THE MARTIN P. CATHERWOOD LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY ^^^^^^Ocs^rW 5^^^^^^^ Hl^ m^' '€n9^ -Z/?^ ^a^ ^^tsY. y-^^7^ ■ o, rt^ f cc^. -c~m i ''^ o I: I r f^ce 7^ 9Ycr£ir^^^^ Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002150211 CLUB UNION BUILDINGS. TENTH THOUSAND. OUR Fifty Years THE STORY OF THE WORKING MEN'S CLUB AND INSTITUTE UNION.; TOGETHER WITH BRIEF IMPRESSIONS OF THE MEN OF THE MOVEMENT. BY B. T. HALL. V.i (Published on June 14th, 1912, the 50th Anniversary of the Union.) " Whatever Eecord leap to Light, Ours never shall be shamed." LONDON : printed and published by The Wobeinq Men's Club and Institute Union Limited, Club Union Buildings, Cleekenwell Road, E.G. 1912. ni I PREFACE. This little book is written at the direction of the Council of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union in order that some souvenir of the close of the Union's Fiftieth Year may exist, and some record be made of a society which has become, by reason of its 1,500 con- stituent bodies and their half-a-million adult male members, an important part of the social economy of Great Britain. Enthusiastic pioneers are seldom men to whom dates, exact figures, and the careful filing of contemporary records and documents appear as matter of importance. The whole of the Minutes of the Union meetings between 1863 and 1883 have been lost. Consequently herein there must be some unavoidable lack of precision in many early references and par- ticulars, and doubtless (what is the more regrettable) many omissions of the names of earlier workers, the faithful who may never become even so famous as to achieve mention in the story of a movement to which their lives were devoted. The scanty means oi reference may even prevent the placing of events in correct chronological order in the first ten years. From that time onwards reports appear to have been kept at the Union office, with some greater effort at accuracy and system. But they are scanty and incomplete, and provide slight material from which a story may be built. The first chapter, which I have entitled " Premonitory Symptoms," is from ^^^.^.n^^.of MARTIN P. CATHERWOOD LIBRARY mi nm state school momm m mm mmm Cornell University the founder of the Union, the Eeverend Henry Solly,* arranged by me in chronological para- graphs. It has been somewhat condensed (for The Founder saw nothing of virtue in brevity), and certain topical references now meaningless or misleading excised. The Chapter (VII.) on " The Convalescent Homes " is in the first person, being in the main the " Story of the Homes," written by me in the weekly paper "Club News." In the section devoted to "The Men of the Movement," the sketch of the present Secretary of the Union is by another hand than mine, and where it diverges from fact into opinion, such opinion must be accepted with reserve. It is the unfortunate lot of the poor craftsman to be doomed to constant apology for his work- manship. I must apologise for this book and plead that it was suddenly commissioned, hastily undertaken, and hurriedly accomplished in the odd moments of too few and too busy days. It is unworthy of the great movement whose rise and progress it purports to chronicle — a move- ment whose full story may, I trust, soon command the service of a more able and more leisured pen than mine. One other regret — that time did not permit me to collect some views of the exteriors and interiors of club houses. Those which appear are from such photographs as happened to be in my possession at the time of going to press. June 14tb, 1912. B. T. H. From " Working Men's Clubs and Social Institutes," Simpkin Marshall 1867. HENRY SOLLY. CONTENTS. CHAP. 1. Premonitory Symptoms. By the (late) Keverend Henry Solly, M. A 2. The Union Founded : The Diebctoeatb op Solly 3. The Movement Established : The Triumvirate— Peatt, Paterson, and Herbert 4. Lord Rosebbry gives a Straight Lead and a Clear Course 5. Advent of Dent and Democbatio Government 6. Progress and development till To-Day 7. The Branches 8. The Convalescent homes ... 9. The Clvb and Institute Journal 10. The "Beer" Problem 11. Clubs and legislation 12. policy and Aim 13. The Clubs 14. The Workman in the Club 15. Men of the movement :— (1) Henry Solly, (2) Hodgson Pratt. (3) Stephen S. Tayler (4) Herbert Praed. (5) Thomas Paterson. (6) William Minet. (7) T. F. Hobson. (8) J. J. Dent (9) JESSE Argyle. (10) B. T. Hall. (11) Rodolphb CUEREL. (12) EICHARD GASTON 16. The Executive of the Union. 1910-1912 17. Appendices and Tables The Hodgson Pratt Memorial PAGE 7 14 37 51 78 106 126 143 168 177 193 226 236 247 259 307 315 348 ILLUSTEATIONS. Facing Club Union Building! 1 Henry Solly 4 Eight Hon. Sir Edward Clarke, K.C. 12 The Oldest Union Club— St. James' and Soho 16 Hodgson Pratt 86 Stephen Seaward Tayler 37 Union Executive and Officers, 1911 44 Finance Committee 45 Earl Bosebery 52 Sir Herbert Bulkley Praed 53 Concert and Beading Rooms 60 A Club Smoking Boom and Bath Boom 61 Beoreation Booms 68 A Club Library 69 " Old Cronies " 69 Earl Brassey 76 J. J. Dent 77 Charlton Kings Club 84 Modern Club Houses 85 William Minet 92 T. F. Hobson, M.A., L.C.C. 93 B.T.Hall 116 Eecreation and Education Committee 124 A London Club Billiard Boom 125 Branch Secretaries 128, 129 Northanta Village Club 136 A Unionist Club in Union 136 Wolverton and Glass Houghton Clubs 137 Neath and Kettering Clubs 140 Mildmay and King Cross Clubs 141 Jesse Argyle 148 Views of Pegwell Convalescent Home .. 149, 152, 168, 169, 204, 205, 216, 229, 232 Officers at Pegwell Home 153 Views of Saltburn Convalescent Home 156, 212, 213, 217, 220, 221, 228, 233, 244, 268, 269, 276, 277, 280, 281 Convalescent Homes Committee 157 J. Passmore Edwards 164 Officers at Saltburn Home 165 Pallion and New House Clubs 188 Lancashire and Tyneside Clubs ... 189 Hatcham Liberal Club 196, 236 Pangbourne and Gillingham Clubs 197 A Club Hall 237 Diamond Jubilee Club 245 H. Dilks, Founder of THE Fellowship 245 W. G. Stroud, W. H. Berry, G. Shore 296 Staff at Head Office 297 CHAPTEE I. Premonitory Symptoms. 1840-1860. By Henry Solly. In tracing the origin and nature of the Origin and movement on behalf of Working Men's Clubs Reading Rooms, and Institutes, we must look back to the 1840. agitation in favour of Mechanics' Institutes, originated by that true friend of the working classes. Dr. Birkbeok, to which the illustrious man who has led the van in so many great enterprises for the good of humanity, Lord Brougham, gave such distinguished assistance. That agitation was purely an educational effort, intended originally to teach artisans the correct knowledge and prin- ciples of their own trades. Then came various unconnected intermittent attempts to provide what were called " Eeading- rooms " for working men, in which the chief element was the supplying a place where time might be innocently passed, but where neither education, social intercourse, nor recreation was offered, except so far as reading a newspaper or book in the same room with other people might be supposed to afford all or either. Next came the formation of Mutual Improve- ment Societies, which met chiefly in school-rooms, and aimed at Classes, Discussions, and especially at the preparation of short papers on interesting and improving topics. There was often a good deal of sociable spirit in these little organisa- tions, but they were seldom long-lived. One formed on a more comprehensive plan in 1842 at Yeovil, Somersetshire, for the working men of the town generally, aimed to be a fellow- ship for mutual benefit in various ways, but chiefly educa- tional, with very little of the recreation element in it, and 8 without any of the Club features properly so called. It was well appreciated and vary useful, but after a time broke up. In the same year, that excellent institution, the People's College at Sheffield, was estabhshed by a very earnest and able friend of the people, the late Eev. E. L. Bayly, of that town, and has done great good there. But the greatest impulse to the movement Mechanics- for helping working men in the particular Institutes, direction now under consideration, at all par- ''^^°- taking of a national character, subsequently to the initiation of Mechanics' Institutions, was given by the Eev. P. W. Eobertson, Incumbent of Trinity Church, Brighton, in 1849, by the establishment of the Brighton Working Men's Institute. The large-hearted. Christian sympathies of that gentleman, and his striking eloquence, procured a considerable amount of attention to his enterprise ; its influence was felt through the Midland counties and as far north as South Shields, where a Working Men's Institute was formed, shortly after, by working men who had heard vaguely of such a thing doing good to working men somewhere, and thought, there- fore, it might do the same in their own locality. A more direct and acknowledged impulse from the Brighton centre was given in various other towns where Working Men's Institutes were formed, and, among others, to a few working men and their friends in Cheltenham, where, in 1849-50, a Working Men's Institute was estabhshed which, like its prototype, aimed at a combination of education and amusement, but which subsequently closed ingloriously. While, however, all these efforts were pro- The First ductive of more or less unquestionable benefit. Want. none of them met that which is undoubtedly the first great want of working men after their long day's toil — viz., unrestrained social intercourse, the means of chatting with one another, with or without refreshments. This is the first and simplest kind of relaxation that hard-worked men in any rank of life desire ; but in proportion to mental culture and educated tastes will be the desire, of course, for other enjoyments than mere gossiping chat. All efforts to benefit working men, not aiming directly at tlieir moral, religious, or pecuniary welfare, previous to 1852, appear to have ignored this, tlreir primary and simplest, but most urgent, want. Hence their very limited success. A few of the ilite benefited by them. But they never reached the masses, who still found the only conditions for the relaxation they desired in the public-house, where they had to pay for it in a way that many did not desire — viz;., by drinking for " the good of the house," and to the damage of their families and themselves. In the year above-mentioned, however (1852), The First there appears to have been a new element "Club." introduced. An institution was opened in the 18S2. Colonnade, Clare Market, under the presidency of Viscount Ingestre, which was called " The Colonnade Working Men's Club," and provided amusement and refresh- ment, as well as newspapers and books, and met with a tolerable amount of support, but becoming subsequently a Youths' Institute. Laudable, however, as this improved scheme Other ^as, it does not appear to have attracted any Attempts. general attention. In 1855, Mr. Horlock 1855. Bastard, of Charlton Marshall, near Bland- ford, Dorset, without having heard of any similar enterprise, established a Village Working Men's Club in that parish, which, Uke the Colonnade Club in London, made the means of conversation, combined with opportunity for obtaining refreshments, the primary object — newspapers, books, with chess and draughts, being at the same time offered. Women were allowed to be members of the Charlton Club. A similar Village Club was established about the same time in Hertford- shire on the estate of Mr. Lawes, in conjunction with garden 10 allotments. Beer* in limited quantities was provided for mem- bers, with the result, we are told, of shutting up the village pubUc-house. Soon after, village Clubs were established at Littlemore and IfHey in Oxfordshire, which again gave rise to Clubs at Kingham, Chipping Norton, and Adderbury, Oxon. Then came one of the greatest, if not the The greatest, impulses yet given in this country Working Men-s to the movement for elevating working men College. in the social scale. We moan the estabUsh- 1854. ment, by the Eev. F. D. Maurice and his earnest fellow-workers, in 1854, of the London Working Men's College. This most important enter- prise grew out of the wants felt, and desires awakened, by the " Christian Socialist or Co-operative " movement, in which those gentlemen had been previously engaged ; but the name and idea of a college, Mr. Maurice tells us, were suggested to him by the People's College, Sheffield, which, however, though an admirable institution, has been little more than a system of capital classes. In 1858, about four years after the establishment of the Working Men's College, a clergyman in Salford — the Eev. B. Boteler Chalmer — formed a Working Men's Club, which made social intercourse, amusement, and refreshments the primary object. It has been eminently useful and successful. In 1860 two excellent ladies in different parts LONDON Effort. q| ^j^q metropolis, in ignorance of what each " '°'-»CE Aux other was doing, but both moved to action by witnessing the sufferings and degradation of the wives and children of labouring men in whom they were interested, were busy devising means for drawing these men from the public-house. In the course of the year 1860, Miss Adeline Cooper, after much consideration and labour, succeeded in fitting up premises in Duck Lane, * Eeaders who purpose to follow this narrative to its end will please note the fatelulword.— B.T. H. 11 Westminster, suitable for the object wliicli she saw must be aimed at, and in December of that year the Westminster Working Men's Club was formally opened. Fortunately, Miss Cooper saw the value and importance of calling the institution, thus estabHshed, a Club, and by bringing the writer to the same view, has been mainly instrumental in fixing the right name both on these societies and on the movement generally — no slight service, seeing the wonderful extent to which a cause depends for success upon its name. When names are symbols their power is immeasurable. During the same year (1860) Mrs. Bayly was holding several interesting conferences with tlie brickmakers of Nottingdale ; and, in 1861, the Netting Hill Workmen's Hall was opened in the Kensington Potteries. They were both of them prac- tically Working Men's Clubs in the sense now given to the word — viz., societies of working men formed to promote social intercourse, innocent amusement, mental improvement, and mutual helpfulness of various kinds ; and their establishment, which was made known far and wide among temperance reformers, gave a powerful, impetus to efforts and inquiries in this direction. Their success led the writer, during the year The Dawn 1860, to consider the desirableness of adding °^ the Club element to such societies for mental improvement as he had previously endea- voured to promote in various localities. About the same time the writer was coming to the con- clusion that a much larger amount of recreation and provision for social intercourse than these Mechanics' Institutes afforded was required to meet the wants of working men. Having also worked for the greater part of that period in the Temperance movement, and seen how many reclaimed drunkards fell back after a time into their old ways, he began to understand that by far the larger number of men who frequent the public- house go there for the company rather than for the drink. 12 And when a lady who was devoting herself to the benefit of the working men in Lancaster observed to him one evening at a pleasant social party, in a well-warmed and Ughted drawing- room, that a friend had written to her only that day, "The cry comes from all parts of the country. What are we to do with our reclaimed drunkards? " — a new view of the work to be done for the industrial classes presented itself to his mind. About this time an able pamphlet by W. T. An Ally. Marriott, Esq.,* was put into the writer's hands, in which, after dweUing on the wants and claims of the working classes, Mr. Marriott suggested the establishment of " Clubs " for working men on the same principle as those used by the upper classes. He had taken an active part in the formation of a capital Working Men's Institute at Hulme, Manchester, in which he had set up a gymnasium, and had also doubtless been an interested spectator of Mr. Ohalmer's enterprise in Salford. In the summer of 1861 the writer, when A Big Scheme, visiting London and conversing with the Eev. 1861. David Thomas, of Brixton, found that gentle- man as deeply interested as himself in the subject of suitable places of resort for working men, and looking precisely in the same direction. Mr. Thomas, urging the importance of immediate and National action in the matter, proposed the formation of a Limited Liability Company, with a capital of £3,000,000, for building Working Men's Institutes all over the country. The writer saw with great thankfulness that such an organisation, if only it were made a philanthropic society instead of a commercial company, was the very thing required ; and, Mr. Thomas consenting to the change, they set to work at once to draw up a prospectus, and form the Society. The consent of Lord * Then a curate in Manchester. Afterwards Sir W. T. Marriott, Q.C., M.P., Judge Advocate-General. THE RIGHT HON. SIR EDWARD CLARKE, K.C. 18 Brougham to become its President was obtained ; and this invaluable support once secured, other eminent men were successively induced to become Vice-Presidents. In June, 1862, Lord Brougham's hearty consent to preside at a meeting to launch the proposed Society was obtained, and the first meeting called. This meeting was held at the Law Amendment The Birth. Society's Eooms, in Waterloo Place, on the 1862. 14:th June, 1862, when, among other addresses, two very able and interesting speeches were made by Mr. John Bainbridge, an upholsterer, and Mr. Bebbington, a coster- monger and secretary to the Working Men's Club, already mentioned, in Duck Lane, Westminster. At this meeting the Society was duly inaugurated, under the title of the "Working Men's Club and Institute Union," Mr. E. Clarke* taking the minutes of the first meeting. Mr. W. M. Neill (of Liverpool) announced his intention of giving £100 to its funds ; Lord Brougham gave £20 on the spot. A Council was elected, and the agitation on behalf of the Union went forward with greatly increased vigour, Mr. Eylance and the writer acting as Honorary Secretaries. In the following autumn, after a great many meetings held by the Council appointed at the meeting on the 14th June, the writer resigned the pulpit of the English Presbyterian Chapel, Lancaster, to become the paid Secretary of the Union at a salary of £200 a year ; rooms were taken at 150, Strand, and its labours were fairly commenced in the beginning of October that year. ' Now the Eight Honourable Sir Edward Clarke, K.C. CHAPTEE II. The Union Founded. 1862-1867. The Dieectoeate op Solly. The Keverend Henry Solly, M.A., Unitarian Minister, the Founder of the Union and the father of Working Men's Clubs, has in the previous chapter recorded the efforts and experiences which led him to promote and establish the WoEKiNG Men's Club and Institute Union, which is responsible for the establishment of workmen's clubs as they are now found, some 2,500, or (if the widest meaning be given to the prefix) perhaps 3,000 of them, scattered unequally about England and Wales, with a stray growth in Ireland, and but one or two in Scotland. The chapter closed with the record of the Union's establishment, the election of its distinguished first President, and the appointment of Mr. Solly as Secretary at £200 per annum. This chapter wiU follow its progress during his management for five years. The first step was the issuing of the following Objects and prospectus or manifesto in which both prin- Plan of ciples and plan of action were expressed. Operations. This first document is set out in full. Its terms are worth careful perusal, so that earliest hopes and intentions may be appreciated and subsequent departures and modifications noted : — This Union is formed for the purpose of helping Working Men to establish Clubs or Institutes where they can meet for conversation business, and mental improvement, with the means of recreation and refreshment, free from intoxicating drinks; these Clubs, at the same time, constituting Societies for mutual helpfulness in various ways. 15 It will be the aim of the Council of the Union to assist in extending or improving existing Associations which have in view objects of a kindred nature with the above, as well as to promote the establishment of Clubs or Institutes where no such Associations may now be found. In order to consolidate and strengthen the action and mutual fellowship of these various Associations, Clubs, or Institutes, the Council will invite them to become Registered Members of the Union. [*In reference to the use of intoxicating drinks on the premises, the Council are strongly of opinion that their introduction would be dangerous to the interests of these Societies, and earnestly recommend their exclusion. They make this recommendation simply on prudential grounds, the reasonableness of which, it is believed, the Working Classes will be the first to acknowledge.] The Council also recommend that at least one-half of the managing body should be hond-fide Working Men. The Council propose to carry out the objects of Method. the Union:- 1. By correspondence with the Officers of existing Associations throughout the kingdom. 2. By personal visits, by their own Officers and by honorary deputations, to such places as may seem to require to be visited. At these visits conferences will be held with the Working Classes, and with others in the locality who may be interested in the object. 3. By the dissemination of tracts, or special paper, on subjects lying within the sphere of the Society's operations. 4. By supplying instructions for the guidance of persons who may wish to establish Clubs or Institutes ; together with rules to define their objects, and to regulate their proceedings. 5. By grants or loans of Books for Club Libraries, Apparatus, Diagrams, etc., to Societies in membership with the Union, in cases where local circumstances may seem to call for such aid. 6. By grants of money in special cases, by way of loan or other- wise, towards the building, enlarging, or altering Club Houses, or procuring recreation grounds, for Societies in the Union. As soon as a sufficient number of Clubs shall Branches. have joined the Union within a given district, the Council will combine them in local organisa- tions, under specified conditions. Half-yearly, or sometimes quarterly, meetings of Delegates from the various Clubs will be held in each district, for the consideration of matters of local interest, and for the discussion of social questions; while an annual conference of District Representatives will be held at * The words shown In trackets are a modification of the more definite and drastic reference to intoxicants in the first paragraph. They were introduced later, in 1864 (see the chapter on " The Beer Problem." page 177), but were "spatchoocked " into later copies of the original manifesto- 10 ^^arious large towns in succession, to consider matters of a more general character. The Council will be glad to receive communications, addressed to their Secretary, from persons desirous of promoting these objects either in their own looahty or generally. Information and assistance will be gladly given and received. Donations and Subscriptions for the Union will be thankfully received by the Secretary, or they can be paid at the London and Westminster Bank (St. James's Square, S.W.), or any of its Branches. An Annual Subscription of not less than £1, or a Donation of not less than £10, constitutes the contributor a member of the Union. Notwithstanding all the efforts made to improve General the character and condition of the Working Remarks. Classes in this country, intemperance, ignorance, improvidence, and religious indifference still abound among them to a deplorable extent. One main reason of the want of more complete success is probably to be found in the incompleteness of the measures adopted. Vast good, for instance, has been accomphshed by the Temperance Reform, but it often fails to retain those whom it has reclaimed from intem- perance, in not supplying something to occupy the leisure hours formerly spent at the public-house. Mechanics' Institutions, also, with efforts of a kindred character, have done a great work ; but they, too, generally fail in not providing recreation and amiisement. Their aims have been too high for the great majority of Working Men ; hence, while they have attracted and benefited many, the inducements held out have failed to withdraw the multitude from habits and indulgences which all alike deplore. As a result, we find such Institutions now generally given up to the trading and middle classes. Working Men's Colleges, admir- able as they are, require some such intermediate step between them and the public-house as the Societies above described. Recreation must go hand in hand with Education and Temper- ance if we would have real and permanent improvement ; while efforts should be specially made to awaken or cherish a brotherly spirit of mutual helpfulness among working men themselves, as well as between them and the classes socially above them. The best hope of success is in thus binding people together for worthy ends in a true brotherhood, so that each may be led to give as well as to receive, striving to contribute to the common good. Higher results will follow as these preparatory measures are successful ; and when the temptations to debasing indulgence are removed the way is open for good influences of every kind. The aim of the Union in all cases would be to help Working Men to help themselves, rather than to establish or manage Institutions for them — this being as essential for the moral useful- ness as for the permanent success of our endeavours. Local and THE OLDEST UNION CLUB-(ST. JAMES AND SOHO). 17 Working Class efforts may frequently be fostered and developed by external help with the happiest result, when the establishment of entirely new institutions, managed by the higher classes in the neighbourhood or by a central Society, would be viewed with jealousy or indifference. The very first step towards forming a Club or Institute would be to interest the Working Men of the district in the undertaking, and to make them feel that, when once started, its management and success must depend mainly on themselves. The next point in forming these Societies would The Club be to procure suitable premises for the accommo- House. dation of the members, containing rooms to be used for conversation, refreshments, recreation, etc. ; and others for classes, reading, lectures, and music. A library of entertaining and instructive books, scientific apparatus, diagrams, etc., a supply of newspapers, and some works of art, should be aimed at. The services of efficient teachers, paid and unpaid, should be procured ; Discussion Classes, to awaken thought and a desire for knowledge, should be estab- lished ; readings from amusing and eloquent writers, interspersed with music and recitations, should be given periodically ; and, generally, any similar measures adopted for effecting the objects in view. Women should have the privilege, on a small payment, of taking books out of the library, and of admission to the lectures and concerts of the Institute ; also to classes, when efficient female superintendence could be procured. The very valuable influence of educated women has of late years shown itself in various schemes to improve the condition of the Labouring Classes. A much wider field for this influence may be afforded by Societies such as those now advocated. The Club Rooms in every locality will form the strongest counteraction to the allurements of the Public House. The desire for social enjoyment and the love of excitement are the impulses that habitually drive the Working Classes to visit the Beer Shop. These instincts also form a great temptation of reclaimed drunkards. They remain as strong as ever in their nature after they have become abstainers, and the Public House stands before them as the most available means for their gratification. Music, also, which ought to purify and refine, is now extensively employed as a temptation to drinking and other vices. Until there shall be established in every locality an institution that shall meet these instincts with superior attractions, but without temptations to evil, it is unreasonable to expect a great diminution in the drinking customs of the working population. This want the proposed Clubs will supply. Here the Working Man will obtain, at a charge within his reach, social intercourse and healthy mental excitement — the refreshment he requires or the improvement he seeks. B 18 The extent to which Working Men suffer from Societies in their dependence upon the Public House merely Public for business purposes is also an immense evil, Houses ^°^ °°® th&t is still inadequately appreciated. [See Mr. Tidd Pratt's last Report on Friendly Societies to the House of CommonSj page 35, where he remarks, " The holding of these Societies at a Public House is also another ground of their failure In the course of last year the Registrar found that in Herefordshire, since 1793, the number of Societies enrolled and certified were 136; of this number 123 were held at Public Houses and 13 at schools or private rooms. Of those held at Public Houses no less than 42 had broken up, but of those held at schools or private rooms only one had been dissolved." Even where no drinking is allowed during business hours a considerable sum is often spent after- wards, especially by the younger men.] Gradually, however, the proposed Clubs and Institutes will become the Houses of Call for men in search of work and will be the centres of various Working Men's Societies, such as Friendly Societies, Freehold and Building Associations, Co-operative Societies, Circulating Libraries for the district, Temperance Societies, and of any similar agencies calculated to improve the condition of the Working Classes. These are no mere visionary ideas. They have Conclusion. been already reduced to practice with most beneficial results in Westminster, Netting Hill, Clare Market, Brighton, Norwood, Manchester, Shrewsbury, Leeds, Farringdon, Liverpool, Carlisle, Southampton, Scar- borough, and many other places. The Wokking Men's Club AND Institute Union aims at multiplying such results by stimulating and assisting local effort. The time is evidently ripe for this movement. In all directions earnest and benevolent people are groping after the means of making isolated efforts for elevating the Working Classes above debasing vice and ignorance; but these efforts often need judicious guidance or timely support, and would be greatly assisted by united counsels and organised power. Our hard-working brethren can seldom find time to initiate, or can rarely obtain adequate support among their own class for local enterprises of this nature. Those best acquainted with them, however, know that they thankfully welcome such help as it is now proposed to afford. In conclusion, it will be seen that, while the Working Men's Club and Institute Union may be useful with the smallest, it will be able to make efficient application of the largest means that may be placed at its disposal — beginning with selected localities, and widening its sphere of action in proportion to the public support it may receive. The Council earnestly solicit the assistance, personal and pecuniary, of all who approve their objects; and, sincerely praying that the Divine blessing may 19 rest upon this undertaking, they commend it to the support of all who desire the true welfare of the Working Classes of this country. And thus the Union begins. It has its first body of Subscribers, its first Council, 1863. , its Programme and Manifesto, and — Heney Solly ! It is no reflection on any to say that the former were but the manifestation of the man Solly. It was his manifesto ; it represents his hopes and his concep- tion — then — of the workman. It was elaborated at scores of meetings and conferences, in the Press, by circular, and by personal correspondence. The supporters and sympathisers obtained were his collection. The establishment of the Union was his job. But place, honourable place, for the first list of believers. The new movement did not want for great and good Godfathers. President. THE Et. Hon. Lord Beoughasi. Vice-Presidents. The Kt. Hon. EAEL Spencbe. Rev. Dr. GUTHEIE. ,, ,, EAEL FOETESCUE. Eev. NEWMAN HALL, LL.B. ,, „ EAEL OF DUCIB. G. W. HASTINGS. „ „ LORD LTTTELTON. J. HEYWOOD, F.B.S. „ ,, LOED CalthOEPB. M. DAVENPOET Hill, Recorder Viscount KAYNHAM, M.P. of Birmingham. The Very Rev. DEAN OF CARLISLE. T. HUGHES, B.A. „ „ „ Chichester. The Rev. Canon Jbnkyn, M.A. ELY. A. H. LAYAED, M.P., D.C.L. SIR William a Beckett. Sergeant Manning, Recorder of Hon. and Rev. W. H. LYTTELTON, Oxford. M.A. W. M. Neill, Manchester. S. BOWLBY, Esq., Glouceater. J. S. PakingtON. Rev. W. Brock, London. Rev. W. MOELET PuNSHON, J. I. Briscoe, M.P. M.A. F. CROSSLEY, M.P. T. RATHBONE, J. p., Liverpool. Rev. H. Glbson, M.A. The Rev. CANON ROBINSON, M.A. RUSSELL GURNBY, Q.C., Recorder A. J. BOOTT, M.A. London. J. ABEL SMITH. 