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174 Dr. John Coleman<br />

The 'Jew bill' as it was referred to by <strong>the</strong> Tories would<br />

not go away, even after eleven years of opposition by members<br />

like Lord Derby, Lord Bentinck and Sir Robert Inglis, who when<br />

asked why Jews should be excluded from Parliament stated: "The<br />

Jews are voluntary strangers here, and have no claim to become<br />

citizens but by conforming to our moral law, which is <strong>the</strong><br />

Gospel."<br />

The Tories in <strong>the</strong> House of Lords were solidly against <strong>the</strong><br />

"Jew bill" as Lord George Bentinck called it as he explained it<br />

each time <strong>the</strong> bill came up again for eleven years. One must give<br />

credit to <strong>the</strong> tenacity of <strong>the</strong> Rothschilds, when <strong>the</strong>y wanted<br />

something <strong>the</strong>y clung on tenaciously until <strong>the</strong>y got it. As Lord<br />

Bentinck explained:<br />

The Jew Question I look upon as a personal matter as I<br />

would a great private estate or Divorce Bill. Disraeli will<br />

of course warmly support <strong>the</strong> Jews, first from hereditary<br />

prepossession in <strong>the</strong>ir favor and next because he and <strong>the</strong><br />

Rothschilds are great allies. (From Hansard Report)<br />

Bentinck was later found dead, apparently from a heart<br />

attack at <strong>the</strong> age of forty-six. Like <strong>the</strong> death of Peel before him,<br />

Bentinck's passing left many unanswered questions, <strong>the</strong> most<br />

pertinent of which have never been addressed.<br />

On February 20, 1849 <strong>the</strong> Jewish Disabilities Removal<br />

Act came up again for consideration in its third reading in <strong>the</strong><br />

House with Disraeli in charge. In <strong>the</strong> gallery sat Louise de<br />

Rothschild, observing <strong>the</strong> proceedings on behalf of Lionel<br />

Rothschild. The measure passed by a vote of 272 to 206, but died<br />

in <strong>the</strong> Lords.<br />

In <strong>the</strong> following year, July 29, 1850, Lionel de<br />

Rothschild again tried to take his seat, but <strong>the</strong> Clerk refused to<br />

allow it and thus was generated a new round of frenzied activity<br />

characterized by scathing debate.

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