them. If it is noted backwards its letters form the following sentence, etc.

These are fair specimens of the Piyutim. In the synagogue the minister generally gabbles through one half and skips the rest; occasionally he utters them in recitative, sometimes he sings them; the devout in the congregation read them simply because they happen to be in the book, others ignore them either from indifference to their nature or from knowledge of the fact that they are nonsense.

But

one, and that there is not a second. He ex- | fears that if he concede a little, his flock plained it (the law) to His people face to face, will concede much more; and he further and on every point are ninety-eight explana- supports his maintenance of the present tions. The Lord saw and declared it. He liturgy by an expression of the conviction prepared it, and also searched it, for those that mere human beings have no power to that love and keep it, and taught it sweetly to effect the modifications desired. surely what men have done man may undo, and the liturgy is essentially of human institution. To the credit of the Spanish congregation be it said that their liturgy is not disfigured by any absurdities such as I cited the other day; and in their synagogues there are but three in the United Kingdom-the prayers are of a reasonable and comprehensible character. There is yet another body of Jews, but they are few in number, who are called Reformers, simply because they possess a remodelled service, minus the Piyutim and other objectionable portions of the ordinary prayers, and adhere to the letter and spirit of the Pentateuch only, having nothing whatever to do with the ordinations of the rabbis. But the "Germans "" are the great majority, and out of every thousand there can be no doubt that at least nine hundred and ninety would hail the exclusion from the prayer-book of the Piyutim with satisfaction. Still the ecclesiastical

Now, it may naturally be asked, why is not some effort made to expunge these Piyutim from the Jewish liturgy, which in other respects is grand and simple in the extreme? I answer that an association has been formed in London whose avowed object is the obliteration of these blots; but, though it has been in existence about two years, it has done nothing yet. The reason is that the Jews of this country are placed in a peculiar position with regard to their religious constitution. The gov-authorities are deaf to all remonstrance ernment of all our spiritual affairs is in the and entreaty; they have shut their eyes to hands of a body composed of the chief the defection prevalent in the Anglo-Jewrabbi and two gentlemen who act with ish communion, and refuse to acknowledge him, and these are designated the "eccle- the fact that the younger Jews who have siastical authorities," and hold sway over been educated at the universities and in all congregations following what is called mixed schools look upon their liturgy with the German and Polish ritual, as distin- contempt, disgust, or indifference, and guished from the adherents of the Se- that their marked absence from the serphardic synagogue, who have adopted the vices of the synagogue is mainly attributaritual established by the Spanish Jews, ble to the fact that there are portions of which differs somewhat from that of the the service there celebrated which neither former. If the opinions of the more en- they nor the ministers can understand, in lightened members of the Jewish clergy which, for instance, they find anagrams were canvassed, it would be discovered and acrostics whose proper position would that nine-tenths of them entertain a most be in the "" Sphinx column of a family unmitigated contempt for the Jewish lit- newspaper. Even some of the most beauurgy as it now stands. But, unfortunately tiful portions of the ritual were written by for the Jewish community in this country, rabbis to mark particular events in their the clergy have no voice in the matter, own lives. I take the following story either individually or as a body; and even from David Levi's edition of the order of the chief rabbi, who possesses, or ought service for the Jewish New Year, which to possess, absolute authority in ecclesias- gives the reason for the insertion in the tical matters, would not dare to approach liturgy of a really fine prayer, beginning the question of reform. The leading and with the words, "We will express the wealthiest Jews are ultra-orthodox, simply, mighty holiness of this day." Rabbi I believe, because of their orthodox tradi- Amnon, of Mayence, was a man of great tions; and they rule the ministers, whose merit, of an illustrious family, very rich, tenure of office depends upon their "good and much respected at the court of the behavior." Dr. Adler, the present chief Bishop of Mayence. The bishop frerabbi of the Israelites of the United quently pressed him to abjure Judaism Kingdom, entirely opposes alterations in and embrace Christianity, but he was deaf or curtailment of the Jewish ritual. He to his solicitations. It happened, how

