The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-10 00:00:00

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LORD MAYOR'S DAY.

INTRODUCTION OF THE LORD MAYOR TO THE
BARONS OF THE COURT OF EXCHEQUER. A
few minutes before two o'clock the Lord Mayor,e the
late Lord Mayor, the Right Hon. the Recorder, ld r.m
Town an
A
Finnie, Alderman Sir W. Cubitt, Alderman and Sheriff
Kennedy, Alderman and Sheriff Rose, the Clerk,
the City. Solicitor, and several of the members of the Court
of Common Corincil entered the Court. A slight mistake
occurred in the positions occupied by the Lord Mayor and
the late Lord Mayor. According to the usual practice, the
Lord Mayor ought to have taken his station at the right
hand of the Recorder, and the late Lord Mayor on the left
of that right hon. gentleman ; but by some inadvertence
the late Lord Mayor was placed at the right hand of the
new Lord Mayor—•a circumstance to which, it will be seen,
the Lord Chid' Baron alluded at the close of his address.
The Lord Chief Baron, Mr. Baron Parke, Mr. Baron Al-
derson, and Mr. Baron Martin having taken their seats on
the bench,
The RECORDER, addressing them, said that in pursuance
of the duties attached to the office ho had the honour to
hold, and in maintenance of an ancient right, ho had the
honour to appear in that court upon that occasion for the
purpose of presenting to their Lordships, the Barons of her
Majesty's Exchequer, the gentleman who had been se-
lected by the citizens of London, in the exorcise of their
prerogative, to fill the chief seat of authority for the
ensuing year he had the honour to introduce to their
Lordships Mr. David Salomons' who had been elected by
his fellow-citizens to fill the high office of Lord Mayor.
On former occasions it had been one of his duties to give
utterance to the expression of his confidence in the ex-
cellence of the selection which had been made by the
citizens of London in the gentleman who had preceded
the Lord Mayor in that high office, but upon the pre-
sent occasion the circumstances concerning that choice
were of a nature so novel and so important that he felt it
a portion of his duty to express his opinion that the day
upon which the present Lord Mayor was elected would
form a memorable day not only in the annals of the city of
London but in therhistory of religious freedom. It was
well known that the present Lord Mayor was a member of
the Jewish persuasion, themembers of which had for many
ages been scattered throughout the earth, had been a pro-
scribed people, and had been the marked objects for bitter
oppression and cruel persecution ; but of later times that
oppression and that persecution had very considerably di-
minished, even if it had not been totally abandonnd by
most nations. In their own country, however, there had
been no disposition to interfere with persons of the Jewish
persuasion in the exercise of their commercial pursuits, and
gradually and by degrees such had been the effect of civi-
lisation that almost every shackle which bad formerly op-
pressed that people had been removed. The family of Mr.
Alderman Salomons had for upwards of a century been con-
nected with the city of London as merchants, as under.
writers, and in the general commerce of the country;
. while the alderman himself bad been distinguished as a
patron of genius in every form in which it had appeared,
and his conduct had been marked by energetic and sue-
, eessfal efforts in the promotion of education and civilisa-
tion. And he might here be permitted to add, that Mr.
Sa'omons had been equally celebrated for the large chari-
table contributions by which he had endeared himself to
his fellow-citizens. It was not alone by this election that
Mr. Salomons would be hailed by the members of his corn-
inu.nity as their champion, but it would be borne in re-
membrance that he had successfully vindicated their right
to hold municipal offices. In the year 1831 Lord Denman,
whose name could not be mentioned under that roof but
with the strongest feelings of respect and veneration, who
was then the Common Sergeant, had advised the corpora-
tion of the city of London that they could admit Jews to
certain municipal offices by administering to thorn such an
oath as would be binding on their conscience. In the year
1835 Mr. Salmons' having distinguished himself for his
charitable contributions and his benevolent efforts in
the city, was chosen one of the sheriffs for London and Mid-
dlesex ; and in order to remove any doubt as to whether,
being of the Jewish persuasion,' he was competent to fill
the office, a special act of Parliament was brought in and
passed by both houses, and accordingly, on the 29th of
Sept. of that year, Mr. Salomons assumed the duties of
sheriff. In the course of the same year Mr. Salomons
was elected Alderman of the Ward cf Aldgate, but at that
time there were certain oaths and a declaration required
to be taken by the holder of that office, which Mr. Salo-
mons, with his religious feelings, was unable to subscribe
to, and the result had been that tho Court of Alder-
men had found themselves conscientiously compelled to
appeal to the law on the subject. Accordingly, pro-
ceedings were taken in the Court of Queen's Bench,
when a decision was arrived at in his favour ; but, on an
appeal from that decision to the Court of Exchequer
Chamber, that Court held that the taking of the oath and
declaration which was required by the act of George IV.
