John Abel Smith (2 June 1802 – 7 January 1871) was a British Member of Parliament (MP) for

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

and

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

John Abel Smith by William Overend Geller, published by Leggatt, Hayward & Leggatt, after Frederick Richard Say

He was the son of John Smith who preceded him as one of the members of parliament for Midhurst. Smith married Anne Jervoise, the daughter of Sir Samuel Clarke Jervoise on 26 December 1827. He was the father of

Hugh Colin Smith Hugh Colin Smith (31 October 1836 – 8 March 1910) was an English banker who was Governor of the Bank of England from 1897–99. Early life Smith was born in London, the son of John Abel Smith (1802–1871), Member of Parliament for Chichester ...

and Dudley Robert Smith (1830-1897). Smith was a founding partner of the Hong Kong-based trading company Jardine, Matheson and Co. Appendices.
Online version at Google books
/ref> and in 1835 became a partner in the merchant banking firm of Magniac, Smith & Co. along with partners

Hollingworth Magniac Hollingworth Magniac (1786–1867)Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, p. 4138. was a merchant and conno ...

and Oswald Smith at 3,

Lombard Street, London Lombard Street () is a street notable for its connections with the City of London's merchant, banking and insurance industries, stretching back to medieval times. From Bank junction, where nine streets converge by the Bank of England, Lombard ...

. William Jardine agreed to make them agents for Jardines with the proviso that "At no time shall it be expedient that we should give up the option of carrying on transactions with other London houses." In 1841 the bank was renamed Magniac, Jardine & Co. when William Jardine became a partner on his return to England. In 1847, Smith sat on the Committee of the British Association for the Relief of Distress in Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland, which had been founded by his friend Lionel de Rothschild. On 26 July 1858 Abel Smith and

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

, presented

Lionel de Rothschild Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (22 November 1808 – 3 June 1879) was a British Jewish banker, politician and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England. He became the first practising Jew to sit ...

to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. The Commons then voted to allow Rothschild, as a Jew, to take the oath on the Old Testament only. Abel Smith Street, in central Wellington, New Zealand, was named after him in 1840: he was a Director of the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

Wellingtonian, Aug 28 2013, Abel Smith St's eclectic offerings
/ref> .

References

External links

* Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies 1802 births 1871 deaths UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

{{England-UK-MP-stub Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge