THE JEWISH QUESTION
The first years of Prince Charles's rule were overcast by the shadow
thrown by that source of constant trouble in Eastern Europe, the
Jewish Question, and by the pro-Semitic agitation in the Western
Press. The bulk of the Jewish population of Roumania was settled in
the Province of Moldavia, where it held mortgages on the greater
part of the estates. In addition to this, as "universal providers"
they almost monopolised the trade in spirits, whilst the bulk of
the retail trade also lay in their hands. In times of famine and
scarcity they were always ready to lend money at exorbitant rates
to the heedless landowner and ignorant peasant, and thus acquired
a hold over them which could not be shaken off. The bitter hatred
with which the Moldavian population regarded their oppressors, and
the violence caused by that feeling, were powerless to prevent the
constant immigration of Jews from Poland and Southern Russia, where
they experienced a far harder lot than that which awaited them in
Roumania. That the anti-Semitic feeling was not wholly unjustifiable
is shown by the opinion of M. Desjardins, who had ample opportunity
of learning the rights and wrongs of the case. The French _savant_
declared that the Jews were not only aliens and strangers in
Roumania by their language, religion, and customs, but that they
actually desired to remain so. They refused to send their children
to the Roumanian schools, though entitled to do so free of expense,
and besides monopolising the whole retail trade of Moldavia, they
exerted a most evil influence on the progress of the country by
their usury. The peasant was forced to pay up to fifty per cent.
_per mensem_ on loans, as there were no other means of raising
money in times of scarcity. The Moldavian Jew was dirty and utterly
neglected, and could not from any point of view be considered a
desirable acquisition to the State.
The Jews of Eastern Europe in general, and of Roumania in
particular, have no intention, and, for the matter of that, no
inclination to stoop to handicraft or manufacture. The quicker
methods of getting money appeal to them more; and they are perfectly
content to live on the needs and necessities of the original
inhabitants of the land, though at the same time they bitterly
resent the feeling with which they and their methods of money-making
are regarded. The first outbursts of racial hatred during Prince
Charles's reign proved too strong for the good intentions of the
Government, nor was it to be expected that the Roumanian legislature
would grant the alien race further rights or further liberty than
Russia or even Austria felt inclined to do.
Crémieux, the well-known politician and founder of the _Alliance
Israélite_, interviewed the Prince on June 14, 1866, to try to
obtain an alteration in the laws enabling Jews to hold land in
Roumania, and, acting on the time-honoured maxim of _do ut des_,
offered in return for this privilege a loan of £1,000,000 at a low
rate of interest. The Prince informed him that the Government had
already remembered the condition of the Jews in the draft of the
Constitution, since the following paragraphs had been inserted:
"Creed is no impediment to naturalisation in Roumania," and "So
far as the Jews at present domiciled in Roumania are concerned, a
special law will provide for their gradual admission as naturalised
citizens." However, as soon as these proposals were laid before
the Chamber, a wave of dissent swept over Moldavia, where the
anti-dynastic party sought to create trouble by appealing to racial
hatred. They succeeded only too well, for a riotous mob destroyed
the recently completed synagogue at Bucharest in June 1866. The
obnoxious paragraphs of the Constitution were withdrawn owing to
the representations of the Jews themselves, who feared further
excesses, if the Government persisted in them. The foreign Press
eagerly seized the opportunity for spreading the report that, owing
to the weakness of the Government, the paragraphs had been withdrawn
in obedience to the wishes of the mob. The liberally minded Prince,
to show his displeasure at the action of a section of the populace,
and at the same time to prove his toleration in matters of religion,
subscribed 6,000 ducats from his own purse for the restoration of
the wrecked synagogue, but at the same time the Chamber, by passing
the clause: "Only Christians can become Roumanian citizens," denied
the Jews the possession of any political rights.
In April 1867 the Minister of the Interior, J. Bratianu, addressed
a circular to all prefects, ordering them to proceed against all
"vagabonds" in their districts; as, owing to the abolition of
passes, the number of paupers had increased to such an extent as to
add seriously to the already enormous difficulties of the Government
in feeding the starving inhabitants. England, France, and Austria
protested vigorously against this measure, which was chiefly
directed against immigrant Jews, and the Emperor Napoleon addressed
the following telegram to the Prince on this subject:
"I must not leave your Highness in ignorance of the public
feeling created here by the persecutions of which the Jews of
Moldavia are said to be the victims. I cannot believe that the
enlightened Government of your Highness authorises measures so
opposed to humanity and civilisation.