20 Council. JOHN BAINBRIDGB. W. E. FBANKS. Captain BAYLY. E. B. DITCHFIBLD, B.A. Mrs. Bayly. G. Lushington, M.A. JOHN Bebbington. Mrs. (Sergeant) MANNING. Eev. J. Baldwin Bkown, B.A. Hugh Owen. Miag Janet Chambers. Eev. J. H. Eylanob. Edward G. Clabeb. Eussbll Scott. Miss Adeline Cooper. T. Shorter (Sec, W.M. College). Miss ISA Craig. Miss Anna Swanwick. Eev. A. J. D'ORSBY, B.D. Eev. D. THOMAS, D.D. Mrs. William Fison. Miss E. Twining. Of these distinguished men and women there probably remains alive but one — who has attained great distinction in England — the Eight Honourable Sir Edward G. Clarke, K.C. Thus nobly supported, Solly began to justify His Task. his post and his faith. Never was there so tremendous an apostle. He had two tasks, one to obtain a large measure of support (financial and moral) from those not workmen, whose money and repute would attract public attention, and similar support from others ; and two, to make the working men, for whom the organisation was brought into being, sufficiently interested to enable it to give effect to its purpose. The second was the more difficult task. The first presented no difficulties to Solly. Into the sea of English public life he flung his trawl, in every stream which fed it he angled with rod and line, and our good cause for fly. Tritons and minnows came into his net, chiefly the former. His scorching enthusiasm for his scheme fired everyone. It is said that he almost persuaded Gladstono into a Vice-Presidency.* He certainly persuaded him out of a donation of £10, as he did " a young gentleman of clever * In refusiBg, Jlr. Gladstone said : "I am really sorry, but you know when a pint pot is full all that you pour in only runs oyer."—" These Eighty Years," p- 242. 21 and resolute aspect," Joseph Chambeiiain, to become both a Donor and Subscriber. Dukes especially fell an easy prey to his pleading. There are only 22 of them, and he induced no less than eleven to contribute,* and some handsomely, notably the Duke of Bedford, who thrice gave £100. But, doubtless, in all cases he had the assistance of others, and it was probably the Support. good offices of Lord Lyttelton which in 1865 led to a Donation of £21 from His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VII.), followed hy a similar Donation in 1866, and by the equally Princely Donation in the same year of £25 to the Central Hall Fund, of which more anon. " This is Henry Solly, my dear," said the blind Postmaster- General (Henry Eawcett) to his wife, " who believes that Heaven consists of working men's clubs." The story enables us to understand how Solly impressed his idea upon those of the Aristocracy and Middle Class, whose sympathies, whose hopes, and perhaps whose doubts, turned to the nearly dumb, nearly blind Samson, partly enfranchised, slowly opening dim eyes, outlook of a muddled and untaught mind, vaguely feeling both strength and ambition stir within him. It were impossible here to give a list of the Subscribers or Donors ; or to attempt a selection. Certain it is that so comprehensive a list of distinguished men and women of the Victorian era, led by Lord Chancellors and Archbishops, was never before or since attached to any scheme. In the first twelve months there were received — Subscriptions, £102 ; and Donations, £614. In the second, £208 as Subscriptions, and £405 as Donations. In the third year, Donations had risen to £1,125, and subscriptions to £317. This was high water mark, but the fourth year collected £731 in Donations, and £350 in * The Dukes ol Argyll, Bedford. Devonshire, Buccleuch, Eutland. St. Albans, Grafton, Marlborough, Wellington, and WestmmBter. 22 Subscriptions; whilst the fifth (the last year of Solly's secretary- ship), shows £447 as Donations, and £208 as Subscriptions. As propagandist, the Founder of the Union Solly as was not less indefatigable than as an inducer Propagandist, of practical support. Leaflet after leaflet was given wing, every newspaper or magazine of weight and standing found him a frequent (and full) corre- spondent. The first year's Eeport states that 25,000 of these leaflets were circulated. But he loved most to tour the country, to address workmen called together for the purpose, or learned societies, or religious bodies, or Trade Congresses, or Friendly Societies — all upon this great and consuming theme. Forty of these meetings were addressed in the first year ; 115 in the second. " These meetings," says the Eeport for 1864, " were presided over or attended by noblemen. Members of Parliament, clergymen, dissenting ministers, county magistrates, mayors of various borough towns, and other influential gentlemen." Above a hundred " meetings are recorded of 1865. So what one man might do, he did. Doubtless he was assisted by others, of whom the brief early reports do not speak. It is obvious that a very considerable stir must have been made, and that all over England there were many who heard of the proposals for the establishment of workmen's clubs. But what of the workmen, for whose sake aU First this effort was being made ? Some measure Results. of success was achieved, some first steps taken. But Solly as a recorder of facts was not the equal of the Propagandist, and early Eeports are scanty and vague. They lack precision and definite character. They are silent as to much that is looked to be narrated. Still, we can trace what was accomplished, or what was claimed to be accompHshed. The first Eeport shall speak for itself of the first year's work : — 23 The following is a list of olubs which have been established by the agency of the Union, and which are enrolled, in it as affiliated societies : — 1. wandsworth w.m. club. 2. Kentish Town, Camden Town, and South Hamp- STBAD W.M. Club. 3. Beadfobd W.M. Institute. 4. West Bromwich W.M.C. 5. Wednesbury W.M.C. 6. Scarborough W.M.C. 7. SOHO W.M. Club. 8. FAEEINGDON W.M.C. 9. Chichester W.M.C. 10. Halifax W.M. Institute. 11. A.LTON W.M. HALL. 12. BETHNAL GRBEN W.M.C. 13. HOLLOWAT W.M.C. The following clubs, which were previously in existence, have been received into connexion with the Union ; — St. Mathias Salford W.M.C. COLONNADE (LONDON) W.M.C. EAMSGATB W.M.C. Brighton W.M.C. WEST Cliff (Brighton) W.M.C. SOUTH Shields W.M.C. Sedgely Workmen's Hall. Beidpoet W.M. Mutual Im- provement Association. Southampton Workmen's Hall. Hounslow W.M.C. Cheshunt W.M. Institute. KiNGHAM Beading and Eb- CREATION CLUB. Devonpoet W.M. Association. The following clubs have been or are being formed under the impulse and advice of the Union, but are not yet affiliated : — PIMLICO. Forest Hill. SoMBES Town. St. Pangeas. BIRMINGHAM. BRISTOL. WOLVERHAMPTON. Lincoln. Kingston. Walworth. The following clubs or institutes, which were already in operation, have received the advice or assistance of the Council ; — CHIPPING Norton. Clapton. Devonport. Gravesend. Hereford. Laurencekirk. Ledbury. Liverpool. Mansfield. Peckham. Eotherham. South Shobbury. ST. George's mission Sunderland. Belgeave, Tun- bridge Wells. Wakefield. Walthamstow. Thus the newly formed society is in touch with 53 clubs, of 23 of which it is the parent ; it has taken into its fold 24 13 others already in existence, and it has laid another 17 under obligation by assistance of some sort. This does not on the face of it appear to be IMPERMANENCE. a bad year's work. It would seem that clubs might be connected with the Union in two ways — (a) by affiliation, and (&) by " being received into connexion." The distinction is not clear, and this, with the habit of reckoning " Clubs known to the Union " as members, and the apparent absence of any fixed fee for membership payable by clubs (or, if a fee had been fixed, its non-enforcement), as well as the evident fact that no record is kept of the Clubs which cease to exist, render the figures given in reports for many years after of but compara- tive value in endeavouring to ascertain the real progress made. Indeed, not tiU 1886, after the advent of J. J. Dent as Secretary, do we get particularity in this respect. A sum of £7 19s. 6d. is shown in the accounts as " Affiliation Fees." But we need to know more of these clubs, what they really were, before we can approximate the first year's measure of success. As to size, structure, and equipment, Mr. Solly says in one of his papers : " From £25 to £50 wiU generally be required to furnish and fit up the club-house, the rent of which will vary from £12 to £60." That they were teetotal is sure. Skittles was the chief recreation, for once and for a while divorced from beer. That even smoking was generally permitted is uncertain. In one club, at Southampton, we know it was, for there is on record a letter by Mr. Westlake, a vice-president, who, explaining that no beer is allowed in the club — " it is a mistake to suppose a working man wishes this " — pleads guilty to this one weakness, this one concession to vice. " Is it," he writes, " needful to allow smoking ? Yes, if you mean to pick up the lowest class." The italics are not Mr. Westlake's. It may be taken for granted that what took place in the majority of these clubs, in the first year of our Union, was 26 not what the members wished, but what was allowed. Even if any of these clubs had survived, they would not be likely to retain oral or written record of those days, but, alas ! with the possible exceptions of the club " counselled and assisted " at Walthamstow''' (where smoking was permitted in a special room beyond the pale), and one at Southampton, all are gone, and "Like the insubstantial pageant faded Leave not a rack behind." Whatever seeds were sown then fell either on stony ground or weeds sprang up and choked them. The second year claims to have established The Second 55 ci^bs. Of these only one, Hoddlesden Year. t-r \ ■ • 1 1 • • (Lanes.), is recognisable amongst existing clubs. In 1894 this club wrote the Union that " in pur- suance of a resolution passed in 1864," it wished to become a member of the Union. t Eeturns were procured from 76 clubs, from which it was found that there were 15,803 members, an average of 232 each. If in the first year 36 clubs were formed, and 55 in the second, and no club is reckoned twice over ( arithmetic has always been the trouble of my life " is a confession in " These Eighty Years ") there should have been 91 clubs. Probably ]5 had already passed away. Other clubs were said to be in formation in certain districts named. Apart from Hoddlesden, none of the clubs formed or in formation has any existence now. Could it have been that the worthy folk who did not " allow " beer in these clubs were a little mistaken themselves when they declared " it is a mistake to suppose a working man wishes this " ? The subsequent story will tell. ' The Walthamsto-w Working Men's Club, High Street, Walthamstow, is doubtless the club here referred to. It celebrates its Jubilee in November, 1912. t It was at the time of writing in difficulty with a legal problem and wished the Union to solve it, as it did subsccitiently and satisfactorily in the Court of Queen's Bench. Eaulien v. Hunt, 1894. I 26 The Union began in this year its splendid work for the perfection of the internal government of clubs, and secured from Sir George Grey, the Home Secretary, authority to extend the provisions of the Friendly Societies Act to clubs (subsequently embodied in actual terms in the Act of 1875) enabling registration with its priceless advantages. It also devised an Account Book for Club Subscriptions, the beginning of the complete and simple system of book keeping now established as the model for all clubs. A Circulating Library for the clubs was talked of, but the fee for this was to be £2 per annum, subsequently found to be too high and reduced to 5s. Lectures, " Penny Eeadings," and Classes were under consideration by the Council. A three days' Conference, followed by a Conversazione, was held under the presidency o the Earl of Lichfield, Lord Lyttelton, and others, and a resolution was come to that another £500 a year, reaching a minimum of £1,200, must be somehow come at. In addition to Mr. Solly as Secretary at £200 per annum, there now appears an Assistant Secretary at £100. " The salary of the Secretary, the Council feel, is very inadequate to the amount of time and labour he gives to the Union, but they have been guided, not by the real value of the Secretary's services, but by the funds at their disposal." Here is the first slight ruffle of the surface which heralds a coming disturbance. Mr. Solly (who had hesitated at accepting the post) is beginning to be dissatisfied with his remuneration. Thanks are recorded to Lord Brougham for still acting as President. The Dukes of Argyll and Devonshire, Acton Ayrton, M.P., and others become Vice-Presidents, and the Council (amongst whom appear " T. Brassey, Junior, Esq." and James Vaughan, the Bow Street Magistrate) gives serious consideration to a proposal for a Monthly Journal or Magazine. Mr. Solly continues his fertile output of leaflets and pamphlets, discussing and meeting difficulties, always cheerful, never doubting. 27 But, " two or three " clubs are noted as " being on the verge of extinction." The reason given is, " especially in London, the absence of resident gentry." This enables a view of the source from which it was believed a club's prosperity must spring. The Affiliation Fees have risen to £14 6s., out of a total income of £695. A Mr. Connelly Peyton is established as a Canvasser and Collector on Commission. Lord Brougham is still President. 2,400 The Third letters are recorded as received at the office, and " above 100 " meetings addressed. 41 new clubs are reported as established, which is said to make a total of 116 clubs formed by the Union in 2j years. The average membership of each is shown to be 241. Amongst these is the St. James' and Soho Club, the oldest existent London club (if there is doubt of Walthamstow). The want of " resident local gentry " is again bewailed as hindering the movement in London. " The Council regret to say they have received information that several clubs have this year been suspended." A special meeting of the Council decides to relax the prohibition of beer, and to " recommend its exclusion on prudential grounds " only. Monthly Tea Meetings " have been maintained with much vigour." The small voice of Demos is heard asking for a say in the Union's affairs. "The importance of rendering the bond of union between the Parent Society and its affiliated clubs as strong as possible" is recognised, and it is, therefore, " resolved on making the last Monthly Tea Meeting in each quarter an occasion on which they would meet the represen- tatives of the Metropolitan clubs for an exchange of views." It is resolved to make an appeal for funds to establish a Central Hall, Offices, and Club, and eight Social Meetings, presided over by the Duke of Argyll, Lord Brougham, the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Lichfield, J. Abel Smith, M.P., and the Duke of Devonshire are held in Exeter Hall to assist this 28 scheme. Amongst the names of persons participating may be noted " Tom " Hughes, Lord Lyttleton, Frederick Denison Mam'ice, and Wilfrid Lawson, M.P. The projected Monthly Magazine is recorded as having begun. But the Union archives contains no copy of this forerunner of the ' Club and Institute Journal." Eeference is again made to the inadequate salary of the Secretary, and the Council " rejoice that an increase of income this year has nov? enabled them to compensate him more fairly than in the first two years." The amount of the compensation is not stated, but salaries rise to £672, and Collectors' Poundage to £151 — a total of £823 out of a total income of £1,449. In spite of the increase of affiliated clubs, " Affiliation Pees " this year fall to £7 4s. At the Annual Meeting at Exeter Hall (cradle of the movement) on July 3rd of this year (1865) appears a new Subscriber and member of the Council, HODGSON PUATT. In the list of Subscribers appears the name of STEPHEN SEAWARD TAYliEE. In the lists of Donations appears £10 from the Eight Hon. the Earl of EoSEBEEY, as also similar sums from John Euskin and the Eight Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P. The Beer question insists itself, and Mr. Fourth SoUy writes a circular on it. It is becoming Year. clear that the workmg men do wish to " be allowed " beer. But this is dealt with later, being important enough to be a problem worthy of a chapter all to itself (page 177). The figures of membership grow vaguer. The clubs " either estabhshed " (dubious variant of ' established by ') " or first made known to the Council dm-ing the year" are said to be 125. How many are members of the Union is not stated. Mr. Solly is active again in the Provinces, addressing 118 meetings. The magazine (as is the way of such) has failed, but Messrs. Cassell have started a weekly, the Working Man, and Mr. Solly keeps a column or two going in this. A " great cause of weakness 29 or total ruin of clubs has now proved to be the admission of youths to membership." Mr. Hodgson Pratt becomes Chairman of the Executive Committee, and a District or Branch of the London Clubs is formed. A District or Branch is also formed (more or less in the air) for Lancashire and Cheshire. There is a Chess competition organised, the first of the Union Tournaments. The Tea Meetings and the Exeter Hall Socials continue, and at the latter appears Thomas Paterson (a cabinet-maker) who takes part in the discussions. Mr. Solly now gives up the Secretaryship to Miss Horsburgh, and becomes Organising Director. Miss Horsburgh, Thomas Paterson, and others start a monthly journal called Gossip, Chat, and Song, the demise of which is not recorded. A public dinner, presided over by the Duke of Argyll, reahses £300 for the Union funds. " Affiliation fees " (see page 39) are now down to £4 15s. There is clearly no attempt to obtain these dues from the clubs affiliated. The Council again " regret that they cannot assign to Mr. Solly an adequate remuneration." Yet the income from subscriptions and donations is £1,062, and £587 is paid in salaries and £82 as collector's poundage. The Earl of Shaftesbury, Samuel Morley, and Frederick Denison Maurice, with others, become Vice-Presidents. At the Annual Meeting in Exeter Hall, the last meeting presided over by Lord Brougham, amongst the speakers is George Howell (bricklayer), who animadverts upon " the patronising spirit which was too much shown towards the working classes." The Prince of Wales gives £21. Previous reports had noted difficulties. The fifth (in which two hands are manifest) sinks almost into pessimism. The inside difficul- ties grow, the outside help lessens. The accounts (by reason of change of date for Annual Meeting) are for nine months only. But they show that Subscriptions and Donations are failing. They reahse but £620, as against £1,440 in the 80 previous year. Clearly, there must be some change, either of policy or of action. There is still no attempt to press for support from the clubs themselves, which apparently pay what they like, when they like, or not at all — the latter the favourite of the alternatives, for only £1 17s. 6d. is shown as received for " Affiliation Pees." The Council decides upon intensive rather than extensive culture — to "direct attention more to the strengthening of exist- ing clubs than the formation of new ones." The Council must have felt its efforts too far flung and the need for con- centration. The increasingly diffuse character of the reports warrants this. Probably it was here where the trouble began with Henry Solly. Nothing was too diffuse for him. Diffusion and not concentration was his forte. The whole planet was not too wide for his abounding enthusiasm and passion. He joyfully records the opening of a Club at Hobart, and has heard of another in Sydney. But others wish for harvest and think the seed time should await for a while its proper season. Pursuant to the new policy Mr. Hodgson Pratt begins, with a donation of £10, an agency for the supply of Public Lectures in clubs. Mr. Solly hies to Manchester to try again to form the Branch for Lancashire and Cheshire (already said to be formed), but without positive result. The London Branch is reported active. It has a dinner and sports at the Crystal Palace, and organises an excursion to Paris to see the great Exhibition. In both these matters Hodgson Pratt is to the fore. The London Trades Council (George Odger, secretary) is invited to tea. Names, to be well known and honoured later, begin to appear. The Trade Unionists evince some interest, but are shy and suspicious. Eobert Applegarth (secretary. Carpenters and Joiners) is, as usual, hearty and downright in support. But W. E. Cremer is coy ; and Coulson, Allan, and other members of the Junta 31 are at best negatively neutral. George Howell is a worker inside the Union. The project of a Central Building and Club takes definite shape. It is to be something very great, is to cost £12,000, and Solly proposes to devote himself to it and its functions as salaried Principal. Miss Horsburgh retires, and Solly resumes the Secretaryship. So the Eeport says. But it is hiding a serious difference, and it appears from the subsequent Eeports that Solly gave up his post as Secretary before the year had travelled far. " Between £600 and £700 " is said to have been subscribed for the Central Buildings, and a list, headed by the Duke of Bedford with £100, the Duke of Devonshire £50, and several donations of £25 (these headed by The Prince of Wales), and smaller sums totalling £486, is published. Tliere is a promise of £100 from Henry Hoare, who becomes Treasurer (his predecessors, if any, are not recorded)'", and £50 from the Duke of Buccleuch. But only £35 shows in the year's accounts, and the fund was presumably separately kept. This year the Union claims no Clubs as having been formed ly it, but falls back entirely upon the nebulous " either established or first made known to the Union during the year." This year these are 38. But also 34 are known to have died. They "had not long been placed on the list of clubs (this list has not been preserved) before they began to languish and decay." However, the Council "is aware of" (another variation of the vague connexion) 262 Clubs. It judges somehow that the correct total would be " 280, or 300." At least 115 Clubs recognise indebtedness by supplying it with particulars, and show an average of 171 members each. Of these, 69 report themselves as self-supporting " or very Sergeant Manning, Q.C., a brother-in-law of Mr. Solly, acted as Treasurer during ttte first six months. 82 nearly so," and of these 53 are said to be entirely self- supporting. As will be seen from earlier lines they betrayed no anxiety to support their parent. " In these 115 Clubs there have been 152 Educational Classes in operation during the winter. Nearly all have had Lectures and Entertainments (250 Lectures and 1,096 Enter- tainments). The Club Libraries contain 51,436 books." Amongst the new Vice-Presidents may be noted Earl Derby, the Lord Chancellor of England (Earl Chelmsford), and one to whom the subsequent success of the Union is indirectly due — Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P. In this fifth year Henry Solly resigned his Differences in position as Secretary of the Union he had Council. , /-< ., n founded. He remamed on the Council, and Solly Gives Up. he was to come back for a brief time later as 1867. an officer. But here he gave up the personal control of the movement which owed its inception and life to him. It is an ungracious and unpleasing task, even in the interest of historic accuracy, to probe too deeply for explanations. Certain it is that Solly was opposed in Council by Paterson and Pratt, and that these latter dominated. There is nothing dishonourable to any of the parties, who differed as to the lines on which the Union should proceed. Solly was all for propaganda — at times. At others he was all for the Central Hall ; where with himself as Principal he dreamt of a range of usefulness and activity of a kind, but far beyond, that subsequently achieved by Toynbee Hall.* Nothing here to shame his record. * Lord Lyttelton thus pictured Solly's thoughts : — " When I wake, when I sleep, when I stand, when I fall, I can think about nothing but that Central Hall, In my cups, on my back, on my knees, in my tub, My thoughts still keep running on that Central Club. While eating, while drinking, through teas and through coffees, I'm all of a bubble for that Central Office. Most easy, most modest, most fair, within bounds Is the trifle I ask for, but twelve thousand pounds. Most airy, most lofty, most spacious, most jolly. Shall be our new house, or my name is not Solly." 33 But Paterson and Pratt were of another type. They believed that the organisation should for a while rest content with its position, and develop itself from within. It was taking too much in its baby hands. It relied as much as ever on subscribers and well-wishers, whilst it should begin to awaken sentiments of self-reliance and self-support. It may be supposed that both views were expressed with all the force in which Pioneers and Propagandists excel. Perhaps there was a feeling that the principles and accepted practice of office routine should sway a Secretary more than they could an eager and passionate soul — a preacher, not an administrator — like our Founder. There was friction, and in the end the resignation of Solly was accepted by the Council. The Annual Meeting was held, but nothing was said thereat, of which Mr. Solly rather complains,* but at the next Annual Meeting he (having taken a seat on the Council) thus explains : " He hoped that it would be clearly understood that it was not a question of money which separated him from the society. It was undesirable to trouble the public with personal matters, and, therefore, he should not say more than that there existed so considerable a divergence of opinion between himself and some members of the Council that further co-operation was impossible." This leaves a fitting and dignified last word with Mr. Solly. And no more need be said. It is the first step that counts. The Union The Five has travelled far. But nothing in its course Years' Work is half so wonderful as the first steps. Of OF Progress, the men, First, praise and everlasting gratitude to Henry Solly, without whom the Union had not been. Second, to another whose name has scarcely been mentioned hitherto, who stood by Solly all through, by whose sympathy and cheer he was sustained, and to whose distinguished character and position doubtless is due the * See " These Eighty Tears," p. 326. 34 steady stream of sympathy, and gold, which watered and nourished the ground in which grew the tender plant. Lord Brougham gave great help by his name ; but he was very old (he died full of years and honour in 1867), and the burden of the work fell upon Lord Lyttelton, who must claim the second place in grateful memory. Lord Lichfield was another untiring worker, and to the Dukes of Argyll, Bedford, and Devonshire it is principally due that there was no financial collapse. And all who lived in the reign of Edward VII. will rejoice to know that amongst his many titles to a people's regard the clubmen are happy to be able to add special obligations of their own. Eeduced to statable result the work of those ^° five years cannot be. They had established Results the movement. It had been born. It had thrived somewhat. It had burnt its fingers. It was but at the beginning of wisdom. But it had been born. Of the " about 280 or 300 clubs " " known to the Union " in June, 1867, it is probable that not half-a-dozen are now alive. The Waltham- stow Working Men's, one of the Southampton Workmen's Halls, the St. James and Soho, and the Hoddlesden Clubs are all that can be traced. It is a little wonderful that the disappearance of the others should have been so complete. Yet, doubtless, from the graves of many (perhaps of most) have violets sprung, and newer clubs owe their life to the earlier organism. The Eeports of these years are too uncertain in their statistical method to enable any tables of value to be set out concerning them. They were valuable in that they pro- duced a band of sympathisers and a rich crop of experience. They taught, if not what would ensure the success of a workmen's club, very emphatic lessons as to what would iwt. There was yet much to learn in this direction. The reasons given for the demise of clubs are good enough. But 35 the catalogue is not complete. Those which the Eeports record are : — 1. Absence of Beer. 2. Presence of Youths. 3. Absence of Eesident Gentry. 4. " Too positive presence of the Parson's hand." 5. Gentlemen who guaranteed became tired of cost, disheartened from expecting completely successful results prematurely." 