1859.
INTERVIEW WITH THE DUC DE GRAMMONT--ANOTHER UKASE--INFLUENTIAL
PROTEST IN THE MORTARA CASE--PERSECUTION
IN ROUMANIA--ATTITUDE OF THE FRENCH AND
TURKISH GOVERNMENTS TOWARDS THE JEWS.
_May 20th._--Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore arrived in Paris. Lady
Montefiore's state of health being very unsatisfactory, Sir Moses
resolved to remain five or six days in the French capital to allow her
some rest.
_May 24th._--He called at the British Embassy, where he saw Viscount
Chelsea, who recommended him to write to Count Walewski to express his
gratitude for the warm and generous efforts of the Duc de Grammont in
the Mortara case. This Sir Moses did, and the next day the Minister of
Foreign Affairs wrote him a note to the effect that he would receive
him on the following Friday. Sir Moses accordingly called on his
Excellency, and told him that his object was to thank the Emperor and
his Excellency for the very generous exertions they had made for the
restoration of the child Mortara to its parents, and to express his
gratitude towards the Duc de Grammont for the very zealous manner in
which he had exerted himself at Rome to attain that object, and he (Sir
Moses) believed that, although his exertions had not been attended with
the success so much desired, the Duke had done much good, as his warm
expostulations would no doubt prevent, at least for some time, any
similar outrage against humanity. "Not only his co-religionists," Sir
Moses observed, "but also the Christians in England, felt deeply in
this unfortunate case, and were equally affected by the circumstance."
His Excellency said that not only the Emperor, but all the people in
France, felt keenly on the subject. The Emperor had written to the Duc
de Grammont in the strongest manner. His Excellency was sure that the
Duc de Grammont had done his best.
Sir Moses then begged of his Excellency to use his influence at any
future time when an opportunity occurred to obtain the restoration
of the child to his parents, and this his Excellency promised to do,
saying that he was happy to have made Sir Moses' acquaintance. The
reception, Sir Moses remarks, was truly kind and friendly. The Count
said he believed the boy was well treated, to which Sir Moses rejoined
that he thought so; but this was little consolation to his parents for
being robbed of their child.
Before leaving Paris Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore had the satisfaction
of hearing some pleasing news regarding their co-religionists in Russia.
Mr Ginzberg, a gentleman from St Petersburg, informed them that the
Emperor had issued an Ukase permitting Jewish youths to attend the
public colleges, and to absent themselves from school on Sabbaths and
festivals.
_May 29th._--They bade adieu to their friends, and started for Lille,
where they remained for the night.
Early in the morning the champion of the Mortara family showed himself
again in his commercial character as the energetic President of the
Imperial Continental Gas Association. He visited the station of the
Association's works, and saw the splendid new gas-holder, of which the
superintendent gave him a satisfactory report in all respects.
At the same time he learned the sad news of the death of one of the
officers of the Association, Mr G. H. Palmer, whom he had so lately
seen at Marseilles. He had died suddenly of heart disease.
Sir Moses was much shocked and distressed. "God preserve us all," he
said, "from sudden death," and he began to think how he might render
some service to the family of the deceased.
They left Lille for Calais, where they arrived in safety, and had
great cause to be most thankful to Providence, for on reaching Calais
they found that the truck on which they had been travelling in their
carriage was nearly in flames, and smoking to such a degree as to
require the immediate application of several buckets of water. It
appeared that the great weight of their travelling carriage had forced
its wheels nearly through the bottom, in fact, had done so to such an
extent as to cause the iron at the bottom to press on its wheels. In a
little while their carriage would have been on fire.
_Tuesday, May 31st._--They crossed the Channel, arrived at Dover, and
were able to walk on shore. The next day, June 1, they left Dover for
London, where they met with a most hearty welcome from their relatives
and numerous friends.
_June 6th._--Sir Moses called on Lord John Russell and Mr John Abel
Smith, also at the Foreign Office, to express his thanks for the
letter of introduction to Mr Odo Russell, and his gratitude for that
gentleman's very kind and active assistance.
