1868.
SERIOUS OUTBREAK AGAINST THE JEWS AT BERLAD--SIR MOSES
APPEALS TO THE MOLDAVIAN GOVERNMENT--THE REPLY--REPRESSIVE
BILL AFFECTING THE JEWS--THE GALATZ
INCIDENT--LORD SHAFTESBURY AND SIR MOSES--VISIT TO
THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.
During the latter part of December 1867 and nearly the whole of January
1868 he was confined to his chamber at Ramsgate by a severe attack of
bronchitis, and was just about to start by the advice of his medical
attendant for Tunbridge Wells or Reigate for the improvement of his
health, when, unfortunately, a report of a serious outrage caused him
to abandon the idea.
"I passed a restless night," he says, "and was very weak this morning,
but my letters were brought to my bedside about nine o'clock this
morning. Among them a letter from the Foreign Office, with a copy of
a despatch from Mr Green, Her Majesty's Consul-General at Bucharest,
dated 15th January, giving an account of a serious outbreak against the
Jews at Berlad in Moldavia."
After the assurance given to him by the Prince and his Ministers, and
the powerful support which had been promised by the British Government
and all the Great Powers, he was not at all prepared to hear so soon
of another outbreak in Moldavia, and the communication he now received
caused him great pain.
He immediately wrote to the Foreign Office to ask an audience of Lord
Stanley on the subject, and next day started for London, where he at
once proceeded to the Foreign Office to see Mr Hammond, taking with him
all the letters which had reached him in the morning from Moldavia.
Being informed that the Jews there had not applied to the English
Consul for advice and protection, he at once sent a telegram to the
Chief Rabbi of Berlad, urging him to appeal to the British Consul at
Bucharest.
_Tuesday, January 28th._--He called on Lord Stanley, accompanied by the
President of the London Committee of Deputies of the British Jews. His
Lordship received them most courteously, and said he had done all he
could, and would continue to do so.
_Wednesday, January 29th._--Sir Moses addressed a letter to Prince
Charles, and despatched it, by Lord Stanley's permission, through the
Foreign Office. Monsieur Stefan Golisue, Minister for Foreign Affairs,
sent a reply, of which the following, with the exception of a few
sentences, is a translation:--
"BUCHAREST, _7/19th February 1868_.
"SIR,--His Serene Highness Prince Charles I. has shown me the letter
which you have addressed to him, in favour of the Jewish population
of Roumania, in consequence of the troubles which happened at Berlad.
In requesting me to answer it, His Highness has also charged me to
thank you, sir, for your good wishes, and for the kind sentiments you
were pleased to express. In conformity with the declaration contained
in the speech from the throne, and true to the sentiments of equity
which this declaration attests--sentiments which you, sir, are good
enough to acknowledge and to praise, His Highness is determined not
to permit that any class of his subjects, whatever may be their
religion, shall ever be molested with impunity on account of their
creed, or for any other cause.
"Our august Sovereign also desires me to assure you, that those of
your co-religionists who have suffered in the troubles of Berlad will
be indemnified for all losses legally certified to have been caused
by these most regrettable occurrences, into which a most searching
enquiry will be made, in order to find out their real authors.
"Although I deplore as much as you, sir, these sad occurrences, it
is still my duty to caution you against the exaggerated accounts of
the same, given by several public organs. I am able to assure you
that, although most regrettable, they are far from having the gravity
which has been incorrectly attributed to them.--With the assurance of
my highest regard, I have the honour to be, sir, your very obedient
servant, "STEFAN GOLISUE."
Sir Moses published this letter in the _Times_, and, with a view of
further impressing upon the Roumanian Government the necessity of
putting a stop to the reported outrages, addressed the Minister for
Foreign Affairs in a suitable letter, at the same time enclosing him a
copy of the _Times_.
No stronger words, it will be seen, could be used than those given in
the Minister's letter regarding the good intentions of the Roumanian
Government. Unfortunately, however, in the very same month, and again
three months afterwards, reports of violence and organised measures of
oppression in Moldavia reached England, France, and Germany.
In a telegram from the Jewish community of Jassy, dated March 26th,
information is given to the effect that "thirty-one Radical Deputies,
including the President, have presented to the Chamber the following
Bill, which has been at once sent to the Sections:
"_1st._ The Jews shall not reside in the country. For residence in
the town, they must first obtain a special licence.
"_2nd._ The transgressors shall be treated as vagabonds, and expelled
by the municipalities.
"_3rd._ The Jews shall not buy nor sell houses.
"_4th._ The Jews shall not farm lands, forests, vineyards,
enclosures, pastures, mills, distilleries, public-houses, and inns.
"_5th._ The Jews shall not contract for any undertakings, nor be
partners with Christians for such objects.
"_6th._ The Jews shall not exercise any commerce without a licence
from the municipality; the transgressors shall be punished with
fines, and their suits shall not be entertained by the authorities.
"_7th._ The Jews shall not sell beverages and eatables, except to
their co-religionists.
"The Jewish committees shall be suppressed, and the laws contrary to
this act abrogated."
The news referring to Monsieur Bratiano's circular had already been
received by Her Majesty's Government long before it had been carried
out at Jassy, and no time was lost in transmitting proper instructions
to the Consul-General of Her Majesty's Government at Bucharest.
Before long the unfortunate occurrence at Galatz brought one more
cry of anguish and prayer for supplication. On July 14th, ten
Israelites, after being brought to Galatz from Jassy a few days
before, ill-treated, and employed at the vilest and most degrading
labour, were, by order of the Prefect, together with an eleventh
fellow-sufferer and co-religionist, carried to the opposite side of
the Danube, and there abandoned in the swamps and morasses, exposed
to the wind and weather, without food or shelter. These people were
then daily carried backwards and forwards--to one shore by the Turkish
soldiers, and to the other by the Roumanians. Three days later one of
the unfortunates was already missing, having undoubtedly met his death
in the swamps. On Sunday morning the ten were again brought over by the
Turks, but the Roumanian soldiers prevented them with their bayonets
from landing, and two (an old man and a young man) were carried away by
the stream and drowned. Seeing this, the officer on duty allowed the
remaining eight to come on board, but no further. Of those saved, one
was suffering from illness, and another had become insane.
The Austrian Consul, Monsieur Kremer, on hearing of it, took up the
matter, and immediately sent two boats from the Austrian ship of war to
the place to fetch the eight left alive, and to search for the bodies
of the dead. Of the bodies, but one (that of the old man) was found.
On the approach of the Austrian boats, the eight unfortunate sufferers
were taken to the guard-house, and afterwards set at liberty.
The British Government sent instructions to Mr Green, but the Roumanian
authorities laid the whole blame upon the Turks. Lord Stanley continued
sending the despatches from the Consul-General to Sir Moses almost as
soon as they arrived, for which favour Sir Moses always expressed his
deep gratitude; but the state of his co-religionists in Roumania caused
him much anxiety.
A gleam of hope, however, regarding the condition of the Jews in
another part of the world, came to gladden his heart.
A communication was made to him from Saffi in Morocco, referring to
the Jews at Abdá, the substance of which I copy from the _Times_ of
Tuesday, February 18th, 1868:--
"Letters received at Gibraltar from Saffi bring tidings that Hádj
Dris, the commissioner, who was sent by the Sultan to that port
to make an investigation into the circumstances of the murder and
robbery of several Jews in the province of Abdá, has caused a
letter from the Sultan to be read in public to the two Governors of
Abdá, expressing His Majesty's severe displeasure on account of the
atrocities. The Sultan desires that the Jews should be guarded from
harm, and well treated, and reminds his officers that the Prophet
ordered the Mahommedans to protect them. His Majesty adds, 'Whos
ever shall kill a Jew we shall put him to death.' 7500 Spanish
dollars have been given as compensation to the Jews, and the Moors
who were suspected of having committed the crimes, but against whom
there was not evidence to justify their being put to death, have
been sent in chains to Morocco, to be there imprisoned during the
Sultan's pleasure. The Consular officers at Saffi were requested
to attend a meeting of the Moorish authorities and principal Jews
of the town, when this satisfaction was offered to the Jews and
cheerfully accepted by them. It said, that the British, French, and
other Governments had made sundry representations and remonstrances
to the Sultan on the subject of atrocities, which led to these
proceedings. The Sultan has afforded another proof of his intention
to give practical effect to his promise to Sir Moses Montefiore,
that equal justice should be administrated to his Mahommedan and
Jewish subjects. He has offered a reward of 100 Spanish dollars for
the apprehension, dead or alive, of the murderer of the Austrian
interpreter at Tetuan, and ordered that any Moor sheltering or giving
food to the murderer shall be treated as an accomplice."