6. The " present political agitation " (1867).* 7. The present strained relations between master and man. (It was the period leading up to the Broadhead activities in Sheffield, and Trade Unionists and Trade Unionism were suspect.) 8. In the IMetropolis, — the number of rival attractions. As we know now, failure lay principally in the fact that the clubs were not spontaneously originated and democratically controlled. No club ever was or ever will be a success which is made "for," or governed "for," not BY its members. Yet the workers in those days were but little capable of the thought of, or the power to originate and manage, clubs, until inspired and taught by others. For those it could not have been a grateful task, and that many retired hurt is not surprising. And how pathetically humorous is the counter- vailing incapacity of these good folk to understand their proUgis, the following, referred to by Solly as "a weighty remark of Miss Cooper's on the subject of smoking," will show. Mr. Solly is here quoted, but the italics are modern : — " After admitting the absolute necessity of alhioing the members to smoke someivhere in the club, she continues : To forbid smoking, therefore, is to exclude the men ; to banish * " The most thoughtful among the leaders of the working men have expressed a strong conviction independently of each other during the last twelve months that after the present political agitation shaU have ceased there will be a strong tide set in among the worlmig classes in favour of clubs." — Annual Eeport, 1867. 36 them to a separate smoking-room is to confirm and strengthen a bad habit, but alloiu them to smoke in the club-room, where they are amused and occupied, and the pipe will go out, which often leads to the discarding of it altogether.' " Prolonged contemplation of this ingenuous utterance, with its subtle effort at the conquest of sin in the shape of tobacco, and remembrance that it was considered " a weighty remark " by the Founder of Workmen's Clubs, will make it plain how deep and wide was the gulf which yawned in the under- standing between the workman and his friends. Small wonder that there were faikires. Yet the words of Solly in his last Eeport have a brave note : Much, however, as the Council regrets these failures, they are aware that in every important and widely extended movement there must be a large number of failures — especially during its early stages. The Co-operative Movement, which is now taking such deep hold on the working class, thirty years ago appeared to be a total failure, and died down to the roots. But these Pioneer efforts were far from lost. Thoughtful men here and there were thoroughly imbued with the idea, and it again sprung into vigorous life ; whilst its present leaders have learned much from the mistakes and discouragements of their predecessors." "With these true words, here endeth the story of the first five years. The severance with the Union was a sore trial to Solly, as readers of his Autobiography wiU know. He had a favourite verse which, it is hoped, afforded him consolation in what must have been a gloomy hour : — " Nor with thy share of work be vext. Though incomplete and e'en perplext, It fits exactly with the next." HODGSON PRATT. STEPHEN SEAWARD TAYLER. CHAPTEE III. The Triumvirate op Axjbeeon Herbert, Hodgson Pratt, and Thomas Paterson. 1867-1874. " To obtain that general support, however, for Working The Main Men's Clubs and Institutes from working men them- Object. selves, which would make the clubg independent of the helping hand generally required at first starting, and to induce the great body of the operatives and labourers of the kingdom to frequent their private club instead of the public-house, so that it should be placed on a healthy, self-supporting basis, THEN to guide and aid these men into making the utmost and best possible use of these clubs — the Council regard as their most pressing Duty." The above sentence indicates the spirit in ■which the work of the Union was taken up in 1867, after the resignation of Mr. Solly, by the three Honorary Secretaries, who sought to lessen the financial strain by sharing amongst them the duties hitherto undertaken by tlie paid secretary. It was a gallant effort, but only partially successful. It was a curious com- bination. Auberon Herbert, aristocrat of the bluest, and philosophic Eadical ; Hodgson Pratt, middle class (retired at the age of 38 from the Indian Civil Service), and Thomas Paterson, working cabinetmaker, of whom we know all too little. Such a combination in loyal co-operation was plainly powerful enough to achieve much. It certainly carried on and saw the Union through a difficult period. But what no combination can do is, — to add to the days of the calendar, or the minutes of the hour. Auberon Herbert had many great public interests, Hodgson Pratt had to winter abroad, and Thomas Paterson liad to earn his daily bread. Yet these assume the task. 88 In the forefront of their first Eeport, the The Year isea. three volunteers reassert their view : — " The work of this Society may be described as twofold ; first, that of aiding the establishment of Workmen's Clubs and Institutes in places where they do not exist at present ; and, secondly, that of strengthening and developing them when established. The Council feel strongly impressed that the second of these two objects is quite as imiportant as the first. It cannot be said that the movement has taken firm root in the country. No doubt there is a rapidly increasing feeling in its favour amongst persons interested in the welfare of the working classes, hut loorhing men have yet to be convinced of its importance." Here is wisdom manifest. For what avail the reckless scattering of seed, even on good ground, if the flower is to bloom but for an hour and then to die. The Honorary Officers, too, are keen about money matters. " It does not seem desirable that the bulk of the Income should be expended on salaries." They think that a paid Secretary at £150, acting under the Honorary Secretaries, will be aU that is required. Even in the long light of experience it would seem that this was sufficient for the time. Yet, as the accounts show, " Salaries " amounted to £280, whilst the income from Donations and Subscriptions fell to £480. The contributions of the clubs themselves slunk steadily to vanishing point, coming down to 17s. 6d. ! That to compel a contribution was the surest way of exciting the interest of the workman was not as obvious as it afterwards became. There is much that is wise and well-informed in this Eeport. Things are seen clearer. The workman's queer propensities are becoming better understood, and the St. James and Soho Club (which has boldly determined to supply itself with intoxicants), and of which the Union Treasurer, Mr. Henry Hoare, is Treasurer, is announced as a first success, held up as a model and exemplar of what should be sought to establish. The Circulating Library is improved. Classes are arranged for. Visits are paid to willing clubs, and conferences held with the Committees. 39 Tho PiliTingclon, Southwark, Hampstead, Bedford, Charter- house, and Hackney Clubs in London (all, alas, no more) agree to admit members of other Union clubs when on a visit to London — the beginning of Affiliation. The Council obtains legal advice and distributes it to the clubs on the matter of Licences, -when and where not required for Beer, Tobacco, or IMusic and Dancing. Significant of the trend of affairs in the clubs. Eor the first time the figures of clubs which are actually affiliated is stated. It is said that during the year 11 clubs have joined the Union, making 72 in all. A small number, but still something definite. We learn that an Annual Pee of 5s. once supposed to be paid, had been abolished some- where in 1866 or thereabouts to enable clubs to support District Unions (page 126), and a registration fee of 2s. 6d. to be paid only once — on admission — substituted. All the eleven new clubs could not have paid even this, since eleven times 2s. 6d. is more than the 17s. 6d. received. But 23 clubs pay 5s. a year for the use of the Circulating Library. At the Annual Meeting the Earl of Carnarvon presides, and Lords Lyttelton and Lichfield move and second the adoption of the Eeport. The Eeverend H. Solly supports, and George Howell (with no thought, may be, of the House of Commons then) makes a speech against any restrictions in clubs, but those of public opinion and good order." Obviously this refers to the Beer again. Stephen Tayler appears as a member of the Council, as do three working men " Mr." (as distinguished from the Esquires and other titles) John Bainbridge, " Mr." Mitchell, and "Mr." Cyrus Symons. Amongst the Council may also be noted Samuel Smiles (why not ?), Erancis Jeune, and Andrew Clark, M.D. The Union is concentrating its work. It is getting into touch with its clubs. 40 In this year the receipts from Donations and Subscriptions fall to £286. But the Honorary Secretaries have got the Salaries down at last to £78. Conversely, Af&hation Fees begin to rise, and £6 7s. 6d. is recorded. An attempt to raise money by a Beading at Apsley House by Kyrle Bellew results in a loss of £10. Most of the Dukes and Earls, and many others, seem to have gone with Solly. Doubtless, there are currents at work not revealed in the Eeport. From Mr. Solly's " These Eighty Tears," we gather that there was resentment at his dismissal (as it was considered to be), and that Lord Lyttelton, the Duke of Argyll, and others were being approached by him to set up another club society. The Eeport " knows of " 355 clubs, an increase of 43, of which 23 were established with the aid of the Union. Better evidence of progress is in the fact that 56 clubs affiliated with the Union, and the £6 7s. 6d. shows that 53 of these actually paid the affiliation fee. The clubs, especially in London, are cultivated. Classes and Lectures continue, and the system of Saturday afternoon visits begins with one to "Westminster Abbey, with Dean and Lady Augusta Stanley as hosts. Mr. Solly comes back to service for a bit, and is engaged on one or two missions as " Travelling Secretary " in the Provinces. Pratt, Herbert, and Paterson all pay visits to various provincial towns, Paterson's work connecting him with the International Exhibition of 1870. Members of the Council also take part in this work. Amongst all the places visited, Coventry is the only one in which there now remains a workmen's club.* The Library prospers, and Her Majesty Queen Victoria shows her knowledge and appreciation of the work of the Union by gifts of several autographed copies of her " Life in the Highlands" and of "The Early Years of the Prince Consort." Here is high honour indeed ! Further clubs offer * This club claims to have been establislied in 1860. 41 hospitality to others, and a hst of clubs is published, but not filed. Miss Emma Smith is engaged as Assistant Secretary. But it is found that Connelly Peyton, appointed as a CoUeotor in 1866 (page 27) is a scoundrel who, with duplicate receipt book, has robbed the Union of £130. He is duly prosecuted and convicted, and this adds a lawyer's bill of £26 to the loss. Unwelcome things now begin to appear. There is a loan from the Central Hall Fund of £25, a printer's bill of £25, and the said lawyer's bill of £26. Against this, in order to keep courage up, is weakly set " Subscriptions in Arrear, £50 " — a very quavery whistle indeed ! Lord Lyttelton and the Earl of Shaftesbury still remain on the list of subscribers, each giving £2, as does the Duke of Devonshire {Semper idem), with £5. The Hon. G. Brodrick presides at the Annual Meeting, and a new and welcome figure is Mr. (afterwards Sir) Harcourt Johnstone (created Lord Derwent in 1881), who will be found to be a very valuable ally in Parliament later. Eor four more years the Honorary Secre- FouR YEARS' taries toiled with a devotion beyond all praise Hard Labour, ^^^ under constant financial embarrassment. They followed closely the course they had QuEEN°V^CTORiA. mapped out. They helped clubs to form, gave attention whenever asked, paid visits to the Provinces without charge to the Union. But the main purpose, the perfecting of the clubs already in Union, was steadily kept in view. These are four years hard labour. The task falls chiefly on Hodgson Pratt. Thomas Paterson is at his work as a cabinet-maker all day, and Auberon Herbert resigns his share in the Secretaryship in the first year, and becomes Chairman of Council. Mr. Solly, smarting under a sense of wrong, has formed another society, " The Social "Working Men's Club Association," and to this he has attracted many of 4'i the great names and principal subscribers who attached themselves hitherto to the Union. At the end of 1871, however, Peace is made. Mr. Solly comes back with his glittering train, his new society is dissolved, and he becomes Organising Secretary. He brings with him also £170 in cash, but the Accounts show £205 as his " Eees, Olerkage, and Travelling Expenses." He does not manage to agree with his colleagues. It is clear that it is Pratt and Paterson who are the difficult ones, for these give up Honorary Secretaryship during the period of his return. At the beginning of 1873, Solly, having delivered 27 Lectures and Addresses, goes again — this time finally as an officer, but is to be found occasionally addressing meetings and attending Conferences in later years. Lord Lyttelton, however, who appeared much attached to Solly, remains, as do also the distinguished sympathisers and subscribers. In this period these become more dis- tinguished than ever, for the highest pinnacle of sympathy is reached — Her Majesty Queen Victoria subscribing £50 in 1873, the Duke of Bedford giving another £100. But the yearly income is still less than in the Herculean -, . . halcyon early years, and it is true to say that Labours of disaster would have befallen the Union, Hodgson ' Pj,^^^ through sheer inability to perform its task — but for the herculean labours of Hodgson Pratt. Although the Council had determined that its work should be principally to tend the clubs already in existence, the tremendous fire kindled by Solly continued to burst out in every part of England, and there followed a steady appeal to the Union office for speakers, help, and advice. Nearly all of this Pratt undertook. Paterson, and Herbert, and others. Lord Lyttelton among them, helped. But to Pratt fell the lion's share, both in this and in visits to clubs already formed (principally in London) for conference with officers and committee. 43 In all tlieso tours (sometimes, as in 1871, extending for a fortnight), he bore the wholo expense. Sheffield, Leeds, and Gainsborough, among other places, see him in 1870 ; visiting, in that year, 30 London Clubs, and delivering eleven lectures also. In 1873 it is recorded that he attended 53 meetings and delivered ten lectures. In 1874 there is to his credit 41 meetings, 13 lectures, and 21 visits to clubs — which almost equals the extra-office activities of the present Secretary. In this year (1874) nev? ground is broken in South Wales and several districts visited in that area, whilst South Durham (Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Spennymoor, etc.) is re-visited. However actively Mr. Pratt may attack Propaganda it is clear that the office can- not be attended with daily regularity by him or Mr. Paterson. Various methods of assistance are tried, all with Economy as dictator. Miss Smith retires in 1872 (she becomes Mrs. Paterson shortly after) and W. AUam, a workman, of the St. Pancras Club, is appointed as paid Secretary, subject to the instructions of the Hon. Sees. In 1873 he is said to be terribly overworked, but there is no money to pay him more or engage assistance. In 1874 the £50 from Queen Victoria, with the £100 from the Duke of Bedford, brighten and lighten things a little, and Allam gets a slight increase. What was his original salary (probably £130) , and what the increase is not stated. An Assistant Secretary, Mrs. Lawrence, is appointed. In this year Henry Hoare resigns the Treasurership, his brother, Hamilton Hoare, taking his place. Income from Subscriptions and Donations fluctuates, but never reaches the level of the golden days : — £ £ 1870 Income, 530 Salaries, 260 1871 503 1872 „ 410 1873 „ 627 1874 „ 443 154 134 178 193 44 Mention must now be mado of a dread growth in the Union's financial economy — a DEBT. Mr. Pratt has not only to spend his money and himself in travelling, but also to advance money to meet current expenses. " Had it not been for one of the officers," says the Eeport of 1871, " it would not have been possible to carry on the work." A raid is made upon the Central Hall Fund, referred to previously. It is true it is meant to be only a Loan. The interest of the deposited Fund, instead of accumulating to its credit, has been appropriated without pretence as part of the common income. So to Pratt, to this Fund, to Printers, and to the lawyers (£26 costs of conviction of Connelly Peyton), there is in all a sum of £118 due in 1870. This grows to £122 in 1871, and to £151 in 1872. In 1873 the generosity of the Queen and Duke of Bedford helped to attenuate it to £122 again. But in 1874 it rose to £150. It looks as though that unwelcome guest has come to stay. There is, nevertheless, one small ray of comfort, one very thin silver streak in the cloud. The clubs now actually pay the sum, the one sum, of 2s. 6d. demanded as a registration fee on becoming members. There is no annual payment, but just this one. But hitherto it had not been paid. As will be seen by a later paragraph other sources of income were being sought. It was surely a difficult and distressing time to the officers and all concerned, amongst whom must be mentioned J. C. Buckmaster and Alsager Hay Hill, who became Honorary Secretaries for a short time, during the coolness between Solly and Pratt and Paterson. As has been shown, the only revenue receivable, but not always received, by the Representation. ■ f ■<_ i i j, to cj union irom its clubs was the one sum oi 2s. od., payable on affiliation to the Union. In 1872, the discouraging character of the finances induced the appointment of a Sub- Committee, which recommended " an increase of affiliation fee from Subscribing Clubs," a somewhat incorrect epithet to DC UI »- It) u o iii -I z o z 3 Ui h 3 H h (A Z u CO 3H 3 -' ■ -J K ^ O cx: (fl £ s ;=:,^< in" 4) bj; ,^ S 5^ . z £^ xS - q: £ UJ I- ^ a "■ -g O S LL = O -a 5 < ^ UJ d > Jz I- % 3 Q O X H 11 . \p fj>Ti fopifomii.^ /fu ^^ -i_J SIR HERBERT BULKLEY PRAED. BART. 53 appealed in vain on behalf of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union. The resolutions were as follows : — " That Working Men's Clubs and Institutes are calculated not only to diminish excess in the use of intoxicating liquors, but also to promote self-culture and the growth of a healthy public spirit among the mass of people." Moved by the Right Hon. Lord Frederick Cavendish, M.P. Seconded by Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Bart, M.P. Supported by Alexander Macdonald, M.P. " That there are few social reforms of greater importance to this country than the substitution of Clubs and Institutes for Public Houses as places of resort for the recreation and business of the Working Classes." Moved by Earl Fortescue. Seconded by Sir H. Cole, K.C.B. The first is remarkable in the surprising manner in which it has been justified, no less than in the names attached. The gentle and noble Cavendish, Liberal Secretary for Ireland, shortly to be murdered in Phcenix Parii (without knowledge of his identity, it is fair to the assassins to say), seconded by Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Life Guardsman and country squire, now Lord Derwent, and the most continuous supporter the Union has ever had*, and last, but certainly not least, an apparition, strange indeed in those days, not to all a vision of delight, when first he burst upon the sight of the political world — the first Labour Member of Parliament, Alexander Macdonald, M.P. There was not then (and perhaps is not now) another possible institu- tion whiclr could have brought these three men together under the presidency of Lord Eosebery, supported as they were by Hodgson Pratt, fiery Eadioal, and Herbert Praed, M.P., of the Carlton Club. Another pair upon the platform may be recorded — the sweet and gentle Unitarian Stephen Tayler, and the robust and splendid "Hang Theology"! Eogers, M.A., Eector of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. * Until 1908 Lord Derwent avibscribed to the Union's funds. + Of this phrase two things are told. One that preferment was refused to Eogers by Queen Victoria hecause of its use. The second you may hear in the Commcn Boom at Balliol as yon stand admiringly, as you must, before the portrait of this great and good man. It is then whispered to you that the word was not " Hang " I 54 The speech of Lord Eosebery should be read at every meeting held to celebrate the Jubilee, and every such meeting should reaffirm the resolutions. For the second, in spite of the progress of the Union, is still true and insistent. Not before there are ten, rather than two or three, thousand workmen's clubs will it cease to be true. Whilst discussing names and the peculiar Some Friends, ability of the Union's work to bring together personalities otherwise opponent, the publica- tion of the list of the Union's officers and Council in the beginning of the following year (1876) will illustrate this remarkable magnetic capacity. It will repay careful perusal. It recalls much in the story of our country during the last 40 years. Scarce a name amongst them which has not become famous in some world, of Politics, Science, Theology, or the wide sphere of Social Service. In a history of the Union they should not go without record. President : The Very Eev. Ahthue Penehyn STANLEY, D.D., Dean of Westminster. Vice-Presidents: His Grace The ARCHBISHOP OF CAN- Hon.andKev.W.H.LTTTELTON, TERBUBY. M.A. „ „ theDukeofABEECOEN.K.G. Hon. G. E. BrodeiCK. „ „ the Duke of Aegyll, K.T. Hon. AubeeON HebBEET. „ „ the Duke of DbvonSHIEB, Lord Lyttelton. K.G. Ernest Noel, Esq., M. P. „ „ theDukeof Westminster, Bev. William Arthur, M.A. K.G. Samuel Bowley, Esq. The Marquess of LOENE, K.T. W. W. BeAMSTON BEACH, Esq., The Et. Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON. M.P. „ „ the Earl of DERBY. Sir THOMAS Beassey, M.P. „ „ the Earl of DUCIE. Rev. J. BALDWIN BROWN, B.A. „ „ the Earl of FOETESCUE. Eev. H. G. DE BuNSEN, M.A. „ „ the Earl of LICHFIELD. HENEY EDWAEDS, Esq., M.P. 65 Vioe-Peesidents— (cMiiinwecZ). The Et. Hon. the Earl of ShAFTBS- ROGER ETKTN, Esq. BURY, K.G. Sir Julian Goldsmid, Bart. „ „ theEarl of Shrewsbury F.R.G.S. AND Talbot. „ „ the Earl SPENCER. The Rt. Eev. the Lord Bishop of CARLISLE. „ „ the Lord Bishop of LONDON. „ „ the Lord Bishop of WINCHESTER. The Rt. Hon. Lord Abbedarb. „ „ Lord Chelmsford. „ „ Lord EBURY. „ „ Lord OVBRSTONE. Lord Harris. „ Frederick Cavendish, M.P. „ ELCHO, M.P. The Rt. Hon. ACTON S. AYRTON. Sir R. P. Collier. Rev. Newman Hall, LL.B. London- G. W. Hastings, Esq., M.P. JAMBS HeywoOD, Esq., M.A. F.R.S., London. Thomas Hughes, Esq., Q.O. Professor T. H.Huxley, LL.D., F.R.S. Ralph Ward Jackson, Esq. Rev. Canon JENKINS, M.A. Lieut.-Colonel E. H. KENNARD, M.P. Sir Rupert Kettle, J. p. WiLLLiM McArtHUE, Esq., M.P. SAMUEL MOBLEY, Esq., M.P. Frank Mowatt, Esq. Sir Austin H. Layard, A. J. Mundblla, Esq., M.P. D.C.L. „ „ Sir Stafford north COTE, Bart., M.P. „ „ JAMES STANSPBLD, M.P. „ „ W. H. Smith, M.P. „ „ Lord Mount-Tbmplb. Sir POBERT AnSTEUTHEE, Bart. „ C. W. DILKE, Bart., M.P. „ Harcouet Johnstone, Bart. M.P. „ John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S. „ Heney Cole, K.C.B. Chairman of Council: Hodgson Peatt. Vice-Chairmen of Council: Lord FEEDEEICK CAVENDISH, M.P. Rev. M. S. A. WALROND. Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Bart., M.P, S. S. Taylee. William M. Needl, Esq., London and Manchester. Hugh Owen, Esq. Robert Rawlinson, Esq. ,C.B. Henry Richard, Esq., M.P. Evan Mathew Richards, Esq. Rev. Canon ROBINSON, M.A. John StOERAR, Esq., M.D. Miss Anna Swanwick. P. A. TAYLOR, Esq., M.P. W. T. M'Cullagh Toeeens, Esq., M.P. Dr. FOEBEs Watson. 56 BABBS, John (Kennington). Berry, B. (Stratford). Beatchlby, E. B. buckmastbb, j. c. Cdbbon, a. (Warwick St., S.E.). riSHBOURNE,T. (St. James' & Soho' HAMILTON, W. A. B. HARDWICKB, WM., M.D. Hbward, a. Hill, Hamilton Hay holland, e. t. jackson, a. e. lawrence, henry w. LAMPORT, Charles L'ESTRANGB, Rev. A. G. LOWE, J. (Boro' of Hackney). Marriott, W. Thackeray Maurice, C. B. Newton, Joseph Paterson, Thomas Council : PATEESON, Mrs. Pearson, E. S. Plummer, John Pratt, Hodgson Preston, Alfred Rowland, F. A. A. Savage, G. F. Slack, H. J. Solly, Rev. H. Tayler, S. S. Thick, Frank E. Veeney, Frederick, W. Walker, David WALROND, Rev. M. S. A., M.A. Waterman, Orlando Watson, James Webber, Rev. Thornhill, M.A. Whitlock, J. Wilson, J. F. Treasurer : Hamilton N. Hoabb. From 1875 the future of the Union was taken as assured. It was also accepted that the time was approaching when it would become both self-governing and self-supporting. " The day will come when the clubs instead of being too often unable to support themselves, will be able as well as anxious to support the Union, whose management and support will then devolve upon the several hundred thousand workmen who by that time will have learned the value of the social reform in which we are engaged." (Eeport 1875.) " It is hoped that in course of time the cost of maintaining the Society may be defrayed by those for whose benefit it exists, when, of course, the latter will have in their own hands the election of the whole of the Council and other officers." (Eeport 1877.) 57 The period covered by this chapter was, therefore, one of education and preparation for the responsibilities of self- government, as well as of natural growth. The Union may be said to have begun its conscious schooling (where the members of its clubs, most of them, had left off), at 12 years of age, continued up to the age of 21, when it fitly and rightly took over the control of its own affairs — although it did not for many years after disdain the monetary and intel- lectual help of the many godfathers and godmotliers who had held themselves responsible to the world for its proper conduct and future. These nine years are, therefore, years of education and preparation. The movement grows larger each year, still in the same unmeasured way. But its needs are now under- stood — its possibilities appreciated, its future capacity, as well as its present weaknesses, realised. It was coming into relationship with the outer world. It would meet with foes as well as friends. It would not for years be able to face its great future or its present task alone. And so if it was not to be "dandled" or "patronised," it was to be " fostered," at least for awhile. And like most growing youths, and certainly all growing democracies, it would begin to pull at apron strings, resent the best advice, be conscious of rights long before responsibilities. Those who have brought up cliildren find it sometimes a thankless and exasperating task. Those who tend rising democracies have a worse. Yet pride in the strength and power which strains against the controlling hand, the leaping knowledge which puts posers to the trainer, the very contempt in which, in secret ways and amidst boon com- panions. Tutor and Friend is known to be regarded, aU afford to that unhappy person some pleasure. In democracies the conceit, the contempt, and the ignorance of the prot6g6 is in no way or time concealed. And Wisdom is dubbed Toryism, Advice and Caution are despitefully regarded, and with 58 gratitude in his heart, but none in his expression, towards his mentors. Demos blunders on his way. " Misled by fancy's meteor ray. By passion driven ; But yet the light that led astray Was light from heaven." In the hour of Jubilee let there be counted to the earlier workers for righteousness what is not set out in any Eeport, but what the memory of some may recall, and the imagina tion of all conceive — what they suffered at the hands of the cub they tended. This meditation ended — to return to the story and its salient incidents. It was noted in Chapter III. that clubs were beginning to offer hospitality to the members of others visiting their neighbourhood ; but that GRANTS if, in the club visited, exciseable articles were Associates- Charter supplied, the honorary member must not purchase them. This was a restriction which robbed the visit of pleasure, since the visitor, unless he were so constituted as to be able to consume teetotal " minerals " and the like, or find in tea or coffee a beverage for leisure hours, which few workmen ever learn to do, must of necessity go without, or, worse and not to be tolerated, be beholden to his hosts, as poor or poorer than himself. With this restriction upon it the hospitality to Associates was welcome but incomplete, off-setting in its exasperative limitation all the value of its offer. A circular issued by the Union explains how the friendship of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Stafford Northcote, enabled this to be over- come. It can tell its own story : — Private. WORKING MEN'S CLUB AND INSTITUTE UNION. 