Five weeks later, on Wednesday, 13th July, he attended a meeting of
the Board of Deputies. The vice-president conducted the business until
Sir Moses' letter accepting the office of President was read, when the
former stepped forward and conducted him to the chair. The report of
his mission to Rome was well received by the meeting, and the following
resolutions were unanimously adopted:--
"1. That this Board recognises with grateful appreciation the pious,
zealous, and philanthropic feelings which induced its President,
Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart., notwithstanding his advanced age, to
undertake, at a very great personal sacrifice, a mission to Rome to
present to the Sovereign Pontiff the memorial from the late Board of
Deputies on the subject of the abduction of the child, Edgar Mortara.
"2. That the Board regrets the refusal of the Sovereign Pontiff
to receive the memorial from Sir Moses Montefiore personally, and
sincerely deplores the determination of his Holiness, declining to
institute further inquiry into the truth of the child's alleged
baptism, and in enforcing its continued separation from its bereaved
parents.
"3. That this Board desires to record its emphatic protest against
the right or validity of clandestine baptism--a practice which it
believes is opposed to the wishes and intelligence of mankind.
"4. That this Board delights to express its esteem and gratitude to
its venerable President for the eminent services rendered by him, not
only in this unhappy case, but on former occasions, to the cause of
humanity and civilisation; and it is also mindful of its obligation
to Lady Montefiore, her husband's constant companion in his travels
and the sharer of his fatigues and anxieties.
"5. That this Board feels assured the sentiments embodied in the
foregoing resolution will find a faithful echo in every Jewish heart,
and will ensure the sympathy of every friend of human progress
throughout the world.
"6. That these resolutions be advertised in the public press."
"All the efforts of Sir Moses Montefiore," the daily papers report,
"having proved ineffectual in obtaining the restoration of the child
Mortara to its parents, a committee of gentlemen in the city felt that
some protest was demanded on behalf of British Christians, and the
following protest, having been privately circulated, has been most
extensively signed, and a copy of if has been forwarded to the French
Ambassador:--
"'Whereas a Jewish child, Edgar Mortara, son of Momolo Mortara, late
of Bologna, in Italy, was, on the 24th of June 1858, forcibly seized
and taken from its parents, by order of the Cardinal Viale Prela,
Archbishop of Bologna and Legate of Pope Pius IX.:
"'And whereas the ground of the seizure was, that the said child,
Edgar Mortara, had been secretly baptised by a Roman Catholic
maid-servant six years previously, being then of the age of twelve
months:
"'And whereas the said child was, by the order of the said Cardinal
Legate, conveyed by night, under an escort of gendarmes, to the
Convent of San Pietro, in Vincoli, at Rome, and is there detained
contrary to the wish, and notwithstanding the protestations of his
parents:
"'And whereas the Government of France has in vain urged the Court of
Rome to restore the said child to his parents:
"'And whereas Sir Moses Montefiore, Bart., at the request of the
Deputies of the British Jews, made on the 22nd of December 1858,
went to Rome in their name to present a memorial to the Pope, signed
by the whole of the said Deputies, asking for the liberation of the
said child Edgar Mortara; and whereas the Pope refused even to see
Sir Moses Montefiore; and Cardinal Antonelli, Minister of State, has
declared to Sir Moses Montefiore that the Roman Government will not
release the child:
"'And whereas it is a dishonour to Christianity in the eyes of the
Jews among all nations that the seizure and detention of the said
child, Edgar Mortara, should be supposed to be consistent with the
principles of the Christian religion:
"'Now we, the undersigned British Christians, do hereby protest, and
declare that the proceedings of the Pope of Rome, in taking away
the Jewish child, Edgar Mortara, from his parents, and educating
him, contrary to his parents' will, in the Roman Catholic faith, are
repulsive to the instincts of humanity, and in violation of parental
rights and authority, as recognised in the laws and usages of all
civilised nations, and, above all, in direct opposition to the spirit
and precepts of the Christian religion.'"
More than two thousand names of persons of rank and influence were
attached to the protest.
I now invite the attention of the reader to the subjects which occupied
Sir Moses' mind during the remainder of the year.
It has been stated before that Sir Moses signed the contract with Mr
William E. Smith of Ramsgate for building the Juda Touro Almshouses in
Jerusalem. The special authorisation from the Turkish Government, as
well as the approbation of the former Governor and of every member of
the City Council, fully justified Sir Moses at that time in expecting
to see the building proceed rapidly. But in this he was disappointed.
