Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1841-02-18


In tho .as, Herald of the Times il was inti-
mated, that further notice would be taken Of
an article upon the prosecutions OF the jews
in q late National lnielligencer. Upon nm
attentive per,lsal Of this article. the inconsls.
tency of its author becomes very consPcuonsi
for in the first place, had the Israelites, or
any considerable portion Of them, fed from
Newport on account of religious intolerance,
would Abram Touro. (whom take to be the
person very erronoously styled Henry, by
this wri,cr) I repeat would Abrsm have
given las the last act Of his lfe,) handsome
bcqucst TO tho town of Newport, which is
the nature Of his Trust fund. for the repair of
the Jewish properly therein; and not only
So but by dividing this legacy into the fund
for the repair of the Street, and that tor The
repair OF the Synagogue, and committing the
fsruer to the town Of Newport, aud the latter
TO the State Legislature, he has taken per-
haps the very best method of tes.iiying 10
all posterity, his respect aud affection for this
asylum of his fathers, and home Of his youth!
Another glnrng Inconsistency Of this wri-
ter, and in fact contradiction Of his own
language in the commencement Of this or'l-
Gle, is the assertion that "the descendants OF
this Jewish colony, who oil live in r. leland,
have embraced the Christian fifth"
Now surely some strange influence had bo-
clouded his perception and nearly nnDihiated
his memory, or it must have occurred to him
that n few minutes before, he introduced
Henry (Abram) Touro as living and ending
his existence in Boston, and Moses ns now
residing in New Orleans. These surely nre
dcsce endan,s, and may we not Say illustr'ous
desce ndants, Of the people refe rred to. As
to the charge Of Religious persecution by tho
descendants of those ilustrions pioneers Of
civil and religions Liberty, Roger Williams
and William Coddington, j, appears to be tho
wild defamation Of an enthusiastic brain
for what evidence has this author adduced to
support his pompous charge? As for any
legisativ act to that effect, il is ridiculous
to seek for such evidence. Our Statutes
present no acts upon religion but those which
guarantee to every man the perfect enjoy
mcnt of his conscientious belief, provided It
disturb not the pence and good order OF tho
community, and this character the people OF
Rhode Island, aud of Newport particularly
will unanimously attribute 20 Judaism. Ollen
has the wish been expressed by our ancient
and worthiesi citizens, in hearing Of the wrI-
ter Of this communication, that there might
be sufficient number of Jews in Newport
to perform their ancient rites, which reason
alone, The ,cont Of numbers arising from rmi-
and still renders apparently useless the Syna-
goguc. But this correspondent Of the Intel
ligencGr proceeds to enuInora,c a long lis. Of
crueltics inflicted upon the Israeltes Of Eu-
rope. BY what inference can these be char
gcd upon the people of Rhode lsland-or
did he perceive it was in vain for him to
quote from the history of this haven Of rest
for the conscience bound Of the universe"
as the strokes would recoil upon his own head?
If so, and it was intended that if possible the
shade of European history should cast odun
upon the innocent, and bccloud the judgment
Of the unsuspccting, ] envy not his cnlumnn-
Ting heart. One quotation only from tho
statutes Of Rhode Island will be here intro
duccd, which it will be observed is section
of the marriage act, passed I79s--oniy two
years prior to the alleged persecution, which
he writer in the In,elIigcnccr makes 1900.
Section I2.-And be it further enacted,
That any marriages which may be had or
solrmnlzcd among the people called Quakors,
or Friends, in the manner and form used or
practiscd IN their Societies, or among persons
protesting the Jewish religion. according to
their rites and ceremonies, shall be good and
valid in law, anything in this act to the con-
trary Notwithstanding.
Now it is observable that the deprivation
of the privilege Of marrying, in their own way,
is a prominent article in our authors cata-
logue of prosecutions. Would it not have
been well for him to have had recourse to a
Il volume OF NiOue lsIanu laws! 30 InuCn f0r
legal intolerance.
As for any insults from tho populace we
can with holy assurance appeal to the survi-
wing remnant Of those Jews who once lived in
Newport, and 10 the memory Of our oldest
Inhabitants, for a rcfutstion Of any such
charge. received from the mouth Of
venerable citizen, this day, an unqualified
denial of the nspcrsion on the contrary, he
observed the jewish families were on terms
of ncighbory and visiting intercourse with
their Christian neighbors generally. TO the
exclamation, ,chere is the instance Of perse-
cution: Echo answers, Where? Indeed, as
before remarked, the care Of our Legislators
has never been wanting 10 protect all in the
dearest rights Of humanity, and in that only
unfailing source Of happiness, the exercise
Of conscience void Of offence towards God
and man.
II Another important error made bv this