163 



and continued in it after the expiration of that period until 

 the new lists of the Senate were drawn up by the censors, 

 when tliey were formally enrolled. Since, however, the elec- 

 tion of magistrates rested with the people, it is evident that a 

 great number of senators obtained their seats indirectly at 

 least by popular election. On the other hand, it is well 

 known that for the members of the great Roman families it 

 was a very easy matter to obtain by popular election, an office 

 qualifying the holder to be admitted to the senate. The 

 Eoman nobility, though not entitled by law to any preference 

 in the state, monopolised most effectually the honourable and 

 lucrative offices of the state ; and thus it is that we can trace 

 in the members of the Roman Senate so many generations of 

 so many noble houses ; that in spite of popular election of 

 magistrates, and in spite of admission to the Senate by the 

 executive, a very large proportion of the senators of Rome did 

 de facto resemble the hereditary portion of the English 

 legislature. 



I have already mentioned, that the discharge of public 

 offices, from the qusestorship upwards, gave a claim for ad- 

 mittance into the Senate. The result of this regulation 

 must be evident ; the Senate consisted chiefly of experienced 

 public functionaries, and its leading members would gene- 

 rally be men who had successively distinguished themselves 

 as qusesiors, sediles, prsetors, censors, or consuls. There 

 was therefore in the Senate an amount of administrative 

 experience, skill and talent, not inferior to that which sways 

 the decisions of the British Parliament,"^ and far superior 

 to that of any other representative assembly of the present 

 day, or any Senate of any of the ancient republics. In 

 fact, in this point lay the great strength of the Roman 



♦ Recent events ^(•oln to prove, that tlie adrcinistrative talent in the English 

 Legislnture is rather inferior to that of the Roman Senate, if the leader of • great 



!)arty must confesia, that he cannot find more than one or two men among his fol- 

 owers lit to take office. 