ever, that one day in particular, when very | Jews who wrote against them were Ibn closely pressed by the bishop and his Ezra, Maimonides, Jehuda Halevi, Solocourtiers, he, in order to evade their im- mon Parchon, Serachia Halevi, David portunity and to silence them for the pres- Kimchi, David Abudrahan, Menachem ben ent, answered, "I will consider the sub- Serach, Isaac Dar Sheshet, Nissim, ject, and give you an answer in three Joseph Albu, Samuel di Medina (Rashdays." But as soon as he came out of the dam), Solomon ben Gabirol, and Joseph palace, and was left to his own reflections, Karo. Ibn Ezra launched forth much his conscience smote him for the enormity satirical abuse against the Piyutim, and in of the crime he had committed in thus his more serious objections he says: seeming to entertain a doubt of the true "A person should not include in his prayfaith. He went home overwhelmed with ers such Piyutim the real meaning of remorse, and when meat was set before which he does not understand, and should him he refused to eat or drink; and when not depend upon the author's original inhis friends came to visit him he refused tention, as there is no person that does all consolation, saying, "Alas! I will go not err. The Piyutim of Rabbi Eliezer down sorrowful to the grave for this deed." Kakalir especially are very difficult for us On the third day, while he was thus to understand, for four reasons, viz.: I. lamenting his imprudent expression, the Because they teem with riddles and similes bishop sent for him, but he refused to go. referring to the writer's age and local inciHaving thus refused the bishop's messen- dents of the time; 2. Because they are gers several times, the bishop commanded not all written in Hebrew, but are a mixthem to seize Rabbi Amnon and bring him ture of Medean, Persian, Syriac, and Araby force. He questioned the rabbi thus: bic languages; 3. Because even the He"Why didst thou not come to me accord-brew is corrupt and full of grammatical ing to thy promise, and inform me whether thou didst mean to comply with my request or not?" Amnon answered, "I will pronounce sentence on myself; and that is, that my tongue which uttered the words, and thus caused me to lie, ought to be cut out." The bishop answered, "I will not cut out thy tongue, but the feet which did not come to me shall be cut off, and the other parts of thy body will I also cause to be tormented." He then ordered the rabbi's great toes, thumbs, etc., to be cut off; and after being severely tortured the rabbi was conveyed home in a coffin, Amnon bearing all with the utmost constancy and resignation. Shortly after this event came the New Year, and the rabbi, being brought into the synagogue, composed and recited the prayer beginning "We will express the mighty holiness of this day," to acknowledge that he had justly suffered for the crime he had committed, and earnestly hoped for pardon. After this he suddenly disappeared, for God took him; and in memory of this extraordinary event the prayer has ever since been said in the synagogue on the New Year by all German and Polish Jews.

I will venture no opinion as to the truth of this narrative, but, beautiful as is the prayer, Rabbi Amnon's adventures do not warrant its repetition. Pages could be filled with extracts from the prayer-book of the same kind or tendency. The movement against them is not new; for even in the age when they were composed they were objected to. Among the celebrated

errors; and 4. Because he does not relate facts, but traditions, midrashim, etc., and is altogether mystical in his writings.'

A very considerable portion of the liturgy is the work of the readers or precentors of the synagogue, called hazanim, who, in Talmudical times, ventured to compose prayers and hymns. In postTalmudical times the hazanim continued the practice, but Rapoport argues that their compositions were intended for private and not for congregational use. Whether this assertion be true or not, their compositions were first uttered in the synagogue and are retained in the liturgy. Certain it is that the Jewish people are by no means bound by any enactment, either revealed or unrevealed, to maintain ridicu lous passages in their prayer-book; and the ecclesiastical authorities, by refusing to sanction their suppression, render themselves responsible for the consequences which will certainly ensue. The ministers of the respective congregations under the control of the chief rabbi have no power to act independently; but it is a matter which hardly admits of doubt that they are one and all favorably disposed to a speedy reformation of the Jewish liturgy. In conclusion, I may add that, although so many of the younger generation of Israelites are being alienated from their religion by the obstinacy of the ecclesiastical authorities," they do not adopt any other religion in its place. They may cease to be Jews, indeed, but they do not, for all that, become Christians.

66

From The Saturday Review.
THE INDIANS OF CANADA.

the province of British Columbia, where the Indian population considerably outnumbers the white settlers. These Indians may also be subdivided into the tribes settled on the coast, who subsist by fishing, and those who are possessed of considerable property in cattle, and who occupy the valleys among the western slopes of the Rocky and Cascade Mountains. Unfortunately they are dis contented with their present lot; the terms granted to them by the provisional government of British Columbia have been less favorable than that which Ontario and Quebec have conceded to the tribes within their borders, and, as they feel their numerical strength, they are the more urgent in pressing their not unjust claims.

THE various nationalities comprised within the confines of the British empire are so numerous, and the conditions of their lives so little known, that there is a danger lest the responsibilities attaching to the possession of great power should be overlooked and ignored. Few persons perhaps have ever realized the fact that a population of nearly ninety-two thousand, comprising many distinct tribes and languages, but included under the general name of North American Indians, are subjects of the queen, and, as such, claim the sympathy and interest of Englishmen. Even in Canada, where their presence is more felt, but little is known of their real condition, excepting by the department of The system of dealing with the Indian the government in whose especial charge tribes which has gradually grown up, and they are. It is, however satisfactory to which has worked so far well that no Inperceive that there is considerable activity dian wars have, since the British settlein this branch of the Dominion government, devastated Canada, may be said to ment, that important improvements have been made in the method of dealing with the wilder tribes, and that steps are to be taken to advance the civilization of those who have adopted a more settled life and have devoted themselves to agricultural industry.

