gn co-religionists. In the international discussions of the
question of religious liberty which preceded the outbreak of war, the
Powers only concerned themselves with the Christian communities. The
French Jews at once took alarm, and the Central Consistory addressed the
Emperor Napoleon III and applied to the Board of Deputies in London to
make similar representations to the British Government. Both bodies had,
however, been anticipated by the personal activity of the Rothschilds in
Paris and London. Baron James, through his gifted friend and co-worker,
Albert Cohn, had already entered into direct negotiations with the
Turkish Government, and Baron Lionel and Sir Anthony de Rothschild had
interviewed Lord Clarendon, who, at their instance, had given
instructions to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe to take special note of the
Jewish Question. Thus, when the letter of the French Consistory was read
at the Meeting of the Board of Deputies on April 24, 1854, that body
found that it had little to do. Nevertheless, it addressed a formal
letter to Lord Clarendon on May 10, and, five days later, received an
assurance from him that it might rely on a favourable consideration of
the situation of the Jews of Turkey at the hands of His Majesty's
Government.[22]

Nevertheless, the Treaty of Paris of 1856, which more or less settled
all the questions arising out of the war, does not mention the Jews in
any of its articles. This is not to say that it did not fulfil Lord
Clarendon's pledges. As a matter of fact, it deals with both the
situation of the Jews in Turkey and with that of the Jews in the
liberated Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Thus, Article IX,
which takes note of the Turkish _Hatti-Humayoun_ of February 18, 1856,
is intended to refer to the Jews as well as to all other non-Mussulmans.
The history of this aspect of the Article is a little curious. Shortly
after the outbreak of the war in 1854, Turkey prepared a draft treaty of
peace containing an article providing for the religious liberty of
Christian communities. Through the inter-position of Baron James de
Rothschild of Paris, this article was reconsidered, and another was
inserted granting equal rights to all Ottoman subjects, without
distinction of creed. This was the germ of the famous _Hatti-Humayoun_.
That the latter was intended to deal equally with Jews and Christians is
shown by its Article II, in which the same privileges are expressly
granted to the Turk