Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-07-11
INTOLERANCE WANING AWAY.
The Sects Losing Their bitterness for Fac
Other and Judaism Exalted.

The Sects Losing Their bitterness for Each
Other and Judaism Exalted.
From the Memphis Appeal.
One of the most gratifying results of the
progress made i'm this age Of progress is the
decrease OF intolerance. Old men can re-
member when it was common to hear a per-
son spoken of as a very good sort OF man but
he is Methodist, or Catholic, or Baptist,
or Episcopalian, as the case might be. In
the churches there were perpetual provocative
sermons, each sect proving that its views
were right and all the rest wrong. These
prejudices have not altogether disappeared,
but they have no longer public countenance,
and are retiring to the holes of the moles and
the bats and other unclean creatures In
England such preudices were much stronger
than with ourselves, and when this cen
tury opened no "dissenter," that IL, none
who were not of the Established Church,
could hold even a corporate Office in
his native town. At length the law
excluding them, the "corporation and test
acts" as they were called, were abolished,
and gradually a better, more Christian senti-
ment prevailed. But it was long before
liberation included the jew, Whatever his
abilities, however, high and honorable his
character, the English law excluded him
from holding office At length the more
intelligent among the people rose above the
old narrowness, and to bring the subject
stron ely before the public London in 1910
elected Jew, Baron Lionel de Rothschild
TO Parliament. lie was refused his seat, then
the commons passed an act enabling Jews to
sit in Parliament. The House of Lords,
whose bishops and tories ruled, rejected
it. Again and again the Commons passed
the bill, and as often the bigotry
of the Lords refused to sanction 1t. SO
the struggle went on, and the Lords never
departed from their bigoted proceedings. In
1858 the commons as matter connected with
the administration of their own house, aud
therefore one with which the lords could not
interfere, adopted u resolution admitting the
eligibility of Jews, and ten years from his
first election Rothschild was admitted to his
seat 1t was not until 1871 that Jew was
admitted to the degree of master OF arts at
Oxford. Dsraeli attained to rank though a
born Jew, but as he had received Christian
religion, the circumstances in his case were
different. Still many of the COnserva-
tive peers objected grumblingly even in
his case. At length in this year OF 1885,
the last fortress of British administrative and
legislative biogtry has had to surrender.
Sir Nathaniel de Rothschild has been made
peer of the English realm, an act that is
one of the grand deeds that distinguish the
administration of Mr. Gladstone. Rothschjld
is no Disraeli, he is Jew in faith as well as by
birth he and his family everywhere are
true to the old creed. For years they have
fought the old prejudice and opposed the
injustice that has been dealt out to their
race for centuries. Their Judaism has
been always prominent, there has
been no surrender, no concession.
The event is memorable one, and
Christianity may be congratulated that
stigma upon its history has been done away
To the jew the act is a simple acknowledge
ment of the justice that was always due TO
him. To Christianity it is a removal of what
gave the lie to its professions. It's sublime
originator was a Jew, his mother was
Jewess, the Martha and Mary and Lazarus,
and the disciples whom he loved, were all
Jews. Topersecute and ostracise those of his
race was stigma of shame to the people who
called themselves his followers. Thank God
it is removed in England. May the time soon
come when every Christian nation VIII go
and do likewise.