[¹] Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore.... Edited by Dr. L. Loewe, ... vol. i. London ... 1890. pp. 198–200.
VI. (vol. i., p. 138)
In 1849 Colonel George Gawler accepted an invitation from Sir Moses Montefiore to accompany him—together with Lady Montefiore—on a tour through the Holy Land. It was arranged that they should leave England about the 20th of April. They were, however, delayed three weeks by the illness of Lady Montefiore. Gawler himself was not disappointed at the delay, as he was hard at work studying Hebrew and Arabic, preparatory for the tour. Eventually they started on May the 15th, and arrived at Jerusalem on July 28th.[¹]
[¹] George Gawler, K.H., by C. W. N. London, 1900, p. 56.
An enthusiastic Christian Zionist, Gawler was at the same time a strong advocate of Jewish emancipation which was to him a duty of justice, because: “First, it would be part payment of a heavy debt of retribution that England owes to the Hebrew race for bygone centuries of cruelty and oppression. Westminster Abbey itself was rebuilt by money extorted from the Jews (Maddox’s History of the Exchequer, and Hunter’s History of London). And, secondly, it would be taking a part, which is to the honour and interest of the British Nation to perform, in assisting the great movement of deliverance from oppression and bondage that for many years past has been in operation throughout the whole civilized world, in behalf of the Ancient People of God.”[¹]
[¹] The Emancipation of the Jews, by Col. G. Gawler. London, 1847, Preface.
VII. (vol. i., p. 139)
The Rev. Alex. B. C. Dallas (1791–1869), author of several works, said in a lecture in 1845: ... “The first object is the time when Jerusalem is to be safely inhabited by the people of Judah, as of old. This we learn from Zechariah (XII. 6 and XIV. 11), and from all the prophets. If then the western Jews of Europe were to be placed under some political arrangement, with an independent jurisdiction over the city and suburbs alone, that prophecy would be fulfilled” (Present Times and Future Prospects, Rev. W. R. Fremantle. London, 1845, p. 116).
The Rev. W. R. Fremantle (1781–1859), the editor of this volume and a priest of great learning, dealing with the same subject, remarked: “It has been thought that if cabinets of Europe only agree upon some terms, and draw up a treaty for the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, the whole matter would be speedily arranged. But if the position which our subject holds in the coming future be correctly stated, then are there many steps in this work of restoration. The first is evidently partial and preparatory” (Ibid., pp. 253–4).
The Rev. Williams Cadman said in the same series of lectures: “When the storm is passed, Israel shall be found in peaceful and quiet possession. The desolate land shall be tilled; the ruined places shall be built, and the waste cities become fenced, and be inhabited, and filled with flocks of men” (Ibid., pp. 303–4).