THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
THE appearance, simultaneously with the commencement of the Session, of Dods Parliamentary Companion, The Joint-Stock Companies' Directory, and other kindred works, naturally suggests some inquiry into the composition of a House of Commons which, though elected in a dead political calm, unruffled by the breath of a " cry," has yet to face a reconstructed Ministry, to pass or reject a Reform Bill, to legislate without delay upon a subject dangerously mixed up with " class" interests, and to settle an amount of Railway business unparalleled in importance, if not in the actual number of Bills. More than 25 per cent. of the pre- sent House of Commons are new men, and for anything anybody knows the changes at the next general election may be far more sweeping. Without concerning ourselves with the probable effects of an altered suffrage, the nature and relative strength of the different elements in the present House present some very striking aspects. Readers of the Spectator will not be surprised to learn that ninety- two members, or about one-seventh of the entire House, are sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, sons-in-law, or brothers- in-law of the present heads of the thirty-one Houses known in its columns as " The Great Governing Families of England." This is exclusive of members standing in the same relation to the great Scotch and Irish families, and at least another thirty might be added were the degree of relationship extended to first and second cousins. With a very few exceptions the ninety-two represent English constituencies, chiefly small boroughs—though not the smallest —and populous counties, three of them, for example, being amongst the eight Yorkshire county members, while West- minster, Stoke-upon-Trent, and Bristol are the only boroughs of more than 100,000 inhabitants returning members of the thirty-one families. Descending a step in the scale we find that one hundred and seventy near relatives of Peers not in- cluded in the thirty-one, fifteen of them heirs apparent or presumptive, and sixty Baronets further represent the landed and "county-family" interests in the House. Making allow- ance for Baronets also reckoned as relatives of Peers, it will be seen that but little under three hundred out of six hundred and fifty-six members of the House of Commons are more or less closely identified with the great land-owning caste of the country, exclusive of the scores of many-acred squires who appear with the plain "J.P., D.L.," in their respective county directories. There is no fear, during the present Session at least, of cows being lost without compen- sation, or of Mr. Bright making a false quantity in the name of a hunt without castigation in the shape of ironical cheers. One hundred and four members either have served or are now serving in the Army, and a hundred and fifty are officers in the Militia, Yeomanry, or Volunteers, while nine only have held naval rank. Ninety-five barristers, of whom about one- fifth are in actual practice, have seats. Ninety-three members were educated at Cambridge, while a hundred and twenty- seven of his constituents have the privilege of sitting under Mr. Gathorne Hardy. Slightly under one hundred mem- bers appear ostensibly as merchants, manufacturers, bankers, brewers, or shipowners. The accompanying table, however, shows the form and extent of business enterprise in the House. A hundred and twenty members are more or less concerned in the management or mismanagement of Railways, while 115 are directors of Insurance, Banking, Discount and Financial Joint-Stock Companies, and 104 directors of miscellaneous Companies, including nearly all kinds and forms of joint-stock associations before the public. The railway interest, though still far too strong for London householders to feel anything like security, is materially weakened. In the last Parliament its numbers varied between 146 and 155 ; so that there are now thirty members the less who may be looked upon beforehand as certain to support any scheme for pulling or shaking down houses, and blocking up streets and roads, which does not clash with their own particular railway scheme. Directors are alarmingly apt at combination and at reciprocating each others aid. It is far from pleasant for any Londoner, after looking at Mr. Stanford's map of projected London railways, with its network of red, black, and dotted lines, to reflect that nearly one-fifth of the House is interested in the highest de- gree in maintaining a system by which he can be turned out of house and home at short notice, without appeal, and for scant compensation, or can be kept years under a shower of "notices " from rival companies, the least objectionable of which perhaps deprives him for years of all access to his house but a muddy path, in order that some railway company may obtain a chance of a half per cent. more dividend. We hope, however, that at last the very insolence of the railway tyranny, the total disregard of promoters for any private interest whatever not powerful enough to make terms, and the universal absence, of even an apparent wish to construct a given line with the minimum destruction of property, will bring about a change. At present it is a despotism tempered only by letters in the Times. It seems clear from a letter recently published in that journal that the Metropolitan, into which new aggressiveness has been infused by its contact with the London, Chatham, and Dover, is bent upon little short of appropriating about half the district between the New Road, Oxford Street, or Holborn, and is stealthily at work already, carefully avoiding at first all public interests which might have a locus standi for opposition. There is no reason why many most useful lines might not be made in London without any very serious destruction of property, but private interests will fare badly until one hundred and twenty director M.P.'s, strengthened by a score or so directors of gas, tele- graph, or contract companies are met by as compact and firm a body in opposition to their schemes of destruction. We also find some facts well worth notice in the division of Par- liamentary representation amongst the different lines. The London and North-Western has seven directors in the House, as also has the Great Western. The Great Eastern at the time of its contest with the Great Northern for the coal line had two members on its Board, and the latter railway four, but it should be recollected that while the Great Eastern leads nowhere, and has no connection with other companies, the Great Northern has the support of a dozen tributary or friendly lines, each bringing their auxiliary force of Parliamentary directors, until the circle of influence spreads throughout a large portion of the directoral •plmlarm We have not apace for an analysis of the companies classed as miscellaneous, though such an analysis would not be without interest. Fourteen legislators occupy their leisure in attending -to the affairs of hotels, from the Star and Garter downwards. One worthy baronet is con- cerned in the management of a fishery company, a coffee company, a brewery company, a fresh provision company, a library company, and a gunpowder company. One or two gentlemen are directors of necropolis companies, but do not apparently relieve their gloomy duties by uniting with them directorships of more convivial associations.