150, HOLBOKN, E.G. Affiliated Clubs and the Sale of Exciseable Articles. As the members of Clubs affiliated to the Working Men's Club and Institute Union are doubtless aware, the sale of exciseable 69 articles by a bond fide Club, to its own Members is not a breach of the excise laws^ because the Members are joint owners of all the property of the Club. A sale of such articles to anyone else is a breach of those laws, the penalty for which, however, can only be enforced by the Inland Revenue Commissioners. When the system of the Associate and Monthly Pass Cards issued by the Union — which has proved so useful in promoting mutual intercourse between affiliated clubs and their members — was established, it was felt that it would be a serious drawback to the full enjoyment of the privileges sought to be conferred by the system, if members visiting other clubs and obtaining excise- able articles were to render the Club they visited liable to prose- cution by the Inland Revenue Commissioners, such risk being inevitable, inasmuch as the visiting members would have no share or ownership in the articles they purchased. In order to remove this danger, the Commissioners were approached in 1875 with a view to aoertain whether any arrange- ment could be arrived at by which clubs whose bond fide was guaranteed by their affiliation to the Union (the conditions re- quired before affiliation being similar to the points regarded by the Commissioners as indicative of bond fide) should receive immunity from prosecution, so long as the sales of exciseable articles were confined to members of other clubs affiliated to the Union. After considerable negotiation with the Commissioners, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the letter given below, conceded the necessary exemption from prosecution to clubs, which admit to honorary membership members of other bond fide clubs affiliated to the Union, and supply such honorary members with exciseable articles on the same terms as their own members. By this arrangement, therefore, clubs affiliated to the Union can, by means of the Associate and Pass Cards, enjoy to the full, and without fear of prosecution, all privileges which were sought to be conferred when the system was inaugurated. This arrangement has been acted upon by all succeeding Chancellors of the Exchequer and has been confirmed by a recent correspondence. You will understand that this explanation is for the guidance of yourself and of your committee, and is not intended for publica- tion. The letter referred to follows: — " 11, Downing Street, "May, 1875. "Dear Sir Harcourt, " "With reference to the interview which I had on May 5th with the deputation introduced by you to discuss the position of Work- ing Men's Clubs in regard to excise licences, I have communicated with the Commissioners of Inland Revenue on the subject, and I 60 find that considerable difficulty has arisen in the administration of the law relating to it. Along with many bond fide clubs which have been recently established to the great advantage of the working classes, there have also sprung up some which are only public-houses under the name of clubs. The Inland Revenue have spared no pains to distinguish between the true and the false clubs, and appear to have hitherto succeeded in drawing the line between them. But it is a difficult matter, and the Commissioners may claim the consideration of those to whom they may appear severe and exacting, as they are bound to protect the heavily licensed trader as well as the Revenue. " The points to which they particularly look as indicative of bond fides are : — " 1. That the liquors, etc., sold should be the property of the club and not of any individual ; that they should be supplied to members of the club only, and should be consumed on the premises. " 2. That the membership should be real and not nominal; that is to say, that members must be reeularly elected, and become thereby sharers in the property of the club. "There seems no reason for refusing the exemption to a club because it admits to honorary membership subscribing members of other bond fide clubs affiliated to the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, and supplies them with liquors on the same terms as its own subscribing members, and I shall be happy to give directions for the adoption of that extension of the rules applied to the clubs. " I remain, " Dear Sir Harcourt, " Yours very faithfully, " Stafford H. Northootb. " Sir Harcourt Johnstone, Bart., M.P." At the present day there are over 200,000 men holding the Associate Card (see page 46), which, with its necessary attendant Pass Card,* has been the instrument of an expansion of fraternity and mutual development beyond all record, almost beyond full conception. But for it the celebration of the Union's Jubilee would have been a poorer and a smaller thing. To the inventor of the Associate Card, therefore, and to Sir Stafford Northcote (afterwards Earl Iddesleigh), who gave it real and wider life, lift all glasses in glorious memory to-day. * The addition of the Pass Card came later. The Associate Card was at first Is. per annum. A CONCERT ROOM. A CLUB READING ROOM. A CLUB SMOKING ROOM. A CLUB BATH ROOM. 61 In 1875 also began that career of useful- AND Institute ness and vicissitude, now crowned witli success and lionor, of the organ of the Union — the Club and Institute Journal. It is a checkered history, in which many men entered with buoyant confidence and retired less cheerful. It began in July, 1875, and how it died and rose again, and died again, and was resuscitated, is, almost as much as ' The Beer Problem," worthy of a small place to itself. And so see Chapter IX., page 168. A sign of adolescence is the appearance of Rules. Eules. Hitherto, the Union would seem to have been directed by resolutions of the Council dictated by necessary occasion. These first Eules would overburden the narrative if introduced here, and will be found in full in the Appendix, page 315. Eule 1 thus indicates who may be members : ' Such persons as may contribute to its funds not less than £5 in one sum, or who may subscribe 5s. annually ; of delegates from affiliated clubs which subscribe not less than 5s. annually ; and of honorary members," whom Eule 11 describes as "such persons who have rendered, or may be thought likely to render, special assistance in promotion of the objects of the Union." There is to be a Council of 36, plus the representatives elected by the clubs ; and the officers, who are ex officio members. These " Eepresentative " members are to be co-opted by the Council and are to number 9, of whom 5 are to be accepted on the nomination of a meeting of delegates of London Clubs. At what date these Eules were actually made there is no record. They probably but assemble the various resolutions and general practice. They appear first in the 1875 Eeport, and form a land mark not to be ignored. 62 In 1876 the Council reports : " The PubUc will learn with much satisfaction that the Council has invited the Eeverend Doctor Stanley, Dean of Westminster, to become President of the Society, and that he has consented to do so." Before his installation, however, the Duke of 1876. Westminster presided at the Annual Meeting on July 14:th, 1876, held at Grosvenor House, and also entertained a large party, 1,500, of clubmen and their wives at his beautiful residence in Cliveden Woods. Dean Stanley remained in the chair for five 1876-1881. years, and threw himself whole-heartedly into the task of shaping and preparing the movement, steadily seconded by Lady Augusta till her death. The scanty and casual character of the reports fail, as this story must therefore fail, to tell all that of good which must have been due to the association with the Union of that noble and gentle soul, whose death, following soon after that of his wife, must have left an ache as for a dear friend in the hearts of thousands amongst clubmen. There were great men amongst the helpers before and great men after, but certain it is that no brighter, purer, kindlier soul gave itself to the work than that of Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, who shortly after presiding at the Annual Meeting of the Union, June 11th, 1881, passed to the reward of those " who loved their fellow men." And if his name " lead all the rest " who will dispute preference ? In the selection of a successor the Council 1882-3. determined that the London clubs should have a voice. They were, therefore, invited to send delegates to meet the Council for the ptirpose of electing a President. There was a very hearty and general feeling on the part both of the subscribers and the clubs, that no one had greater claims than Sir Thomas Beassey." And 63 so Sir Thomas Brassey, K.T., M.P., ever popular with London clubmen from the day when in 1864 as T. Brassey, jun., being then neither Knight nor Templar nor M.P., he first threw in his sympathies with the Union's work. Many were the debts the Union was to accumulate to " Tom " Brassey. The cash ones are paid. Memory must ever hold the others due. In the first half of these eight years tliere is the cry unceasing from distant counties to " come over and help us." The Union's Council finds need of propaganda by document, and, now that the clubs have grown visible enough to attract the fire of Licensed Victuallers, defence also by document. Hodgson Pratt cheerfully undertakes it all. He writes epistles to distant Timothys (the clubs) who cannot be reached (some- times advising a little beer for success's sake), and also to the Eomans, i.e., the Government, and to the Bphesians — the Publicans. Like Paul, he can both preach and write. Like Oeesar, as Miles Standish saw him, he is both writer and fighter. He edits the new Journal. He attends 41 meetings in 1875, extending from Swansea to Carlisle. His eloquence " flared amidst the stormy hiUs of Wales," and like the red glare on Skiddaw, roused the burghers of Carlisle." In 1876, the Provincial orations extended through 41 addresses in 14 different Counties, in addition to which he participated in 45 Conferences, presumably most of them in London. In 1881, he proceeds to Ireland, and opens the Dublin Working Men's Club, which still remains the only emerald in the Union's cap. His marvellous activity and willing expenditure (for all the cost of travelling he bears) must not derogate from the work done by others in the same direction. Paterson and several others, including Frederick Verney, gallantly assisted in the provinces ; as they did with Stephen Tayler, and several of the workmen members of the Council, Lowe, Babbs, and Savage, in the London conferences. Solly, too, helped with 64 two or three meetings each year. But all efforts were but supplementary. Pratt's was the principal. In 1877 the meetings attended by him fell to 24, and from this date onwards they grew fewer, though, following several unsuccessful previous efforts, Mr. Pratt succeeds in forming the Manchester Branch. The flame was dying down in the provinces, and his health, never robust, compelled wintering abroad. Still he remains in evidence in every Eeport, as Chairman of the Council, Editor of the Journal, writer of memorials and appeals, organiser of visits and excursions. In 1883 the London Clubs present him and Mrs. Pratt with a large bronze clock and candelabra. In this year he contemplates retire- ment, deeming himself old at 60 ! Happily, he was to serve the Union for a further 20 years. Probably no man, not even Hodgson Pratt, did for the Union more in the narrow limits Paterson. . . ^. ^ ^, of his opportunities, than did Thomas Paterson. We find him as early as 1864 deep in the work and confidence of the Council. He was the man who resisted what he deemed the misuse of money on the exclusive propaganda and exploration missions of Solly. It is a thousand pities that the Eeports reveal, due doubtless to his influence, so little of the man. It is easy to see him with the mind's eye a steadfast, determined yet quiet and reticent personality, intensely practical, and as the other pole to Solly, passionate, impetuous, eager, and impractical. Of great repute at his craft of cabinetmaker and woodcarver, our Adam Bede must, in educational and administrative capacity, in courage, and in that rare readiness for constant unheroic, prosaic labour for others, have towered above his contemporaries. His intellectual quality is shown by the posthumous publication of a wonderfully clever book, " A New Method of Mental Science," which plumbed depths and attained heights far beyond the ken of the average educated man. It would be no characterless enthusiast or mere 65 plodding mule whom Auberon Herbert and Hodgson Pratt would choose for colleague. From 1867 onward till his death in 1883 he must have given the major portion of his leisure (although he had other interests*) to the Union, to share his work in which he brought his wife, an equally gifted woman, founder of the Women's Trade Union League, who became a member of the Council in 1873. As has been suggested, Pateraon was himself responsible for the scanty references to himself in the Eeports. All the Union workers had the same modesty, and thus now the Eeports are poor and hard and stony soil out of which to dig a personal conception. Yet in them he is always, year by year, speaking at conferences — he was a fine debater — addressing meetings, editing the "Journal" in Pratt's frequent absences — at work for the Union always, and this after a ten or twelve-hour day. All that we know of him is to be found in the Preface, reprinted herein (page 275), which his wife wrote to his book, published after his death. In some future Walhalla in which the Union shall consecrate its illustrious dead, it may be that not even Solly or Pratt have earned greater title to place than Paterson. Meanwhile, a small Scholarship of £5, enabling poor workmen students to attend the University Summer Meetings for a fortnight, has been established in memorial. It will be accepted without the need of evidence that, apart from any special feature Effort. , or effort, the work of the Council (of which Successes and Failures i'^ 1876 Stephen Tayler became one of the three Vice-Ghairmen) in those days was full enough. Getting a pig to market may provide no illustrative detail for a narrative, yet fully occupy the time and energies of him who has the task. The illustration is not meant to indicate a parallel, but it can be imagined that the building up ' See the Notes by Mrs. Paterson on page 275. 66 of the Union, in conference with the delegates from London Clubs, with a falling revenue from outsiders, needing a counter supply of income from inside, and the constant maintenance and increase of the educational and other developments set going in earlier years, was enough to make a full day's work and some overtime. These activities were continued and multiplied, as a subsequent paragraph will show. New work was sought or was thrust upon them. A Seaside Home, forerunner of the Con- valescent Homes, was started at Margate in Home. 1878, but closed in 1880, havmg achieved little except a loss of £270. (See p. 143.) A new pseudo-philanthropic Temperance movement for the establishment of "Coffee Taverns " attracted some of the sympathisers and subscribers, especially those who were alarmed at the supply of beer, a practice growing in the clubs. The Council is somewhat alarmed, and in 1880 points out in its Eeport that these Taverns "in no sense diminish the necessity for Clubs. The coffee tavern is most valuable as a place where the wayfarer may obtain temporary rest and refreshment free from the evils of public-house frequentation, but a workmen's Club has altogether different and higher pui^poses than that of supplying refreshments. Working men do not want a newer form of public-house so much as a place of resort where they can choose their own associates, where the particular aim and character of each institution is in the hands of the members, or, in other words, a distinct Society or Brother- hood." The Council was needlessly alarmed. " Coffee Taverns," except as a convenience for the carman and way- farer, have been from the first an unmistakable failure in so far as they aimed at taking the place of clubs. 67 The success of the clubs, great or small, from whatever point of view looked at, in 1876 was large enough to excite the interest and animosity of the Licensed Victuallers, consistently main- tained since, until fitly enough it reaches the very zenith of imbecile fury in the Bill which Mr. Samuel Eoberts, M.P., has this year introduced into the House of Commons on behalf of that unhappy class. In 1876 it took the form, which has become quite common form since, of attacking-clubs at Banquets. The after-dinner atmosphere at a Trade Banquet would appear to be exactly that in which the exotic flowers of abusive rhetoric specially thrive. To a Mr. A. Mills, M.P., belongs the honour of having inaugurated this form of entertainment. In the very effective subsequent treatment of the speech by the Council, it was constrained to admit the presence of an obnoxious club in Nottingham. Notts and its neighbour Derby have con- sistently maintained this reputation, the latter county in the Mansfield and Chesterfield area developing a perfect penchant for the bogus club. The " Trade " went further in 1882. It petitioned Mr. Gladstone to levy a Tax upon clubs. Mr. Gladstone replied that he must first consult the Union, which he did, and Hodgson Pratt was commissioned to reply.* It was left to Mr. Lloyd George, in the Budget of 1909, to give effect to the 26 years old wish of the Publicans. In 1881, the Steward of the "Cyprus" Club at The First Silvertown was convicted of selling intoxicants to a non-member. The Trustees of the club were also charged as Trustees. They pleaded, and it was not denied, that they had no share in the act complained of. The Steward, in what he did, flagrantly violated his instructions, without their knowledge. They could not be convicted of what they did not do or connive at, had no knowledge of, and * See Chapter XI,, page 194. which was contrary to their instructions. The Police asked the Bench to say that they could, which it complaisantly (as is, so often, the manner of Benches) did. The Trustees sought the aid of the Union, which advised an appeal. This, coming duly before the Queen's Bench, was allowed, the sentence quashed, and the Police ordered to pay costs. This was the first of a series of such actions which have been, unfortunately, necessary in order to teach Law to Police and other Public Authorities. Not one of these cases has ever been decided against the Union.* There was, too, a correspondence in 1879 with the Board of Inland Eevenue, which objects to the supply of intoxicants to Ladies at Lectures and Concerts, but in the end the objection is withdrawn. The first proposal for club restriction as Anti-Club distinguished from taxation was made in Legislation. 1883 by the Burnley Town Commissioners, who promoted a Bill dealing with the future government of that now considerable town ; the clauses proposed to place clubs under the inspection and control of the Commissioners. The Union took the matter up, and the objectionable clauses, thanks to W. T. Marriott, Henry Broadhurst, and Thomas Burt, were withdrawn. The long contest between the Union and those who seek to restrict clubs by legislative action is told in another chapter. But it is meet that the first effort and its defeat should find its place amongst the many trials of this strenuous time. In 1881 a large increase of rent is threatened at 150, Strand, where the Union has been a Moves. good tenant for 19 years at £40 per annum. So a new office at £60 per annum is found at 31, Southampton * The second and most important case, whicli Is the leading and standard case in Club Law, was that of the Grosvenor Club, GrafE v. Evans, heard in the Queen's Bench before Mr. Justice Field and Baron Huddlestone on February 28th, 1882, which reversed a decision of Mr. D'Eyncourt, a London Stipendiary, and definitely stated as law that the supply by a club to its members was not, and could not be, a " sale." A CLUB LIBRARY. A FAVOURITE PICTURE AT SALTBURN. 69 Street, " a change involving an outlay of £20, which the Council could ill afford, as well as the payment of £20 per annum in excess of the rent formerly paid." This plaintive note is here inserted as a cheerful contrast with the rent paid in 1912 by the Union (to itself) amounting, in all, for offices, board and class rooms, stores and shop, to £436 per annum. In another place will be found reference to Personai- the Queen and other Eoyalties who again manifested their keen interest in the Union, as well as to the generous donors whose splendid gifts kept the Union afloat during this period. There are some other names and changes which require record. Mr. Herbert B. Praed'" takes up the position of Treasurer on the retirement of Mr. Hamilton Hoare in 1881, a position which he has held continuously since, a period of 31 years. A new name appears amongst the subscribers in 1881, W. MiNET (Treasurer of the Bryanston Club), who at once puts himself at the disposal of club officers and offers instruction in Book- beeping and the preparation of Balance Sheets. Here began one of the most important of the Union's many helps to its clubs, the organising of their book-keeping. To-day it is safe to say that the book-keeping and standard of management of the great majority of the Union clubs would compare favour- ably with that of most business houses. There are other directions in which the Union has accumulated a greater debt to Mr. Minet. , There are two other newcomers whose names must be noted. Mr. Warren Hastings Sands, who threw himself into the work with great enthusiasm, and gave a welcoaae lift to Athletics, and Mark Judge, who resuscitated the " Journal " in 1883 from its long sleep, and became Honorary Editor. But there are debits, too. In 1876 Lord Lyttelton dies, a tremendous loss, in 1881 Dean Stanley, before referred to, whilst in * Created a Baronet in 1905, 70 the next year went that other noble and kindly soul — Lord Frederick Cavendish. Amongst the Vice-Presidents in 1883 appears Thomas Burt, M.P., the present "father" of the House of Commons, whose presence and welcome at our Council at Newcastle in July, 1911, was a pleasant linking of the past with the present. The interest of Her Majesty Queen Victoria Royal Help, was maintained in the Union and its work, and in 1876 she sent a second donation, this time of £50, the Duke of Cambridge sending £10. In 1877 the Prince of Wales makes his fourth donation, again of £26. In 1878 the Duke of Cambridge forwarded another £10. The City Companies, too, looked benevolently ^The City upon the Union and its works. The Fish- COMPANIES. mongers led the way m 1876 with a donation of £25, the Goldsmiths gave the like, and the Mercers £50. In 1878 the Drapers gave £26 53., and the Fishmongers another £25. In 1880 the Fishmongers another £25. In 1882 the Carpenters £26 5s., and in 1883, the last, the faithful Fishmongers with yet another £25. Other special donations, in a period when donations as a whole were falling, should be mentioned. In 1877 there fell into the Union's Treasury three donations of £100 each ; from Mrs. Turner, of Liverpool, Sir Anthony Cleasby (one of Her Majesty's Barons of the Exchequer) and Samuel Moiiey, M.P. In 1878, £100 is given by the Countess Eosebery and £50 by Sir Francis Hopwood. In 1879, the old and ever faithful friend, the Duke of Westminster, gives £100. In 1880 Lord Eosebery gives £50, the Duke of Devonshire, a constant subscriber, £20, whilst in the same year the " Eomany Dramatic Club " raised £56 by a performance in aid of the funds. With this period the days of big Subscriptions and Dona- tions pass. Both steadily and naturally diminish as the 71 Union approaches self support. But though tl^e time be long passed since the Union was dependent on extraneous aid — in these days it was dependent, and would indeed have come bo a standstill, and to dissolution, but for the generous help above recorded. In the days then of pride and strength let there be awakened, if it ever slept, deep and abiding gratitude to those who helped when help was needed, whose help has rendered the Union no longer in need of assistance. The period covered by this chapter, 1875- _ 1883, was, it has been said, one of preparation Clubs. ^ ^ of the young institution for man's estate. 1. Educational. And as was proper, all Educational efforts were redoubled by the Council with most gratifying results. Especially was this the case with the Circulating Library, the earlier success of which has been seen. There are generous donations to this Fund from the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Eothschild, Mr. A. G. Crowder, and others. But the payments by the clubs are more than half, and in 1882 the Library becomes self-supporting. There is a grant from the Gilchrist Trustees of £20 for the purchase of works of a Scientific Character. There are many gifts of books. Sir Thomas Brassey presents 500 copies of " Work and Wages," and Lord Eosebery 200 copies of Albert Smith's " Tour Eound the World," The work of the Library gets beyond the capacity of the office, and Mr. E. S. Pearson undertakes the task of Honorary Librarian. The Circulating Library is " All right." Other work, which lay in the direction of promoting competitions in Essay Writing (either upon given subjects or in the examination of a selected book), or Debating is successfully undertaken. Lord Francis Hervey gives special prizes for winners in this arena, in which the prowess of the members of the Hatcham Liberal Club is remarkable. In Debating, in History or Poetry, each year Gardiner, Wheatley, Hill, or Cole emerge with the laurel wreath ; 72 Hammersmith Club, with Beasley and Dowling, follow closely, and amongst the earliest of Essay writers receiving a prize is found (in 1878) J. Abbott, of Wigston. Professor Leoni Levi gives a series of lectures on " Capital and Labour," and other evenings are devoted to replies by Thomas Paterson and Lloyd Jones, members of the Council. It is noted that lectures in clubs are wanted for Sundays and the reports excuse and explain this demand, evidently in answer to objections conveyed to the Council but not recorded. A series of lectures is given on Saturdays at the Society of Arts, amongst the speakers being Dean Stanley, Professor Huxley, and Anthony Trollope. The form of education which combines with social gatherings was also at full tide. The Duke of Westminster (as already noted) is host for a large party of club men and their wives at Cliveden, Lord John EusseU the same at Pembroke Park (a visit highly prized this — to see and speak to the great little man face to face). Dean Stanley invites to a great soiree, and every year to chats and social meetings at the Deanery, the Duke of Westminster also invites to a soiree at Grosvenor House, and in 1883 Lord and Lady Brassey receive a party of a thousand at South Kensington Museum. Natural History Classes are formed, and last, but not least, Mr. Minet continues his visits and guidance upon club book-keeping. Every one seems to have been busy, each doing his best to educate Demos. As keen a desire for a sound body was 2. Athletics, manifest. Mr. Warren Hasting Sands suc- ceeds in getting Eifle Shooting Contests firmly established. Lord Brabazon gives a shield, and with the help of Lord Elcho and others a massive silver trophy is purchased. A special fund for the promotion of Athletics is started, and Sir Thomas Brassey gives £25. The Duke of Abercorn gives a Trophy for Swimming, which perhaps explains the presence of Lord Claud Hamilton at an 73 Annual Prize Distribution. All the contests are well taken up. All this activity is naturally confined to London. Much that is valuable is omitted from Eeports, as is discoverable by the casual subsequent references to accepted facts which have never been earlier noted. Thus such important matters as the introduction of the " Pass Card," the |d. monthly card, and the reduction of the Associate Card from Is. to 6d. are never mentioned, but in the 1880 Eeport the reader finds the Income of the Union from Clubs leap up by £50 because of this. In the same year, the Council appears to have insisted upon clubs taking advantage of registration under the Friendly Societies Act. In this year, too, comes an inquiry from America, where there is stated to be " an increasing desire " to establish such institutions. Mr. Pratt is told to reply. It would be interesting could it be known what happened. So far as is known there is in the whole range of the United States not a single workman's club.* A map of England marked to show where the clubs are is also in this year recorded as prepared by Dr. Forbes Watson, and published, but there was no archivist to preserve a copy. In 1875 appears an item (£7 3s. lOd.), "legal advice to clubs." In 1879, £13 5s. for solicitor's charges, and in 1880 the same amount. The building of the Cobden Club at a cost of £5,000 and its opening by Lord Lyttelton, with Lord Frances Hervey, J. Passmore Edwards, M.P., and H. Broadhurst, M.P., is specially noted in 1881. The Table which foUows will show the move- ments in the Union's membership and AND FiNANCIAU Income. The latter figures have been taken from the accounts, which were audited — an operation more * Mr. W. H. Sands visited America in 1885 and had a conference in New Yorlc, at which it was agreed worliing men in America did not want clubs, "as they could do as they liked anywhere — and in the saloons." It is not stated who (whether workman or other) was the authority for this opinion, which now reads somewhat strangely. 74 needed in the matter of membership figures, of clubs joining, and of the total remaining, which appear in the reports. The table gives them as they are stated. The number joining each year may be correct. But the figures of totals seldom can be. And if the figures of new clubs affiliated be accepted it must also be accepted that they do not all pay, for whilst in 1877 (for instance) 53 clubs are said to join, the receipts from afSliation fees " is £3 less than in the following year, in which but 45 join. In 1880, and after, the Income from " Associate Cards " must read from " Associate AND Pass Cards." It will be seen that the Income from the clubs increases as the outside assistance decreases, and in 1883, if £21 paid by clubs to Circulating Library is added, reached £264, or within £67 of the Subscriptions and Donations. g 'g 'o O SubBcriptioDS and donations. a o ^ < CD So <1 £ £ £ 1875 55 312 703 17 3 1876 62 382 1054 31 22 1877 1878 53 45 435 450 1057 651 30 33 41 36 * III this year there was also given £161 Special Fund, and i'24 for the Sea- side Home. 1879 1880 41 28 483 520 808 481* 32 35 65 118; f This year also £24 for Special Fund and £14 for Rifle Trophy. 1881 29 Not stated 334t 40 162 I Includes Pass Ca-rds. 1882 31 443 341 41 178 1883 16 550 331 54 188 The Financial Position. The air was full of the portents of impending change. Clubs were (it is not reported, but it is not necessary) clamouring against outside control, and being, equally doubtless, sometimes very rude about it. It was clear that the day when the clubs should control the Union was near. And not unnaturally outside help began to fail. The intervention of the Eoyal Family, the City Companies, and the generous donors of large sums shown on Page 70, saved the situation for a while. But only for a while, and, after 1879, the " Donations and 75 Subscriptions " fall heavily. Many things accentuate the difficulties. The "Journal" loses £392 in the first year, and about £5 every week after. The Seaside Home failure cost £270. Mrs. Lawrenson, the Assistant Secretary, is dismissed, and is found to have embezzled about £50. A young man, J. S. Howell, is appointed her successor. But two years later, in 1883, he bolts with £75. The various Excursions have been a great success, but there is a loss of £60 on them. In 1878 " the Financial Position was never so unsatis- factory." There is a loan of £100 from Mr. Pratt. This is advanced, no doubt, in order to save furtlier looting of the Central Hall Fund, about whicli there ought to have been some compunction. The total debt in 1878 is £234. The barnacles cleared by Lord Eosebery are fastening on again. In 1879 the Central Hall Fund is tapped for £100 for " Loans " to an important club to relieve it from temporary difficulties." By a familiar but discreditable process of reasoning, these amounts came, with few honourable exceptions, to be treated as " gifts." In 1880, £90 is lent to London clubs, " in one case saving a very excellent club from disaster. It has since rallied, and is most punctual in its repayments." The total debt of the Union is now £303. There is a Special Appeal for £1,000, " with a view to placing the society on a sound footing, and to enable it to resume publication of the 'Journal.'" But the fount is running dry, and only £260 is received, in reply, in three years. In 1881 the debt is £356, but the increased income from clubs through the introduction of the monthly pass card,''' the discontinuance of the " Journal," and a year without pecula- tion in the office enables this to be reduced to £205 in 1882. The pass card enables the total Income from all sources to rise to £605, to which must be added £62 received on account of the Special Appeal, or £667 in all. This is an * The Pass Card was the invention of Mr. Tylee, of the St. James and Soho Club which club had for several years been subscribing id. per member to the Union's support. 