Sentence:  In spite of the increase in numbers and prestige brought about by the conversions of Newman and other Tractarians of the 1840 's and 1850 's , the Catholic segment of England one hundred years ago was a very small one ( four per cent , or 800000 ) which did not enjoy a gracious hearing from the general <WSD>public</WSD> . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  people in general considered as a whole