John Abel Smith was a British Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for Chichester

Chichester (UK Parliament constituency)

Chichester is a county constituency in West Sussex, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 and Midhurst

Midhurst (UK Parliament constituency)

Midhurst was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1311 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the constituency was abolished...

.

He was the son of John Smith

John Smith (Wendover MP)

John Smith was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1806 to 1835 and a banker.He was the sixth son of Abel Smith, a Nottingham banker who was a Member of Parliament for Aldborough, St Ives, and St Germans, and the brother of Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington. He lived at...

 who preceded him as MP for Midhurst.

He married Anne Jervoise, the daughter of Sir Samuel Clarke Jervoise on 26 December 1827. He was the father of Hugh Colin Smith

Smith was a founding partner of the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 based trading company Jardine, Matheson and Co.

Jardine Matheson Holdings

Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited often referred to as Jardines, is a multinational corporation incorporated in Bermuda and based in Hong Kong. While listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange, the vast majority of Jardines shares are traded in Singapore...

 and in 1835 became a partner in the merchant banking firm of Magniac, Smith & Co. along with partners Hollingworth Magniac

Hollingworth Magniac

Hollingworth Magniac was a merchant and connoisseur of medieval art. He was instrumental in the formation of Jardine Matheson, and Company, one of the largest trading houses in Asia during the 19th century.-Biography:...

 and Oswald Smith at 3, Lombard Street

Lombard Street

There are several famous Lombard Streets:* Lombard Street , famed for its twists and turns* Lombard Street, London, leading from the Bank of England to Gracechurch Street...

, London. 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.

On 26 July 1858 Abel Smith and Lord John Russell, presented Lionel de Rothschild

Lionel de Rothschild

Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was a British banker and politician.-Biography:The son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Hanna Barent Cohen, he was a member of the prominent Rothschild family....

 to the House of Commons. The Commons then voted to allow Rothschild, as a Jew, to take the oath on the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 only.

Abel Smith Street, in central Wellington, New Zealand, was named after him.

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