The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-06-07 00:00:00

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DEATH OF BARON ROTHSCHILD,

Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild, who was born
in 1808 (the year in which the London Society for
Promoting Christianity among the Jews was esta-
blished), expired shortly before six o'clock on Tuesday
morning, at his town residence, 148, Piccadilly, after
a short illness, the gravity of which was not suspected
till near the last moment —The Times gives the fol-
lowing particulars of the Baron's last hours :

"For more than 20 years he had been a martyr to rheu-
matic gout, and was wheeled from room to room of his house
or from his clrrisge to his office in a chair constructed for
the purpose; but up to the last working-day before the day
of his de ith he continued to be the mainspring of a business
which had no parailel in magnitude. He held his usual
business-levee in New-court, St. Swithin's-lane, on Friday in
last week, and those who brought him from time to time
the latest news of the various markets or saw him
for the purpose of obtaining subscriptions to chari-
ties perceived no indication that they then for the
last time saw proofs of the well-stored mind, the
tenacious memory, and the sound decision which were
known throughout Europe. The late Baron de Rothschild
was in the habit of driving every day to Gunnersbury, the
favourite residence of the Baroness, at Acton, the gardens of
which are famous in horticulture, and are in the midst of a
wide domain of land in his possession. He had passed
some time there as usual and returned to Piccadilly on Sun-
day afternoon. He then complained of feeling unwell, and
appeared to be forgetful. Sir William Gull and Dr.
Chepmell were sent for, the attack was pronounced to be
one of gout, but not of such nature as to call for the
return from Paris of his eldest son, Sir Nathaniel de Roths-
child. On Monday, the BaLk holiday, at about mid-day, he
suffered from a seizure of an epileptic character, and never
recovered consciousness, and dted at 6.30 on rueaday morn-
ing. His sons, Mr. Alfred de Rothschild, a Director of the
Bank of England, and Mr Leopold de Rithschild, who,
under the pseudonym of 'Mr. Acton,' had recently gained a
success in the Dtrby of which his father was very proud,
were with him all the night up to his death. Sir Nathaniel
de Rothschild, member for Aylesbury, the eldest son, was
summoned by telegraph from Paris, and arrived on Tuesday
afternoon."

The 2'imee then proceeds t, give some interesting notes on
the history of the family of Rothchlids, and the political
career of the late baron. We make the following extracts
from the article The name of Btron Rothschild'
will, perhaps, be no longer borne in England, for Sir
Nathaniel de BothsAild is called by the title of the
baronetcy inherited from the late Sir Anthony, his uncle It
was first applied to Baron Nathan Meyer de Rothschild, of
Frankfort, who settled first in Manchester and afterwards
In London at the end of the last century, and had his
rank in virtue of letters patent of the Austrian
Emperor. In 1804 the father of the late Baron
Lionel de -Rothschild received letters of denization from
George 111., and the deceased Baron was born four years
later, on November 22, in a room in New-court, situate as
nearly as possible on the site in which he sat in the arm-
chair from which he controlled the exchanges of Europe.
As lately as last Friday he pointed out to a visitor the pre-
cise locality of the dwelling•house which once existed there.
The bounties of his mother, a daughter of Mr. Levy Barnet
Cohen, are still remembered.
"The history of the family in finance has often been told;
how it was by ransoming Frankfort from the French in
1792 and by the faithful keeping of a deposit commltted to
his care by William, Elector of Hesse, that Mayer Anislem
Rothschild became distinguished above all other dwellers
in the Jaden-gasse and left five sons who settled in five great
cities—Frankfort, Naples. Vienea, Paris and London. A few
3 ears ago the name of ' Bar -it Rothschild' was familiar in
England as the designation el two men who were very different
iu tastes, but united by the most intimate brotherly love.
One was Baron Mayer de Rothschild, who was eminently
distinguished for the discharge of the social duties of his
position and preceded his nephew in winning the Derby; the
other was Baron Lionel de Rothschild, to whom every great
financial question and the decision as to all the more impor-
tant charitable actions of the family were referred Baron
Lionel de Rothschild, an Englishman by birth, had been a
student at Gottingen, and learnt business under the in-
valuable direction of his father, Baron Nathan Mayer, who
gave news of the Battle of Waterloo to the English Govern-
ment, and is the hero of a hundred anecdotes of the
Royal Exchange. The pillar at which he used to stand there
satin pointed out to every tonrist. The late Baron Lionel
de Rothschild was the eldest son, and in all senses the head
of the house ; his younger brothers, Baron Mayer, late mem
her for Hythe, and Sir Anthony, of Aston Clinton, pre-
deceased him. He succeeded his father in the direction of
the English house of Rothschild in 1836, having for some
time previously to that taken a leading part in the business.
To trace the great monetary transactions in which he was en-
gaged would be to give the financial history of the last fifty
years. In most of the operations in which he participated,
the directien was confided to him. His judgment as to the
moment for buying and selling, his delicacy in feeling the
pulse of the market, were almost universally deferred to. It
may be mentioned that the Irish Famine Loan in 1847—a
memorable year in his history—was nekotiated by Boron
Lionel de Rothschild; he raised £16,000,000 for the E,gUsh
Government in 1854, and was for twenty years the agent of
the Russian Government. He took a large share in the
successful funding of the United States debt. He provided
the funds for the instant purchase of the Suez Canal shares,
and managed the business of the group of bankers who gua-
ranteed to the German Empire the permanence of the
exchanges, and so facilitated the payment of the French
indemnity.". • .

The late Baron succeeded to the title on the death of his
father, the late Baron Nathan Mayer de Rothschild, who
began business in Manchester in 1793, removed to London in
18e3, and died immensely rich on July 28, 1835. Toe Baron
James, the then head of the family, died at Paris In
November, 1838. The deceased B iron was first elected
one of the members for the City of London, in the
Liberal interest, in August, 1147. Two years after-
wards he. was returned for the same constituency by
a majority of 6,619 votts, his opponent (Lord John
• Moaners) polling 3,104. In 1852 and 1857 he was again
return.-d, bat, owb g to the non-passing a the
Jewi4i ()Atha Bill, was not permitted, as in the case of pre-
irious successful elections, to take his seat in the House. In
July, 1658, a measure was passed enabling Jews to sit in Par-
liament, and on the 26th of the same month the late Baron
tool his seat in the House To commemorate this event he
endowed a scholarship in the City of London School. In 1867
he founded the Jews' Synagogue at Barnsbury, London, and
two years afterward,s a new central synagogue in Ureat Port.
land-street, London. Baron Rothschild lost his seat for the
City of London at the general election in 1874.