consist in buying up the native claims, founded on their rights of hunting through the territories required by the settlers, by yearly grants of money or of goods to each chief and family, and by the allotment of tracts of country termed Indian reserves. This property is under the charge of an The Indian population may be divided agent or superintendent, who watches over broadly under three heads, each number- the welfare of the tribe, protects it from ing about thirty thousand. First, there the encroachments of white settlers, and are those who reside in Ontario, Quebec, prevents the alienation of the property. and the maritime provinces, the remnants Some large Indian reserves may be seen of the tribes who were brought in contact close to the most important cities of Canwith the original settlers, and whose names ada, and those who have travelled on the have been rendered familiar to us by St. Lawrence or the Ottawa will rememCooper's novels. Nearly half of these ber the wild and almost waste strips contribes possess reserve lands or settlements trasting with the highly cultivated land on in Ontario, and are making considerable either side, and which belong to the remprogress in agriculture. About ten thou- nants of the once famous tribes of the Irosand are scattered throughout the prov-quois and the Algonquins. The last of the ince of Quebec, leaving the remainder. Hurons occupy the village of Lorette, to the maritime provinces. The second near Quebec, whilst the Six Nations pardivision comprises the Indians of Mani- tially cultivate a large district in the heart toba, the North-west, and Rupert's Land. of the most fertile portion of Ontario, in These consist mostly of wandering tribes divided into wood Indians and prairie Indians the former subsisting principally by fishing, and the latter by hunting, the buffalo forming their staple food. But little civilization has yet reached them. Missionaries, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, have been at work with varied success for many years, and the Hudson Bay Company has exercised over them a parental sway, which has now been replaced by that of the Canadian government. The third division, of about equal numerical strength, is comprised within

the vicinity of the town of Brantford. All profess deep loyalty to the English crown, and appear generally contented with their condition. Some time must, however, clapse before the habits of the hunter will give place to those of the agriculturist, and even among the most civ ilized of the tribes many men will be found who for several months of the year leave their homes and seek the excitement of their former life among the more distant forests. The religious tenets of the settled Indians usually correspond with those of their white neighbors; the Indians of

1

lies

Quebec being mostly Roman Catholics, | feared, give more trouble; indeed, if the whilst those of Ontario belong to some reports of men who have resided among among the many divisions of Protestants. the tribes are to be credited, an Indian Paganism, however, retains its hold over war has only been avoided by the divismany of the older men, and even in the ions among the Indians themselves. The settlements of the Six Nations some are great grievance, which no amount of to be found who profess the faith of their presents or subsidies will overcome, in the illiberal conduct of the British Columbian government in regard to the allotment of land. Whereas, in the treaties with the Indians of Manitoba, one hundred and sixty acres of land were handed over to each family of five persons, the Indians of British Columbia are only offered twenty acres, and even this small grant has reference merely to new reserves. So deep is the feeling of discontent that two of the tribes have refused to accept their usual annual presents, lest they should appear to waive their claim for compensation for what they regard as an injustice. Three causes have led to this dissatisfaction on the part of the Indians. Since communication with the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains has become more frequent, information has reached them of the better terms awarded to the tribes of Manitoba, and consequently they require similar treatment from the government of British Columbia. Again, the pressure of the white settlers who occupy the more fertile districts, and who, as the dominant race, enforce what they choose to consider their rights at the expense of the Indians, is of course more felt as population increases; and, thirdly, the Indians are becoming aware of their numerical strength, although happily they have not as yet appreciated the strength which union adds to numbers. The question involved is a serious one, not only to the local government and to Canada, but to England, which must be ultimately responsible that no unfair treatment should lead the Indians to take up arms in a cause which, to say the least of it, would have the appearance of being a just one. Happily, both the Canadian and the local governments appear to be aware of the importance of settling the points in dispute. Three commissioners are to be appointed conjointly by the two governments, who will visit the tribes or nations, and determine the extent and locality of their respective reserves. These reserves are to be determined, not by a fixed extent of acreage, but by the requirements and habits of each nation, and they will be increased or diminished according to the variations of the Indian population. The different modes of life of the tribes of the interior who possess horses and cattle, and those on

