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

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LONDON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1853.

Once more the question of the Jewish disabili-

ties has been brought under the consideration of
the House of Commons—once more the popular
branch of the Legislature has been entreated to
wipe away a foul blot from the national escutcheon,
to remove one of the few remaining traces of in-
tolerance from the national statute-book--and
once more has the effort been resisted—resisted,
too, in the name of Christianity, as if its mild
and benignant precepts could justify persecution,
or even civil disqualifications, for the sake or
under the authority of religion. The bigoted at-
tempt has again failed. Two hundred and thirty-
four Members recorded their votes in favour
of Civil and Religious Liberty, and the reso-
lution on which the Bill is to be founded
was carried by a majority of 29 in a very full
house, in which 439 of the chosen representatives
'of the people recorded their votes on one side or
other. We trust that the result may be more
satisfactory than that of former efforts, and that
the sanguine anticipations of relief that have been
indulged in for six successive sessions may not
again be frustrated or defeated.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL, as on former occasions,
brought forward the motion with much earnestness
and ability. It is only to be regretted that the noble
Lord shrunk from the bold and manly course
which would have disposed of the matter without
delay or difficulty. A simple resolution of the
House of Commons, similar to that adopted in the
case of Mr. PEASE, would have been decisive ;
and surely it would have been far better
to have done so, than to have allowed

the rights and privileges of that distinguished
body to be questioned or discussed in another
place. The over-caution or timidity of the Noble
Lord, however, prevailed. Ho determined that
the problem shoUld not be quite so easily solved,
and thus created a difficulty where none had
previously existed.
Many persons have questioned his sincerity ;
and some opposition was even threatened to his
return for the City of London on that account.
In this, however, some degree of injustice was
done to his Lordship. We believe that he was
really desirous of removing the grievances that
affected a respectable body of his fellow-subjects,
and of preventing the partial disfranchisement of
the metropolis, which had so unequivocally ex-
pressed its opinions on the subject. But it
was also an object of considerable importance
to have a really liberal measure in hand, which
might be referred to when the do-nothing policy
of the Family-party was questioned or censured.
The Bill would act as a " stop-gap," occupying so
much time as to prevent the discussion of un-
pleasant matters, and affording an admirable ex-
cuse for procrastination. The temptation was
irresistible. The Noble Lord yielded, and allowed
a simple subject, which might have been disposed
of during a single sitting, to become a leading
topic of debate during half-a-dozen consecutive
Sessions.

The matter in controversy is so very plain that
but for the solemn and prolonged discussions,
the serious differences of opinion in both branches
of the Legislature, it would seem a work of super-
erogation to offer a single argument. The words,
" On the true faith of a Christian," which create the
difficulty, do not constitute any portion of the
substance of the adjuration. They were merely
a part
,of the form, intended to confer addi-
tional solemnity to the obligation. They were
added to the form, not for the purpose of affecting.
the Jewish population, but for a totally differ-