The Express.
London, England, 1857-12-11 00:00:00

JEWISH DISABILITIES.

On the motion of Lord J. Rosatt.t., the house resolved
Reel( Into • committee of the whole house—. To omeidarths
oath. of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration ; and also to
consider the disabilities affecting her Majesty's Jewish sub-
jects." In committee
Loyd J. RUSSELL—I aro glad to say that it will not b.
necomary I should long detain the committee, as this subject
has so Itequestly been under discumion, and u the Rouse
of Commons, having heard the very able statement of my
noble friend at the head of the government, when he
last year introduced a measure with a view to the &Malo-
dor' of Jews into parliament, is already fully aware that
the general principle of our legislation is not to disqualify
for legislative functions or public office any dam of her
Mejesty's subjects on amount of their religiona *aims, a
principle which of late years !ma been mtablebed in the cam
of the Roman oatholics and diameters, although in those
lustiness political reasons had in former times operated hs
favour of exclusion. The house Is also well aware that there
ie 110 positive disability affecting our Jewish fellow-subjeets,
and that their exclusion from this house is owing to the con-
etraction put on the osth of abjuration, and that that oath
we. not originally intended for such • purpose. (Haar,
hear.) So little is that the cue that the persons refuting the
oath of abjuration, namely, forty thousand of our Jewish
fellow-subjects, are in the eye of the law forty drowsed
popish recumnm—an instance of the absurdity of considering
them to have been originally contemplated in the framing of
the oath. I shall not now enter into the theological ques-
tion, and neither do I think it necessary to go into the
remora that exist for altering the premed oath, which on the
face of it is ao exceedingly absurd as to oblige members of
this holm to swear that they will not support the claims
to the crown of these realms of a person or persons
who really have no existence. I shall merely state the
nature of the bill I propose to introduce. The bill
of lad year contained a simple form of oath
not Mailer to that which I introduced In 1848, and which
might be taken by all members of the home, bat one which
could not ho taken by 'umbers of the Roman ostholic Derma-
lean. The oath which I propose to introduce on the -
peasant
circa/ion will contain the words " on the true faith at a
Christian." I introduce them because they ham • preecrip
tire value in the eyes of many persons, and likewise because
one oldie most eminent supporters of the Jewish claims—l
mean the right her. member for Bricks—has uprooted his
opinion that they should be retained ; but 1 propose that in
Mministaring the oath to Jews them words should be
omitted. (Hem, bear.) It follows of mune, and
• more logical way than in the bill Introduced
by toy noble friend last year, that the Jews will be disabled
from certain offices ertddt at present cannot be held by
Roman catholic*, as I do not propose to pit them in a posi-
tion superior to that of the Roman Whols, but to admit
them to prethely the sante privileges. I may say further,
that, although I do not propom by this bill to slew the oath
for Roman catholic*, because I consider that &aspirate quer
lion, yet I do not think that if this bill peee there will be any
"Need= made to an alteration of the oath of 1829, to mast
it may be taken by Roman catholic' without thous
repugnance whisk some of them now entertain. But
I. another gentles upon which I cannot refrain from detainiag
the commitete • few momenta, because I as. sure it is •
question which will aatundly ante. It so happens that In
the short aeries at 1847 which took place co the ettepeseiott