On the 15th day of June Mr Smith reported that the Governor had ordered
a suspension of the works, on the ground that the building would
be too near the city fortifications. This was most unfortunate, as
nearly all the stone had been prepared, the foundations excavated, the
water-receivers almost completed, and all the doors, iron-work, and
windows sent out from England. His first step was to address Arabic
letters to Sureya Pasha, the Governor of Jerusalem. Subsequently Sir
Moses called on the Turkish Ambassador in London, and applied also
to the Sublime Porte for renewed instructions to the authorities in
Jerusalem. But it was not until the end of December that he received a
letter from the Turkish Minister, to the effect that the permission for
the continuance of the building would be sent to Jerusalem.
In the meantime the delay of work greatly increased the expense, as
the builder had to remain six months longer in Jerusalem than he had
expected, and the principal working men had to be retained, not knowing
when their services might again be required.
To those who have had some experience of building schemes in the East,
such an interruption in the work would not be a matter of surprise. It
is the general rule among the natives, in order to be able to proceed
peaceably with any private or public building, to secure, in the first
instance, the friendly approbation of all the officers connected with
the Government; and in this case the superintendents of the works,
being Englishmen, may have unintentionally neglected to do so; hence
what had been right in the eyes of Kiamil Pasha, was considered wrong
in the eyes of Sureya Pasha, the latter acting, as he said, on special
orders received from the Sublime Porte.
_July 6th._--Sir Moses having ascertained from Mr O. W. Galloway that
the Viceroy was anxious for his son, Toussoun Pasha, to spend another
summer with him, invited the Prince to London, and the invitation
having been cordially accepted, Toussoun Pasha, attended by his
physician, Dr Ettienne, Mrs G. Williams, his governess, and the
Mamlook, arrived at Park Lane on July 9th. The young Prince looked very
thin, but in excellent spirits. "God grant," Sir Moses said, "their
stay with us may prove beneficial."
The Prince, as on the two former occasions, improved in health and
gained strength during his stay in England under the hospitable roof of
Sir Moses, and became every day more cheerful in his disposition.
In the same month (August 29th) Sir Charles B. Phipps, by command of
the Queen, forwarded to Sir Moses a musical box as a present from Her
Majesty to His Highness Toussoun Pasha before he left England.
Sir Moses wrote to Sir Charles, acknowledging the receipt of Her
Majesty's gracious commands, and sent Said Pasha, the Viceroy, a copy
of Sir Charles Phipps' letter.
His Highness, in return, conveyed to him his deep sense of gratitude
for the care he and Lady Montefiore had taken of the young Prince, and
entreated Sir Moses to take the first occasion to tender to Her Majesty
the Queen his high appreciation of the honour conferred by Her Majesty
on him by the gracious reception granted to his son.
The gracious attention of Her Majesty to the young Prince, and
the gratitude of his father the Viceroy to the Queen, undoubtedly
contributed, in a certain degree, towards the preservation of friendly
relations between England and Egypt; and Sir Moses had the satisfaction
of knowing that he became indirectly the acknowledged medium of
fostering and promoting the blessings of peace and mutual interest
between two countries.
He never sent a letter to the Pasha without showing it first at the
Foreign Office, and awaiting the approval of the Minister; nor did
he ever withhold the contents of any letter addressed to him by the
Pasha. He took the original himself to the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
and deposited with him a copy for the perusal of others in office
interested in Egypt.
_October 10th._--Subsequently the hour of parting drew near, and
Toussoun Pasha had to take leave, and, in doing so, expressed himself
affectionately towards both of them.
Lady Montefiore unfortunately continued to suffer from illness. She
often had medical advice, but was at times very ailing. Sir Moses had
little time to rest, but his presence at East Cliff inspired hope and
cheerfulness in the heart of his suffering companion. Every day almost
brought him letters, imploring his aid in cases of dire distress.
A month previously he had received some most painful communications
from Galatz, in Roumania, respecting the unparalleled cruelties
committed on the Jews there. Some of them had been murdered, others
fearfully wounded, many deprived of all their property, and their
Synagogues desecrated. Sir Moses forwarded all the letters on the
subject to Lord John Russell, and, as President of the Board of
Deputies of British Jews, requested the British Government to intercede
for the Jews, by giving instructions to the British Consuls to render
help and protection to the sufferers, as far as lay in their power; but
it took a long time to extinguish the flames of persecution. Letters
continued to arrive from villages and towns, imploring help.
