The anti-Jewish riots and massacres which broke out in Russia in the spring of 1881 had attracted attention to the position of the Jewish people, but not to a degree commensurate with the importance of the subject. Just when it seemed probable that the martyrs of 1881 would leave no record behind them, new massacres occurred in 1882 and again drew attention to the subject. All the English newspapers dealt sympathetically with the position of the persecuted Jews, and gave full accounts of the atrocities. These articles caused an outburst of pity and sympathy throughout England. Several mass meetings were held and funds were started. Questions were addressed in both Houses to the Secretary and Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs. This spontaneous outcry in England soon spread to all the countries of Europe. In Paris the veteran poet novelist Victor Hugo (1802‒1885) headed the appeal for justice and pity. In Holland the University of Utrecht rivalled that of Oxford in its protests. Across the Atlantic the Government of the United States went further than any other Government, and entered a powerful protest in the President’s Message to Congress. All these movements took their origin from the first emphatic outburst of pity in England. The racial and national instincts which in times of prosperity often lie dormant in the hearts of the Jews were thoroughly aroused and stimulated by the cruel persecutions to which their brethren were subjected. It was a terribly instructive lesson for those Jews who believed in the progress of humanity as a solution of the problem of the Jewish tragedy. They had a sudden and rude awakening. More and more the conviction gained ground among the people that the helplessness of the Jew in his trials, his utter inability to stem the tide of abuse and oppression, was chiefly due to the fact that he had no land which he could call a Jewish land _par excellence_. The best treatment that he received in free countries was only toleration. He was always supposed to have the right of existence and of equality with those among whom he lived, but in no case could he enforce it by stronger measures than an appeal to the goodwill and kindness of those who could either give or withhold it. Appeals to the sacred principles of humanity and justice, beautiful and inspiring as they were, were practically futile. Renewed persecution brought these facts once again to the cognizance of the Jews.