78 Income adequate to the normal needs. At the end of 1883 the Debt is down to about £80. It is resolved to resume the publication of the " Journal," the absence of which has been sorely missed, and Mark Judge is to edit it. The Advent OF Following on the departure of the defaulting assistant, Howell, the Council, " Always desirous that the Union should be J. , m (J- Kellett. •Park Town ] IT. FOREMAN 87 Name of Club. Representative . •Primrose J. DRAPER. St. Jame. and Soho (W. MORGAN. iW. Fritz. * St. Mark's, Grosvenor Square ... A. R. Pyle. St. Pancras H. BAKEE. •St. Paul's J. B. Jones. •Tower Hamlets Radical Club I^' ^^'^^S. I J. C. MBLLISH. •Tower Hamlets Kad. Association. Alfred FOSTER. *TT -J. J -D J- 1 (Edwin DOBEELL. •Umted Radical \ „ „ IW. THOMAS. •Vauxhall Bridge J. T. WADHAM. Of the above list of 32 clubs, active and alive in 1884, no less than 19,* more than half, have passed away. Of the representatives it is difficult to speak. Mr. H. Baker remains to this day, retiring from the Executive only in June, 1910. There are others (Messrs. Hart, Hennessey, Fuller) known to, be living, the last an active member of the Mildmay Eadical and there may be others. Names there are of many, Dorrell, Morgan, Fritz, etc., who have passed away after faithful service to the Union. It will be seen that but two provincial clubs, one from Wiltshire and one from Yorkshire, sought representation. The 24 members elected from amongst the subscribers were : — B. R. Blatohley. W. Minet. a. J. Spencer. W. DIGBT. T. A. NASH. STEPHEN S. TAYLER. R. Edgcumbe. Hodgson Pratt. Captain Verney, R.N. T. Fishbourne. Alfred Preston. Frederick Verney. A. Heward. E. S. Pearson. H. J. Van Laun. Rev. S. D. HEADLAM. Mrs. PATEESON. D. WALKER. MARK H. Judge. T. Pagliaedini. George Winch. C. E. MAUEiCE. W. H. SANDS. Rev. Thoenhill Webber. Of these there are many living whose interest in the Union survives with them. " The immediate effect of the new departure First Fruits, has been," says the next Year's Eeport, to attract the increased support of clubs, and several have lately adopted the compulsory rule of payment, 88 by which one halfpenny per month is made for every member of the club." How acceptance of responsibility grew with power will be shown in the table which concludes this chapter. "Writing on January 4th, 1884, on the eve of tlie change of constitution, the Editor of the Journal (Mr. W. Minet) said : We may hope that at no very distant date we may see at least an income of £750 to the Union — a sum which ought to be sufficient to pay all ordinary reasonable expenses." The achievement of self-government swiftly realised the hope, even if it enlarged the needs and the expenses. The estimate made by Mx. Hodgson Pratt that in 1888 the Union would be self supporting is almost justified by the facts. A constitution so hurriedly come by, whilst in its principle it accorded with the democratic Changes in _ idea, was sure to be found to be but rough Constitution. hewn, and to need subsequent cutting and polishing. Such proved to be the case, and at a meeting held in "Westminster Hall in 1886 the Union bade a long farewell to all its great ones. Princes and Potentates depart, for the new rules, there adopted, contain no provision for Vice-Presidents. They were, indeed, out of place in the new order of tilings. But they played their part in the earlier days, and must be remembered with gratitude now. The Honorary Secretaries who assist the chairman also go. Mr. T. A. Nash retires from the post, and Mr. W. H. Sands goes, for a while, to Florida. The vacancies had not been filled, and the office, not without protest from Hodgson Pratt, is abolished. Mr. Stephen Tayler pursues the not always even tenor of his chairmanship unassisted. The new Council, with its minority of subscribers' repre- sentatives, does not feel itself entirely congruous. The constitution is neither flesh nor fowl. There is still need for change, and on April 18th, 1889, the Union is constituted a Society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act,* with each club as a member of it. For the first time it becomes a UNIT, a single body, of component parts. In this change is seen the hand and work of the new Secretary, wedded to democracy and co-operation, skilled in the making of rules and administrative framework. The mind easily pictures the uneasy working of the order of things created by the Pape-Judge revolution — the eager rush to power of the clubs, the impetuous crudeness of the schemes, the kindly tolerance and doubting fears of the Old Order, the inevitable conflict of two entirely different modes of thought, habit, and expression. And that this did not waken into flame was doubtless due to the presence of such men as Minet and Hobson, Tayler and Judge, amongst the Subscribers ; men not afraid of change, and full of faith in the ultimate rightness of the people. Pratt, too, was President, and took the chair at most meetings, and, even where difference was most acute, it is certain that the love and affection all bore him assisted in giving peace, if not harmony, to these strenuous times. How strenuous they were ; how fiercely men thought, and how rudely they spoke ; how intolerance moved all classes, it is difficult in these gentler and more tolerant days to recall. New ideas sprang into the field and battered at old custom. The workers were just enfranchised, and iconoclastic. The Irish Question split every class of society. The refusal of the House of Commons to allow Mr. Bradlaugh to take his seat, stirred the workmen of London to fury. There was a new cleavage, violence of thought and speech were normal, and the men who took a middle course were like to be buffeted by both sides. It was for the Union a difficult and a troublous time. And that it steered through it satisfactorily is a tribute to all the new delegates and the older workers. * These Rules, as amended in 1910, are printed in the Appendix, p. 323. 90 The Bradlaugh incident was perhaps the most serious of all. At the Council held on April 7th, 1885, a proposal was made by Mr. Emmanuel Hopes, of the John Bright* Club, that the name of Mr. Charles Bradlaugh be added to the list of Vice- Presidents, and in spite of the opposition of Hodgson Pratt and such influential speakers as W. H. Sands, T. A. Nash, W. Minet, and T. P. Hobson, supported as they were by H. Puller, the resolution was carried by a majority of one ! Disaster was prophesied by the opponents of the proposal, and things swiftly happened. T. A. Nash resigned his Hon. Secretaryship, Lord Lyttelton (son of the pioneer), the Duke of Westminster, Wyndam Portal, and others resigned the Vice-Presidency. Thus led, the Worcestershire Branch or District Union seceded bodily (Lord Lyttelton was its Chairman), and the Hampshire District Union, of which Mr. Portal was chairman, did the same — giving as reason their inability to send delegates to the meetings of the Council. Worcestershire Union had 47 clubs, Hampshire numbered 16. The gallant Squires of Kent, headed by Lord Harris, were equally vexed, and they and their district (numbering about 30 clubs) also withdrew, although surreptitiously later, in 1888. In 1886 Mr. Bradlaugh, becoming aware of all the havoc wrought by his name, wrote to Lord Brassey with- drawing it. " My only desire is, and has been, to befriend the clubs," he wrote. I shall be as ready to help in my poor way without holding office." His " poor way " was to assist clubs by a Lecture given gratuitously in the largest hall obtainable. To secure attendance at such, tickets at one shilling, sixpence, and threepence were eagerly purchased, and £50 easily realised. In such a manner Bradlaugh had assisted very many clubs. For fear that, even at this distance of time, ancient enmity may arise, the incident need not be discussed. Looking back it can be agreed that the election was unwise, and that they * Afterwards renamed the Paddington Radical. 91 ■who withdrew because of it were wrong.* But it offered an illustration ot the difference of attitude of the workmen members, and that of others, and there can be no doubt that the treatment accorded to a man, whom many thousands of workmen believed to be (as many yet believe he was), the greatest and best, did colour and embitter subsequent proceedings, as did the attitude of Mr. Hodgson Pratt towards the Trafalgar Square riots and Bloody Sunday. Such times will not come again. They are recalled to feature the difficulty of the work which was then the paramount task of the Union — that of "finding itself," of getting all its parts into their proper relation, straining for oneness and completeness, and not disintegration. The registering of the Union as a Society was a step of the highest wisdom. No sooner had the Union emerged from its two-classed government into a single and coherent body needing loyal co-operation from its constituents than schism arose inside, and a movement, headed by the Eadical clubs of the East End, was made in the direction, first of an Bast End Eadical Union, and then of establishing a Eadical Union for the whole of London in connection with the Metropolitan Eadical Federation, withdrawing such clubs from the Union. The lead in this movement was taken by the United Eadical Club (since deceased) and the Boro' of Hackney Club. It was doughtily fought by the Hackney Eadical Club. First the East End scheme fell through, and although " the heads " of the M.E.F. of those days favoured and helped the wider proposal, it was found that delegates do not always represent clubs, for on a vote being taken of the club committees, to whom the proposal was referred, it was overwhelmingly defeated, only the two clubs named, with the Borough of Battersea, and the Peckham and * " The state, in choosing men to serve it," Cromwell wrote before Marston Moor, " takes no notice oJ their opinions. If they be willing faithfully to serve it, that satisfies." 92 Dulwich (since closed), voting in its favour. Ttie malcontents took their defeat in moderately good part, and returned to the Council to harass the Secretary and the Executive, but from the inside, and this first and last revolt ended. It neverthe- less contributed its meed to the vexations and anxieties of the time. The Secretary's task could not have been a happy one. The registration of the Union as an Indus- Calling trial and Provident Society compelled each THE Roll. club to hold at least one share in it. The new rules provided that these shares should be of the value of 5s. each, and that every club should hold one share for each hundred or part of a hundred members, providing always that no club need hold more than four shares whatever its membership. A similar sum, i.e., from 5s. to £1 was to be paid by the club to the Union annually.* The Associate Card was to cost 6d. in future, and any club which purchased Pass Cards for the whole of its members was to be exempt from the payment of the Annual Fee. The first step, therefore, necessary to set the new constitution in working order was to allot shares to clubs which were abeady members. And to do this these must be ascertained, a step long overdue. The relations of the District Unions " to the parent Union were of the vaguest character. There appear to have been differing arrangements with each, but what these were is nowhere shown. Later, in 1889, it will be seen that they had all gone, except that at Manchester, with 50 clubs attached, which seems to have remained (the Bishop of Manchester at its head), unshaken by the temporary addition of Mr. Bradlaugh to the Vice-Presidents. These " District Unions," forerunners of the present " Branches," are dealt with more fully in Chapter VII., page 126. What was the number of clubs in the Union at the time ? In 1885, so large a number as 543 was * The amount ol Share and of Annual Pee wag doubled to futiire clubs, by an amendment o£ the Eules in 1897. WILLIAM MINET. T. F. HOBSON, M.A., L.C.C. 98 claimed. The 1886 Eeport is discreetly silent and empty of reference to the subject. But a note in the Journal of November, 1885, says — after writing off 141 clubs, " of whom nothing had been heard since 1878" — "there are 248 clubs known to the Union as existing and affiliated, of which 208 have paid the fee for the year." How the other 40 remain affiliated without payment is not stated. " And we have to add," goes on the Journal, ' the clubs in the District Unions, which brings the total up to 370." This would leave 122 in the District Unions. We find, however, that the 1887 Eeport states the total clubs affiliated at 328. This rises to 365 in 1888, 37 clubs joining that year, and none apparently dropping out. In 1889 no less than 64 clubs became members, a greater number than ever before reliably recorded. This with- out deduction should bring the total to 429. But the roll is now for the first time called, and no less than 101 fail to answer or to pay. There are thus 328 clubs left, surely and certainly members of the Union. These are the first reliable figures. All those which appear in the preceding reports overstate the fact. Of these clubs, it is stated in the Eeport, " nearly half " are in the Metropolis. In 1885 Mr. T. F. HOBSON first appears, a The Honorary i • , ■ , , -r -, young barrister just come to London. Keen Counsel at for social work, he is introduced by Mr. Minet Work. ■' to the Union Council. The Union has now two highly-trained legal minds at its service. It announces that it will give advice gratuitously to any club applying. To these applications Messrs. Minet and Hobson attended, as they have done in the succeeding 27 years. What that advice would have cost at current rates it is impossible to estimate. What its value was to the clubs is vaster still. Without it neither the Union nor its clubs could stand where they do, for it never could have been obtained by purchase. At this period it was of special value, for Police as well as Clubs, Magistrates as well as Tradesmen, seemed all in need of their teaching. An unsuccessful effort by Policemen to enter and obtain drink in the Hatcham Liberal Club in 1885 led to their prosecution and dismissal from the force, and also to a Conference,* which produced the present Visitors' Book. The suing of the Trustees of the Starch Green Eadical Club (like so many, now dead) was an endeavour to make them personally liable for the sum of £42, value of goods supplied to the club. At the request of the Union Mr. Hobson defended and secured a decision that there was no personal liability, and that judgment would lie against the assets of the club only, when such club is registered under the Friendly Societies Act. Mx. Curtis Bennett, a London Stipendiary, is also taught the exact bearing of this Act. Eefusing to issue a summons against a Club Steward under the Act, for " withholding " the moneys of the club, the Union obtained a mandamus from the Courts compelling him to do so. Clubs are advised that all Lotteries are illegal, in every shape and form, and that they must respect the Dramatic rights of authors or owners of copyright. Somerset House authorities are interviewed on knotty questions of Income Tax and Inhabited House Duty, leases are examined, the law of club procedure explained, and in a thousand unremembered directions the brain of both of these able men is placed at the service of every Union club. Who can even now estimate or set a value on a service so generous ? An illuminated address presented to Mr. W. Minet in congratulation on his escape from the wreck of the " Oregon" faintly indicates the feelings he had awakened. The troubles of fitting the new Constitution and of defeating revolt, did not detract from the task which the new Executive set itself of educating its members in the methods of * Amongst the attendants was B. T. Hal delegate from the Tcwer Hamlets Radical Association. 95 self-government, especially in those principles "which are based upon arithmetic. In this work the two lawyers were as active as in their professional sphere, assisted by a fine character, EODOLFB GUEEEL, whose stay in the move- ment was all too brief, but was, nevertheless, a crowded and glorious hour. Conferences on Club Management were held in various districts. Cuerel held classes and taught Book- keeping. Minet cast into a pamphlet (" How to Establish and Manage a Club ") his knowledge and the 25 years' experience of the Union. Hobson criticised Club Balance Sheets in the Journal, and advised where they were defective. This was not a success — Secretaries and Auditors disliking public certificate of incompetence. The three were ever at the service of secretaries wishing tuition. Cuerel undertook audits till the demand for his services became too great. A very revolution was effected in the accountancy of clubs, and a sure foundation was laid on which has been built a practice which places Union clubs, in the matter of bookkeeping, in the forefront of working-class organisations. The demand for the account- books published by the Union grew so great as to form the basis of a trading department, leading to the setting up of the stores with G. Shore in charge, whilst the demand by the clubs for an auditor of guaranteed standing led to the recommending of W. G. Stroud for that service, and afterwards to his engagement in 1891 as a member of the Union staff, and subsequently to the establishment of the now overworked Audit Department. The Union was at its proper work. The legal advisers of the Union found other Attack and scope for their abilities, in the beginning of the Defence. sustained attack upon clubs continued to the present day. A Bill for this purpose was intro- duced by Mr. Gent Davis, who was supposed to represent the Publicans in the matter, in criticism of which Mr. Minet prepared a paper. The matter is dealt with elsewhere, as are 96 the discussions which, arising from the Hatoham case, led some on the Council to want a special Act of Parliament — and a subsequent meeting to reject a Union Bill for the Eegistration of Clubs which had been prepared by the Legal and Parliamentary Committee. The Treasury, for some occult reason, with its roots in past centuries, declined to allow clubs with political objects stated in rules to take advantage of the Friendly Societies Act, and refused to be shaken by the united efforts of Messrs. Minet and Hobson. A Bill, therefore, to effect what was refused was drafted and introduced into the House of Commons by J. E. HoUond, M.P., but made no progress. The difficulty was found to be negotiable, and thus what could not be got over was got round. What Educational work, using the term in its Educational, more pedantic sense, was possible, was done in each of these ten years. It was not unwilling- ness on the part of the Union, or failure to find teachers, but the unwillingness of workmen to receive what was offered which was the difficulty. In this connection, two names appear of men who have since made some mark on English public life, J. H. Dalziel fnow the Eight Honourable Sir J. H. Dalziel, M.P., then delegate from the Newington Eeform Club), who insistently at every Council meeting urged the importance of this side of the Union's task, and WiUiam Johnson, of Bedworth, now Member of Parliament for that division of Warwickshire, who stalked through the Essays Competitions, taking first prize every year from 1884 to 1889. Beyond the Essays, and Examinations in some given book, there were constant endeavom'S to interest the club members and secure their co-operation. Arrangements were made with the Working Men's College to hold classes in clubs. Con- ferences called for the promotion of this were sympathetic, but few classes were formed. Mr. T. E. Hobson read papers, but the response was but languid. These earlier workers 97 reversed the position of Tantalus, but shared his pangs. They were as eager to give, to feed, and refresh as he was to absorb, yet were frustrated almost as completely. The efforts, renewed again and again in face of disappointment and scant appreciation, were rendered futile largely because, amongst the bulk of workers then, there was no conscious need of education, whilst the few who felt it were immersed in work in Club, or Trade Union or Friendly Society. Truth to tell. Education (of the pedagogic kind) was not, and is not the Union's work. It requires special training and special organization, and the Union has its own every-day task. It is like a busy overworked man endeavouring to teach his children, or attend a large garden. His efforts will produce little in root or flower. He should engage a man. And so the Union's interest in Education should be manifest in assistance by sympathy, co-operation, and subsidy, of definite Educational organisations, whose business it is to do for the Union's constituents what the Union sought, with heavily- burdened hands, to do. To-day such bodies as the Workers' Educational Association and Euskin College endeavour and achieve. In the period under review they were not, and the Society for the Extension of University Teaching had failed to do what was hoped. And so the Union did what it could. If it achieved but little, the labour and the courage of those who persisted must have been of a type really heroic. They were truly those who never turned their backs, but went straight forward, never doubting clouds would break, who held " men fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake." There were compensations. Classes in " First Aid " were greatly successful, and many clubs have a fine record to-day in the proficiency of their members and their wives in this. The Circulating Library maintained popularity, under the control of Mr. W. 0. Waller, who took over the post of Hon. Librarian from Mr. Pearson, and who was, in turn, succeeded by Mr. Vaughan Nash* in 1890. The Saturday afternoon visits to places of historic, educational, technical, or other interest also successfully continued. These maintained the usual level of success. Games and , m , • in addition to the Trophies earlier mentioned. Contests. , ., -n , a large silver mug was presented by Earl Portescue for Drill, i.e., the club which should be able to turn out the smartest squad. For some reason, however, this contest was not a success. An Annual Athletic Festival was instituted, and proved successful for many years. Although the functions were in the main confined to London, it is remarkable what Activities. ... a range, and what many activities were found possible in a time devoted to self-construction, and with an office which for the larger part of the period consisted of the Secretary only, and part of it of him and one clerk. There were the troubles with the Journal, they were always with us. There was a great Excursion to the Paris Exhibition in 1889. At this the Union made an exhibit of its account books and other devices for good club government, and a statement of its objects, for which it was awarded a Gold Medal. It even called a conference in Paris to discuss the possibility of the establishment of workmen's clubs in France. There had been a similar project and a club begun at Havre in 1875, but both came to naught. Tire workmen's club is apparently a purely British institution. Mr. Hodgson Pratt is unable to escape the distinction of being admitted a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. There are organised two successful Industrial Exhibitions, one in 1890, towards which various City Companies subscribed £113, and the second in 1891, which grew so that the Agricul- tural Hall was requisitioned as venue. * Late Private Secretary to Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman and Mr. H. H. Asquith, and now Vioe-Chairman of the Development Commission. 99 Little was done, for there was little tinie or money to do it, in the matter of reaching out to the Provinces. Dent paid some visits, amongst other places, to Peterboro', Kettering, and Gainsboro'. He and Hodgson Pratt visited Halifax twice in an unsuccessful effort to establish a " West Eiding District Council," and these two, with Ouerel and another, paid a visit to Cardiff and held conferences and a public meeting which began the workmen's clubs of that town. This visit cost £15 in all, and was the occasion of a protest in the Council from a Hackney delegate against the Union's money being spent on this sort of thing ! " So indignant was the delegate at this application of the Union's funds for the Union's primary purpose that he withdrew himself from the Council Chamber ! There are suggestions for the establishment of a Union Orphanage and a Union Lifeboat. A scheme for Convalescent Homes is set on foot, the full story of which is told in Chapter VIII., Page 143. The Union resolves to take part in the agitation for the opening of Museums and Picture Galleries on Sundays, and J. J. Dent presides at a great demonstration in favour of the same at St. James's Hall. John Burns has been elected to the London County Council, and the Council decides to pay 26s. monthly to his " wages fund." Efforts are made by the calling of conferences to improve the class of entertainments given in clubs, wherein the person with the red nose and blue patter, satirically termed a comedian, was rampant. The ofSce is found too small, and a move is made to a floor, then considered quite roomy and spacious, at 150, Holborn. The Co-operative Congress in 1887 invites the Union to send a deputation to it, which is done, and continued in succeeding years until 1894. There are constant attacks upon clubs at Licensed Victuallers' dinners, some religious conferences, and in tlie Press. All these have to be met and dealt with. There is a Conference 100 at the Birkbeok Institute on " Clubs and Drink," at which Mr. W. S. Cains, M.P., blesses the clubs. Mr. Cobb, M.P., and Lord Randolph Churchill join in the attack by legislative proposals. Mrs. Paterson dies in 1886, and in 1889 the Trustees of the Thomas Paterson Memorial hand over to the Union the balance of the fund, £40 7s. 7d., to which Mr. Pratt adds £9 12s. 5d., making the £50 which the Union invested, until it is now £100. The social side was not neglected. Sir Thomas Brassey, who remained as President until 1885, when he was succeeded by Mr. Hodgson Pratt, invited the delegates and their wives to Soirees at South Kensington Museum, and to visit his house and museum at Park Lane. These were great successes. The Executive held soir6es at Exeter Hall and at Toynbee Hall. " Patronage was hateful," was the motto of the delegates then. Yet the functions first referred to were more crowded than the latter. Probably the influence of the women who drove their husbands to the feast against their manlier wills. Perhaps. Many other, if smaller, special activities there The were, and with the ordinary olEce routine the Secretary must have been very hard pressed. In 1887 his salary is raised (unanimously) to £160. In 1889 a Clerk is given him. In 1890 the Secretarial salary is raised to £200, not without some difficulty, some delegates considering this an extravagant sum. In 1891 the staff is increased. A Clerk, a Store Manager, and an of&ce lad are added, and more Office room is demanded. The ancient project of Solly's, the establish- ment of a Central Block of Buildings which should contain offices not only for the Union, but for kindred societies (page 117), and for which purpose a sum of £600 had been subscribed, had never really slept, and was always present in the minds of some, as an ideal seen afar 101 off. In about 1885 it began to be discussed again. The money had gone. It had been largely advanced as " loans ' to London clubs, -which " loans " came to be looked upon as gifts, and the balance of £55 was, in that 3'ear, transferred to the General Fund. This is the shady episode of the Union's story. The new proposal was that the Union should raise some money and join the St. James' and Soho Club in setting up a club house, hall, and offices. On this being considered by the Council it was rejected. It was properly considered that the Union should entirely own its house, and not merely a part. A sub-committee was appointed to seek for new premises, or where they might be erected. It was thought that these would cost £12,000 (it was only in the estimates of expenditure that the Council was modest), and Mr. H. Baker, delegate from St. Pancras, held that the realisation of this scheme was " simply impossible." As the balance of the Union's Assets over Liabihties was but £250 at the time (1886-1887) this would seem to be a very sensible view. Others thought so too, and the fund which grew up was frequently made the object of attack by some of the defeated secessionists, who wished to loot it again for " Loans," but without success. It was next decided that all moneys received from outside Sub- scriptions and Donations ("hateful patronage" still remaining to the extent of about £180 yearly) should be placed to the credit of a Special Central Hall Fund (in some way this seems to have eased the consciences of the sturdy ones), which continued to be done till March, 1892, when the Eeport shall speak for itself : — "The mogt important incident of the year has been the purchase of a freehold site on which to erect the Central Hall and Club, of which we have been dreaming for the last 25 years, but which many of our friends have long ceased to look upon as possible of realisation, and smiled when the subject was alluded to in the Annual Reports, which year after year announced that we were still hoping to shortly reach the goal. " At last, however, the policy of steadily accumulating the Central Hall Fund and refusing to permit it to be frittered away in gifts and loans to clubs which were in financial difficulty has been justified. A 102 site haa been seoared in a splendid position, easy of access from all parts of London, and large enough to enable us to carry out the whole of the programme which we have discussed for several years past. " The site has cost about £8,000 and it has a frontage to the Clerkenwell Road, adjoining the Holborn Town Hall, of 46 feet and a depth of about 130 feet. A part of the site is covered by two factories, and plans have been prepared for adapting these buildings to our requirements and for utilising the unoccupied portion of the land. The cost of the alterations and new buildings, including furnishing, will be alone £11,000, and for this the Union will secure central premises, of which we are sure all our members will be proud. Mr. W. D. Caroe, M.A., F.R.I.B.A., has been appointed Architect." Thus, at one stride, is the position achieved which, but a year before, appeared as remote and as distant as in the years far past. But it must be confessed that it was a most reckless under- taking. The Central Hall Fund had grown to £1,250. The Balance of Assets over liabilities in the General Fund was £937. Even were this realisable it were surely madness, or abounding faith, which could commit itself to an estimated expenditure of £19,000 (it was over £20,000 in fact) with but £2,000 to its credit in cash and assets ! How was it possible to spend £20,000 when The Finance . •,• o t<. • 4. m such a position .