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him; the creature of opulence, on the contrary, must put his former fellows beneath him, in order that he may get above them.

And does not the experience of Lord Stanhope, as chief officer of the Society, satisfy the members, of the justice of these remarks? If we are to submit to one another at all in our social institutions, nobles and people as we are, let the head of our domestic government be derived from that sphere where influence is already held, and its exercise well regulated; where authority, being a permanent qualification, amalgamates with the general character of the man, and thus becomes subject to the operation of all those means of amelioration and refinement, which are constantly applying themselves to that character.

But it is not until we come to examine the conduct of Earl Stanhope, as a practical officer-the President of the Society, that we are placed in possession of the whole of the claims which he has on the gratitude of its members. The address, which was delivered by that nobleman at the last anniversary meeting, is not only a forcible and elegant composition; but it shews an extent as well as a precision of technical knowledge in the author, which we could hardly expect from any one out of the medical profession. As a proof of the industry with which he applies himself to the minutest details, we may mention that part of his address, in which he states the result of his comparison of some foreign Pharmacopæias. The Austrian Pharmacopæia, his Lordship says, contains seventy-one plants, which are not to be found in that of the London College of Physicians. The Bavarian Pharmacopæia, which is admirably arranged, has thirty-one more plants than the London one; and the Prussian has twenty-nine, making in all 131 plants, of which sixtyfour are indigenous to this country. The suggestions, however, of the noble President, appear to us to arise from very just and sound views of medical botany; and as they strikingly exhibit the aid which the most abstruse sciences may occasionally derive from the innate good sense and correct judgment of persons not immediately. within its precincts, we shall quote some of them with pleasure.

'One of the most important and beneficial discoveries which could be made by this Society would be of Plants, by the operation of which the diseased organs might be primarily affected in the same manner as the action of the DIGITALIS purpurea appears to be directed to the Heart, and that of the CHENOPODIUM olidum to the Uterus. With respect to the latter, I have already noticed the interesting and valuable Paper with which Mr. Houlton has favored the Society; and a Member of this Society, who has devoted great attention to Medical Botany, and has published a Work upon the subject, has made some experiments with the Extract of that Plant, and will, I trust, communicate to us the results. This Plant, which is often treated as a Weed, and allowed to decay on the places where it grows, may probably afford a substitute in complaints of the Uterus, to the Ergot of Rye, which is extremely expensive. Might we not hope, if a medicine could be found of which the action were directed to the Luugs in a diseased state, that it would be possible to cure Pulmo

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nary Consumption, which is so insidious in its origin, so dangerous in its progress, and so destructive in its effects? Such a discovery would deserve a public reward, and would justly entitle its author to the gratitude of mankind; and the trials which would be requisite for the purpose might be made without danger in those advanced stages of the disorder in which it is considered to be incurable. Upon this point I would call your attention to a Plant, mentioned in a Work which I recently procured in Germany, and which was published last year at Leipzig. The Plant is termed by the Author, GALEOPSIS grandiflora, and appears to be the GALEOPSIS ochroleuca, or villosa, which is indigenous to this country, and a decoction of the flowers and of the leaves is given in cases of consumption. He states that this Plant is much employed as a popular remedy, and its efficacy ought to be submitted to actual trials in a variety of cases. I think that experiments may properly be made with respect to any of those vegetable substances, which, though they are not professionally prescribed, are, however, used as popular remedies in several districts, from an experience, or even from an opinion of their virtues; and, also, but with more caution, with respect to other vegetable substances which, from botanical analogy and from chemical analysis, may be considered as medicinal.

