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bis hope of salvation , upon other grounds than those which , by the law of the land , |> y the oaths and engagements which he necessarily enters into , such a minister Diust regard as the rule of faith which he is to inculcate ?
The Act enumerates non-attendance at public worship on a Sunday , as an instance of bad behaviour . Mr . Shad well contended , that this shewed that it intended attendance to be good behaviour , and that it thus pointed out what it meant when it required a certificate of good behaviour from the minister $ and how could the minister certify this , in the case of Jews , who keep the Sabbath on another day ? New Colleg-e , Oxford ^ was authorized to make the rules and regulations of the schools ; one was that prayers should be read ttvice-a day : could this be done with any effect if Jewish children were admitted ?
Something had been said of persecution . He and his clients denied the charge . They regarded the Jews as s peculiar people , in whose direction the hand of J'rovi * dence had always been especially
manifested 3 and no persons , endowed with any religious feeling , could wish to persecute a people still marked out in so peculiar a manner , a perpetual miracle before the eyes of the world .
The Lord iJhanceUor made some objection to the form of the petition . He did net see how the Court could recognize the rulers of the London Synagogues as petitioners , who had no immediate interest in the Charity . Some discussion took place on this point , after which Sir Samuel Rouiilly proceeded to reply .
sir bamuel Romilly . —My Lord , tkie petition presented by my clients is one in itself of the highest importance , but it has become still more &o from the manner in which it has been argued . The petitioners did not put themselves forward on this
occasion , until a child had been rejected hy the trustees , for no other reason than its relig-ious faith 5 and they then took up the Question from a motive which , -as men and religious tifiarttcters-, did them the highest horiiMfc'fw My Lord , tire arguments on the other tfide have been numerous and
ing-entoirtriy put . I shall notice ull that appear to me important , as briefly as t can . It was conterKfcetf } tfoat this is ix wew and unheard of clofan » et 1 ip by the Jews ; whereas , it now tfttns out thai for more tfea » thirty years fbey have be ^ n undisturbed partakers in the Charity . It is , % o he « ur £ mO £ t triiini ;> b&ntly stated , that no Jew has ever been a trustee- V&ty well , we 'admit it 5 but why not ? feeGariise they ha * e not bfceft . fa a aitfctttioh tti ^ fitffle th ijta to it—thby tetnv * tot > eit ttlwayfe in idW cir-4 ! utnstattd ^ 8 u ^ t ^ y huv * btffe n objtcts of
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the Charity , and it is expressly provided , that no such person shall be eligible as a trustee . Mr . Shadweil , my Lord , has supposed it impossible to find a minister of the Church
of England , who would certify the good morals of a Jew ^ but it unfortunately happens , that that which Mr . Shadweil supposes to be impossible has actually taken place : it does appear there was a minister to be found , notwithstanding Mr . Shadwell ' s doubt on the subject , to the honour of human nature , which he had disparaged ; it does appear , there was a-minister Ln Bedford of sufficient liberality to think that a person who performed the honest practical duties of all religions , those o > f
acting justly , loving mercy , doing gofcd to his fellow-creatures , and walking humbly with his God , was entitled to a certificate of good morals . I have no doubt he will be equally mistaken with regard to apprentices , and that some Christian master might be found who would go so far as to receive a Jew into his service .
We therefore shew , that so far as regards the practice of this Charity , Jews have actually enjoyed the benefit of it , till mt > st unfortunately some opinion was taken , which g ^ ave rise to the present steps on the part of the trustees . There are now hut three Jew families in Bedford ; and though Mr . Phillimore has pressed very strongly
the obsta principiis ^ and drawn a frightful picture of the lamentable consequences that would ensue from the preponderance which he has imagined possible to be obtained by the Jews , so as actually to turn the Christians out , the plain truth is , that there once were seven families , and nt > w there are only three .
This case will , my Lord , if the doctrine of the gentlemen on the other side is correct , and sanctioned by the authority of this Court , estabtish a new epoch in the history of religious disabilities . It will strifce at the root of the liberties , the properties of large bodies of individuals , without at the same time having any authority to support it I deny that what the gentlemen have stated ever was the law of tbe
land . They have , indeed , asserted tfi&t it is H decided ipoint , that no Charity for the benefit of JeWs can be supported ^ but what case , what dictum even will they produce in which stich a proposition c ^ ifi be found ? It is true that the case of Da Cbs-to and OePtts settled that no institution for the
purpose of pro-pagatiii-g and teaching th « Jewish law ouldbe supported ; but what has that to db tvith the present case ? C&ft i % !><> $ sibijrb ? said that an hospital £ ou ¥ i&ed by Jtews , for the benefit of Jews , tt&iild ftfct be supported by this Court ? Haril , indefrd , # < ml * i be theiv sdttaatton , if rmitfief fVatt * tfc * £ r tofetittcfh ittfr Obtistiairs they eoald
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Intelligence . —Right of the Jews to English Charities , &Q 1
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1818, page 591, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2480/page/55/
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