could not be evaded. Some time after this Mr. Salomons
was elected to the office of High Sheriff of the county of
Kent, and in that case it was held that it was not necessary
for him to subscribe to the declaration to which he ob-
jected. That office Mr. Salomons had filled to the fullest
satisfaction of all parties. In the year 1844 Mr. Salomons
was again elected an alderman of the city of London, but
the law remaining thesame as at his former election to that
office he was again rejected by the Court of Aldermen.
About this time a noble and learned lord (Lyndhurst)
brought in a bill the effect of which was to enable persons of
the Jewish persuasion to accept and hold municipal offices,
one resalt of which was that Mr. Salomons was again
elected an alderman in the year 1847. Mr. Alderman Salo-
mons being deeply impressed with a feeling of gratitude for
this peaceful triumph of the cause of civilisation and
education, manifested his gratitude by the estaulishment
of a perpetual scholarship of 501. a-year in the City of
London Schools. Having been appointed an alderman in
1847, Mr. Salomons thought it right to perfect himself as
far as possible in the duties which would devolve upon a
magistrate, and became a member of that profession of
which he himself was proud, and of efhich their lordships
were such distinguished ornaments. In the year 1850 he
was elected as ole of the reisresentatives fur the borough
of Greenwich ; as their lordships were probably aware,
the right of the Alderman to sit without taking certain
oaths had become the matter of legal proceedings, which
were still pending. The citizens of Loudon, however, re-
joiced that whatever difficulties might exist in respect of
the law as to Mr. Alderman Salomons taking his seat in the
House of Commons, yehthere there was noteing to prevent
their electing him to fill the high office of chief magistrate
of their city. There was an important year before them;
the year which had just passed had also been one of milked
importance, and it might be that the ensuing year might
be distinguished by the crowning of their triumphs and a
happy peace. He had given an outline of the history of
the present Lord Mayor, and it was upon the grounds
which he had stated that the citizens of London had chosen
him as their chief magistrate. He doubted not that at the
terthinatiou of his year of office the Lord Mayor would bo
greeted with the same expression of esteem, respect, and
satisfaction which had greeted hiM at the conclusion of his
shrievalty. Sir Francis Graham Moon, who now retired
from the office of chief magistrate, had discharged its func-
tions in a manner which had not only redouuded to his
own credit, but had shed lustre over the body of which he
is a member. Sir Francis Moon had had the good fortune
• to fill that office in a year which had been distinguished by
the visit of those illustrious persons, the Empei or and Em-
press of the French. He had also the unusual gratificath n
of entertaining as his guests the Prefect of Paris and a nu-
merous deputation from the municipal body of that city.
Ile, with other members of the corporation, had subse.
quently paid a visit to Paris, and one result would be to
content the growing attachment between the people of the
two countries, and thus show to the world at large that
the people of those countries were but as one community.
Sir Francis Moon, at the termination of his year of office,
retired into coinparative private life with the esteem and
respect of his fellow-citizens.
