DISRAELI, Benjamin (1804-1881). Prime Minister 1868 and 1874-1880.
Autograph Letter Signed ('B. Disraeli') to the Rev Dr Alexander, 3 pages 8vo on black-edged paper, Grosvenor Gate, 24 March 1861. A good letter discussing proposals affecting the relations of Church and State.

'... I ought, before this, to have informed you that I received, & duly presented to the Ho: of Commons, the petition from the parish of Fawley against the unconditional abolition of Church Rates ...
 'This is a great crisis in Church affairs, for the Bill of Sir Jno Trelawny is only part of a concerted movement, comprising other measures, against the union between Church & State ...'

A footnote to Benjamin Disraeli Letters, vol. 7, page 157, records the background to this matter.

'Sir John Trelawny on 11 February [1858] had brought in, as he had in several recent years, a bill for the total abolition of church rates, on 17 February it had passed second reading 214-160 despite Trelawny's rejection of some compromise suggestions. The bill would come up again on 21 April, and on 8 June pass third reading; however, it would be defeated in the Lords, as it had been in the past.'

The Parliamentary Diaries (1858-1868) of Sir John Trelawny, member of parliament for Cornwall Eastern, were published by the Camden Society (Fourth Series, vol. 40).
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