Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 4.djvu/606

 588 APPENDIX G and soldiers of fortune, as some would have us believe. On the contrary, as Mr. Headlam observes: "The new House was eminently representative of the most important interests upon which the Government of the Protector depended. In addition to his sons and other relatives, it contained seven Peers of England, one Irish Peer and one Scottish Peer, who had supported the Parliamentary cause, as well as four Baronets and several country gentlemen of good family and position. (*) The army was represented by the inclusion or many officers on the active list, and there were also representatives of the legal profession and the official and commercial classes." It is true that the experiment proved a hopeless fiasco, but it does not necessarily follow that, under happier auspices, it might not have achieved a considerable measure of success. The principle of a Second Chamber, limited in numbers, composed of representative Lords of Parliament selected from the hereditary Peerage, with a substantial leavening of naval and military commanders, eminent lawyers, territorial magnates, and captains of industry, has at first sight much to recommend it. The fatal mistake in Cromwell's calculations was his failure to recognize the inherent conservatism of the English people. If he had been content to restore the old House of Lords, to " reform " it on a representative basis, and to add thereto a sufficient number of his own supporters to ensure that his policy would command a majority in that House, the result would probably have been more in accordance with his expectation. Moreover, Cromwell did not understand that important constitutional changes, to be successful, must be brought about by a gradual process of evolution. He saw clearly enough that the nation had no confidence in the rule of a packed Single Chamber, and that the great majority of his fellow- countrymen were in favour of a return to the ancient form of government by King, Lords, and Commons. But he did not realize that it was far easier to abolish the old House of Lords than to set up a brand-new assembly which would be competent to take its place. The names of the favoured individuals who were to be honoured by a seat in the "Other House " were not finally agreed upon till the loth of December. The first entry in the "Journal is a copy of the writ of summons issued by " Oliver Lord Protector of the Comonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and the Dominions and territoryes there- (") Mr. Headlam under-estimates the "gentlemen of good family" who were called to the " Other House." As a matter of fact the great majority of the members were of gentle birth, and many were of ancient lineage. Their pedigrees and arms are recorded in the Fisitations, and even those who were engaged in trade (such as Tichborne and Whalley) were, for the most part, cadets of old county families. Of the 62 members whose biographies are given in this Appendix, only two {i.e. Berry and Pride) are of obscure origin, and three or four others are of doubtful status. The armorial bearings of " Hewson the Cobbler " are on record in Ulster's Office, though his parentage is unknown. With these few exceptions, Cromwell's " Lords " were English gentlemen, if the Heralds' Fisitations are any criterion of gentility.