ABSTRACT
The protectionists maintained their numbers, though they did not increase them, in the new parliament. Lord George Bentinck, however, gained an invaluable coadjutor by the reappearance of Mr. Herries in public life, a gentleman whose official as well as parliamentary experience, fine judgment and fertile resource, have been of inestimable service to the protectionist party. The general election of 1847 did not materially alter the position of parties in the house of commons. The high prices of agricultural produce which then prevailed naturally rendered the agricultural interest apathetic. Although the rural constituencies from a feeling of esteem again returned those members who had been faithful to the protective principle, the farmers did not exert themselves to increase the number of their supporters. Had the general election been postponed until the autumn, the results might have been very different. That storm, which had been long gathering in the commercial atmosphere, then burst like a typhoon.
