On the 18th of September, the com missioners again proceeded to the Je wish assembly. At this assembly the deputies xvereassuredofthe satisfaction which their answer had given his Imperial Majes ty ; and at the same time declared, that it was the wish of the Emperor to insure to them the free exercise of their religion, and the full enjoyment of their political rights. In return for this protection, the Emperor declared it his intention to exact from the Jews a religious guarantee for the entire observance of the principles announced in their answers. For this purpose, it was deemed requisste to con stitute a Grand Sanhedrin, that their en gagements of loyalty, attachment, &c. might have the most permanent sanction that could possibly be given to them.— This was a most august design, and pro mised a high day for the poor scattered and despised children of Israel. The re storation of an assembly, which had but seldom been convoked since it pronounc ed sentence of condemnation, at Jerusa lem, upon the Saviour of the world, ex cited the astonishthent, and rouzed the jealousy of the prejudiced and the vin dictive, while it called forth the energies, and demanded the admiration of not only the Jews, but of the greater part of all enlightened and reflecting Christians.— Now it was that the scattered sheep of the House of Isreal should again have a voice among their fellow-men ; their de clarations, as citizens, should henceforth be placed by the side of the and they should at length be constrained to acknowledge the authority of the laws of their country, under the awful and im posing obligations of morality Mid reli gion. This was regarded as the prelude to consequences still more important and flattering : perhaps, indeed, to nothing less than the speedy arrival of that period, when they should again worship under their own vine and their own fig-tree, and none dare'to make them afraid.
After assurances of liberty and protec tion on the one hand, and of gratitude and obedience on the other, it was agreed, that a Grand Sanhedrin should be opened at Paris, at which should be preserved, as much as possible, the ancient Jewish forms and usages. This momentous event was announced to the dispersed remnant of the descendants of Abraham, in a most grateful and pathetic address to the Jew ish nation throughout France and Italy ; which contained suitable advice, that the brethren would choose men known for their wisdom, the friends of truth and of justice, and capable of concurring in the great work there before them, and of giving the Grand Sanhedrin a sufficient degree of weight and consideration. The address concludes thus : " The sovereign Arbiter of nations and of kings has per mitted this empire to cicatrize its wounds, to restore that tranquillity which continue ed storms had interrupted, to aggrandize its destiny, to fix ours, and to give happi ness to two nations, who must ever ap plaud him, to whom has been confided the care of their happiness, after that of their defence. Paris 24th, Tishri, 5567." (6th Oct. 1806) This address was shortly after answer ed by one of concurrence and congratula tion from the people of the Jewish nation at Frankfort on the Maine ; and the Prince Primate of Francfort, following the French Emperor's example, put an end to every humiliating distinction be tween the Jews of that city and the Christian inhabitants. The Israelites soon began to manifest the happy consequen ces of their emancipation, by considera ble improvements in education and the useful arts.
The Grand Sanhedrin assembled on Monday the 9th of February, 1807, while the number and distinction of the specta tors added much to its solemnity. Reci procal assurances of encouragement, con gratulation, and thankfulness, were ex changed, and this august assembly pro ceeded to make several important regula tions relative to the Jewish worship and economy. Numerous • addresses were read, and the most encouraging orations were delivered, while the great syna the street St. Avoie resounded tbe praises of the God of Israel, amid re peated cries of L'Empereur, L'Imperatrice! La Famille Imperiale ! and La Brave Jima e Francaiee ! It might be said of these Is raelites, as it was once observed of their ancestors, that "all the people worship ped God, and the King." Twenty-seven articles were drawn up and agreed to for the re-organization of the Mosaic worship. Sundry regulations were also made concerning polygamy, di vorce, marriage, moral relations, civil and political relations, useful professions, loans among Israelites, and loans be tween Israelites and those who are not Israelites.
On the 2d of March the Grand Sanhe drin again sat, and passed a law for the condemnation of usury among the Jews. A most animated discourse was delivered in the Hebrew tongue by M. David Sintz. heim, President of the Grand Sanhedrin. Transl, tions of the discourse, in and Italian, were afterwards read to the members assembled. A copy of this dis course, and of the whole of the proceed ings of Sanhedrin, have been preserv ed in a publication of considerable inter est, a small volume, lately published, en titled "New Sanhedrin, and Causes and Consequences of the French Emperor's Conduct towards the Jews," written, we believe, by William Hamilton Reid. To this work we refer our readers for all the information necessary on this interesting subject.
Flattering,, however, as these proceed ings are to the Jews on the continent, it is certain that their brethren on this side the water look upon the conduct of the House of Israel in France, Italy, Holland, &c. with a jealous and suspicious eye. And it must he confessed, that, to secure the blessings and rights of citizens, they have made sacrifices and concessions, which seem but ill to accord with the due ob servance of that law, which subjoins, that if a man offend in one point, he is guilty of all. That the restoration promised to this people is to be considered of a moral and political nature, we think cannot be doubted. Such, indeed, was the opinion of the learned Bishop Warburton. Whe ther the regulations and decrees that have been passed in their favour in France are to be considered as the commencement of this restoration, time alone can deter mine. This much is evident, that in the restoration of Israel it is said, that every man should possess his .own vine and his own fig-tree ; but if the Jews are either prohibited the occupation, or excused the cultivation of land, this can never be the case ; and this consideration, among others, seems to have suggested an idea to Bonaparte, that his Jewish subjects ought to be constrained to assist in the cultivation of the land, and in furnishing their quota of active conscripts for the de fence of his dominions and of their own property. Their improved state, on the continent, in a political point of view, seems not to have been attended with a correspondent degree of moral regenera tion ; and the French Emperor appears still to be dissatisfied with their way of life. The last decree issued, concerning them, was the 17th of March, 1808, which forbids them, indiscriminately, to pursue their speculations, and excuse themselves from honest labour. To partake of the fruits of the earth, in his large dominions, they must also till the ground. The rich are called upon to purchase rural proper ty, and to abandon the low pursuits of sordid avarice. This decree also annuls all obligations for loans made by Jews to minors, without the sanction of their guardians ; to married women, without the consent of their husbands ; or to mi litary men, without the authority of their superior officers. Bills granted by French subjects to Jews cannot be demanded, unless their holders prove that the full value was given without any fraud. All debts accumulated by interest above five per cent. are to be reduced by the courts of law ; if the interest growing on the ca pital exceed twenty-three per cent. the contract is to be declared usurious. No Jew is to be allowed to trade without a patent, which patent is to be granted to such individuals only who produce a cer tificate to the Prefects that they are no usurers. These regulations are to be con tinued during ten years only, "in the hope, that, after that period, there will be no difference between the moral charac ter of the Jews and the other citizens of the empire." If the contrary shall ap pear, the law will be continued in force. It is doubtful, whether the faith of the children of Israel in Bonaparte, as their reigning Messiah, will not be a little stag gered by these regulations. Bonaparte has had the following return made to him of the number ofJews in all the different parts of the habitable globe, viz. in the Turkish empire one million ; in Persia, China, and India, on the east and west of the Ganges, three hundred thousand; and in the west of Europe, Africa, and Ame rica, one million seven hundred thousand; making an aggregate population of three millions. One-third of this number are already under the dominion of the French empire. For an account, of the Jewish ceremonies, &c. see the late lkIr.• David Levi's work on that subject.