'Another most important discovery would be, that of a vegetable substance which would have a specific action on the Liver, and which would cure, without the assistance of mercurial preparations, the diseases of that organ. The deleterious effects of some of those preparations on the general health, and on the vital powers, are too well known, and have been too generally experienced to require any observations from me; and you will concur in my opinion, that a substitute which might be found for those remedies, and which could be administered with safety in other respects, would be of great benefit to mankind. The mineral waters of Carlsbad, in Germany, have very long possessed much reputation in the cure of disorders of the Liver, for which they have been found, by experience, to be eminently efficacious; and they do not appear, by chemical analysis, to contain any portion of Mercury. It cannot, therefore, be justly contended, that Mercury is the only specific for such disorders; and I speak from the authority of a most eminent physician in this country, when I state that, in his judgment, there is no medicine which is so much misused as calomel. Although mercury forms an ingredient in the composition of the Carlsbad Waters, I am ready to admit that, in addition to those substances which have been found in them by analysis, such as Soda, Glauber Salt, common salt, &c., they may contain some others, which, from the peculiarity of their nature, may not be discovered by the art of chemistry, and which may greatly contribute to their salutary effects. A very remarkable instance of this is exhibited in the Waters of Gastein, which are also in Germany, and which are of extraordinary and indeed surprising efficacy in the cure of contractions, even of such as are the most inveterate, although those Waters appear by analysis to contain only substances so insignificant in their nature, and in such very small quantities, that some Physicians have considered those Waters to operate only from their heat, which, when they rise from the spring, is stated to be 38° of Reaumur, or 118° of Fahrenheit. A German physician, for whom I entertain the highest respect, related to me from his own personal observation, a most

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remarkable cure, from the use of the Gastein Waters, of a distortion of the limbs which had existed from infancy; and he had communicated a report of it to the Academy of Medicine at Paris, of which he was a Member.

It appears also very desirable to investigate accurately the nature and properties of the COLCHICUM autumnale, and to ascertain whether it will dispel a fit of the Gout; whether it ought to be taken in small doses, as was done by Sir Joseph Banks, to serve for an alterative, and to prevent the recurrence of a fit; and in the one case, as well as in the other, to discover in what manner it ought to be prepared and administered, or with what other medicines it ought to be blended, in order to secure the patient from any deleterious effects. The Medicine which is supposed to be made from it is known to be very potent; but in chronical disorders, the potency of a remedy may not be so important as its safety; and the effects, when they are slow, may not be the less certain, and seem more congenial to the course of nature, which, in the formation and development of vegetables, as well as of animals, advances gradually in its work, and with that admirable order and arrangement which exemplifies, in every case, the infinite wisdom and goodness of Divine Providence.'-pp. 28-31.

The whole discourse deserves to be attentively perused, and as descriptive of the existing state of our knowledge of medicinal plants, and furnishing the best materials for such hopes and expectations as the friends of this science may reasonably indulge in, we think that the address has all the merit of a record.

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ART. IX.-A History of the Establishment and Residence of the Jews in England; with an Enquiry into their Civil Disabilities. By John Elijah Blunt, of Lincoln's Inn, Esq., M.A., Barrister at Law. 8vo. pp. 148. London: Saunders and Benning. 1830.

THE partial success that has attended the motion in the House of Commons for leave to bring in a Bill, the object of which is to place Jews upon the same footing, with respect to civil franchises, as Roman Catholics, has induced the learned and intelligent Author of this pamphlet to inquire into the actual state of the law upon that subject. The question is one to which the country has not yet turned its attention. We believe even the advocates for the Jews have been surprised by the majority which they won in the first instance. They will, however, most probably find that they cannot go much farther during the present session. Even if no important event occur to disturb the course of public business, we have reason to believe that the motion for the second reading of the Bill will not be carried.

This belief, however, will not divert us from the discussion of the question at the present moment, as it is fit that we should, in common with others, express our opinion upon it, and thus assist in preparing the public mind for eventually coming to a discreet. and just decision, with reference to a subject which is surrounded

by not a few difficulties. The Bill, if lost now, will most probably be again and again brought forward, and the people cannot too soon make themselves acquainted with the principles according to which the discussion ought, as we think, to be guided.