The CHIEF BARON said he had to congratulate the Lord
Mayor, on being presented in that Court, as having been
chosen by his fellow-citizens to fill the highest position in
the greatest commercial city the world had ever beheld. The
election- of the Lord Mayor was marked by a variety of cir-
cumstances which had become part of the history of the
country. It was gratifying to find that the tone of religion
had so moderated that owing' to his conduct his fellow-
citizens had dielned him worthy of presentation to her
Majesty as qualified to fill the highest municipal office
which they could confer upon him. The Lord Mayor had
also been deemed worthy of being
appointed a magistrate
not only of the city of London, but of two counties. It was
gratifying, furthermore to
of coapare the toleration of the
present day with the state 4
as they had existed in
that country very little more thalugna century since. When,
in the year 1753, a bill was passedr by the Legislature to
Pe
enable persons of the Jewishpersuasion to become natural-
oftemony
ised without taking a part in the in which they
could not join without profanation
ainertise to so much
public clamour and public disturbancet that year,
that one of the first measures introduced intoing Parliament
during during the ensuing session was an act to repeal
not on the ground that there was any appreh !Pension Ofthlt°
dan-
ger arising to the Christian religion itself, but because it
produced so much public disturbance and clamour that the
peace of the country was endangered, and the effect, in all
probability, would have been to drive out of the country
all persons who professed Jewish opinions. The Lord
Mayor appeared iu that court upon the present occasion
to assert the right of the citizens of London to elect their
own chief officer, and to claim for the citizens all those
privileges and immunities which they had enjoyed from
ancient times. He had no doubt that by his be-
nevolence and charity, of which so much had been
attributed to him by the learned Recorder, he would
at the termination of his veer of office, retire with as much
honour and credit to himself as had distinguished any of
his predecessors, many of whom had taken a high place in
the. history of the country. He believed that, should any
public disturbance arise during his year of office, the Lord
Mayor would be prepared to exercise the authority or the
chief magistrate with that firmness and energy which
ought to belong to one filling so high an .officer. But, for
hiruself, lie must say he saw no cause for apprehension of
any.public disturbance. With regard to the late Lord
Ma yor, Sir Francis Moon, his year of office had expired,
Che was happy to congratulate him uporais retirement
erne a Comparative station of private life; nevertheless he
ly°lld have many duties tr carry out, which he would
-dotibtlees
lated him accomplish with credit to himself. He congratur
ire por hoat upon the way in which he had -discharged the
visit of the ituales which had fallen to his lot during the
. _plerror and Empress of the French. He was
happy also
on having been he the opportunity of congratulating him
with the title uhieehboured, by the favour of her Majesty,
p7r1,1 descend
occasion of that was to his children, on the
ca. (mans Ile would now advert to a
circumstance witl:BlaWatsist!d some little confusion in the
court. His im
at until the esent occasion
the' Court had always received intimation from the civic
authorities as to the period at w7hinctt,itilitae Lord Mayor would
be presented to the Barons.
not been dons in
the present instance, and therefore the Barons had not been
asuientrance. Look-
-1
in court to receive the Lord Mayor on
t
ing at the arrangement of the civic hotly
before the Court, he could not help renearkiiej then stood
e
thatthey
had not " the right man in the right place," for, i
the Lord Mayor being on the right hand side, and the
of
late
Lord Mayor on the left hand side of the Recorder, he found
that both were on the right hand side of that learned 'func-
tionary. Next year, when he should have the happiness o
receiving the Lord Mayor on his retirement, he hoped to
see all parties in their right places.
The usual oaths were then administered, and
e 'he Recorder, by the command of the Lord Mayor, in-
at the
eited their Lordships to partake of a banquet to be given
The that evening.
P BARON said that some of the members of
isohnetCo. urt would do themselves the honour of being pre-

THE BANQUET
given by the Lord TAE
and Sheriffs on their accession to
office, took place a usual at the Guildhall. The decora-
tion of this splendid theatre of city festivity, with the ad-
jacent apartments requisite for the accommodation of the
[pleats, was intrusted to Al.r. Bunning, the city architect,
who acquitted himself of the duty in a manner which folly
sustained his previous reputation for artistic taste. The
lobbios and promenading and reception rooms were orna-
mented with a profusion of plants, statuary, and armorial 1