"If a monarch, ruling over an Empire so far away from Europe, the
land of civilization, acts so energetically in the cause of justice
and humanity, and expresses publicly his severe displeasure to the
officers in charge of the administration of the law of the country,
how much more," says Sir Moses, "is there every reason to hope that
His Serene Highness, Prince Charles, himself a most enlightened
ruler among the Potentates of Europe, who has repeatedly expressed
his disapproval of acts of injustice, will not rest in his humane
exertions until, even more effectively than the Sultan of Morocco is
always able to do, he will have secured to all who dwell under his
sway, irrespective of their religious convictions, full protection
and the rights and privileges to which every loyal subject is fully
entitled."
Sir Moses having done his utmost for the welfare of his brethren in
the East, with what conspicuous success has already been seen, he now
turned his attention to the affairs of the Hebrew community in England.
_Monday, May 11th._--He writes: "I feel rather better; have
more energy, and very anxious to be, if possible, useful to my
co-religionists. Therefore am reluctant to refuse the proffered
appointment of President of the Board of Deputies of the British Jews,
as perhaps it may be the means of promoting the general unity of all
the Jews in England." "I think," he adds, "our Members of Parliament
should be _ex officio_ members of the Board, as the best medium of
expressing the sentiments of the Board in the House of Commons. To-day
I went over the House of my dear Judith College, and was pleased with
it. I wish Dr Loewe would come and at once set it afloat."
It appears to have been the great object of his desire to secure the
strict adherence to the Statutes, enrolled by him in Chancery, on the
26th of February 1866, for the regulation of the College; for, on his
referring again in his Diary, four months later, to that institution,
in an entry dated East Cliff, Thursday, July 16th, 1868, he writes:
"After deep consideration, and with the sincere desire that it may
be the means of securing more entirely the fulfilment of my wishes
respecting the conduct of the persons selected to fill the buildings
of my dear, dear Judith College, and the strict performance of their
duties, I have added Dr Loewe to the Trust of the property, in the room
of my lamented friend Benjamin Cohen."
He now occupied himself with the selection of the various objects
necessary for the internal fittings of the College, such as
book-cases, desks, and forms, made after a model he had seen at the
great Exhibition of 1851. Kind relatives and friends sent him costly
presents, such as a beautiful velvet curtain, embroidered with gold,
for the Ark, and a mantle for the scroll of the Holy Law, from his
sisters, Mrs Gompertz and Mrs Cohen; handsome embroidered covers for
the pulpit from his nieces, Mrs Sebag-Montefiore and Mrs H. Guedalla;
a splendid picture representing the vision of Ezekiel, painted
and presented by Mr Hart, R.A., and many other suitable objects,
all of which gave Sir Moses great pleasure. He himself deposited
in the College whatever he thought interesting to the student of
Jewish history, out of his own large collection of valuable objects.
His ardent desire to promote the study of Hebrew and theological
literature, and his great exertions to ameliorate the lot of his
brethren wherever they were persecuted, earned for him the high esteem
even of those not belonging to his own faith. As an instance, I will
only state that in this year steps were taken by one of the highest and
most esteemed in the land to raise Sir Moses to the peerage.
The late Earl of Shaftesbury, a man of unshaken belief in Scripture, in
Christian dogma, and in prayer, entertained sentiments of the highest
respect for Sir Moses.