"NAPOLEON."
To which the Prince replied at once:
"Your Majesty may rest assured that I am not less solicitous for
the Jewish inhabitants than your Majesty. The measures which the
Government has thought necessary to take are not exceptional,
and are a matter of common law. I shall, moreover, institute a
severe inquiry to ascertain whether the subaltern officials have
exceeded their instructions. Those guilty will be punished with
all the rigour of the law.
"CHARLES."
All the laws against the Jews which had been passed in Moldavia
since 1804 were published in the official _Moniteur_ on May 28,
1867, to counteract the prejudice which the recent circular had
created. It was thus made clear that Jews had always been prohibited
from becoming tenants of farms, public-houses, and drinking-booths;
and that the sole motive of the Ministerial Circular was to remind
the prefects of the existence of these regulations, which had been
allowed to fall somewhat into abeyance.
Sir Moses Montefiore, the well-known British merchant and
philanthropist, who was touring through Roumania to investigate
personally the condition of the Jews, was presented to the Prince by
the British Consul on August 25, 1867. Sir Moses was able to inform
his Highness that he could not trace any persecution of the Jews in
Wallachia, and on his return to England declared, through the Press,
that the situation of his brethren in Roumania had been painted
in colours far too dark, and that there could be no question of
their ill-treatment, as both the Prince and his Ministers were very
tolerant, and had given him every assistance in eliciting the truth.
The Chamber, however, continued to persist in anti-Semitic
legislation, and a "free and independent party" of thirty-three
Moldavians introduced a measure on March 17, 1868, which contained
the following provisions: "Jews may only settle in urban districts
by permission of the town council, but on no condition, and for no
length of time, in the rural districts.
"They are not allowed to possess real property in towns or in the
country. Sales and purchases in their favour are null and void.
"They are also forbidden to become tenants of farms, vineyards,
public-houses, hotels, kilns, bridges, &c., or to manage the same,
and neither the State nor Communalities are to entrust them with
contracts.... They are not to sell food or liquor to Christians, but
only to Jews." Bratianu, whom the foreign Semitic Press hounded down
as a persecutor of the Jews, opposed this motion with the greatest
vigour, and openly broke with its proposers. He was in consequence
overwhelmed with contumely and reproaches, and was on one occasion
stoned by anti-Semitic mobs in Moldavia.
The Jewish Question was ably summed up by Prince Charles Anthony in
a letter to his son, received on May 21, 1868.
"The Jewish question has reached a stage which attracts the
rapt attention of the whole of Europe. It is a most unfortunate
episode in the otherwise peaceful development of Roumanian
internal economy, and is at the same time a great danger to the
dynasty. I have already pointed out that all Jewish affairs
are a '_noli me tangere_.' This fact is a symptom of European
weakness; but, since it is a fact, it must be accepted; nothing
can be done, as the whole Press of Europe is controlled by the
Jewish financial powers. In one word, the moneyed Judaism is a
Great Power, whose favour may have the most advantageous effect,
but whose opposition is dangerous. From every side, from all
corners and ends of the earth, a cry of horror arose in unison
about the Bakau incident, and nothing, not even the official
_dementia_, could mitigate or alleviate the impression created
by these incidents. It seems to me that Bratianu has not shown
sufficient energy in this question, and is inclined to stake too
much on one card!"...
"Innumerable petitions have reached me from all parts imploring
my support in this unfortunate Jewish affair, especially from
the _Alliance Israélite_ (Crémieux); Paris has made the most
noise about it. This cannot be altered; and you have gained
nothing but increased experience."
Advice on this difficult question was also tendered from a quarter
whence it was least expected. Fuad Pacha pointed out to the
Roumanian agent in Constantinople that the Principalities ought
to take Turkey as an example of tolerance in matters of religion,
for at Constantinople one might see Jews sitting side by side with
Mohammedans and Christians in the Council of State!
On September 12, 1869, Prince Charles received a deputation of
Jews on the occasion of his stay in Vienna. In reply to their
representations on behalf of their brethren in Roumania, Prince
Charles declared that the alleged persecution only existed in the
imagination of agitators, and that the condition of the Roumanian
Jews was by no means so miserable and abject as the European Press
was ready and anxious to believe.
