CIVIC LIFE 33

were called. There were the Aldermen and Council-
lors—the " lords " and " commons " of the municipal
parliament. The ordinary' council-chamber was at
Ouse Bridge: the other was the Common Hall, the
present Guildhall. Sometimes the whole community
of citizens met, when for the moment the govern-
ment of the city became essentially and practically
democratic. This was only done on important
occasions to decide broad questions of policy, or
when numbers were needed to enforce a decision.
The commons really possessed no administrative
power. The form of civic government \vas supposed
to be representative, but as a matter of fact it was
not only not founded on popular election (a procedure
enforced in 1835 by the Municipal Reform Act), but
was kept exclusively in the hands of the wealthy
merchant and trading class, the middle class. Men
of this class became Aldermen. When a vacancy
occurred in the upper house of civic government,
they chose a man like themselves. The Mayor was
elected b}~ the Aldermen, who naturally chose one
of themselves. In fact the government of the city
was in the hold of a "close self-elected Corporation/'
The civic spirit developed a good deal during
the fifteenth century, no doubt in connection with
the simultaneous increase in the wealth and social
pretension of the rising merchant middle class. It
appeared in the greater respect bestowed on the
office of Mayor and the pomp and reverence attached
to his position. The " right worshipful " the Mayor
and the Aldermen wore rich state robes edged with
fur. In addition, contemporary city records reflect
the new spirit in such expressions as " the worshupful
cite," " the said full honourabill cite/' " this full
nobill city/' This spirit, however, developed more
fully in the sixteenth century.