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Let us in the first place see, with the assistance of Mr. Blunt, whose researches reflect great credit upon his industry and skill, what has been the history of the Jews in this country. It sufficiently appears that Jews were resident in England as early as the year 750. Basnage asserts that they were banished from it in the beginning of the eleventh century, and that they did not return till after the Conquest. This, however, does not seem to have been the fact, for the laws attributed to Edward the Confessor distinctly declare the Jews to be under the royal protection, upon the ground that "the Jews and all they have belong to the King." It is certain that the Conqueror (it is supposed for a valuable consideration) encouraged the Jews to come over from Rouen in large numbers, who appear to have fixed their residence principally at Stamford. From that period they increased rapidly in this country until the year 1290, when they were expelled by a proclamation of Edward I., having in the interval, particularly during the reigns of Richard of the Lion-heart and Henry III., suffered many exactions and cruelties of the most arbitrary and barbarous character. They were frequently accused of crucifying the children of Christians, of plotting against the state, and sometimes even of a design to set fire to the city of London. They were, in truth, the Papists of those times, and no crime was considered too horrible to be charged upon their unhappy nation. They seemed to be the mere footballs of the populace, who robbed and murdered them, not only with impunity, but applause.

After the expulsion of the Jews in the year 1290, they made no attempt to re-establish themselves here until the period of the Commonwealth, when they petitioned Cromwell for permission to be received in England. The Protector afforded every encouragement to their wishes, but although their request gave rise to much debate, no decision was come to upon it. Some Jews of the Levant imagining, or rather perhaps choosing to imagine, that the Protector was the long-expected Messiah, came to England under the pretext of ascertaining that fact, though most probably their only motive was to forward the object of their re-admission. But the matter getting wind, they were all expelled by the Council, after having been angrily reproached for their audacity.

It appears, however, that soon after the Restoration, Jews, though not very numerously, were resident in this country. They had a synagogue in London in 1662; from that period to the present they have gone on increasing in their numbers, and though these are estimated by Mr. Goldsmid at only 27,000, we are more inclined to agree with Mr. Blunt, that they cannot fall far short of double that amount.

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We have seen that by the laws of Edward the Confessor, it was held that "the Jews and all they have belong to the king." In fact, they were treated either as villeins of the king, or as aliens, down to the period of the Revolution, with the exception of an interval in the reign of James II., when they were relieved from the alien duty. An attempt was made in the year 1753, to enable foreigners who were Jews, to be naturalized without being obliged to take the sacrament. A Bill was proposed in the House of Lords with that object, which, after very warm debates, was passed into a law, but was repealed in the course of the subsequent year, in consequence of the very unfavourable manner in which it was received throughout the country. Since that time Jews have been allowed to live here without molestation, though in what relation, with respect to the crown, or to the Christian community of the country, has not, we believe, yet been settled.

With the exception of the incapacity of Jews to hold land, which arose out of the 55th of Henry III., it is supposed by Mr. Blunt, that they were legally subject to no disability, at the period when the recent bill (since carried into a law) for the relief of the Dissenters was proposed in Parliament. We do not agree in this supposition. We have not heard that the oaths then required from members of both houses before they were permitted to take their seats, were ever proposed on the Old Testament alone; we have not heard that the Old Testament alone has been used in making any of the oaths of office which were then required. The mere addition of the words, "upon the true faith of a Christian," introduced by the 9th of Geo. IV., undoubtedly excludes Jews from sitting in Parliament, or from holding any office, civil or military, under the crown, and may perhaps also impose upon them other minor disabilities. But we contend that the mere omission of those words would not have been sufficient to complete the emancipation of the Jews, and accordingly the Bill for their relief, which has been read a first time, goes a great deal farther. It proposes to place them in all respects upon the same footing as Roman Catholics; thus, in truth, introducing a totally new principle into the law of this country, of which law, according to the highest authorities, the Christian system is an integral and inseparable part.

In removing the disabilities of the Protestant Dissenters and the Roman Catholics, this doctrine of Christianity being a part and parcel of the law of England, far from being violated, was, on the contrary, acted upon in its true spirit. But the question now before us is a very different one indeed. It is this. Are we prepared to go the length of admitting that there shall be no religious test whatever, for ascertaining the faith of individuals to whom the management of our national affairs in the legislature, and the service of the country, in office at home and abroad, are to be committed? If Jews be allowed to sit in Parliament, why not Mahometans, why not Pagans, why not those who worship Jug

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