in 1845, gawler wrote a memorandum, "the tranquillization of syria and the east", in which he suggested that jews be allowed to establish jewish agricultural settlements in palestine as compensation for their suffering under turkish rule. "the emancipation of the jews" followed in 1847, and in 1849 he toured palestine with moses montefiore. in a further work, "syria and its near prospects", (1853) he made four arguments for the proposition that jewish settlement was already under way.