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bo by the reports of fanatics, who charged the Jews with all aort* of 

 crime*, banuhed, in 1180, all the Jews from his dominions, confis- 

 cated their property, and declared all debt* due to them to be annulled. 

 Almit t.-nty Teart afterward* the Jewa were allowed to re-enter 

 France, which they did in great numbers. ThU was the beginning of 

 aeriea of alternate proscription* and relaxations, continued under the 

 following reigns for about two centuries, until they were expelled 

 under Charles VI. in 1394.- Although the law* continued very severe 

 gainst the Jews, and were sometimes invoked with much zeal, many 

 continued to reside in France. The Revolution of 1789 brought them 

 relief ; all Frenchmen were declared equal ; and throughout the 

 ppffikal and constitutional changes which have since token place in 

 France, their right* have been respected. Napoleon I. in 1806 assembled 

 a sanhedrim at Paris, and submitted to them twelve questions con- 

 cerning the moral and social doctrines and discipline of the Jews. 

 Their answers being found satisfactory, an ordinance was issued giving 

 the Jews a regular organisation throughout France. They are 

 subjected to the conscription, and are assessed to taxes like the rest of 

 their countrymen ; and they are eligible to all political employments, in 

 which some of them have reached the highest ranks. The Jews in 

 France, in 1850, numbered 73,995. 



In Germany perhaps the Jews have suffered the most persecution, 

 although they have always been numerous there, especially in the free 

 towns. Besides the severities of the laws, they were exposed to 

 ni.Mvti bursts of popular fanaticism. They were massacred at the cry 

 of " Hep," " Hep." the initials of the word " Hierosolyma est perdita." 

 St. Bernard on<l Tope Eugenius III. loudly reprobated these atrocities. 

 These persecutions almost of necessity drove them to the practice of 

 usury, as affording the best security against their effects being plundered 

 by a mob. In 1782 the writings of Leasing, Mendelssohn, and others 

 began to produce their effect*, for in this year an Austrian edict for a 

 limited toleration was issued; by 1803 the capitation tax was removed 

 from them in all the states of the German empire ; by 1811 the rights 

 of citizenship had been extended to them in most of the smaller 

 German states ; in 1812 they were placed nearly on an equality with 

 their fellow subjects in Prussia ; by 1833 this had extended to all the 

 other states ; in the disturbances of 1848 they were promised an entire 

 equality, but the promise has not been as yet fulfilled. The Jewish 

 population in Germany is large ; in the Prussian territories, in 1855, 

 they numbered 234,248 ; in the Austrian empire they amounted 

 to 853,304. Among the smaller states, ducal Hesse has the largest 

 proportion, there being 28,700 Jews in a population of 845,571. 



In Italy the Jews seem to have enjoyed greater though not always 

 uninterrupted security. They were expelled from Naples and Sicily 

 by Charles V., although he afforded them a moderate amount of 

 protection in the empire. But in the Italian republics and trading 

 towns the Jews formed a numerous anil prosperous body, from their 

 commercial aptitude, and more particularly from their trading inter- 

 course with the Levant. In the Papal territories they were sometimes 

 <! and sometimes persecuted; but here, as elsewhere, the 

 1:.: i mat ion has worked in their favour. They were, however, con- 

 fined to a particular quarter in the towns, called the ghetto. Sardinia 

 permitted them to become possessors of landed property, and this 

 privilege, with others, will now be extended to a wider circle. In Italy 



are supposed to be 47,000 Jews. 



In Holland, Denmark, and Sweden, more especially since the Refor- 

 mation, the Jews have lived undisturbed ; and in Holland they have 

 long formed a highly flourishing, numerous, honourable, and intelligent 

 community, amounting in 1859 to 64,070 in number. 



In Poland, Catrsimir the Great, about 1360, afforded an asylum to the 

 Jews when they were being persecuted in almost every other part of 

 Europe. They became numerous, and diffused themselves widely into 

 Russia. Their united numbers in those states in 1858 is given 

 as 1,821,678; and though not in all respect* on an equality with 

 theciti/'ii. tiny enjoy many privileges, and are generally above the 

 erf. They are seldom cultivators, and in many districts have almost 

 entire possession of some peculiar profession or trade. 



Throughout the* dominions of the Sultan the Jews are allowed to 

 settle and follow their trades, though looked upon with scorn by the 

 Osmanlec* ; and they number, it is stated, 800,000. In the regencies 

 of Barbary they have settled likewise in great numbers. 



(Jost, ' Allgemeine Gcschichte dcs Israelitischen Volkes ; ' Millman, 

 ' History of the Jews ; ' Knch and Gruber's ' Allgemeine Kncyklupiidie ; ' 

 Meyer's ' Grosse Conversations- Lexicon ;' ' Almanacb de Gotha,' 1860. 