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Financial, Assurancel and Banking.
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Adam, W. P Agnew, Sir A Akroyd, E.
Ayrton, A. S.
Bagwell, J.
Bailey, C.
Baines, E.
Baring, T Baring, H. B Barnes, T Barnett, H.
Barry, R.
Barttelo4 Col.
Bass, M. T.
Beecroft, G. S.
Bentinck, G. C Benyon, R.
Berkeley, Hon. F Biddulph, Col.
Biddulph, M.
Bourne, CoL Bouverie,Rt.Hon.E Bright, Sir C.
Bright, J.
Bromley, W. .D Brooks, R Brace, Rt. Hon. H Brace, Lord E Buller, Sir A.
Butler, C. S. 2 1 1 1 6 1
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1 1 2 2 1 1 ... . i3 1 Cairns, Sir H.
Campbell, H Cave, S Cave, T Cavendish, Lord F Cavendish, Lord G Cheetham, J.
Childers, H.
Cholmeley, Sir M Clay, J.
Clive, G.
Clive, Hon. G.
Cobbold, J.'C.
Cogan, W. H.
Coltburst, Sir G.
Conolly, T.
Cox, W.
Cranbourne, Lord Cranford, E.
Crawford, R. W. _ Crossley, Sir F.
Davie, Col DiUwyn, L.
Dodson, G.
Doulton, F.
Du Cane, C.
Duff, R. W.
Dutton, Hon. R.
Dyott, Col Egerton, Hon. A . . 1 1 1 1 ...
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Ellis, Hon. L.
Ewart, W.
Ewing, H. Crum-.
Farquhar, Sir W 8'erguason, Sir J Finlay, A. S Fitzgerald, Lard 0 Forester, Col..
Forster, C.
Fortescue,Rt. Hn. Ci.
3atelee, S.
'jetty, S.
Gilpin, C.
Glyn, G. C.
Glyn, G. G.
Holdney, Gt, Hooch, D. Goodson, I.
Gore, J. Ormsby- Hoschen, Rt. Hon. J Grant, H.
'ayos, S.
Gray, Sir J.
lreenall, G.
Gregory, Sir G. .
Gregory, W. H.
lrenfell, H. R.
lreville, Col.
Hrifiltb, C. D.
Grosvenor, Hon. R Grosvenor, Lord R
Gurney, It Gurney, S Hamilton, Lord C Hamilton, E.
[donkey, T.
Hardy, G Hartley, J Elartopp, E.
Efesketh, Sir T.
Elibbert, J. Hodgkinson, .0. -
Hodgson, K.
Hodgson, W Holden, I Efolmesdale, Lord food, Sir A.
lornby, W. H Howard, Hon. H Hubbard, Hubbard, j. G.
Hughes, T.
fervis, Major fones, D. .— fekewich, S.
belly, Sir F Kennard, R.
der, D.
King, J.
Kinnaird, Hon. A Knox, Col Knox, Major :atboachere, H
',aeon, Sir H.
sing, S.
aamont, J.
,ead_,er, N.
.ae, W.
..eeman, G.
lefevre, G.
lennox, Lord H Jewis, .7. H.
Jocke, J.
A owther, Col.
dusk, A.
,ygon, Hon. F Megan, P.
I'llenna, J.
tackle, .7
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Heller, W
Merry, J.
Miller, T. J.
Miller, W Mille, J. R.
Mitchell, T.
Moffatt, G- Monerief, Rt Hu...7 Monsen, Rt. Hn. W.
Montgomery, Sir G Morgan, 0 Mowbray, Rt. En. J Murphy, W.
Naas, Lord Nicol, J Northcote, Sir S O'Beirne, J. L Otway, W Paoke, CoL Parry, T.
Pease, J.
Peel, Sir R.
Pender, J.
Pete, Sir S. M
Pim, J.
Platt, J.
owell, Lieut.-Col Power, Sir J Price, R.
Price, W. P.
Robartes, T. J.
Robertson, D.
Robertson, P.
Roebuck, J. A...._ Rothschild,Baron A Rothschild,BaronN.
Russell, F. W.
Russell, Sir W.
Sk .Rubin, J
Salomon, D Scholefleld, W.
Seymour, A.
Seymour, H. D. _ Sheridan, H. B.
Sheriff, A.
Smith, J. A.
Stanhope, J. B.
Stansfeld, j Steel, J
Stirling, W..
Stock, T. 0.
Stracey, Sir H Start, Col Surtees, C.
Talbot, C.
Tite, W Torrens, R. Torrens, W.
Turner, C Vendelenr, Col. - 'Villiers, Rt. Hon. C Vivian, H.
Warner, E.
Watkin, E.
Weguelin, T Whalley, G.
White, J.
Wickham, II Woodd, B.
Wyld, J Wynn, Sir W.
Yorke, Hon. E Young, A . '
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6 Total 120 115 104
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