■' It is a curious story OF "AN crowned with success, which nevertheless Impossible Scheme- came very near abrupt and tragic ending. It belongs to the next chapter. But here may be set out how the money was obtained. Lord Brassey it was who made the scheme possible by guaranteeing Lloyd's Bank against possible loss in a loan of £8,500 advanced to the Union without other security. There was a mortgage of £5,500 on the premises, a loan of £2,000 from the Women's Trade Union League (which was to occupy offices in the Building),'" and Sundry Loans from clubs and club members amounting to £2,500. Thus the Building began with a burden * This £2,000 was a Fund raised by Lady Dilke as a memorial to Emma Paterson, who as Emma Smith was once Assistant Secretary of the Union, and afterwards married Thomas Paterson. lOfc of Debt of over £18,000 ; at 5 per cent., a charge of £900 per annum upon the Union's Funds. A remarkahle, unusual, and not very promising condition. Contemplation of tlie financial future could only he indulged in when reinforced with a deep draught of optimism. Courage failed a little, it would appear, for there is a weak thing in the Eeport in 1891 — an appeal to wealthy friends for help " in the shape of donations to the Building Eund." It is to be regretted now that that should have appeared. Nevertheless the work was in hand, and the year 1892 occupied with the erection of the new Building. And then fell a bolt from the blue. The Dent Resigns, delegates called to the usual Council meeting on February 4th, 1893, found that a slip had been added to the notice, mentioning tliat Mv. Anthony Mundella, M.P., the President of the Board of Trade, who had given great satisfaction in Trade Union circles by the recent establishment of a Labour Department, had offered the post of Labour Correspondent therein to J. J. Dent, and that he had accepted it and resigned his position of Secretary of the Union. The meeting was very cordial in its congratulations and in its recognition that in his new post Dent would do the State good service. There were those who thought he ought not to have taken the post, although the salary was £300, rising to £400 per annum. These were they who in 1890 had thought his salary should not have been increased from £150 ! A resolution of congratulation was carried with acclamation, and Mr. Dent, who was visibly affected, in thanking the delegates : — " Acknowledged that it was an unfortunate time for him to leave their service, and it was with mixed feelings that he tendered his resignation at a time when they were building the Central Hall and Offices. He had paused some time before accepting the appointment, for his interest in the work of the Union was dragging one way and his family interests the other. He had sacrificed other positions to continue in the Union service, and when he recollected the difficulty that they had to decide 104 that he was worth £200 a year, he felt that with the claims o£ a growing family he could not now hesitate — and knowing that his future work was to help on the Labour Movement, he felt it incumbent on him to take the position. When he thought of the growth of the Union and its future responsibilities, he felt that a much stronger man than ever was required for Secretary to guide them through the troubles arising in the future. He hoped it would be a long time before he severed his connection with the Union, and as a delegate he would always be glad to assist the new Secretary." With this promise (so amply redeemed) J. J. Dent gave up an office in which he had faced difficulty after difficulty with dogged and untiring pertinacity, and had worn down, or fitted into their due place, the difficulties which every year projected upon the Union's plane. He came to the Union at a time when democracy was straining at its leash, eager to burst into power, at a time when the Union, though full of the potentialities of power, had not yet " found itself," its parts wanting yet their due relation and bearing. Two sets of men and two sets of ideas were on the verge of conflict in it. He kept the good ship on an even lieel, her crew disciplined, her course clear, and warring interests or differing views reconciled. It is only the man in the centre who has these tasks, and only such understand its nerve-racking strain. Dent had been a bricklayer when he entered the Union's service, and broad and deep were the footings, solid and square the foundations of the Union laid, when in March, 1893, he vacated his chair to B. T. Hall (aged 28), of the Hatcham Liberal Club, one time a carpenter, then the Assistant Secretary of the Seamen and Firemen's Union, whom the Council at its meeting at the West Southwark Eadical Club on Saturday, March 4th, appointed to take his place. How did the Union stand in numbers of Stocktaking, clubs, and in financial position at the close of 1892 ? This chapter began with a table with the continuation of which it may fitly conclude. The table indicates the growing independence of the Union of outside 106 help and the growth of its Income from its clubs. The numbers of clubs cannot be compared, as now the member- ship is real, and not shadowy, slight, or nominal, as in the early years. Clubs must subscribe their fixed quota now, not be merely " known to " the Union. The figures of member- ship given on earlier Pages are those which the Eeports claimed. The clubs recorded as " known to the Union " would have been more correctly referred to as " once known." The earlier figures, being thus attainted, are left out of the table which follows ; — 1884. 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. Number of Clubs . Paid by Clubs ,, Outside Sympathisers No £ 329 388 relia £ 459 279 ble £ 558 232 figur £ 682 215 es £ 782 185 328 £ 1063 178 384 £ 1124 135 422 £ 1188 132 410 £ 1169 172 Total yearly income 717 738 790 897 967 1241 1259 1320 1341 CHAPTEE VI. Peogress and Development. 1893-1912. When, in March, 1893, the present Secretary took the chak vacated by J. J. Dent he found the Union a complete and self- contained organisation, its base well set, its form determined, its life assured. The task and policy for the future could be faced without fear of internal difference, or distracted by the sheer necessity of prolonging life, which had hampered and beset his predecessors. Firmly upon its feet, there was for the Union now but to progress and to develop — to extend its borders and to deepen, by useful service, its hold upon its parts. The lines of action, and the tasks which lay ahead, were clear. It had to establish its financial security against all possible accidents of the future. It had to secure its clubs against attack. It had to come to some settlement in its relationship with the clubs of the provinces. It had to determine its relations with the State. It had grown too large a part of the community to be able to proceed without consideration of the effect of its progress on others than itself. It was clear that even if it wished this latter, the State would not permit, and would soon come to question the place of the movement within it. So there was both a Colonial and Foreign policy for consideration. Beyond all this, yet in its results affecting it all, was the task of introspection, of diligent searching within, the repair of weaknesses, the excision of malignant growths, the expulsion of impurities, the securing of intrinsic health by the meeting of every legitimate want, the use of every opportunity. The Union had unity in form. It must have it also in sentiment and ideal. It must 107 polish and perfect its parts so that their character would be their greatest security against hostile attack, and they be armed so strong in honesty, that ill-considered, ignorant criticism, or the attacks of extremists whose theories they shocked, or of the Publicans whose private gain they lessened, should pass like the idle wind, leaving them not only unmoved, but untouched. And there was always with it the perpetual problem of the Journal. The tasks thus clearly seen were engaged in with vigour and success, and the story of the 20 years covered by this Chapter is a story of their successful accomplishment. On June 14th, 1892, the accounts of the The FiNANCrAL tt ■ n 1 i_ 1 c L Union would reveal a balance of assets over liabilities (if the Central Hall Fund is included) of £2,000. On June 14th, 1912, this Balance will exceed £34,000. That fact will be sufficient to indicate that the first task had been well enough accomplished. The satis- factory result was not come to without some effort and at a time (1895), almost a crisis. The expenditure of £20,000 with a capital (only part realisable) of but £2,000 was, it cannot be gainsaid, a daring and hazardous venture, which no maxims of discretion could justify. It is dealt with later. At times it caused an almost intolerable strain on the finances. The extension of the Pegwell Bay Home in 1897 was in the matter of finance almost as daring. They were both efforts, dictated by a convinced belief in the maxim that he who dares most achieves most, and both have been excused and justified by the facts. Apart from these two difSculties of their hour the financial record is one of steady increase. The test of all progress is the Profit and Loss Account, and the following statement of the balances of this account in the Union's Balance Sheets will be sufiicient to close the story of this task. The Balance of Profit (or of Loss) is that of each year's 108 working, without any balance brought forward from previous years : — £ £ £ rofit 1893 . 336 Profit 1900 .. . 1,155 Profit 1906 .. 1,793 „ 1894 . 374 „ 1901 .. 859 „ 1907 .. 1,894 OSS 1895 . 407 „ 1902 .. 907 „ 1908 .. 2,065 rofit 1896 . 82 „ 1903 .. . 1,517 „ 1909 .. 1,574 „ 1897 . 101 „ 1904 .. . 1,040 „ 1910 .. 1,628 „ 1898 , 692 „ 1905 .. . 1,676 „ 1911 .. 1,984 „ 1899 . 721 It will be seen that there is an average surplus of one thousand pounds each year. This is exclusive of the accounts of the Convalescent Homes, which show a total surplus of £14,800. The surplus realised on the General Account has been applied to the repayment of the sum of £18,500 borrowed to erect the Club Union Buildings, which are now entirely free from encumbrance, and in placing a sum of £1,000 upon deposit with the Union's Bankers. The cash position is even better than the figures show, for before arriving at the credit balance, a sum totalling £5,000 in the period, has been written off for Depreciation of Buildings. This sum has been invested in purchase of Land and Buildings for the Convalescent Homes. Sources of Income. The sources of the Income, which has proved so sufficient for the Union's needs, are the Annual Fees, paid by Clubs, the profit on the Trade Account, and (the principal) the Income from Associate and Pass Cards. Against these must be set the loss on the Buildings account, and a small loss, averaging £10 per annum, on the Club and Institute Journal. The Income from Fees in 1893 was £139. In 1911 it was £1,423. The profit on Trade account was £144 in 1893, and in 1911 was £700. The Income from Associate and Pass Cards was £1,207 in 1893, and had grown to £3,460 in 1911, the number of Associate Cards issued during that 3'ear being 61,000, whilst the issue of monthly Pass Cards exceeded Two Millions. The prophecy of the originator of the Pass Card, 109 regarded with wistful scepticism by the most hopeful, derided as folly by the practical and hard-headed, has been amply fulfilled. To those who read, the thought must occur that the total income is, after all, very small, and it must seem a matter of wonder that with so slight a support the Union is able to do so much. Clearly, the problem of the financial position has been completely solved. At the beginning of the period covered by this Chapter, the movement had grown to a ' degree sufficient to excite attack from two quarters, each well endowed with funds, and each of political influence on respective sides of the House of Commons. The story of the last 20 years has been one of constant attack and of equally constant repulse of the forces arrayed against the clubs. And at the end of this period these, if not dismayed, have a fuller sense of the Union's competence, and of its ability and its readiness to resent hostility.* The full story of this unceasing campaign and its many victories is told in Chapter XL, " The Clubs and Legislation," and needs no further reference Iiere except to say that tliis second task was as successfully accomplished as the first. To this two things contributed : the growing standard of character of the clubs themselves, and the complete organisa- tion which the establishment of the Branches, dealt with in the next chapter, had enabled to be set up. There is both loyalty and discipline — the whole organisation springs to arms at the given signal. The attacks will not cease. The influences against us are still powerful, still menacing. But that they, by any combination of interests or b^^ any alliance, however strange, can impede either the progress or the * Mr. C. Boberts, M.P. (Lincoln), a leader of the Extreme Political teetotallers, speaking in the House ot Commons on May Srd, 1912, said that the Union was unreasonably sensitive. Its emblem should be that of Scotland, the device of a thistle, and the motto, Nemo vie impune lacessit ("No one touches me with impunity"). 110 development of the movement is a vain hope. The Union organisation may yet be bound closer, rendered more effective, and the clubs, becoming year by year less open to criticism, more valuable in their work to the community, more iirmly anchored in the nation's life, increase their own power of resistance, and present fewer openings for attack. The character of each club is a greater security than the com- pleteness of the organisation which must rest upon it. More than numbers or discipline is a good cause. The Union, like Sir Galahad, will have the strength of ten because its heart is pure. Since the Union began, it had hoped to bring the country clubs into closer association and share in its work ; but all schemes and Provinces. /.^ , ■, , efforts failed. There was provision for the election of provincial representatives to the Council, but it was not availed of, the cost of travelling and residence away from home being presumably, plus a lack of interest, the cause. The effort to establish Branches is set out in the following chapter. The Manchester Branch was the only one established until, in the last month of 1904, Swindon began, to be followed, as will be shown, by others in each year until these groups now number 21 in all. But, until 1901, no member of any country club had sat upon the Executive, which was composed entirely of London men. In January, 1901 , the Northants Branch nominated Mr. C. Underwood, its first Secretary, for a seat thereon, and he was elected, Mr. John Hill taking his place on his retiring. No other district followed this example, the Provinces being apparently content to be ruled from and by the Metropolis. But a feeling was growing in favour of representation. The Council had been to some extent getting more into association with the Provinces by the practice of holding some of its monthly meetings at Provincial clubs. Beginning with those in the Home Counties, it had gradually extended in widening ranges until in June, 1908, it found itself farthest north Ill at the Darlington Working Men's Club. At this meeting — Mr. J. H. Bagshaw (Wath and West Melton) moved : — " That the Bulea of the Union be revised, and that the Executive be instructed to communicate with the whole of the Clubs and Branches of the Union requesting suggestions, if any, to this end." In support of this motion, he explained that whilst he had no feeling of antagonism to the present Executive, and did not believe the work of the Union could be better done, yet the time had come when the Union should be representative in character. The provincial clubs had been the youth of the movement, but were growing up to manhood and wanted the rights of citizenship." The proposal was accepted, on behalf of the Executive, by Mr. J. Argyle, who said that the Executive felt the reason- ableness and the necessity for the proposal, and welcomed it. It was unanimously carried. At the next election of the Execu- tive, in June, a Yorkshire delegate was one of the successful candidates, six other candidates from the North securing a respectable poll, Mr. J. H. Bagshaw failing of election by eight votes only. The circulars were duly issued and proposals received. The Executive appointed a Sub-committee to deal with them, which, after several meetings, presented a report recommend- ing the division of the Union's area into electoral districts, each returning a proportion of 20 members of the Executive. The Executive agreed, the proposals (with some other small amendments of rules) were submitted to meetings called in each area and approved, and on April 30th, 1910, were duly registered, as they appear in the Appendix, page 329. The Secretary had prepared, for the information of the meetings called to discuss these Eules, a table showing the movement in the Union's membership during the two preceding decades, which showed that whilst the Metropolitan clubs were nearly half of the total membership in 1889, they were less than one-eighth in 1909, and were exceeded numerically by the 112 clubs of Lancashire and Cheshire, whilst Yorkshire held twice their number. District. 1889. 1899. 1909. Metropolis 154 1.53 159 Home Counties 28 64 89 Wales (including Monmouth) 2 7 42 West Midlands 11 34 84 Ireland — 3 l South Western 7 18 18 Southern Counties 6 76 74 Eastern Counties 10 16 14 East Midlands 17 77 112 Lancashire and Cheshire 68 129 211 Yorkshire 26 99 841 Northumberland — 2 46 Durham — 2 125 Cumberland, Westmorland, Scotland — 3 6 329 683 1,322 Seven electoral districts were provided by the new Eules, with the representation shown. The proportion of representa- tives allotted to London was in excess of what its numbers entitled. It was conceded by the Conferences that the Metropolitan Clubs should, by reason of their long service to the Union, receive special consideration : — Number of members. 1. Metropolis (the area comprised within twelve miles radius from Charing Cross) AND THE HOME Counties. — Middlesex, Essex, Herts, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex 6 2. WALES (including Monmouth) ; WEST MIDLANDS (Derby, Stafford, Shropshire, Hereford, Gloucester, Warwick, Worcester) ; lEBLAND AND SOUTH- WESTERN (Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset) 2 3. Southern Counties. — Dorset, Hants, Oxford, and Wilts 1 4. EASTERN AND EAST MIDLANDS. — Lincoln, Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedford, Leicester, Rutland, Hun- tingdon, Notts, Northampton, Berks, and Bucks 2 5. Lancashire AND Cheshire 2 6. Yorkshire 4 7. Northern Counties. — Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland ; and SCOTLAND 3 20 113 The election took place in June, 1910, and an Executive of 20* was elected, for the first time by and representative of the whole of the clubs of the Union. The problem of the Provinces is solved. The Council now meets Quarterly (instead of Monthly, as heretofore), and peripatetically, in each electoral area in succession, so that all clubs have an opportunity of representation at some of these meetings. The expenses of the Executive members' attendance at its meetings and those of the Council (about £600 per annum) is borne by the Union. The Executive is elected for two years, and with the weight and authority whiclr its representative character gives it, holds a position firmer and surer than any Executive has done before. The whole of the clubs share now in the government, and consequently in the responsibilities of government. The Executive took the occasion ailorded by the appearance of its Secretary before the Relationship to ^ . . „ . . -,-, , „,, ijicensmg Commission on February 9th, THE State. -,r,nr, , , • , ,i ^ • • 1897, to explain to tlie Commission its con- ception of its attitude towards the community. It accepted the proposition that the growth of an organisation partly superseding the Public House and supplying alcohol might reasonably be expected to come under review by Govern- ments which had always exercised control in some degree over the supply and consumption of intoxicants. It admitted that should the work of the clubs be found to be in any respect not in harmony with the public good, then the clubs could not and would not resist legislation. So far as it was shown that admittedly bogus clubs existed, the Union was not averse to legislation whicli would enable differentiation to be made. So far from opposing all legislation, it was willing to indicate from its unique experience the lines on which legislation should proceed. But ♦ See page 307. H 114 it could not agree that any consent of any persons, least of all the Licensing Bench, should be sought before a club could be established, nor could it consent to the placing of clubs under the visitation of the Police Constable. It recognised that the Clubs must be subordinate to the State, but it denied the need of restrictive legislation, and maintained that clubs were of value to the community, and should be encouraged and not restricted. It, on behalf of the clubs, invited the fullest inquiry into their organisation and influence, but refused to accept the dictum of Police Superintendents on this point as final. This was the attitude of the Union then and is now. It does not admit the need for further legislation, neither is it opposed to all legislation. Its suggestions for legislation were embodied in the Eeport of the Commission* and formed the basis of the first effort at Club Legislation by responsible government, which, the Union holds, should alone undertake such. It assisted the Government to secure the passage of a work- able and valuable Bill. The Union's position is thus plain. It claims no special privileges for its clubs. It declines, how- ever, to see them the victims of proposals dictated by private interest or pecuHar theory and not by any need of the com- munity. Eeference to Chapter XI. wiU show how far it has succeeded in making its position understood. The Union claims the clubs as the most powerful influence for Temperance operating upon adult males, and it calls as witness the annual volume of "Licensing Statistics," in proof of its assertion that where clubs are the most numerous there drunkenness decreases most, and that where clubs are most numerous and old established there drunkenness will be found at a minimum. It claims this. It challenges disproof. It invites inquiry. Where weakness or wrong is shown it wiU remedy it, or assist by law to remedy it. Till wrong is shown it will resist attack. The position of the Union is in no manner of doubt. * Page 206. lie Throughout the whole of the period 1893- 1912 no opportunity has been missed to Relations. . , „ . increase the value of the Union to its clubs. The principal achievement is the Convalescent Homes, the fuU story of which is told in Chapter VIII. Akin to this is a smaller effort to counteract the ravages of the worst enemy of the working class — Tuberculosis — by support of the Sanatoria at Benenden. Educational effort has been at last put upon a reliable basis by the operations of the Workers' Educational Association, with which the Union is actively associated, and by the establishment of Euskin College at Oxford (to the Governing Body of which the Union sends its representatives) and the offering of Scholarships enabling residence therein whilst the old Circulating Library of the Union is maintained in ever-increasing popularity. The clubs have been incessantly exhorted to higher standards of conduct, the success of the Chib and Institute Journal (for that problem also is solved, as Chapter IX. will show) providing a medium which obtains the ready ear of most of the clubs and members. The interests of the clubs are protected against misunderstanding by public bodies and authorities (successful action against the Police, or action by them resisted), as to the law or the range of their powers. Income Tax is recovered or the claim for same withdrawn where and when improperly made. Other efforts of the Eevenue are gently checked. Boards of Guardians are instructed that the law as to Eating does not entitle the members of public bodies to weave their private or political opinions into it. The Eegistrar of Friendly Societies is shown that his interpretation of his duties is not always correct, and that there is an onus upon him to do what he declined to do in the matter of registration of Eules, the opinion of Sir E. Finlay, the Attorney-General, coinciding with that of the Union. Clubs are constantly visited, guided and advised, and so fully is the Union relied upon as the Counsellor in every trouble and difficulty, whether legal or of procedure, 116 or disputes with trades folk, or of accountancy, or with servants, that every day over 100 letters reach the Union Secretary. The existence of the Branches enables weakness or wrong-doing to be noted or dealt with. Whilst there are yet practices (such as the paying of dividends in some of the Northern clubs) which are injurious, and Secretaries and Committees remain who do not consult the Union of which their club is a member until disaster arises, it is yet abundantly true that the 20 years terminating with the 51st Birthday of the Union have witnessed the establishment and steady growth of a personal intimacy between the clubs and their officers and the Union, with the happiest of results to the clubs and added power and dignity to the movement. The 20 years, viewed from this aspect alone, afford ground for the most solid satisfaction. The problems of 1892 no longer exist. The preceding paragraphs deal in general terms with (as other chapters deal with particular phases of) the progress and development of the past 20 years. There are, however, some details and incidents without record of which this chapter should not close. The Club Union Buildings, which were to realise, after many years, one of the dreams Buildings. , , , , ^ ,, tt • i^ n of the founders of the Union, were nnally completed and opened by Lord Brassey, who was accompanied by Lady Brassey, on Friday, September 15th, 1893. They had been actually occupied as the Union Offices since March 28th, the club portion of the premises being opened on April 29th. The original scheme was that the front building should, in addition to providing accom- modation for the Union, be available for offices for Trade Unions or similar bodies, as also the hall, the back premises to be a club, without members and under the control of the Union Executive, for the convenience of Associates of the Union. That such a plan should have been B. T. HALL. 117 thought possible of success is rather curious. A club without membership is impossible. The government of a club except by members who subscribe to it is also impossible. So it proved, and within a few months it was decided to ascertain names of persons willing to join, and to form an independent club, paying rent to the Union for the accommodation Thus on August 13th, 1894, came into existence the Central Club, paying a Eental to the Union of £200 per annum. Certain extensions were afterwards made to the haU, and arrangements made by which the Union paid for certain lighting, and an agreement was come to whereby the Central Club pays the Union a total rent of £425 per annum, the Union paying all Bates and Taxes. The club now numbers 1,500 members. So far as the use of the Hall and Offices went there was immediate success. The London Trades Council held its meetings in the hall. The Women's Trade Union League took half a floor, the Amalgamated Society of Eailway Servants a whole floor, whilst the following other societies took smaller offices, or made occasional use of the rooms provided for the purpose : — The National Association of Operative Plasterers. The Metropolitan Association of Operative Plasterers. The Electrical Trades Union. The Amalgamated Society of House Painters and Decorators. The National Union of Bakers and Confectioners. The Silver Trades Council. The Associated Carpenters and Joiners. The Amalgamated Society of Coal Porters. The Goldsmiths and Jewellers' Society. The United Patriots' Friendly Society. The Small Silver Workers' Society. The Amalgamated Society of Chasers and Engravers. The Silver-Plate Workers. The National Union of Clerks. The National Union of Shop Assistants. The Central Loudon Branch of the Electrical Trade Union. 118 But in spite of the full use of the Buildings by rent-paying tenants, they have never paid their way. The Buildings account was properly charged with the interest payable upon the money borrowed to erect them. (In later years as the debt was diminished the debit was also — but incorrectly by strict accountancy.) The result was that the out- goings for Eates and Taxes (£300 per annum), Caretaker's Wages, Gas, Eepairs, Interest, etc., without allowance for Depreciation, came to about £1,400, whilst the total rent received, including that paid by the Union for its own accom- modation, never reached more than £1,200 and sometimes only £1,100. On the whole, disregarding depreciation, and allowing a debit of 4 per cent, on cost, the Union Buildings have occasioned a loss in cash since erection of £6,000. If the most modest allowance for depreciation be made the loss wiU rise to £12,000, to which at least another £1,000 must be added as cost of sundry alterations made to suit tenants. The experiment of becoming a Land and Property Owner has cost the Union £13,000 to date. The increase in the size of the Union (demanding more of&oes for its own use), and a similar growth of some of our tenants (needing more accommodation), has reduced the number of societies which is now housed in the buildings, but the London Trades Council and several Trade organisations remain, and will probably continue until the growth of the Union in the future demands all available space for its own use. The Hall is engaged practically every night when not used by the Central Club, and is a centre of industrial activity. Hodgson Pratt, who had sought to retire in Hodgson Pratt. 