238 SOCIAL POSITION OF THE MEMBERS. 



members, When the raw men have hunted to death the 

 absurdities of each other, then the common-sense people 

 take the lead, and business proceeds. 



The social position, as we should call it, of the per 

 sons who are elected to the Legislature of this State, 

 would with us be easily judged of, from the following 

 analysis of the House of Representatives for 1850. The 

 house consists of 128 members, of whom there were 



Farmers, .... 54 



Lawyers, . ... 26 



Merchants, . . . . 16 



Physicians, .... 9 



Gentlemen, .... 6 



Manufacturers, .... o 



Merchants, .... 3 

 Tanners, ironfounders, accountants, blacksmiths, 

 hotel - keepers, lumber - merchants, millers, 



teachers, mariners each one, . . 9 



128 



With us, the social position of men of these crafts 

 would be easily understood from the list itself; but, in 

 forming our opinion from home experience, we should 

 mistake the true social position of these men in their 

 own neighbourhoods. Where there is no old aristocracy 

 either of title, wealth, or talent, the social position of the 

 class of men above enumerated is much higher relatively 

 than in the older countries of Europe. They are all 

 probably considered quite as good as any of their neigh 

 bours, and occupy as high a position in the society of 

 their county or city as any of the county or borough 

 members of the British Parliament do in theirs. 



The preponderating interest in point of numbers, as 

 appears from the above list, is that of the agricultural 

 body though, from the complaints I have heard the 

 farmers make of the intermeddling of the lawyers, I 

 suspect the latter have more to say in the direction of 



