Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 6.djvu/61

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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Goldsmid

revenue survey and assessment system, Puna be- ing included in its organization. "Goldsmid's Survey, " as it was called, was a great boon to the poor agriculturists of the presidency; and it was permanently established by the Bombay legislature in 1865. It was incorporated in the Bombay revenue code of 1879, and was also adopted by the Berars and the native state of Mysore.

Goldsmid's health broke down owing to his in- cessant labors ; and after holding the positions of private secretary and chief secretary to the governor of Bombay, he went to Cairo, where he died. Ten years later a memorial rest-house was erected bj- public subscription at Decksal, near the place where Goldsmid's survey had commenced. Bibliography : Young Israel, i., No. 10.

Sir Isaac Ijyon. Goldsmid : English financier and the first Jewisli baronet; born in London Jan. 13, 1778 ; died there April 37, 1859. He was the son of Asher Goldsmid, and nephew of Benjamin and Abraham Goldsmid, the financiers. Educated at an English school in Finsbury square, he received a sound financial training in the technicalities of his father's business of bullion-broking. At a later period his association with Ricardo made him famil- iar with the leading questions of political science. He became in due course a partner in the firm of Mocatta & Goldsmid, bullion-brokers to the Bank of England and to the East India Company. His early ventures on the Stock Exchange were unfortunate, and, after losing on one occasion £16,000, he aban- doned speculation and contented himself with steady business as a jobber. Goldsmid gradually rose to eminence as a financier, and ultimately amassed a large fortune. His most extensive financial opera- tions were connected with Portugal, Brazil, and Turkey ; and for his services in settling an intricate monetary dispute between Portugal and Brazil he was, in 1846, created Baron de Palmeira by the Portuguese government.

Goldsmid was one of the founders of the London Docks. The main effort of his life was made in the cause of Jewish emancipation. He was the first English Jew who took up the question, and he en- listed in its advocacy the leading Whig statesmen of the time. Soon after the passing of the Act of 1829, which removed the civil disabilities of the Roman Catholics, he secured the powerful aid of Lord Hol- land, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Duke of Sus- sex, and other eminent members of the Liberal party, and then induced Robert Grant to introduce in the House of Commons a similar measure for the Jews. During more tlian two years from the time when Jewish emancipation was first debated in Par- liament, Goldsmid gave little heed to his ordinary business, devoting himself almost exclusively to the advancement of the cause. He was one of the chief agents in the establishment of University College, London, purchasing at his own risk tlie site of the university.

Goldsmid was a liberal supporter of the Reform synagogue and of all Jewish institutions.

BiBLiOGEAPHY : Tile Banker's Magazine, xlx., xx.; Jew. Chron. May 6 and June 17, 1859; Jew. World, March 8, 1878 ; Diet. National Biography.

Julian Goldsmid.

Sir Julian Goldsmid : English baronet, privy councilor, member of Parliament, and philanthro- pist; born Oct. 3, 1838; died at Brighton Jan. 7, 1896. He was the eldest son of Frederick D. Gold- smid, M.P. Educated privately up to the age of seventeen, he entered University College, of which he became a prizeman. He received his B.A. degree with honors at the Univer- sity of London in 1859, and in 1861 obtained his M.A., with the first place in classics. In 1864 he was made a fellow of University College, and in the same year was called to the bar. For a short time he went on the Ox- ford circuit, but aban- doned legal practise when elected M.P. for Honiton in March, 1866.

When Honiton was disfranchised by the Reform Bill of 1867 Goldsmid stood unsuccessfully for Mid- Surrey, but was returned in 1870 for Rochester, and sat for that constituency till 1880. He was defeated at Sandwich, but in 1885 was returned for St. Pan- eras South. During 1894 Goldsmid, who belonged to the Liberal party, often had the honor of presi- ding over the deliberations of the House of Com- mons as deputy chairman of committees. In this capacity he showed great boldness and prompti- tude in the use of his extensive knowledge of the rules of Parliament, and acted with an authority born of his experience as the ruling spirit of impor- tant financial undertakings. As the Liberal Unionist candidate for St. Pancras South, Sir Julian Gold- smid was returned in 1895 by an overwhelming majority.

The Jewish communal institutions with which Goldsmid was most prominently identified were the Anglo-Jewish Association and the Russo-Jewish Committee. He was elected a vice-president of the former at its foundation in 1871, which ofBce he held till 1886, when he was unanimously chosen to suc- ceed Baron de Worms in the presidency. His thor- ough knowledge of foreign affairs enabled him to present in the clearest light the situation of the Jews in Eastern countries; and his intimacy with minis- ters was utilized by him to carry through many a difficult and delicate diplomatic negotiation. 'The period of his presidency was the most brilliant in the history of the Anglo-Jewish Association. In 1895 the state of Goldsmid's health obliged him to give up many of his responsible positions. He resigned his presidency in that year, and also relinquished many of his financial interests.

Goldsmid was chairman of the Russo-Jewish Committee from its foundation in 1882 until 1894; a member of the visitation committee of the Jewish board of guardians; president of the Jews' Infant- Schools from 1883 ; and a member of the committee of the Jews' Free School. He was warden, and oc-