The Express.
London, England, 1853-02-25 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 25.

Tnz House of Commons has decided by a majority
of 29 upon going into committee upon the disabili-
ties affecting the Jews. This is another proof of
the utter impossibility of maintaining much longer
sine sole restriction in a representative system which
has gradually emancipated itself from trammels
which were fixed upon it in days of superstition and
discord. The speech of Lord JOHN Russz.u. contains
everything that can be well said upon a topic upon
which public opinion has been long made up, and is
worth peewit for its terseness and generally ability.
Bir ROBERT biotin, who admitted that the ex-
clusively Protestant character of the House
was gone, made a worse defence than ever of the slight
remnant of intolerance that he wished to preserve.
In days long pest kings and nobles of the Norman
race were addicted to the practice of drawing the
teeth of refractor's, Jews as a mode of punishment or
extortion. In modern times we have contented our-
selves with employing the process allegorically.
Drawing the teeth of the Children of Israel has
meant for many a long year little more than pre-
venting the despised race from exercising the most
valuable privileges of citizenship. Modern Europe
has condescendingly answers Ito Shylock's indignant
interpelletion that it may be granted that a
Jew truly " katis eyes and hands, and organs',
and dimensions," and in fact every article enu-
merated in the indignant merchant's catalogue.
Civilisation has taught modern Europe thus much,
and something more. It has naturalised Jews—it
has made them electors, members of municipal corpo-
rations, and magistrates. Here, however, it has
stopped. It has in England, at least, prevented the
Jews from exercisiug senatorial functions. The Jews
found &house of bondage in Europe for many dreary
centuries. For years they toiled through the barren
desert. At last they arrived in the promised land.
They have achieved everything they attempted, until
they have come in sight of the hostile Jericho. Up
to elopement time this has resisted all their attacks.
But the fortifications have been invested—the trum-
pets have sounded—we are awaiting the last blast,
when the walls shall fall, and the Children of Israel
—natives of free England—feel themselves in the
possession of all the privileges of nationality.
The question that was mooted last night in the
House of Commons is one of a class which excites
attention merely. on account of its powering a weak
but obstinate principle of vitality without being able
to exercise any of the functions of life. People look
upon it with the same feelings as those with which
they look upon the expiring flame of a candle. It
burns obstinately in the socket, yet it gives no light.
It shoots up for a moment into unnatural brilliancy,
but only to sink into more hopeless darkness.
The lookers-cu, however, know that it must
go out, that in spite of • feverish spark
or two it must be extinguished, nay that it must ex-
tinguish itself. All the world knows of course that
English Jews must be admitted to the privilege of
election to Parliament. This point has been settled
any time this last twenty years. The hope of keep-
ing them out lingered, perhaps, in one or two places
—ln Oxford, for instance. But the pet member of
the University, the present CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER, told his constituents, at the risk of
losing his seat, that the time had gone by when re-
ligious dogmas were to be made use of to exclude
men from their national rights. Mr. Ouneronts
vote on the subject let the Oxford bigots know that
their day had gone by. The Protectionists
kept op the anti-Jewish ay, either for con-
science or for party's sake, for some time;
but their chivalrous leader, Lord Grottos BEN-
TINCK, voted against them, and threw up his leader-
ship, after he had done so. He would not " march
through Coventry" with a regiment clothed in the
=age of ancient prejudice. Every one is per-
&at the very reasoning which first relaxed
one Jewish disqualifleation, is equally valid in sup-
port of the relaxation of the list. When Baron
EoisscmLD's parents, with ' their co-religion-
ists in Frankfort, were freed from the ne-
cessity of retiring to rest at a certain
hour in the dirtiest quarter in the (city, when
they were allowed to break through the custom or
law which had hitherto rigidly confined them to the
middle of the road, to prevent their contaminating
the passimgers on the pavement—the whole principle
of Giessen was given up. It needed no prophet to
tell that the days of the triumph of persecution of
this kind were sealed. - - - -

The repel of the Jewish disabilities will put the
crown to a series of acts, the study of which would
convinom the opponents of the repeal that they have
been fighting against a tendency which is one
of the most distinguishing features of our
Parliamentary history since the Reformation. At
the very commencement of this movement we had a
Church Parliament : a legislative assembly, in which
all were Churchmen. This state of things endured
but for a time. It was interrupted during the
Commonwealth, but reestablished at the Restora-
tion. Bat the preceding period had developed forces
which set themselves in opposition to the idea of a
Church Parliament. A contest arose, marked by
fierce struggle, but which terminated after a
time in the utter defeat of the Church
theory. The repeal of the Test Acts set-
tled the question. The defeated party then threw
themselves upon another scheme of tactics. If we
cannot be all members of the Establishment, it was
said, let us all be Protestants. Let us at least all be
members of some reformed communit. This answered
for a time, but the Emancipation Bill passed, and
the plan was shattered for ever. A crowd of
Catholics rushed into vacant seats in the House, and
strange to my the Legislature exercised its functions
as bravely as ever. The successive triumphs were
enough to show that we were fast drifting to a period'
when nationality, and not theological peculiarity,
would be recognised as the condition of entrance into
the House of Representatives. Acting upon this re-
cognition Quakers presented themselves in the House,
and were not expelled, in spite of their peculiar
notions with regard to oaths.
The exclusion principle has been given up long
ago. There are the broad facts of history to confirm

EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENINCL IzEBR-U-ARY 25,- 1853.