A month or six weeks later a cry of distress reached him from
Gibraltar. Owing to the war which was then expected to ensue between
Spain and Morocco, the Jewish inhabitants of Tangier, fearing the
repetition of the brutal usage which they had experienced when the wild
Kabyle tribes came down to the coast in 1844, had fled from their homes
in a state of utter destitution.
Nearly 2700 of these unhappy people had arrived at Gibraltar from
Tangier, and it was but too probable that they would be followed by
many thousands of others from different parts of Morocco.
Sir Moses convened a special meeting of the Board of Deputies of the
British Jews. The Board formed itself into a committee of relief,
and energetically appealed to its co-religionists, not only in this
country, but throughout Europe and other parts of the world, for prompt
assistance.
Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore gave £200 towards the immediate relief
of the sufferers, and many benevolent persons of various denominations
followed with generous contributions.
To Sir W. Codrington, the Governor of Gibraltar, who manifested much
thoughtful humanity towards the unfortunate Jewish emigrants from
Tangier, Sir Moses had the pleasing duty to convey a vote of thanks
from the Board of Deputies.
Sir William, in acknowledging the receipt of Sir Moses' letter
enclosing the resolution, said that he was only carrying out the
intentions of Government in assisting refugees. "You will have heard,"
he observed, "that Government has since authorised me to give temporary
assistance to those necessitous persons, by affording them a bread
ration from the commissariat."
"The French Government," Sir William continued, "will receive into
Algeria those who wish to go there. I hope that many will avail
themselves, and that soon, of this permission, for it will be well for
them to seek at once their future permanent abode, wherever it may be."
It appears that the intention of the French Government to receive into
Algeria all who wished to go there, impelled another power to make a
similar offer to those who wished to go to Palestine; for, a day before
Sir William had written his letter to Sir Moses, Mr Kingsite called
on the latter, and stated that the Turkish Ambassador wished him to
inform Sir Moses that if the Jews were inclined to return to the Holy
Land, and could advance money to the Turkish Government to effect the
withdrawal of the existing coinage, they should have every liberty and
land, with all possible protection. Sir Moses told Mr Kingsite he did
not think that there was a single Jew in England who wished to return
at present, nor did he believe that a loan for that purpose would be
raised. Mr Kingsite was going to speak with a well-known house on the
subject.
_November 21st._--Sir Moses called on the Turkish Ambassador, who
received him very courteously, heard all he had to say, and entered
very fully into the whole affair of the Holy Land. He said all would go
well, and he would write to the Governor of Jerusalem, and same time
send him a copy of his letter which he had forwarded to him some time
since. He expressed himself as being anxious to see a colony of Jews in
Palestine.
Both the French and Turkish Governments, we see, were desirous of
having Jewish colonies in their respective countries; with the sole
difference, that the French authorities were content with the poor of
all classes, while the Turkish authorities only offered to extend their
privileges and protection to the rich colonist.
During the last month of the year Sir Moses received a visit from the
father of the unfortunate young Mortara. He gave him a note to Sir
Culling Eardly, who promised to do all in his power for the restoration
of the boy. A few days later Sir Moses convened a meeting of the
Mortara Committee, when it was resolved to write to Sir Culling Eardly,
that, having done all in their power in the Mortara case, they could
not attempt to do more, but hoped he would persevere and be successful.
In his capacity of Deputy-Lieutenant of the county, Sir Moses, together
with Captain Isaake, another Deputy-Lieutenant of the county, invited
Colonel Stothard of Dover to come to Ramsgate and select the land for a
battery to protect the harbour. On his arrival they went to Wellington
Crescent, and selected for that purpose a plot, 200 feet in length and
50 in depth, in the centre of the garden in front of the Crescent.
Sir Moses, ever anxious to serve his country, expressed himself as much
satisfied in having had the opportunity of assisting in so important a
cause.
Lady Montefiore's state of health, to which I have already alluded,
continued to be most unsatisfactory. Her condition frequently prevented
Sir Moses from attending meetings or special appointments in the city.