followers of both faiths with a motive for common action that is yearly becoming better understood.... If it is true that a new spirit is stirring in the East of Asia, that the scientific knowledge by which in the past Europeans have held their own can no longer remain their monopoly and that the increase of the population in the Far East remains steady while that of Europe declines, then it is time for the Near East, when the inevitable struggle must take place, to put her house in order: and the first and most obvious requirement is that the tradition of misunderstandings between Christians and Moslems shall be replaced by a sympathy based upon community of interest.”
LXXXVII.
Consular Reports
The movement of progress and hope which has awakened to consciousness in Palestine was born in the colonies, where the land began to yield a ready harvest in return for the husbandman’s toil, where the vine and the fruit tree began to surround with natural beauty a land that had all too long lain desolate, and the old joys of country life have brought anew to the toilful workers a spirit of independence and dignity which have penetrated from the country into the towns. Again the Jewish race has developed some of the fine physique that generations of the Ghetto life had threatened to destroy for ever.
The British Consular Reports show signs of a steady development of Palestinian trade:—
| Year. | Exports. | Imports. |
|---|---|---|
| 1885 | £132,579 | £287,740 |
| 1886 | 119,555 | 240,880 |
| 1887 | 186,371 | 232,045 |
| 1888 | 204,315 | 253,065 |
| 1889 | 244,561 | 275,622 |
| 1890 | 447,010 | 259,811 |
| 1891 | 410,530 | 288,290 |
| 1892 | 258,466 | 342,597 |
| 1893 | 332,628 | 349,540 |
| 1894 | 285,604 | 273,233 |
| 1895 | 282,907 | 275,990 |
| 1896 | 373,447 | 256,090 |
| 1897 | 309,389 | 306,630 |
| 1898 | 306,780 | 322,430 |
The increase of trade in 1890 and 1891 was due to the good harvest in oranges and sesame. In 1892, 1893, 1894, and 1897, all the wheat and the barley were exported via Gaza, and are therefore not included in the above table. The value of some of the goods exported and the growth of new industries is indicated in the following table, which shows the exports of wheat, maize, soap and oranges from 1885 to 1898:—
| Year. | Wheat. £ | Maize. £ | Soap. £ | Oranges. £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | 3,600 | 7,875 | 13,722 | 26,500 |
| 1886 | 3,325 | 9,000 | 8,960 | 29,400 |
| 1887 | 15,000 | 21,000 | 38,000 | 36,000 |
| 1888 | 7,800 | 16,960 | 45,000 | 55,000 |
| 1889 | 16,950 | 18,200 | 33,600 | 51,200 |
| 1890 | 19,920 | 11,240 | 44,700 | 83,120 |
| 1891 | 3,300 | 17,300 | 124,000 | 108,400 |
| 1892 | — | 420 | 46,800 | 62,000 |
| 1893 | — | 2,580 | 112,000 | 96,500 |
| 1894 | — | 2,000 | 114,000 | 51,000 |
| 1895 | 3,560 | 3,200 | 93,240 | 65,000 |
| 1896 | 1,920 | 14,178 | 113,114 | 72,600 |
| 1897 | — | 8,450 | 81,900 | 75,800 |
| 1898 | 14,000 | 3,000 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
In the earlier reports some reference is made to the export of wine, but it is not worth special mention until 1894, from which date the following figures may be given:—