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10 Anti-Semitism in Canada A resolution was offered in the Can adian House of Commons about a fort night ago, condemning the recent massa cres of Jews in Russia. A number of speeches Were made by members in favor of these resolutions. One speaker, however, ITenri Bour assa, representing the Labell district, bitterly opposed this resolution. In the words of the Montreal Daily Star, which prints his speech in full, he spoke his mind bluntly. The following is the full text of this astounding and frank at tack : Mi-. Henri Bourassa (Labelle) —“Mr. Speaker, in case this motion should re sult as some other motions for the ad journment. of debates have resulted in times past, I think this debate should not be ended without some sober thought should be expressed now to clear the at mosphere of what I might call the ficti tious sentiment which has been sought to be developed in this country in favor of the Jews. T need not say that lam ani mated by no feelings against the Jews, any more than I suppose the honorable member for South Toronto (Mr. Mac donnell) is animated by consideration of the influence the Jewish vote may have in his constituency. I take for granted, that both my honorable friend and my self are speaking our mind on this sub ject. I may say in passing that the province of-Quebec was the first part of the British Empire to accord to the Jews their rights as citizens. Even at the time when my co-religionists and those of my honorable friend were de nied those rights in England, the Frencli-Canadian Catholics in the Province of Quebec passed a law—and if l may speak personally, I may say that my own grandfather was the author of it—to give the Jews civil rights in the Province of Quebec, before England or any other part of the British Empire had done so. But, if we allow ourselves, oven before we have the right to rule ourselves as a nation, to be drawn into debates on international questions and to take upon ourselves the tremendous re sponsibility of advising all nations on earth what they should do in regard to their internal affairs, I think we should take care to study a. little the questions on which we pass resolutions, otherwise our action might carry us very far. “For instance, we might be induced to pass resolutions condemning the bar barous custom of lynching which is kept up in the United States in time of peace, and when there is no social revolution to excuse the American government for not stamping out that, barbarous custom. We might also from time to time pass resolutions condemning the criminal neglect of the Turkish government to prevent the massacre of thousand of THE JEWISH OUTLOOK Christians in countries where England, France and some other European powers have the right to exert their influence. So far as Russia is concerned, perhaps we might be a little careful about our ex pressions of sympathy, in view of the well established fact, which has been vouched for by most sober correspond ents of British newspapers, that the Jews have been at the bottom of most of the social troubles that have arisen in Russia—that, a great deal of the money that has been raised by subscriptions in foreign countries on behalf of the Rus sian Jews has been as a matter of fact used in purchasing firearms and sup plies for the revolutionists. Therefore it might be embarrassing for the British government, of which I suppose my honorable friend from Toronto is a loyal supporter, if we passed a resolution here asking the British Parliament to express sympathy for people who, having taken a large share in the revolution in Rus sia, are now to a certain extent suffer ers from that revolution. It is a well known fact that this has been published in the London “Times,” that the slaughters in some of the Russian cities were made by the Christians because the Jews had prepared a conspiracy to slaughter the Christians. Now, so far as the charity of the Jew ish people is concerned, T shall not go into a long historical study. I certainly sympathize with the Jews for some of the persecutions to which they have been subjected on account of their religions beli'ef, but as bad been very clearly stated time and again by one of the most illustrious of English writers, Mr. Cold win Smith, the sentiment of hatred against the Jews, not only in Russia, but in other countries, does not come from racial or religious feeling, hut from the fact that the Jew does not assimilate himself to the country in which he is living, except to that extent that will enable him to profit hy the citizenship of the country in which he is living in order to enrich himself and contribute in the least possible degree to the de velopment of that, country. It is a well known fact that the Jews do not become owners of property to a large extent. In Russia, especially, they have not pur chased land, hut have lived and en riched themselves to an enormous extent hy extorting from the poor people not only their money but the hlood of their life, and repeating, in fact, the historical example that, was illustrated some 300 years ago, hy the greatest of English poets. Tn days of revolution, the com mon people simply go and strike blindly and instinctively against the people who have persecuted them for years and years. Revolutions in England, revolutions in France, gave rise to a great deal of slaughter and abominable crime, but they were the natural result of the op pression under which llie people had suf fered for years and years; and when the law was weak and revolutions come, the people struck at those from whom they had suffered. The Russian peasants had been sucked for centuries by the Jewish usurers, and it is no surprise now that they are acting terribly in their dealings with them. I think it would bo most ri diculous of this Parliament to adopt a resolution, .inspired, I am afraid, by local conditions of an electoral character" passing judgment on a problem which lias been trying the spirit not only of Russian statesmen of many countries for years, for centuries, a problem which consists in trying to bring the Jewish people to adapt themselves to the social conditions of the country and not merely to use those social conditions for their own benefit. THE NEW CURTIS THEATRE Next Week, Beginning Sunday Matinee JUNE 3 AND ENTIRE WEEK. Midnight in Chinatown PRICES* Every night and Sunday Matinee. Lower pjccr, 30c and 50c; Balcony 200 and 30c. Matinees Daily (except Monday) Entire Floor. 20c: Entire Balcony. 10c. Broadway Theatre E. F. McCOURT, Prop, and Mgr. NEXT MONDAY, Henrietta Crosman In Her Latest Comedy Success, MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY Plumbing Perfection You cannot exercise too much caution lr your plumbing repairs. 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