Passing to the second division-namely, the Indians of Manitoba and the Northwest-we find conditions of life more nearly resembling those which existed before the arrival of the white men, although even here the approach of civilization has made several marked changes. A section of the savage tribe of the Sioux, which sought refuge in our territory to avoid retribution after the Minnesota massacre, is now established in the partially civilized province of Manitoba, and the men are well reported of by the settlers as sober and industrious laborers. Treaties have been made with the Crees and the Salteaux, their internecine feuds appeased, and reserves, in the proportion of one hundred and sixty acres to each family of five persons, allotted to them on the shores of Lakes Winnipeg and Winnepegosis. Many of these tribes had, until recently, found employment as boatmen on the Red River, and in conveying the stores from York Factory to the inland forts of the Hudson Bay Company; but the introduction of steam on Lake Winnipeg, and the change of route owing to the opening of communication with Lake Superior, had deprived them of their means of livelihood, and led them readily to welcome the settlement of their claims proposed by Mr. Morris, the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. Along the valley of the Saskatchewan the mounted police force has established law and order, and has been welcomed as protectors by the Assiniboines and the more warlike Blackfeet. East of the Rocky Mountains, Indian affairs appear very fairly prosperous, and seem to warrant some advance in the legislation dealing with these children of the soil. An indication of this change is given in the report of Mr. Laird, the minister of the interior, who announces that the gradual enfranchisement of the Indians will be one of the most important objects of a proposed new act. Care, however, must be taken so to word its provisions that protection may be afforded to those who do not desire to avail themselves of what they may fail to consider an adequate compensation for paternal government.

On the western side of the Rocky Mountains the Indian question will, it is

Sir John Lubbock, Mr. R. H. Major, Prof. Max Müller, Sir Henry Rawlinson, Sir Charles Trevelyan, Mr. Trübner, and others. Delegates from various countries were present at the congress, and although most of the papers were by Frenchmen, still a fair proportion were by foreigners, chiefly Americans and Scandinavians. Two thick octavo volumes contain the proceedings of the congress.

the seacoast who live by fishing, afford a | Birch, Mr. Charles Darwin, Mr. Franks, reason for diverging from the plan in force in the older provinces of Canada, and for adopting a more elastic rule in dealing with their several claims. It is to be hoped that a liberal policy will be agreed upon, and that the scandal of Indian wars which has so long afflicted the frontiers of the United States, and which have even within the last few months been productive of so great disasters, may be averted from the Pacific, as it has hitherto been avoided in the Atlantic and central, provinces of the Dominion.

The object of this French society in holding these congresses is to contribute to the progress of ethnographical, linguisMeanwhile, the presence of the Earl of tic, and historical studies relative to the Dufferin in British Columbia, and his well- two Americas, especially for the times known interest in all that concerns the anterior to Christopher Columbus, and to well-being of the Indian tribes, will exer- bring into connection with each other percise no unimportant influence over the sons who are interested in these studies. local government, and will encourage those The subscription is only twelve francs, who regard this great question in a broader and the council is composed of a certain view than that presented by the merely proportion of French and of foreign memtemporary interest of a small community. bers. The president of the Nancy conIt is in dealing with these and similar mat- gress was the Baron de Dumast, but at ters of more than local importance that each of the four séances for the readthe value of the influence of an English ing of papers he very gracefully called to statesman, such as Lord Dufferin has the chair a distinguished foreign member proved himself to be, is likely to be felt; to preside over the day's proceedings. and if the result of his visit to British During the congress an interesting exhibiColumbia tends to a satisfactory settlement tion of objects relating to American ethof the Indian difficulty, as well as the re-nography and antiquities was held. moval of some of the causes of friction The subjects with which the congress between that distant province and the cen- dealt were divided into three sections tral government, he will have done much History, Ethnography, and Linguistics and to further the true welfare of the Domin- Palæography, though, as might be surion, whose rule embraces so many nation-mised, many of the papers Bore on all alities with varying and often conflicting these subjects. Though the subjects interests. were thus divided, the congress met as one body each day.

LAST July there met in the city of Nancy a congress of a somewhat novel kind which, at the time, did not attract very much attention, but which, during its four days' sitting, did a considerable amount of work of varied value. This was the International Congress of Americanists, organized by a society recently formed in France under the designation "La Société Americaine de France." The society itself appears to be French, though the congresses are intended to be international in their character, and among those who were members of the last congress (though not necessarily present) were many eminent men belonging to all parts of the world. Among English names we notice those of Dr.

Such as international congress as this, it will be admitted, might do great service to science. The ethnography and prehistoric archæology of America are of the highest importance; they are a prime factor in the great problem of the world's ethnography. If, then, an international American congress were based on welldefined principles, and if its work were conducted in accordance with the universally recognized rules of scientific method, it might give a powerful impulse to the progress of American ethnology in particular, and to ethnography in general. We shall briefly endeavor to give the reader an idea of the value of the contents of the two volumes before us.

Among the first papers is one of considerable length, by M. E. Beauvois, the purpose of which is to prove that the

Rendu de la Première Session, Nancy, 1875. (Paris,
Congrès International des Americanistes. Compte
Ma.sonneuve et Cie.)