In 1891 the “Lovers of _Zion_” tried to persuade Hirsch to turn his activities to Palestine. Herzl tried again in 1896, unfortunately without success. The fact that Hirsch had met with a repulse at the time of his earlier transactions with the _Sultan_, Abdul Hamid, may have made the difficulty of obtaining a charter from the Ottoman Government seem a greater obstacle to him than it would have seemed to others. In his negotiations with the “Lovers of _Zion_” in 1891 he was not altogether an opponent; he wavered for a while between different countries, considering exclusively the quality of the soil, the price, facilities and so on; but he overlooked the essential fact. The question for him was not one of history and national desire, but of the soil, the income, and, above all, the extension of his scheme. The able and ingenious business man wanted to be practical. The builder of a great railway wanted to establish a colony for millions, and he believed in the lustre of his gem. Had he known that in “The Argentine,” in spite of its apparently unlimited possibilities, only some ten thousand Jews would settle, he would undoubtedly have preferred Palestine, where even ten thousand, as true representatives of a nation in its old country, have a far greater value. But he felt himself called upon to accomplish great things in the economic sphere. It was the very instinct of the man, his nature, the bent of his genius. If we wish to understand him, we must make full allowance for his surroundings, his education and the times in which he lived. His idea was a long step towards Zionism, but some would not have it for that particular reason. It is significant that his enormous munificence remained quite isolated; he had no followers, though he was very anxious to find some. Could anybody imagine a National Fund for Jewish agriculture in “The Argentine”? The masses, it is true, were interested in his scheme, but their interest was one of curiosity, of the wish to be helped, not of self-help. And not only the masses, but the wealthy people too held aloof. A short time before he died, he received a few hundred pounds from two or three people for his undertaking, and he felt very happy! During his negotiations with the “Lovers of _Zion_” he revealed his idea of creating a Jewish Commonwealth,¹ saying that he was endeavouring to prepare the conditions for such a scheme. On another occasion, discussing the difficulties of administration, _etc._, he exclaimed:―― ¹ He used the term “_Gemeinwesen_.” “_Give me Jewish apostles, and I shall succeed!_ It dawned upon him that something was missing.