Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 July 1875 — The Commerce of Jerusalem. [ARTICLE]

The Commerce of Jerusalem.

Few people think of the ancient capital of the Holy Land from a commercial point of view. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Jerusalem carry on a considerable trade; and some interesting statistics with respect to it are published in a recent report by Consul Moore. In 1873 the city received from the United Kingdom 550 to 600 bales of cotton, of the aggregate value of £22,000 to £24,000; and about 150 packages of woolen goods, hardware, etc.; and colonials worth £12,000. Austria and Germany sent it woolen and silk manufactures, hard and glass ware, timber and fancy goods, estimated at £35,000; France, woolen and silk manufactures, sugar and colonials, hardware, leather, wine and spirits, valued, with rice from Genoa, at £30,000; and Russia, flour, £21,000. Rice is imported from Egypt, value about £12,000. These imports are not for Jerusalem alone; it is the market for the neighboring towns and villages and Bedouin tribes. The exports are olive oil, grain and sesame seed. The population is estimated at 21,000, of whom 5,000 are Moslems, 5,500 Christians, mostly of the Greek Church, 10,000 Jews and about 500 Europeans, chiefly Germans. The Jewish population has increased by about 2,000 within the last two years; and German settlers alsoarive in considerable numbers. The manufacture of soap is tlie chief native industry, but a large quantity of “Jerusalem ware” is also produced, consisting of chaplets, crucifixes, beads, cross.es and the like. These articles are made principally of mother-of-pearl and sold to the pilgrims who annually visit Jerusalem. Two lines of telegraph connect the city with Europe and led to the proposed construction of a railway between Jerusalem and Jaffa. Consul Moore says tlie roads in the neighborhood are in a shameful condition, anti this fact, with the predatory habits of the Bedouin tribes, prevents the healthy development of industry.—Zion's Herald.