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infinitely short of the premises . As the Jews were proscribed—as they were to be bandied to and fro until the appointed time—to be denied all freedom of religious worship , and to be subject on every hand to persecution—as such was to be the condition of the Jewish
community , the geutlemen who took this objection would do—what ? ^ Why , they would give them freedom of worship , and they would protect them against persecution ; thus removing from this devoted community the greatest p * art of that dread proscription , from any part of which it was by the proposition made presumptuous in us to attempt to relieve
them . ( Hear > hear . ) Was not this an absurd mode of reasoning ? If there were any weight in the argument , they must go the whole length of it ; they must re-enact the sanguinary laws of the PJantag * enets ; they must sacrifice the Jews to the fury of the populace , and place this unhappy community oirce more in the condition in which they fouud
themselves under Richard , when 1500 were either slain by the people or fell by their own hands , rather than fall under the infliction of Christian cruelty . ( Hear , hear . ) They must do all this before they could come to a just conclusion from the premises laid down . Very different , however , was the opinion of Bishop Newton on this subject . That learned prelate , in his work on the Prophecies , said , that
" if the Jews were blameable for persevering in their infidelity , after so many opportunities of conviction , yet that was no reason why we should oppress them , as Christians , who had neither knowledge nor charity , in all times had ; that the unbelief of the Jews , far from jnstifying us in persecuting them , should rather make them objects of compassion to those who were sensible of the value of
Christianity ; and we should recollect that , according to the prophecies , it was the wicked nations which were to persecute the Jews , while the good nations were to shew mercy to them . " ( Cheers . ) Such was the language of Bishop Newton , and to that language he fully
subscribed . He would make no impassioned appeals to them in favour of the people whose cause he pleaded ; but he would tell them that they were a meek and humble people scattered through every quarter of the globe , and speaking a common language . If their petition were granted , the British name would be
celebrated through all these countries . That celebrity would not be empty praise , but it would be the renown of having ,
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with a cheerful and liberal hand , bestowed substantial benefits on a depressed community , thus fulfilling the maxim of both religions , * ' Do justly and love mercy . " ( Cheers . ) Sir Robert Xngus opposed the measure . The Jews were aliens , without
country ; and they cared less for the interest of the country that harboured them , than for the interests of each other . In Bohemia , during one of the wars of last century , they had taken part against the King . Napoleon was assisted by London Jews with money ; his retreat from Russia was aided bv Jews .
Then it had been said that the number of the Jews was small . He thought , with Mr . Burke , that a small number , enterprislug and active , making up by philosophy what they wanted in actual weight , might produce the greatest possible pub . lie effects . He thought his honourable friend and those around him were an
example of this . That , perhaps , was no-t the proper place for discussing the value of seats in Parliament—( Laughter )—he meant , of course , the political , not the commercial value . That value would be admitted to be very great ; and might not persons who had an interest distinct from
that of the country , use the power they acquired by means of a seat here for purposes not national ? They had heard of such things even as members having been sent to the House of Commons by a foreign prince ; and Mr . Burke once designated some Members of the House as
Members for Arcot . In a popular government , he would allow that no Jew would be admitted to a seat in the legislative assembly ; but they had heard there were no less than four ready to be introduced at once if this bill should pa * s This was , by the shewing of the Jews themselves , a greater proportion than they bad a right to have in the representation ; for they stated their number to
be between thirty and forty thousand . By whatever means Members might sometimes be brought into that House , it was supposed that all came there by uubought suffrages . But would not the introduction of a single Jew be direct evidence to the contrary ? If a person of that persuasion were to make his appearance In that House , he would carry with him direct evidence of the means by which he came there . From the time at
which a Jew should first be admitted iuto that House , the principal step towards Parliamentary Reform would be gained . ( Much laughter . ) He was perfectly satisfied that the admission of the first Jew
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Intelligence . —Parlmthentvrry : British Jews . 355
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1830, page 355, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2584/page/67/
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