264
HISTORY
OF
THE
MARRANOS
Council
of
State.
Samuel
Soeiro
returned
to
Amsterdam
to
lay
the
matter
before
his
father.
The
latter,
though
not
yet
fully
recovered
from
his
illness,
was
now
no
longer
to
be
restrained;
and,
in
September
1655,
he
arrived
in
London.
Here
he
was
joined
by
a
few
Jews
from
other
parts
of
Europe,
such
as
Raphael
Supino,
of
Leghorn.
Immediately
on
his
arrival,
he
presented
to
the
Lord
Protector
his
Humble
Addresses,
which
he
had
brought
with
him
from
Amsterdam;
following
it
up
with
a
further
formal
petition
in
which
he
requested
in
moving
language
the
authorization
of
the
resettlement
of
the
Jews.
To
consider
the
various
aspects
of
this
question,
Cromwell
convened
a
Conference
of
various
notables
—
statesmen,
lawyers,
and
theologians.
They
met
at
.
Whitehall
on
December
4,
7,
12,
14,
and
18,
1655.
The
lawyers
gave
it
as
their
opinion
that
there
was
no
statute
which
excluded
the
Jews
from
the
country.
Theological
and
mercantile
interests,
on
the
other
hand,
were
either
opposed
to
their
readmission,
or
would
countenance
it
only
with
such
restrictions
as
to
rob
it
of
all
attractiveness.
By
the
close
of
the
fifth
session,
Cromwell
was
con-
vinced
that
the
outcome
would
disappoint
his
expecta-
tions
and
be
contrary
to
the
best
interests
of
the
country.
He
therefore
dissolved
the
conference,
after
a
speech
of
extraordinary
vigor,
before
it
came
to
any
definite
conclusion.
It
was
now
expected
that
he
would
make
use
of
his
prerogative
and
assent
to
Menasseh’s
petition
on
his
own
authority.
Month
after
month
dragged
on,
and
it
became
evident
that
this
was
not
to
be
the
case.
Instead
of
formally
authorizing
the
resettlement
of
the
Jews,
he
RESETTLEMENT
IN
ENGLAND
265
preferred
to
‘connive’
at
it;
to
allow
those
persons
already
in
the
country,
or
who
cared
to
follow
them,
to
remain
undisturbed,
without
making
any
official
declaration
on
the
subject.
The
little
group
of
Marrano
merchants
in
London
gave
up
hopes
of
anything
more
definite.
In
the
following
Spring
(March
24,
1655/6)
they
presented
a
further
petition
to
Cromwell
asking
simply
that
they
might
“meete
at
owr
said
private
devotions
in
our
Particular
houses
without
feere
of
Molestation”
and
establish
a
cemetery
“in
such
place
out
of
the
cittye
as
wee
shall
thincke
convenient.”
This
was
granted,
though
informally.
At
the
same
time,
the
property
of
Antonio
Rodrigues
Robles,
which
had
been
seized
on
the
outbreak
of
war
with
Spain,
was
restored
to
him
in
consequence
of
his
plea
that
he
was
not
a
Spaniard,
but
a
Jew
—
a
member
of
the
people
which
was
undergoing
such
suffering
at
the
hands
of
the
Spanish
Inquisition.
A
small
number
of
fresh
arrivals
“with
intent
to
live
in
London”
trickled
in
during
1656,
and
were
admitted
by
the
authorities.
In
December
1656,
a
house
was
rented
for
use
as
a
synagogue.
A
couple
of
months
later,
a
piece
of
ground
for
use
as
a
cemetery
was
acquired.
Moses
Israel
Athias,
a
cousin
of
Carvajal,
was
brought
over
from
Hamburg
to
act
as
the
spiritual
guide
of
the
nascent
community.
The
London
Marranos
had
thrown
off
the
mask.
Their
position
was
indeed
still
highly
informal.
The
Resettle-
ment
had
not
been
authorized
—
it
had
been
‘connived’
at.
Tt
was
a
typical
English
compromise
—
inconsistent,
illogical,
but
unexpectedly
satisfactory
as
a
working
arrangement.
The
high
millenary
hopes
with
which
Menasseh
ben
Israel
had
come
to
London
were
disap-
at
a
AR
JS
EA