been expected in
the _personnel_ of the house of commons. The counties, for the most
part, elected men from the landed aristocracy, the great towns elected
men of recognised distinction, and few political leaders were excluded,
though Croker abjured political life and refused to solicit a seat in
the reformed house of commons. The good sense of the country asserted
itself; while Cobbett was returned for Oldham, "Orator" Hunt was
defeated at Preston, and no general preference was shown for violent
demagogues by the more democratic boroughs. The age of members in the
new house was higher, on the average, than in the old; its social
character was somewhat lower, and the high authority of William Ewart
Gladstone, who now entered parliament for the first time, may be quoted
for the opinion that it was inferior, in the main, as a deliberative
assembly. But it was certainly superior as a representative assembly, it
contained more capable men of business, and its legislative productions,
as we shall hereafter see, claim the gratitude of posterity. A certain
want of modesty in the new class of members was observed by hostile
critics, and was to be expected in men who had won their seats by
popular oratory and not through patronage. The house of commons had
already ceased to be "the best club in London," and later reforms have
still further weakened its title to be so regarded, but they have also
shown the wonderful power of assimilation inherent in the atmosphere of
the house itself, and the spirit of freemasonry which springs up among
those who enter it by very different avenues.

[Pageheading: _THE FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT._]

The change wrought by the reform act in the strength and distribution of
parties was immediate and conspicuous. The ancient division of whigs and
tories, which had become well-nigh obsolete in the reign of George IV.,
had been revived by the great struggle of 1831-32. It was now superseded
to a great extent by the combination of the radicals with O'Connell's
followers into an independent section, and by the growth of a party
under Peel, distinct from the inveterate tories and known by the name of
"conservative," which first came into use in 1831.[110] The
preponderance of liberalism, in its moderate and extreme forms, was
overwhelming. It was roughly computed that nearly half the house were
ministerialists and about 190 members radicals, Irish repealers, or free
lances, while only 150 were classed as "