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The performances of parliament in 1834 fell very short of what had been promised, and of what had been done in 1833. This had arisen from ministerial differences and changes, and also from the disposition of the house of peers to alter or reject measures sent to them from the reformed parliament. Among the measures rejected, or so altered that the commons could not agree to the amendments, were the bills for the removal of Jewish disabilities (thrown out by a majority of 130 against 38), for the admission of dissenters into the universities, for the prevention of bribery at elections, and for the regulation of coroners' courts. An important act was passed for the improvement of the administration of the criminal law in the metropolis. It extended the jurisdiction of the Old Bailey Court over a population which was then about 1,700,000, including parts of Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex. The Old Bailey sessions were to be held monthly, and oftener if necessary, for the transaction of the criminal business of the metropolis.
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