, .
during the day, and for several loins in the after-
noon rain fell steadily, while the temperature was
mild. But between 9 and 10 o'clock the wind blew
with extreme violence, and a storm of hail, thunder,
and lightning ensued, lasted for about half an hour,
and immediately afterwards it froze hard. The
superstitious ay that thunder in February portends
a revolution in the course of the year, and call to
mind the fact that the same phenomenon occurred in
the years 1830 and 1848.
This day (Feb. 24) being the anniversary of the
revolution of 1848, there was some expectation that
an attempt would be made to make some sort of
republican demonstration at the foot of the column
in the Place de la Beadle. Nwhing of the kind,
however, took place. Three or four extra sergens-
de-ville on duty, walked round about the column,
keeping a sharp look out. I maw them prevent two
or three people in blouses from approaching the rail-
ings, a proceeding strangely contrasting with the,
inscription yet conspicuous in front of the column,
"To the glory of those French citizens who took
arms, and fought in defence of public liberty, on the
27th, 28th, and 29th July, 1830." There were troops
in the guard-house at hand, who would instantly
have dispersed anything like a procession. But there
were not more people than usual about the spot. I
understand it has been frequently in contemplation
of late to take down this column of July, an
eyesore to the present government, as being at once a
monument of liberty and Orli anism. I believe the
idea is by no means abandoned, but it is difficult to
find a pretext that would pass with the inhabitants
of the Faubourg St. Antoine. People who know
them well say they would resent the destruction of
this mass of iron and brags more than the arbitrary
transportation and imprisonment of thousands of
their fellow citizens.

PARIS, WIDNIIIRDAT EVeNING.
A law suit, decided yesterday by the Council of
State, revives the recollection of a curious episode of
the revolution of 1830. While the fight was raging
in the street an obscure citizen, named Dubourg, who
had never been a soldier in his life, appeared on
horseback in the uniform of a lieutenant-general, sue-
eroded in passing himself off as an officer of that
rank, put himself at the head of a large body. of in-
surgents, and did signal service to the revolutionary
cause. Louis Philippe was so grateful to the self-
constituted general, that he confirmed his rank, by
signing a regular commission in his favour. General
Dubourg, thus encouraged to think that he had done
the " state some service," brought in a bill of 42,000 E,
which he stated he had expended in the pur-
chase of horses and the pay of his irregu-
lar troops. A committee appointed to con-
sider all claims arising out of the events of the
" three glorious days " reported against the claim.
Bat the minister of the day supported it, and in 1832
the item was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies
as part of the budget. The house rejected the claim,
but from that time up to 1848 2,000 fr. a year was
regularly paid to the general out of secret service
money. The pension then ceased, and after some
delay General Dubourg renewed his demand for
42,000 fr., and brought it forward asaal debt
from the state, It may well be supposed that a
claim of this kind for services rendered to the Or-
leans family, even if better founded than the
general's appears to me, would not just now
be looked upon with much favour, and ac-
cordingly it has been rejected by the Coun-
cil of State. There is a very amusing account
of this General Dubourg, and the part taken
by him in the revolution of 1630, in the memoirs of
Alexandre Dumas, now publishing in the feuilleton
of the Presse.

I have seen to-day a letter from Vienna, which
states, although of course I do not guarantee the fact,
that the Hungarian who attempted the life of the
Emperor of Austria was the husband of a woman
who wu flogged to death by the Austrian authori-
ties at Peath in 1849.

It was stated in all the official accounts of the re-
cent visit of the Emperor and Empress to the Opera
that M. Nestor Roqueplan, the manager, conducted
them to the imperial box, walking backwards with
two wax candles in his hinds. lam told that M.
Roqueplan assures all his friends that this is not
true, and he has applied to several newspapers to
contradict the statement. The journals, having a due
sense of their responsibility in reference to a solemn
affair of imperial etiquette, refuse to insert any other
contradiction than a letter from M. Roqueplan,
authenticated by his signature. He shrinks from
writing such a letter, although much vexed at being
supposed to have acted what he considers a ridiculous
part, and so this important matter rests.