MY HOME IN PALESTINE. 121 



it, from using it freely. There is, besides, the road 

 which, passing round the projecting promontory upon 

 which the monastery of Carmel is situated enters 

 the northern end of the plain of Sharon, and extends 

 to Caesarea; indeed there is no reason, so far as the 

 country is concerned, why it should not extend to 

 Jaffa, a distance of sixty miles. One very important 

 reason for making the cart before the road in Turkey 

 is, that in order to make a road, you must get a con- 

 cession. But as the Government now refuses to grant 

 concessions for any purpose to any one, limiting itself 

 to taking backsheesh for promises, no sane individual 

 would endeavour to get a concession to build a road ; 

 but you do not require a concession to build a cart, 

 and having built it you can drive it at your own risk. 

 You may possibly have to bribe a caimakam to per- 

 mit you to remove stones or other obstacles ; and you 

 would get into serious trouble if you tried to build a 

 bridge. But there are various unostentatious ways of 

 opening up the country, developing its resources, and 

 helping the inhabitants, by which the vigilance of the 

 Government to prevent improvement of any kind may 

 be eluded, and risk of serious penalties avoided. The 

 most effective of all ways really to benefit the country, 

 would be for foreigners to come to it ; and the fact 

 that Haifa has just advanced sufficiently in civilisa- 

 tion to make it combine comfort with economy as a 

 winter resort, points it out as the locality especially 

 adapted for a beginning to be made in this direction. 