Mr Edwin Hodder, the author of "The Life and Work of the Seventh Earl
of Shaftesbury," referring to the desire of his Lordship to see Sir
Moses raised to the Peerage, thus writes (vol. iii. p. 234):
"To Mr Gladstone, the new Premier, Lord Shaftesbury preferred a
similar request to one he had made without effect to Mr Disraeli when
he was Prime Minister. It was as follows:--
LORD SHAFTESBURY _to_ THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE.
_December 22nd,_ 1868.
"DEAR GLADSTONE,--The new arrangements you have made in respect of
certain young peers in the House of Lords will prove, I doubt not,
very beneficial.
"But I have an impulse, which I cannot restrain, an impulse both
from opinion and feeling, to suggest another movement; and I make it
far less on the presumption of tendering advice than of disburdening
myself of a strong desire. The Jewish question has now been settled.
The Jews can sit in both Houses of Parliament. I myself resisted
their admission, not because I was adverse to the descendants of
Abraham, of whom our blessed Lord came according to the flesh,
very far from it, but because I objected to the mode in which that
admission was to be effected.
"All that is passed away, and let us now avail ourselves of the
opportunity to show regard to God's ancient people.
"There is a noble member of the house of Israel, Sir Moses
Montefiore, a man dignified by patriotism, charity, and
self-sacrifice, on whom Her Majesty might graciously bestow the
honours of the Peerage.
"It would be a glorious day for the House of Lords when that grand
old Hebrew were enrolled on the lists of the hereditary legislators
of England.--Truly Yours,
"SHAFTESBURY."
Mr Disraeli (Mr Hodder writes) had replied in a "gushing" letter,
expressing his great willingness to do anything, but stating that he
was, for obvious reasons, less than any other Prime Minister in a
position to grant the request.
Mr Gladstone replied that the case should be carefully "considered,"
and made enquiry as to what Sir Moses Montefiore's fortune was supposed
to be, and whether he had children, but there he allowed the matter to
rest.
It was a great disappointment, the same author writes, to Lord
Shaftesbury, who had the highest admiration for the character of the
great Hebrew philanthropist. The admiration was mutual, and lasted to
the end of their lives.
On one occasion, he relates, Sir Moses sent to Lord Shaftesbury a
cheque for £95 to be used for the Field Lane Ragged School, or any
other purpose he might think proper. It seems a curious amount. It was
sent on the day that his wife would, had she lived, have attained her
95th year.
The last letter Lord Shaftesbury ever received from Sir Moses
Montefiore was written with his own hand in his hundredth year, and was
as follows:--
SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE _to_ LORD SHAFTESBURY.
"EAST CLIFF LODGE, "RAMSGATE, _July 9th, 1884_.
"MY DEAR LORD SHAFTESBURY,--Your able appeal in this day's _Times_ on
behalf of the fund to provide the means of giving the poor children
of the Ragged Schools a day's enjoyment in the country has this
moment been read to me, and, sympathising as I do with the desirable
object, I enclose, with very much pleasure, cheque for £15, with the
hope that the appeal may be both liberally and cheerfully responded
to.
"Believe me, my dear Lord Shaftesbury, that I am delighted with the
opportunity thus afforded me of evincing my heartfelt appreciation
of the noble and benevolent works in which you have for a very long
period taken so benevolent an interest.
"May God help you and prosper your labours. Hoping you are in the
enjoyment of good health.--I am, my dear Lord Shaftesbury, very truly
yours,
"MOSES MONTEFIORE."
Lord Shaftesbury sent the letter and cheque to Mr Kirk, the Secretary
of the Ragged School Union, with the following note:--
"_July 12th, 1884._
"DEAR KIRK,--You may keep the letter as a record of a man in his
hundredth year, who can feel and write like one of five-and-twenty.
Do not suppose that I have omitted to thank him. That grand old
Hebrew is better than many Christians.--Yours,
"SHAFTESBURY."
Having during the last two months often complained to his medical
attendant of being weak and unwell, the latter advised a change of
climate. Accordingly, on the 6th of November, accompanied by Mrs
Gompertz, his sister, Mrs Helbert, his sister-in-law, and Dr Canham,
his physician, he left England on a visit to the south of France and
Italy.