1883 because of his age, and had been elected President in 1885, continued to occupy that post until 1902, when he retired, and Stephen Seaward Tayler was elected in his place. Mr. Pratt resided largely abroad, and his chief Presidential function was in attendance at the Annual Meetings, at which he delivered addresses full of power 119 and eloquence and lofty exhortation. On his retirement it was decided to perpetuate his association with tlie office, and a portrait of him was purchased from Felix Moscheles for one hundred guineas, so that in presentment as in spirit he dweUs ever in the "Union's counsels. He died at his house at Le Pecq, near Paris, at the age of 83, on February 26th, 1907.* His body was brought to England and interred at Highgate Cemetery on March 4th in the presence of all the Union's officers and a great crowd of club members, hastily assembled at the sad news, from Yorkshire and Durham as from the Midlands and the West and South. Thus passed the great man to whose labour, with no injustice to Henry Solly be it said, the movement owes tlie most. He was one of the greatest men of his day, and but for his self-effacing modesty would have been known to all the earth for his manifold labours on the world's behalf. No words can do justice to the obligation under which clubmen in Britain lie to the prophet of the movement. With those who knew him — those to whom his noble and beautiful character formed a perpetual inspiration — there will remain a memory as potent in its influence for good and upon the club movement as his life was. So the great never die, and whilst men and women are found in association — stirred by desire to bring happiness where only sorrow or greyness now is, independence and self- reliance where dependence and servility were or are, to make the whole world, without distinction of race or creed, happy in the happiness which may be made and per- petuated by themselves — so long will Hodgson Pratt remain immortal. A " Hodgson Pratt " Scholarship was founded at Euskin College as a memorial of the Union's regard. A Committee was formed to establish a permanent memorial, of whicli B. T. Hall, with J. G. Gray and J. F. Green, acted as * " Hia last message was Oive my love to the cluhs, and I was to say how greatly lie valued your friendship, and that he wished you God speed."— Letter from Mrs. Hodgson Pratt to B. T. Hall. 120 Honorary Secretaries. This Committee lias now been con- stituted a permanent body, The Hodgson Pratt Memorial Ltd., of wliich Mr. J. J. Dent is the Secretary, and particulars of whif'h are very properly included in final pages of this volume. Four years before the death of Mr. Pratt, Henry Solly had passed away in the peace Henry Solly. . and quiet of the old-world village of Childrey, near Wantage, in Berkshire, where he had for many years lived amongst his children and grandchildren. He was within a few months of 90 years of age when on February 27th, 1903, he was laid to well-earned rest. His interest in the clubs and the Union which he founded remained keen to the end. He was a regular reader of the Journal, and so keen upon the matters therein dealt with that latterly his daughter asked for it not to be sent, as it occasioned excite- ment, which was to be avoided. He can have no greater epitaph than this : " He founded the Union." During the long years when Mr. Pratt held Stephen the Presidency, the actual work of the office Seaward tavler ^'^^ performed by Mr. Stephen Tayler, who without intermission attended every monthly meeting of the Council and every weekly meeting of the Executive, rmtil, elected President on Mr. Pratt's retiral in 1902, he left the meetings of the Executive in the hands of his successor in the Vice-Presidency, J. J. Dent. On May 13th, 1909, he presided at the Annual Meeting, and after 42 years' service asked to be allowed to withdraw. Mr. J. J. Dent was elected President for the ensuing year, and then Mr. Tayler left the meeting, the whole audience rising and singing "Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot?" On Thursday, October 28th, in the same year, he, too, passed away in his 86th year. On Monday, November 1st, his body was cremated at Golder's Green. 121 No man since the beginning of the Union has rendered it such length of unbroken service as did Stephen Seaward Taylor. Solly founded, Pratt worked and preached, Taylor spent every week in the humble necessary work of adminis- tration. If there is unity and cohesion now in the Union none can say how much is duo to the gentle diplomacy and wonderful wisdom of the Nestor of the movement. Forty- two years gratuitous service, week in and week out, to one organisation ! What other man before or since has such a record ? A portrait of him (the work of his daughter), beside that of his life-long colleague Hodgson Pratt, looks down upon the deliberations of the newcomers to the Union Board Eoom. A second Scholarship in memorial has been established at Euskin College. Others, too, there are who have passed away Sic Transit, after long service in the cause. Edwin Dorrell, leader of the schism referred to in the preceding chapter, afterwards most loyal and vigorous worker, ceased from all labours in 1908. W. J. Fritz, who had served as honorary Librarian since the resignation of Vaughan Nash in 1892, died in the Union's service in 1900, and in the same year as passed away Eodolfe Cuerel. So, too, in these twenty years have many been taken, a tale all too long to tell — Gaston and Oviatt, Trepte and Chick, and many more. And there passed, too, on April 22nd, 1911, aged 88, the old friend and benefactor of the Union, Passmoke Edwards. Well is it with that movement which is able to fill the places which these great ones leave with men as worthy and as faithful. Several other incidents and activities are "'^^ worthy of record. What was known in the Clubs as the Skegness Disaster occurred in Incidents. 1893, when by the overtm-nrng of a yacht Mr. W. S. Hawkins, one of the Auditors of the Union, and six 122 other members of the Clapton Park Club, were drowned. An appeal to the Clubs reahsed £1,000 in relief of their dependents. — A testimonial consisting of an address and cheque was presented on behalf of the clubs to Mr. Dent on his retiring from the secretarial post, — In 1894 the Union Clubs raised by direct collection £3,200 for the then locked-out Miners. In this year, the Union was most successful in establishing points in Club Law. A London Magistrate was compelled by mandamus to issue a summons under the Friendly Societies Act, in the case of a defaulting Steward (to whom he held the Act did not apply). In the Queen's Bench Mr. Hobson also obtained the decision of the Court in the case of Eanken v. Hunt, that a clause in a lease prohibiting the sale of intoxicants did not apply in the case of a club, and also — in the matter of the United Radical Club — that a Receiver cannot be appointed to carry on a club. — In 1893, too, it had been decided by the Council to contribute 25s. monthly to the John Burns Wages Fund, which was continued until 1896, when the tightness of the Union's funds, and the inevitable dissatisfaction with John, led to its discontinuance. — 1895 saw more legal victories in the lower courts, one of the most important being that in which it was held that a club is not responsible for the safety of a member's overcoat or other property left in the club. — A small book, the first to deal with working class club life, " The Club Land of the Toiler," by Mr. T. S. Peppin, was published by J. M. Dent and Company. It dealt very sympathetically with the clubs and the Union, and was fortunate to secure a preface by the Rev. Canon Barnett. In 1897 Mr. Justice Grantham decided that terms in a lease limiting the user of certain premises to "an ordinary dwelling house," do not cover a club. — A grant is made by the Council of £25 towards a Testimonial Fund for Mr. George Howell, ex-M.P., and one of the earliest of the Union workers.* * Pages 29 and 187. - 128 In 1898 the Secretary takes " his tremendous proselytising and propaganda power" to Ireland, but with little ultimate success. — In 1900 the Eeport of the Licensing Commission is published (dealt with in Chapter XI.). Successful Assess- ment Appeals characterise this year. — In the King's Bench in 1901 Mr. Hobson obtains a decision against the Wolver- hampton magistrates, who had held the supply of a bottle of stout to a messenger from a member to be illegal.* In 1902 the salary of the Secretary is raised and placed upon a definite footing. In 1903 an Assistant Secretary, Mr. W. H. Berry, is appointed, and an Audit Department constituted with Mr. W. G. Stroud in charge, relieved of other general duties. — In 1904, a visit of 320 clubmen to Paris in support of the Entente Oordiale was organised by the Secre- tary and Mr. Hugh Bryan, Secretary of the Association of Conservative Clubs. The party was received with open arms by the Municipalities of Versailles and Paris, banquetted by the Chamber of Commerce and several other societies. "Mimi Pinson" contributed to a Sunday evening entertainment in the grounds of the Astronomical Society, the British Ambassador entertained them at a Garden Party at the Embassy, and a deputation was received by the President Loubet. — In 1905, the Council referred to the Executive the consideration of a prososal to obtain a club representative in the House of Commons. The Executive reported against the proposal, which was also opposed by the Secretary and was dropped. — In each year an active propaganda is carried on in the Provinces, the Secretary attending as many as 50 meetings a year. — In July, 1907, the health of the Secretary breaks down under the tremendous pressure of his work, following tha death of his wife, and he is sent away to sea for two monthi — to restore him, fit and ready for the fray which, it is foreseen, will early in 1908 tax all his energy and generalship.! * This hag since been made illegal by the Act of 1902. t See page 218. 124 Eeference has been earlier made to the difficulties attendant on Educational work by the Union and the doubt as to whether it comes within its proper function. Now that the Union is associated with the Workers' Educational Association and Euskin College, it may be assumed that its work will largely be done through these bodies, and that the scrappy efforts of previous years will be given up. Yet such efforts, disconnected as they were, were aU that was possible for the Union to undertake. Each succeeding year saw the same efforts made — the same small success achieved. The Circulating Library, it has been before noted, was always successful, as the comparative figures of issue in the Reports show. In 1893 128 Boxes were issued, and achieved a circulation of 10,000. In 1912 no less than 888 Boxes were issued, the circulation reaching 110,000. Saturday visits were as popular as usual. Essays and Examinations continued to be held till waning entries caused abandonment in 1901. An effort was made to awaken an interest in School Management amongst London clubmen, and several were appointed as School Managers as a result. Single lectures were abandoned in favour of a course, and the Union became a branch of the London Society for the Extension of University Teaching. A series of Lectures was delivered by Professor Vivian Lewes on Chemistry in the Union Hall, a class following, and four courses on the same subject in four clubs, in different parts of London. A. P. Laurie, B.Sc, took a course on " Light and Air." A series of Conferences was arranged with the Federation of Social Clubs, and some good results attended three session meetings on each of the following subjects : " Hospital Management," " Treatment of Pauper Children," ' Housing Eeform," " Temperance Eeform," "Garden Cities," "Apprenticeship," and "Technical Education." Following the affiliation with the Workers' Educational Association in 1909, a Tutorial Class, at which 30 students 125 bind themselves to attend regularly for three years, was established in the Union Office, and similar classes followed in Cymmer (Glamorgan) and Abercarn (Monmouth). The " Hodgson Pratt " and " Stephen Tayler " Scholarships have been a continuous success, the highest of commendation being given by the authorities of the students sent by the Union. A third " Jubilee " Scholarship is to be estabhsbed to commemorate the 50 years of successful life of the Union. The problem of how the Union may help in the higher Education of at least some of its members seems also to be in the way of solution now. The Athletic and Games Contests, together Athletics, Etc. ^fith Classes and Contests in Ambulance work and Glee Singing, were continued, and a Brass Band Contest added. The formation of the Branches gave a great impetus to this phase of club life, each Branch obtaining from the Executive Challenge Gups, Shields, and other Trophies for Competition, until there are now no less than 140 of such contests in progress in all parts of England. A National Billiard Trophy of the value of One Hundred Guineas was established in 1907. This chapter, bringing to a close the narrative of the 50 years, may, when, in another volume, the tale comes again to be taken up, form the starting point, by the setting down of the comparative figures on the first day of the years 1892 and 1912. 1892. 1912. Number of clubs in the Union 410 ... 1,445 Annual fees received £144 ... £1 ,423 Associate and Pass Card income £1,238 ... £3,459 Profit on trade account £167 ... £700 Circulation of J"oitr«£i; 3,000 ... 37,000 Excess assets over liabilities — General account £2,187 ... £18,786 Excess assets over liabilities — Convalescent Homes account — ...£14,846 Surplus on year's working £273 ... £1,984 Book Boxes issued 128 ... 888 Trophies in competition 8 ... 136 CHAPTEE VII. The Branches. The Branches of the Union, with the exception of that named Manchester," which covers a circle with a radius of 25 miles from that centre, are of comparatively modern establishment. They are groups of clubs voluntarily associating themselves in the particular area denoted by the name. Each club is, of course, a member of the Union, and none other can be members of the Branch. The Branches are, in fact, local regiments forming part of the main army with their own officers, but subject entirely to the Council and Executive of the Union. By and through them the wide territory of the Union is administered, and local ideals of management, character, and ultimate aim made to approximate to those of the centre. They are able to survey and instruct each club in their area, to help the weak or lagging, to insist on a minimum standard, to place the services and example of the most capable and the best at the disposal of all, and by regular meeting and constant conference to organise an intimacy of association, and a uniformity of correct management, beyond the possibility of any central organisation. They scrutinise each club which applies from their area for membership of the Union, instruct it in what is needed for good government, insist upon its freedom from pernicious influences if these attach, and if, and when, it is admitted to membership of the Union on their recommendation, are available with the Branch Secretary and officers, as guides, counsellors, and friends. By and through them the control by the Head Office of, or rather, its association with, each unit is made perfect. They organise contests between the clubs in their area or arrange lectures, and by such constant effort give 127 form and substance and a wider and deeper operation to the spirit of Fraternity, and the practice of association. The Branches number 21, and include 1,004 clubs, or more than two-thirds of the total membership of the Union. Without the Branches the relationship of the Union with its clubs would grow slighter with every increase in its membership. The essence of the club movement is personal association, both between club members, club and club, and Union and club. Between the Union and 1,500 clubs, personal association would, even with a large staff of organisers, be but slight, and without the aid of the Branches impossible of anything in the nature of complete achievement. The ideal of the Union administration would be that the Secretary should know every club Secretary, President, and other officer, be aware of all the methods of the clubs' book-keeping and management, knowing the weak and strong points, and be able to retain a sense or measure of each club's standard, practice, and personnel. With 1,600 clubs constantly changing their officers and committee, this is impossible. The next best thing is that the Branch Secretary and his Committee should know these things, and that the Secretary of the Union, and, through him, the Executive, should be in close touch with the Branch Secretaries and other officers. The Eeverend Dean Dickinson, examining the Secretary of the Union at a meeting of the Eoyal Commission on Licensing Laws in February, 1897, put his hand on a weak spot in the Union's organisation. "I understand and follow," he said, "the close inquiry and the drastic requirements which precede the admission of a club to membership of the Union. But with clubs everywhere, how can or could you guarantee that these all continue to live up to the standard you set up?" It was a poser. It showed just where the Union's organisation was weak. Since then the Branches have supphed an answer. The London Branches came into existence as a consequence of the New Constitution of the Union, which came into 128 operation in June, 1910, although there had been an asso ciation of clubs called the North-Kent Council in that district for two or three years previously. An attempt to form a Branch for the South-West area of the Metropolis failed. The Metropolitan Branches are subsidised by the Union by the return to each of an amount equal to the annual fees paid to the Union by the clubs which are members of the Branch, and an allowance of 15 per cent, on all goods purchased by such clubs from the Union's Stores. There is a MetropoHtan Branches Federation, which meets periodically for conference and secures uniformity of practice. The Provincial Branches are on a different basis. They obtain a stock of goods and of Associate and Pass Cards, from Head Office, aU orders for these being sent to the Branch Secretary by the clubs in his group, which are supplied by him. The Union allows to the Branch 25 per cent, of all receipts for Associate and Pass Cards, and 10 per cent, on all goods suppUed through it. The Manchester Branch has also an additional allowance on the fees of its clubs, an arrangement made in the days of its formation, and a small fee rebate is made to the Northants Branch, also of old standing. In the discussion of the new constitution, however, the opinion was generally expressed that, after a short period, uniformity of treatment should prevail, and doubtless this will ensue. A short reference to each Branch will be given in this chapter ; but historical retrospect should precede a record of the present situation. It is perfectly clear from the Seports that it The Founders- , , „ , " t>- i • t was by means of Branches or IJistrict Unions," as they were termed, that SoUy and his colleagues contemplated the keeping of the Union's fingers on the pulse of the clubs when these were set up as independent bodies. As early as 1864 the thought occurs to the Council. District visiting agents are spoken of, and one or two ^BiRANCH SECRETARlgSJ 129 supporters volunteer for this work. The Eeport (1864-65) goes on to say that " In connection with this effort, but more especially to promote mutual help, and a spirit of fruitful and kindly fellowship between neighbouring clubs, the Council have endeavoured to form District Unions." This is followed in 1866 with these wise words (it is remarkable how clear was Mr. Solly's foresight) : " In proportion as clubs and institutes are multiplied in various parts of the country the need of local organisation for their mutual benefit has become increasingly evident, since it is impossible for a central body to be sufficiently acquainted with their conditions and wants, or to be always able to afford the help which a District Union of clubs would much better supply." There is a Conference at Wednesbury in Early Efforts. January, 1865, for this purpose, LordLyttelton presiding. It appears that there were county and other groups of the Mechanics' Institutes then common in the country, and the Council of the Union may have followed that model. A District Union seems to have been set up in Stapfordshieb, but came to nothing. " In 1865 the Kent Union of Institutes recently formed resolved on promoting the GhCo movement." This enables the distinction (a very considerable one in those days) to be noticed. Mr. Solly is invited to the annual meeting at Ashford on Thursday, July 6th, 1865. But this body must not be confused with the Kent Association, afterwards formed, although it may have been its forerunner. In 1866, a " Metkopolitan District Association of Working Men's Clubs and Institutes " (there was a passion for long names in those days which still Ungers) was set up in London by Mr. Solly and Mr. Pocklington, with Mr. A. H. Layard, M.P., as chairman. This Association soon got to work, Mr. Hodgson Pratt and George Howell being active in it. It probably became later the meeting of delegates from London Clubs held in the Union office. J 130 In 1866 it was resolved, at a conference in Newcastle, attended by Mr. Solly, to form one for NOBTHUMBBRLAND and Durham,* and, at a meeting in the county, one for HAMP- SHIRE. The latter came into being shortly. The two former waited till a later day and generation. An effort to establish one in YORKSHIRE in the same year, by a meeting at Leeds, was a failure, although Lord Houghton (Monckton Milnes) had consented to act as chairman. At MANCHESTER, in the same year (or in the latter part of 1865), a conference was held, with Jacob Bright in the chair, at which it was agreed to form a District Union, and Mr. T. Bazley, M.P., promised to be President. There was a small attendance, and some- thing prevented the formation for several years. It is not clear at this distance what was supposed to be the financial or other bonds between the parent body, the Union, and these District Unions. It is probable that no definite ideas came out. The Union was not really a Union in the sense that it now is, compact of its clubs, but rather a formative and advisory body, dependent for existence not on the clubs, but on others, and doubtless at the time content to regard the setting up of clubs, and to aid them on their path, as com- prising its whole function. There was at the beginning a fee of 5s. fixed as payable annually by each club to the Union. As shown elsewhere, few paid, and no attempt was made to collect this, those clubs which did not pay being as affec- tionately regarded, and as faithfully numbered, as those which did. No question then existed as to any supposed right or claim by the clubs, at least in the Provinces, to any voice or share in the management of the Union. So slight a connection, if thus, and then, considered sufficient, would * The 1866 Beport says : " Delegates from nearly all the clubs in Northumberland and Durham were present." But no clubs are ever again heard of in these counties till many years later. What these clubs were and how many is not now to be ascertained. 131 exclude the many questions of relationship which arise between Branches and Trunk in the present situation. The Council cheerfully abandoned the Annual Fee in its keen desire to assist the Districts. " They are," they say in 1866, strongly of opinion that more can be done by the local District Unions for the welfare of clubs in their districts than by the Parent Society. With a view to leaving clubs free to give contributions from their too often slander resources, to the proposed District Unions, the Council have resolved to abolish the fee of 5s. a year, retaining only the payment of a registration fee of 2s. 6d. on the club joining the Union." This was generosity. But it was also looseness of method, and earlier chapters show how it prevents any real knowledge now, as it must have done then, of the extent of the Union's membership. When the District Union was formed it is not always clear that it affiliated with the Union, or what were the terms (although later these are fixed), and whether the same payments were made by each district. The 1867 Report records a further effort, Interregnum, apparently again unsuccessful, to organise a District Union for Lancashire and Cheshire. The iVIetropolitan Branch is active. Northumber- land, Durham, Dorset, Hampshire, and Yorkshire have not been organised. But Worcestershire Union has, with Lord Lyttelton as its chairman, and 16 Clubs and Institutes associated with it. The Kent organisation is also alive. Then Solly goes. The Honorary Secretaries are compelled to abate Provincial Propaganda somewhat, and to steady the centre. So nothing is heard of the districts till 1871, when, having time to cast eyes afield again, the Council " have had again under consideration the desirabihty of again attempting to form District Unions. Two conferences are under arrange- ment." Nothing is said about either Kent or Worcestershire, 132 but it is certain that the latter continued — as indeed it does to this day, being principally an Association of Village Institutes, and doing good work (with the aid of the Worcester- shire County Council) in the promotion of allotments and agricultural and horticultural teaching. On the death of Lord Lyttelton in 1871 his son succeeded to the chairmanship. He withdrew from the Union (he was a Vice-President) on the election of Mr. Charles Bradlaugh as a Vice-President and induced the District Union also to withdraw. (See Chapter V., page 90). And so it may pass from this story. The Council was still unable to do much, _ but it offered in 1874 to make " Grants to Efforts. encourage the formation of District organi- Branches sations," but there appear to have been no takers. In 1875 the newly established Club and Institute Journal has a leading article headed, " Wanted —District Unions." It was calling spirits from the vasty deep. But that there shall be District organisations Hodgson Pratt is determined, and he appeals to his faithful Londoners. A meeting is held of the clubs of the West Central District and a Branch formed, with Mr. T. Fishbourne, of the St. James' and Soho, as Secretary, which appears to have existed and led a useful life for about two years and then to have suddenly ceased. No one explains any of these things in any Union publication. It is just seen to be so. Stirred thus by the West Central district, South-East London forms a Branch with the Eevd. Brother Thomas Aquinas, of the Warwick Street Club {mort) as Secretary. This District does wonders, organises Brass Bands, Swimming and other Athletic Contests, Lectures, Conferences, and Banks. It goes on full of energy and usefulness until in 1877 the Journal collapses and there is no more record. How long it lived, and why it died, cannot now be said. 133 Then there is an East End District projected at a meeting in September, 1876, but it takes no shape till it is formed at a meeting held at the Commonwealth Club (mort aussi), and Mr. D. Healy, of the Dubhn Castle Club (toiU mort), is appointed Secretary. No more is heard of it. Possibly because there is no Journal to tell. But it cannot have lived long. In 1881 there is a Metropolitan District formed. Apparently the first-born bearing that name had died. Precisely what this was to do is not plain, and is apparently found difficult to understand, the old monthly meeting of London delegates being continued. And so ended for awhile London's experiences of Districts or Branches. In 1875 Mr. Pratt attends "the headquarters" (whereabouts not stated) of Lancashire and Provinces. ., Cheshire m further effort. In 1876 a similar Union" is formed in SOUTH WALES, Hampshire, .,,^ ^^,, ^.^-ri with the Eev. J. Pritohard Hughes, of Neath, AND Kent ^ as Secretary. It did not survive, if it ever Unions Formed. -' really lived. In 1877 one such was said to be formed in SHROPSHIRE, as evanescent as that of Wales. But at last Manchester got set upon its feet. In December, 1876, Hodgson Pratt visits that humid town " for the purpose of setting on foot " this oft-established district. On January 11th, 1877, a conference is called, at which the broad and manly Christian Bishop takes the chair, and following this on February 9th, the MANCHESTER AND District Clubs' Association is established, with Mr. Stanley Jones and Mr. T. C. Horsfall (still living, and a subscriber to the Union) as Honorary Secretaries. In 1878 the Council record with pleasure "the receipt of the first Eeport of the Manchester District, which commences with a very courteous acknowledg- ment that the Association owes its origin to the Union and lays stress on the efforts of Mr. Hodgson Pratt in taking the preliminary steps for its formation, and also on the advantage derived from the use of the Union's publications." 134 A Union for HAMPSHIRE is also set on foot. This ulti- mately reaches to 18 clubs, and continues in fairly active association with the Union until at the time of the Bradlaugh episode it withdraws, " as it cannot send delegates to the Union meetings." It soon after ceased to exist. There are said to have been District Unions formed for Hertfordshire and Suffolk in 1880. But nothing is ever heard of them, and they doubtless never materialised. Nothing more was recorded of the Kent Association formed in 1865. But on January 24th, 1878, a meeting was held in the Town Hall, Maidstone, Lord Harris presiding, at which was duly formed " The Kent Association of Town and Village Clubs and Institutes." This Association was affiliated with the Union until 1888, when the Eeport regrets the disinclination of the Kent Association to share in the Union's work. And in 1888 it decided by a vote of eleven to four to withdraw, apparently because " the Union was composed largely of Eadical Clubs." This was not even then true. The withdrawal, as perhaps that of Hampshire also, was doubtless an echo of the Bradlaugh dissension. Most of the clubs of the Association, however, have since joined the Union. In 1886, J. J. Dent and Hodgson Pratt attended a Conference at the King Cross Again in Club, Halifax, and it was resolved that a Yorkshire. " West Eiding of Yorkshire District Union op Working Men's Clubs and Institutes " should be formed. The Union had, on June 19th, 1886, adopted a rule about District Unions, which (the first attempt to establish the relationship of the Districts with the Central) read as follows : — "Any ten or more Corporate Members [i.e., clubs) may form themselves into a District Union for carrying out locally the objects of the Central Union, and elect a District Council and such officers as they think necessary. 