 It docs not appear at what time the Jews found their way to this 

 island, but they were settled here in the Saxon period, and as early as 

 A.D. 750. From the time of the Conquest the Jews in England rapidly 

 increased in number. Under the first three Norman kings they lived 

 undisturbed, so far as we are informed, and apparently acquired great 

 wealth. But under Stephen and his successors they suffered grievously 



f r. .in the rapacity of the kings and the bigoted intolerance of the people. 

 The cruel persecutions which they experienced from all persons, both 

 lay and ecclesiastic, poor and rich, are fully attested. r own 



writers, but the evidence of their enemies. Finally, in the rr 

 Edward I., about 121)0, all the Jews were banished from the kingdom. 

 Their numbers at that time are conjectured (but on what grounds we 

 are not aware) to have been between 16,000 and 16,000. It was not 

 till after the Restoration, 1660, that the Jews again settled in England ; 

 and though under the Protectorate they hod entered into negotiations 

 with Cromwell to obtain permission to enter the island, nothing seems 

 to have been done in the matter, and those who have investigated the 

 subject bring forward no proof of leave being formally granted to them 

 to return. After the Restoration it seems probable that they came in 

 gradually without either permission or opposition, and since that time 

 foreign Jews have been on the same footing as other aliens with respect 

 to entering the country. In the year 1753 on act was passed to ena'.le 

 foreign Jews to be naturalised without taking the sacrament ; but the 

 act was repealed in the following session, under the influence of the 

 popular feeling, which was most strongly opposed to the measures of 

 1753. Since that year they have lived in the United Kingdom un- 

 molested. 



During their residence in England, up to their banishment in the 

 time of Edward I., the Jews were considered as the villains and bonds- 

 men of the king, a relation which seems to explain the powi : 

 their |>ersons and property which was assumed and exercised by the 

 king in the most oppressive manner. They however could purchase 

 and hold land, subject only to the right of the king, whatever it might 

 be, to levy heavy taxes on them and seize their lands if they were not 

 paid. By the act of the 55th of Henry III. the .lews were oY 

 incapable of purchasing or taking a freehold interest in land, but 

 might hold, as in time past they were accustomed to hold, houses in 

 the cities, boroughs, and towns where they resided. Anothr 

 3 Edward I., forbade Jews from alienating in fee, either to .-' 

 Christian, any houses, rents, or tenements which they then hod, or 

 disposing of them in any way without the king's consent ; t h, 

 permitted to purchase houses and curtilages in the cities and boroughs 

 where they then resided, provided they held them in chief of the king; 

 and they were further permitted to take lands to farm for any term 

 not exceeding ten years ; such permission however was not to continue 

 in force for more than fifteen years from the date of the act. Since 

 the time of their banishment no statute has been passed which in 

 direct terms affects the right of the Jews to hold real estates in 

 England; and it has been a matter of dispute whether they could 

 legally hold such estate. 



In March, 1828, the first step was taken towards their emancipation 

 by the Corporation of London rescinding their order of 1785, that 

 baptised Jews should not bo admitted to the freedom of the city. 

 From 1831 repeated Bills were brought into the House of Commons 

 for the removal of the political disabilities of the Jews, whieh in 1836 

 and 1842 were passed in the lower house but rejected by the Lords. 

 In August, 1846, however, on act was passed (9 & 10 Viet. cap. 69, 

 Religious Disabilities Relief Act), by which they were enabled t.. ln.ld 

 property, to endow schools and other charitable foundations, 

 and repealed the provisions as to their dress, the necessity of attending 

 Christian worship, and as to their wearing a badge of yellow i 

 The next year another act legalised their marriages. In 18.W ih.ii 

 places of religious worship were placed on the same footing as those of 

 Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters. By the Reform Act in 

 1832 they had been admitted to the exercise of the elective franchise ; 

 and by the 21 & 22 Viet. cap. 49, passed July 23, 1858, they w, i,. 

 made eligible for seats in Parliament, by the omission from the usual 

 oath " on the true faith of a Christian," in any case where the person 

 elected shall declare himself to be a Jew. 



The number of Jews in the United Kingdom bos been estimated at 

 80,000, which is probably under the real number. Of these, 20,000 

 are supposed to be in London; while in Scotland and Ireland their 

 numbers ore few. According to the Census of 1851, the Jews in 

 England and Wales hod 63 synagogues, with accommodation for 

 8438 worship]* i> ; in Scotland only one synagogue, accommodating 

 67 worshippers, at Edinburgh. They are also numerous in the 

 British colonies and in the United States of An y ore 



to be found in every quarter of the known world, even in 

 in Morocco and other parts of Africa, as well as in Asia, they are com- 

 paratively numerous ; while in very few places is there now any active 

 persecution against them or their faith. 



.1 li i. or G1GUE, an animated quick donee-tune, in six-eight time, to 

 be found in the sonatas of Corelli, Handel, and other composers till 

 towards the middle of the 18th century. The jig, or at least the name, 

 is unknown in modern music ; though in a French work of recent 

 date, we are told that it is still in use in England 



END OF VOLUME IV. 



BIUDBOBT AMU EVAKO, miHTElIS, WH'TtrBURS 