At the same time, the anti-Semitic element in the Chamber sought
to overthrow the Ghika Ministry by accusing it of a tendency to
favour the Jews. The Minister of the Interior, Cogalniceanu, it
appeared, had recommended two Delegates of the _Alliance Israélite_
to the prefects of the districts, in order that they might have
every opportunity of knowing the country and its inhabitants. It
was also proved by statistics that the number of Jews in Moldavia
was steadily increasing, whilst the Roumanians were being forced
back by this constant stream of immigration. The measure of their
success and increasing influence was in direct proportion to the
corresponding weakness and poverty of the Christian tillers of the
soil. Cogalniceanu, however, showed that the Jews were not favoured
at the expense of the Roumanians, and that the Government had no
means of preventing Jewish immigration from Russia or Galicia. He
also pointed out that he had proposed to allow the Jews to settle
near the delta of the Danube; but, as that proposal had been
negatived, he could only suggest that the Chamber should formulate
some other measure.
Nearly three years later (May 1872) a petition from the Jews of
Eastern Prussia was laid before the German Reichstag, praying that
Germany would use its influence in putting a stop to the persecution
of Jews in Roumania. Dr. Miquel pointed out that, although he
sympathised deeply with the sufferers, it was necessary to proceed
with caution, as otherwise their situation might become even
worse, for no Government was ever so weak as that of Roumania, and
continual exhortations would only incite the inhabitants to further
outrages, which might eventually lead to animosity against their
German Prince. Von Bunsen supported Miquel's view and showed that
no persecutions had taken place between 1866 and 1872. Eventually a
resolution was carried, recognising the previous efforts on behalf
of the Jews, and requesting the Chancellor to do everything possible
to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
England also took up the cudgels on behalf of the Jews, and
proposed to the various guaranteeing Powers to comply with the 46th
Article of the Treaty of Paris, and grant political rights to the
Jews. Prince Gortchakoff came to the assistance of Roumania, and
reminded the Western Powers that it was impossible to compare the
Jews of the Orient with those of the West. Russia had no intention
of interfering in the domestic affairs of another State, though
she would unite with the Powers in representing the matter to the
Roumanian Government. He therefore advised England to communicate
direct with the Roumanian Government before invoking the aid of the
other Powers.
A letter from the Prince to his father contained the following
passage about this difficulty:
"My only fear is lest the Jews[15] should continue to agitate
and petition the guaranteeing Powers for the concession of
political rights to their brethren here, until the Powers at
last comply with their wish, and force our hand. This would lead
to the overthrow of the present, or, indeed, any other Ministry.
[15] Shortly after this was written, a Jewish Congress
assembled at Brussels with the avowed intention of obtaining
political rights for the Jews of Roumania by pressure from
abroad.
"A few months ago the Jews here received some sympathy from
certain circles, but since they have raised such a cry
throughout Europe, and since the Jewish Press in every State has
attacked this country in so unworthy a manner with the object
of forcing the equality of the Jews upon us, the latter have
nothing to expect here for the present...."
Another letter of Prince Charles also refers to this point:
"The newspapers again accuse us of persecuting the Jews, because
the recent licensing law forbids a Jew to keep a public-house in
a village. This is a reasonable measure; and we are determined
to repel any representations or interventions in this matter.
One must know the villages of Moldavia to be able to judge the
noxious influence exerted on the rural population by the Jew
with his adulterated brandy. In Poland and Hungary the Jew is
to this day forbidden to keep a village public-house--and very
rightly too! On the other hand, it is a pity that Roumania has
excluded Jews from holding licences for the sale of tobacco, as
they will now become the most arrant smugglers."
Russia replied to the Note, addressed by England to the Great
Powers, referring to the persecution of the Moldavian Jews, with a
circular to its representatives abroad directing them to defend the
Roumanian measures.
The struggle so briefly touched upon in these pages affected the
welfare of Roumania in its young days very keenly, as the great
Jewish capitalists supported the demands of the Jewish population
for the franchise by refusing to aid the young State in its
financial troubles. Incalculable harm was done by the Press in
giving a too-ready credence to the alarming reports of wholesale
expulsion of Jewish families from Roumania and the confiscation of
their property. The anti-Roumanian feeling thus caused in England,
France, and in part of Germany was for many years a serious
stumbling-block to the development of the Danube Principalities.