French Republic at the end of 1870 was to bestow the franchise on the Jews of Algeria, an action, which by discriminating between the Jews and Arabs has since caused a great deal of trouble. From 1848 to 1880 numerous attempts were made to induce French people to settle in Algeria, nor were the colonists of other nations discouraged. At one time young soldiers would be selected from the army, would be married to poor girls dowered by the State, and sent off to settle in Algeria, where they were given grants of land; but often as soon as the dowry was spent the newly-wedded wife was deserted by her husband, who made the best of his way back to France. In 1871 nearly 11,000 natives of Alsace and Lorraine were granted land in Algeria, and subsequently some 25,000 other French colonists were settled in the country at a cost of 15,000,000 francs. But despite failures, frauds and fickleness, the French settlers in Algeria increased in numbers by immigration and births, so that by the beginning of the 20th century there was a French element in the European population of Algeria of more than a quarter of a million (298,000 in 1910). Meantime, the peace and security of trade introduced by the French had attracted large numbers of Italians and Maltese to the eastern part of Algeria, and still larger numbers of Spaniards to the western department of Oran—so much so, that even at the present day Spanish is the common language of Oran, and Italian is as often heard as French at Bona, Constantine, and even inland as far as Tebessa. Several thousands of Maltese also settled in eastern Algeria, and became naturalized as French subjects. It is probable that in this way Algeria will be eventually colonized by Europe, not by the nations of the north, but by those Mediterranean peoples who are so nearly akin in blood to the Berber races of North Africa. The French type that prospers most is that drawn from the south of France; yet the fair-haired Alsatians are doing very well[125]. There has been a certain intermixture between the French and the native races, and between these again and other European settlers. It is the present writer’s opinion, based on recent visits to Algeria, that a remarkable degree of fusion between these elements is being brought about. The Arabs and Berbers in the settled parts of the country are approximating more and more in their costume and their mode of life to the Europeans, while the latter are becoming to some extent Arabised. There is scarcely an Algerian in any town who cannot talk French, and there is scarcely a French settler in Algeria who cannot talk Arabic, while among the lower classes an ugly jargon is springing up, in which both languages are represented, mixed with Italian and Spanish words.