Sentence:  The debate must be maintained until the third reading of the corn bill had been agreed to by the house of lords. What a situation! ... Power, place, patronage might reward those who upheld the minister; they might even at this conjuncture become ‘<WSD>janissaries</WSD>' without ever having been ‘renegades'. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An elite, highly loyal supporter.