The Sun.
London, England, 1823-09-08 00:00:00

ANCIENT JEWS.

A certain Netherlander was requested by his
friends to learn as much as possible from the Jews that inhabit
the coast of Malabar, by what means they came. first into that
country, and from what stock they derived their origin ; where-
upon he' desired one Rabbi DAVID, a person of great reputa-
tion among them, to write an account of their first arrival
into that country, and from him he received the fol-
lowing letter :—" After the second temple was destroyed,
(which I wish may be speedily rebuilt in our days !) our fathers
dreading the conquerers' wrath, departed thence, being above
10,000 men, women, priests and Levites, and came into these
parts. Tncre were among them men oegreat wisdom,
It pleased God that these people found grace in the sight of the
King, who at that time reigned in India, so that he granted
them a province called Singili or Craganor, near the city of
Korie e. Cochin), which they alone were to inhabit, without
any mixture of foreigners. He allowed them also a sovereign
jurisdiction, that they should have Kings to reign- over them in
a continued series throughout all ages. this is written and
sealed. with the King's seal, and engraven on a plate of brass,
a 'with steel graver pointed with a diamond, that his suceeesors
might not charge us with a lie, or .change the contract. This
was done in the year, (from the creation of the world,) 4250,
and this brazen table .we hove still in possession. We enjoyed
that form of government one thousand years; so that every
man sat under his own vine and under his own fig-tree peace-
ably. The number. of. Kings that reigned in Singuli were 72.
During'the space Of 'this 10,000 years, same Jews that were
banished frism Spain came thither, because they hail !testa of
• this principality,, which was granted to the Jews. There came
also the Abraham Ben Ezra and his son R. Jehuds Levita.—
They brought with them hither into Singuli the silver trumpets
made use of at the time of the Jubilee, which were saved when
the second temple was destroyed; and we have heard from our
fathers that there acre engraven upor: those trumpets the knee:
i?f* Seitex NAUTHORA3CII, that it, the inefletble name of
(Jod. But at last discord arising among the Brethren that
were of the blood royal, and each of them atTheting the king-
' dom, one of them addressed himself toe powerful Indian King,
sought assistance front him, and bringing greet forces, destroyed
all their houses, palaces, and strong bolds ; dispossessed the
Jews that inhabited them, killed part of them, and carried the
rest into captivity, so that they were dispersed Into diem coun-
tries. But their number Was so diminished, that very few of
.
them were left remaining. Some of those exiles went' dal dwelt
in the town of Koni ' • and we who now dwell in that same town
are very few in number. There are amongst us of the children
of Israel, who came from the country of Castile, from (loosen-
tino, the land of Aschkenas, from Egypt, the town of Tzeba,
besides those Jews that formerly inhabited this country," &c.
They say, moreover, that all of them have the same rite's, with-
out the least difference, and that their forms of prayer do per-
fectly agree with those made use of by the Spanish Jews. They
use the Hebrew tongue, but at the same time every one speaks
the language of his own country. This Netherlander made also
some inquiries himself, which in the result agreed with the
Rabbi's letter, except that instead of one thousand, which
when out of Jeruealem, others say seventy thousand. Ile
observes, most of them are now black, like the Ethiopians,
except about twenty-five families, who retain their white
colour, or at least one very near it. lie adds, that roost of
them are ambitions of deriving their origin from Europe; so
that there are only three women and two men who are looked
upon as the genuine offspring of those that sled front Jeru-
salem, and settled themselves first in that country. They call
their leader, under whose conduct they departed from Jertuta,
lam, and travelled into those countries, • Joseph Ilebaana ; and
the Indian King who gave them suchkind entertainment and
large privileges, they name Keram Periontat. The Male-
barian character on the brazen table, formerly mentioned, and
which those Jews keep at this day with extraordinary care,
differs exceedingly from their modern characters, so that the
most learned among them cats scarcely read or understand
them. King did
appears plainly by the table of brass, that the
above King did grant great privileges and royalties to Joseph
Rabasna, his son, daughters, grandchildren, sons-in-law, and
all their posterity, whilst sun and moon endure

A. D. 16W.

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making hi
COTTER . AND KELLVTTS' BANK.—MOlldtty a
dividend of 2s. lid. in the pound (in addition to a former one of
previous arrangements, the
t141:84ns.(1810. einYtere''PoinuLendre)swt °a:caollinanuttesnt:enttilibileginilegbpait4'd at the for.
mer Banking concern on the South-mall, where THOS. Cu TH.
BEAT, Bsq,, the acting Trustee, and Tztos• AfanTix, Esq.,
producing the document which
Receiver under the Court of Chancery, attended for the pur.
peso. The bitkinets of every individual was dispatched with
facility and proinpiness, as, from
amount of the dividend which each creditor had to receive was
struck, and initnediately upon
entitled him to it, he WAS handed a check on the .I,litiik of
..qtaxis.' Lr.st.tE, which,' although 51ondays are always kept as
Bank Holidays, was liberally *poet" At" etjuiy hour for public
acconutiodatton, and an opportuoitY dm* attorded of enabling
persons who had come from the country to return withont filte
leant difficulty or delay.

that, on'['}turstitty
two passer:pertirlsectwltieiretee
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street. The coachman anti
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