135 One-fourth of the Affiliation Associate and Pass Card fees paid by such Corporate Members shall be devoted to such purpose, not being contrary to the objects of the Union, as the District Council may direct." In the succeeding year it was announced that although some 40 or 50 Union clubs were in the area only nine were willing to join the Association, the distances between the clubs being the obstacle. A second visit was paid by Pratt and Dent, and the minimum number was, at the next Annual Meeting, reduced to six. But no result was achieved. A similar negative result followed a second conference in Leeds. Thus the position stood in 1889, with the Manchester District, as the only one associated with the Union. No further development took place till, in December, 1894, Swindon took advantage of the new Eules registered in April, 1889, which made provision for the grouping of existent clubs in Branches, and a modern Branch was formed, to be rapidly followed by others. The following is a brief statement of the date of origin, membership, etc., of each of the Branches as they exist on June 14th, 1912 ;— This Branch, in age and in the extent of its Manchester, area and activities, may be considered the first of the Branches, although in closeness of touch with its constituents it may fall short of others. It was established as stated on earlier pages, has attracted great men as its President and Vice-Presidents (Mr. Arthur Balfour being amongst these), and still preserves individual Subscribers to its funds, who have a representative on its Council. The eddies of the revolutions in the Union of 1884-1886 did not extend to Manchester. Its Secretary is W. J. BUam, who has held the post for 33 years. Its President is K. T. S. Dockray, M.A., a member of the Union Executive (see page 308). It numbers 164 clubs with 64,621 members. 136 This Branch, formed in December, con- SwiNDON. sists of a group of 21 clubs, with 5,694 members (mostly employ6s of the Great Western Eailway Company), which are located in the town of Swindon or its suburbs. Its President is T. Jenks, a member of the Union E.G. (page 312), and its Secretary is Eobert Hunt, It, to use a phrase often appearing in its reports, "pursues the even tenour of its way." The Swindon Clubs are not ambitious and there are few activities. The Branch has done useful work in establishing a higher standard of conduct, as well as an increase of members' subscriptions, the abolition of " Christmas Boxes " (from clubs to members, once prevalent), and the establishing of a uniform time of closing of the clubs at night. The Branch is justly proud of the fact that it represents a district containing more clubs to its size than any other, and the most sober industrial centre in England in consequence. The next district to ask for the establishment of a Branch was Wolverhampton and its (WOLVERHAMP- suburbs, wherem, in 1898, a Branch was TON) A Failure constituted, with the hope that it would ultimately comprise all Staffordshire. The Branch, although for several years it did good work, was never financially successful, and in 1907 the constant yearly losses and the want of control by the Branch of its officers and management compelled the Executive to close and dis- band it. This Branch, established in 1898, covers, as NoHTHANTS. its name implies, and includes all but three of the clubs in the County of Northampton- shire. The Branch clubs total 50, with 11,035 members. Its Secretary, John Hill (p. 308), is a well-known public man in Northampton, where he resides, having been for many years a Poor Law Guardian. This Branch contains some old- established clubs and some fine club houses. Its contribution i\^ Jfc...»» . VT^IfWI P-j^wJ A NORTHANTS VILLAGE CLUB— I RCH ESTER, WOLVERTON CLUB— BUCKS. A SMALL COLLIERY CLUB— GLASS HOUGHTON. YORKS. 137 to the Annual Eeport of the Union is always satisfactory reading. In this County there are but 14 clubs. Bucks. Nine of these are within easy radius of the Wolverton Eailway Works, which enaploys many of their members. Permission was accorded to these in 1902 to form a Branch, which whilst its size prevents any considerable action, nevertheless has bound the clubs together in good fellowship and kept the ideals of the movement high. It has produced some capable and ready workers, of whom W. Berry and W. Thurstans, both of Wolverton, are President and Secretary respectively. Nine clubs with 3,139 members. On April 16th, 1904, was formed the first Yorkshire Branch, after so much of fruitless YORKSH IRE effort in the years preceding. It was, how- ever, a brave start, for at the beginning it numbered 50 clubs, and now musters 90, with 28,123 members. Its Secretary is, and has been from the commencement. Councillor -J. H. Bagshaw, now a member of the Union Executive (p. 308). Its President is Councillor J. Johnson, of Monk Bretton. The Branch has been, whatever the point of view, thoroughly successful, and has wrought great improvement in the character both of the clubs and their members. Its influence in the future will be more potent still. Closely followed S. Yorks, being estabUshed Wakefieud on June 6th of the same year, 1904. It numbers 71 clubs with 18,244 members, and what has been said of South Yorkshire may be said of it. It specially distinguished itself in the work for a second Conva- lescent Home, and excels in Educational work, both due to the enthusiasm and capacity of its Secretary, W. E. Adams. Its President is T. Shires, who is a member of the Union Executive (p. 311). K 138 This was until recently one of the smallest York City. of Branches, being established in 1904 with but nine clubs. It was unfortunate in constant change of secretaries, but has now settled down with A. Mennell as Secretary with 15 clubs, comprising a membership of 3,216 ; Mr. W. H. Brown is President. The Branch activities are largely confined normally to the orga- nising of games contests and flower shows. It has a fund of capacity in its ranks for which it should find an outlet in further development. In 1898 the Union had not a single club in Durham. Durham County. On April 29th, 1905, the Durham Branch was established with 58 clubs. It now boasts 143 clubs and no less than 64,621 mem- bers. In many ways it is the first of the Branches. Its Quarterly Council Meetings are attended by over 200 delegates ; its influence on its clubs is direct and compre- hensive. It has established a uniform closing time for the whole of the county. Drunkenness steadily falls as a result of its and the clubs' efforts. Financially, no Branch supports the Union more, and in this respect as in others it is a model to all. The movement has yet many opportunities of exten- sion in the county, and the Branch may be trusted to utilise opportunity not only for extension, but for the perfecting of the clubs already within it. Great things may be hoped of the Diuham Branch. Its Chairman is Councillor Eiohardson, J. P., a member of the Durham County Council, check- weighman, and its Secretary is John Bland. Mr. Eichardson is also a member of the Union Executive. This is a Branch of 21 clubs, which contain Leeds. 6,628 members. It meets monthly for dis- cussion of topics of club management, and for the organisation of inter-club games. A wider range of function is possible. It was formed on May 12th, 1906. J. Hopton is Secretary and A. Metcalf is the President. 189 Formed on May 26th, 1906, this Branch now HuDDEHSFiELD. incUides 38 clubs with 16,124 members. It is not a very active body, although it doubtless keeps its clubs in touch with the Union. Councillor A. Gledhill, a member of the Union Executive (p. 311), is its President, and D. T. Haigh is Secretary. Other Branches quickly followed in Yorkshire, Bradford and and on July 1st, 1906, arose a Branch com- HALIFAX. prising the district unfruitfuUy sown by Hodgson Pratt and Dent in 1886 and 1887. The Branch numbers 63 clubs with 29,227 members, and is admirably organised by its methodical and painstaking Secretary, W. Semley, who has been most successful in securing correct treatment for the clubs at the hands of the local rating authorities. The clubs, especially of Bradford, are largely Trade Union organisations. George Wilson is the President. This Branch, formed in September, 1906, NORTHUMBER- ■ , ■ , , i i controls an area m which the club movement is almost entirely a new thing, although there are references to clubs in the County in Solly's earlier days. Of these probably only one, the Newcastle Working Men's, has remained. The Branch does very effective work, although a bad secretary in the beginning handicapped it financially. The newer clubs of the County have iine club- houses and in the Ashington district a Sunday Lecture Society, equal to any, has been successfully established by the clubs alone. Martin Weatherburn is President and a member of the Union Executive (p. 312), and J. Wanless the present efficient Secretary. The Branch numbers 52 clubs, with 24,397 members. This Branch, comprising only 15 clubs (with Spen Valley. 2,976 members), was a detachment from Wakefield, being constituted a separate Branch on April 25th, 1906, owing to the inaccessibility of 140 many of its clubs. Its small size has militated against much activity or success, and a scheme is now in hand to comprise Batley and Dewsbury districts within its area. Its Secretary is T. C. Harrison, and its President G. Wood. In 1904 the growth of the clubs in the Colne COLNE AND I.,, T. . „ V alley and the remoteness ot the district from Manchester, to which Branch many were attached, led to a League amongst the clubs for the purpose of consultation and organisation of contests. This led eventually to a request to the Executive for the formation of a Branch, which was constituted on September 1st, 1908, with Mr. J. H. Turner as Secretary. The Branch has been a con- siderable success, and has specially devoted itself to securing perfection in the account keeping of its clubs. It is said that Mr. Turner and many of his colleagues can answer on the instant a query as to what is the percentage of " surplus " in any club named. Mr. S. Butterworth is the present President. The Branch has 42 clubs attached to it with 108,107 members. This Branch was the outcome of a consider- SouTH Wales, able stir and pressing forward amongst the clubs of South Wales. In number and character the increase in recent years has been considerable. The Branch was formed in October, 1909, and now numbers 49 clubs with 12,263 members. Its three years of existence has shown it capable of the widest of possibilities, and it will undoubtedly do much for the movement and for Wales. Its present measure of success has afforded considerable pleasure to the Executive. J. P. Davies is its President, and J. W. Kinsman, A.O.A., its Secretary. The Branch has estab- lished an Audit Department as part of its economy, and no less than 27 of its clubs avail themselves of this. This is an example each other Branch, even the smallest, might follow. MILDMAY RADICAL CLUB— LONDON, N.E. A HALIFAX CLUB— KING CROSS. 141 This is a small Branch, established on June North Staffs. 21st, 1909, and comprises 14 clubs in the Potteries district. It suffers from want of size and consequent capacity for performance, but inside its area it has done much to establish a fraternity and a sense of unity amongst clubs. Its clubs possess 2,621 members, and its Secretary is Councillor H. Lease, J. P., and J, P. Fellowes-Smith its President. The club movement in the County of Leicestershire. Leicestershire dates from earliest days, yet for various reasons it was not until October 7th, 1911, that a branch for the county was formed with W. Bennett as President, and H. Pookes as Secretary. It began with 25 out of the total of 31 Union clubs in the county, and these 25 clubs muster 9,026 members. Much may be expected of this Branch. Eeference has been earlier made to the The London formation of the London Branches in 1910, Branches. due to the abolition of the monthly meetings of the Council, of which the London Clubs had been the mainstay since the earliest days. Of these the first to form and largest is the Noeth-Bast Branch, which, formed on May 21st, 1910, includes 49 clubs (17,388 members), out of a total of 53 in the area. Councillor W. J. Lewis is Secretary, and A. Watkins President. The Branch has been very active, an average of 65 delegates attending its monthly Council meetings. The South-East numbers only 20 clubs (5,208 members), and has hardly yet fairly found its feet. W. Dillon is its President and J. Howell Secretary. The Noeth-Wbst must be rated amongst the active. It also holds monthly meetings, organises Games Contests, and other inter-club matters. Its Secretary is J. Tozer, a 142 member of the Union Executive (p. 310), and its President Mr. F. E. George. It comprises 31 clubs with 9,096 members. The North Kent Branch is a reconstitution of the group of clubs which (as Branches were not before 1910 permissible in London) estabhshed itself as the North Kent Council in 1905. As a Branch it includes 25 clubs, with 6,324 members. It continues and extends the many useful activities of its predecessor, and also holds monthly meetings. Councillor A. A. Holden, of the Union Executive (p. 307), is President, and J. H. Davis Secretary. CHAPTBE VIII. The Convalescent Homes. an early effort. The provision of Convalescent Homes by the Union for the benefit of the members of its clubs, and the maintenance of such Homes upon an entirely self-supporting basis* without the appeal to the charity of others, which has hitherto characterised such institutions, is a development of, or an addition to, the original purposes of the organisation. And it plays so happy and valuable a part in the work of the movement that it demands a chapter in record of its story. As far back as 1878 (see page 66), the Council considered the possibility of establishing a Seaside Home for members, their wives, and families. A house was rented at £60 per annum, at 2, Eoyal Place, Margate, and furnished, at a cost of £120. Donations of £10 each from Samuel Morley, M.P., Hodgson Pratt, Lord Brabazon, W. C. Venning, J. Corbett, M.P., Dr. Hardwicke, Hamilton Hoare, the Devonshire Club, and the Union, £15 from sundry Union clubs, and other small items were received towards this. It was formally opened on September 2nd, 1878. Amongst those present were Mr. W. A. "Weigall and Lady Eose Weigall, to whom was accorded a special vote of thanks for their cordial interest in the project. It would appear that no attempt at the provision of food was made, as the charge to a single man for one week was * From the commencement it was made clear that whatever was done the Homes should be on a sell-supporting basis- The Union has given the proceeds of the "Journal" sales to Pegwell, totalling f 6,415 to the end of 1911. and gave £3,000 towards the cost of Saltburn. The proceeds of "Journal" sales are still devoted to the Homes (now kept in one account), but apart from this help the Homes are entirely seU-supporting, and pay interest on capital borrowed for their purpose. 144 3s. 6d. for a bed, and to married people with children 6s. 6d. for a room. Complaint was made that the railway companies would make no concessions as to reduced fares, as was usual with convalescent homes, which this was certainly not. " Prom April to June, 1879, a considerable number of married persons with their children availed themselves of this advantage," says the Eeport for that year. But " the necessity of making the House self-supporting and the fact that while the expense of maintaining it continues through the year visitors use it only in summer " (which probability does not seem to have been foreseen) " has obliged the Council to charge more than was originally intended." The Council is much disappointed. It cannot see how the difficulty is to be overcome, and Brighton is talked about as a change of site. £24 is received in Donations and £23 from Eesidents. The outgoings are £108. In the Eeport for 1880, not a word is said about the House (it is an aggravating way these earlier Eeports have) but the accounts show £15 received and £94 expended, and another item, small and poor, but eloquent, " Sale of Furniture at Ditto, £15." Thus the Sea Side House experiment ingloriously ends. It costs £322. It returns but £38, and its Furniture, on which £120 has been spent, is sold for £15. Its principal achievement was to add another heavy burden upon the then slender and embarrassed finances of the Union ! PEGWELL BAY. At a meeting of the Council of the Union, Genesis. held at the Bast St. Pancras Eeform Club on Saturday, February 6th, 1892, the following resolution was moved by N. W. Oviatt (Victory Club), and seconded by J. Argyle (North Hackney), and carried : — " That this meeting do take into consideration the advisability of establishing a Convalescent Home, and that 146 a committee be appointed for the purpose of drawing up a scheme." The committee appointed consisted of N. W. Oviatt, F. Campbell, Ben Ellis, J. W. Dorman, J. H. Holmes, T. J. Mason, and Jesse Argyle, who had agreed to act as honorary secretary. The committee met and produced a very modest scheme, estimating an expenditure of only £600 per annum, and sub- scriptions of but £4 4s. per annum from the largest clubs, down to a guinea from the smaller. A large house on the South- East Coast was to be leased and adapted for the residence of 15 "patients," as the term then was. Ciroiilars were sent out to the clubs, and Enter some few ready responses were made. But Passmore on the whole the scheme fell flat. To Edwards. quote the words of the Union Annual Eeport 1892-1893, " the result in definite promises of cash support did not seem to promise the realisation of this particularly useful and valuable proposal." And so it hung until June, 1893, when one day Hodgson Pratt called on me (I had been appointed Secretary of the Union in the previous March) and said he had had some conversation with Mr. Passmore Edwards, who would like to see a deputation on the matter. So Mr. Pratt, with Oviatt, Argyle, and myself, went round to the Echo office and there saw Mr. Edwards. He asked whether we would guarantee to keep such a home going if he gave us one. We gave him this assurance, and we parted on his saying, " Very well, go and find your site, and I will buy it, and build you a home on it." This was tidings of comfort and joy indeed. Made known to the clubs, it was received with enthusiasm and gave a necessary stimulus to the proposals before them. We sought for sites. I went with Mr. Pratt to look at a piece of land at Birchington, but Mr. Pratt voted it too cold. 146 Then Dent, Oviatt, Argyle, and I went to Whitstable and Heme Bay prospecting. Poor old " Judge " Oviatt. I shall never forget how full he was with joy and pride in his task, and how he made known our quest for " a little piece of free- hold land" to everyone encountered. For one reason or another we were unable to fix up anything, when in May, 1894, we heard from Mr. Passmore Edwards that he himself had hit upon the right sort of place, and had bought a disused hotel and grounds at Pegwell Bay. This spot, so famous now, was unknown to me or to any member of the Committee then, and I was sent down to find the Bay, see the building, note all its salient features and come back and report. On my arrival I found the builders and Pegwell Bay. decorators in possession, and the place nearly ready for occupation. I need hardly say that my report as to its situation was a favourable one. I remember how puzzled I was roaming about inside the building to find myself on the other side of the road, for I had not been conscious of entering the now bright, but then black, subterranean passage which crosses the road. But the terrace, with tlie sea rippling at one's feet, appealed to me as rendering the situation admirable. It was to be months before I learned the advantages of situation which are possessed by the Home, the gentle fall into the hollow which shelters it from all winds but the south, the thousand and one charms which led a visitor to remark that " it seemed as if countless centuries had been preparing the place for its purpose, and that some wise light had guided our footsteps there." However, the report made, there was one matter in doubt — what about the furniture ? " Did Mr. Edwards propose to furnish it ? " asked some. It was clearly impossible to ask him, as it was unreasonable to expect him. And so an urgent appeal was made to the clubs. We estimated that £5 147 would furnish a bedroom (we had not the Saltburn standard of modern days), and we said that we would put up over a door the name of any club or person who would give us £5. This explains the names which puzzle some, and which have given rise to many comic claims. A man arriving from Blank Club insists on being placed in the Blank room, which he assumes, apparently, we have kept unoccupied awaiting his coming, or that of another member of his club. We raised £250 in two months, a wondrous feat in those days, and we gave an order for £300 worth of furniture. The next task was to advertise for a superin- tendent and matron. Out of 120 applicants BOYLAND. were selected Mr. and Mrs. Boyland, and no better selection was anywhere or ever made. AU sorts of folk applied, and the workhouse master and matron, the latter a lady of great width of frame (whatever of judgment) were common types. I remember well that Mrs. Boyland's slighter graceful figure and obvious culture were counted against her by one member of the committee, who thought she looked er — er — ah — um — well, rather er — er — frivolous " ; the last word jerked out in desperation at finding no word to suit. Tlie idea that beauty and grace and culture were to be more powerful influences in the making of the democracy than force, punishment, and dictation was then but little under- stood — so far have we travelled in less than 20 years. There have been variations in the original agreement with Mr. and Mrs. Boyland, but no committee of the Home has ever had a single moment's cause to regret the choice of the first. And for the residents, is not their judgment written on every club notice-board ? Thus then came the place. Its selection has The Opening, ^^^^^ ^^^^ credited to some wondrous sagacity August 6TH. ^^^ universal knowledge of mine. Here explodes that idea. I never saw the place till it was nearly ready for occupancy. I never knew 148 •where Pegwell Bay was ; and 18 years ago I did not know very much of England. The furniture installed and the Boylands put in charge, we were now all ready for the formal and actual opening as a Home, performed by Mr. Passmore Edwards, under the presidency of the then Mayor of Eamsgate, Alderman Blackburn, on Bank Holiday, August 6th, 1894. Hodgson Pratt and Stephen Tayler made speeches in thanks to Mr. Passmore Edwards ; the Mayor was thanked on the motion of Judge " Oviatt and 0. T. Perry, the 600 club folk present cheered the Home and its donor, the artillery of the heavens fired several salvoes, for it was not the kindest of days, and our first Home was launched. Prom the day of its opening, on that August Early Success. Bank Holiday of 1894, the Pegwell Home was a success. As each resident came back to his club he spread the tale of its charms. Large excursions organised by the Home Committee took tens of thousands of London clubmen to PegweU. Ear and wide spread its fame. A picture fund realised £100 in a few months. The Home then accommodated 32 residents, but before the third year of its hfe had passed it was clear to the committee that extension would be required. We had a meeting of the Home Committee at Extension. Pegwell one Sunday, and in the little garden in the rear (for the orchard was not then ours) we decided that we could manage to spend £2,500. We had no money. The Union had none, being indeed then much pressed itself for cash. Some of us were, however, confident that the Home had so established itself in the affections of the clubs of London and of the Home Committees that we could borrow and beg all such a sum. Borne down (or uplifted rather) by our optimism the doubtful agreed. We appealed to the clubs, and we engaged, on Mr. Passmore Edwards' recommendation, his architect, Mr. Maurice Adams, JESSE AR6YLE. 149 to prepare drawings, adding bedrooms with bath-rooms, and on each floor large lavatories, where residents could wash without, as then, doing so in bedrooms, an arrangement of great economy and infinitely more satisfactory to residents. We soon found out that our allowance of Plans Extend. £2,600 was Hkely to be considerably over- stepped. Mr. Passmore Edwards suggested the formation of the centre Tower, and gave us £500 towards its cost. When the plans were complete and tenders invited the lowest received was that of Messrs. Jarman and Son for £4,312. This was accepted, but outlay did not end here. The owner of a small dilapidated shop, on the east side, raised a "light and air" protest, was bought out for £120 and his shanty pulled down, thus leaving a strip of garden on that side. There was a right-of-way between the old The Orchard, building and the garden on the west, leading into an orchard at the rear, and when we started to build the owner of this found our tower projected some inches over the right-of-way and served us with an injunction. We overcame this by buying him, and the orchard, out for £550. All this, of course, was piling up the financial burden. But we secured a little relief, for the aforesaid garden on the west straggled off into the roadway, and for widening purposes the Eamsgate Corporation agreed with us to pay the £120 which we had given for the shanty and to build for us the wall (costing another £153) which now bounds our estate. Altogether the first extension cost us £6,471, Finance. the tower alone accounting for £1,200. To the cost of the building must be added £600 for furniture. So our heroic estimate of £2,500 had grown to over £7,000 1 And financially we were in parlous plight indeed. The builder, however, accepted Bills, which we (borrowing 150 all the money we could from clubs and members) somehow managed to meet, but with a debt of £5,000. The foundation-stone was laid on Saturday, New yfi/ihici July 10th, 1897, by Mrs. Passmore Edwards, Opened. . in the presence of a crowded gathering under the presidency of Stephen Seaward Tayler, the Corporation of Eamsgate, and, amongst others, Miss Phyllis Broughton honouring us with their presence. On July 2nd, 1898, just twelve months after, the new wing was opened by Mr. Passmore Edwards, and the accommodation, now raised to 62, availed of to the full. Trade, happily, was good, and the clubs Generosity of ^^1 4. if prosperous. The responses to our appeals tor money were liberal indeed. I am not now talking of Subscriptions enabling clubs to send members into residence, but Donations given towards paying off the debt. In 1898 no less than £986 was given us. The Journal organised a horse race. A picture of a racecourse appeared, in which several clubs represented as horses and jockeys were shown as competing for the honour of being first in the list of donations to the Special Appeal. The St. James' and Soho won with a donation of £105, the Mildmay came next with £100, and then the Kettering Working Men's with £60. In 1899 the gift total was £945. In 1900, £1,072 ; the St. James' and Soho adding another £100 this year ! It would be invidious to particularise when all were so good, and £1 from one club is equal to £5 from another. But memory wiU place grateful tribute to the St. James' and Soho and Mildmay as the foremost in giving, the while it remembers the little Eegency, which, with but 150 members, gave us £25 to £30 every year. It was all very wonderful and very inspiring to the Committee, and by 1905 we had nearly paid off the whole debt, and come to consider a further extension. 151 The wing on the terrace was (hke the original building entirely) a poor ramshackle affair, and Terrace Wing. t ^ no -, , whilst enough to accommodate 32 residents for food and social hours, was not suitable for 62, a very unpleasing crowding ensuing at meal times and on inclement days. So in 1905 it was resolved to pull it down and erect a larger and better equipped building. The task was allotted to Mr. W. Wadman (most ingenious, far-seeing, and excellent of all architects), the tender of Mr. Woodhall (recently Mayor of Eamsgate) for £3,054: was accepted, and on Easter Monday, April 16th, 1906, the second extension, costing in all £4,000, was opened by Mr. J. J. Dent, who laid a commemorative tablet with a dexterity at which the audience wondered, not knowing that this was no " 'prentice hand," and the Home became complete, and as it now remains. The help of the Journal must be testified to. Without it the success acliieved would not have been possible. Apart from its great help in making appeals for money, it assisted to a degree not realised when the suggestion was first made that the Union should give the Home all the money it received from the sale of the paper. That this was to rise to 37,000 copies the Executive did not foresee, or it might have been less generous. The first year's sale of the half-penny paper reaUsed £30, in 1911 it rose to £694. There is no dietary table measuring mouths, THE osT OF ^^^ every man can have his fill. The menu EsiDEN . j^ ^^Y[ g^Qf]^ varied, and equal to that of the best hotels. The following table will show what is the actual cost to the Home Committee of one week's residence. The final item, " depreciation," is a large one, but whilst it is not an actual cost, yet is a necessary provision, and should be 152 taken into account. The item, "interest on loans course, a decreasing one as the debt is reduced : — £ s. d. Food 9 3 Wages and Pood of Staff 6 6 Fuel, gas, and water 1 Household upkeep 1 Eepairs and renovations 6 Bates and taxes 7 Medical attendance and medicine 6 Stationery 3 Newspapers and games... 2 Carriage of residents 2 Insurance of buildings ... 1 Garden seeds, shrubs, etc. 1 Telephone and postage ... 2 Secretary and committee fares . . . 1 19 3 Interest on Loans 1 2 1 5 Add depreciation of buildings 2 £1 2 5 is, of There were 905 residents in 1911, who stayed 2,524 weeks in all. The Subscriptions, after deducting railway fares returned, came to £2,108, which is, it will be seen, a little less than 17s. per head. The Journal money given by the Union makes up another 5s., and thus the income from Subscriptions is made to equal the expenditure, and make provision for depreciation. In the above calculation Donations towards repayment of debt are not taken into account. Both in the amount of Subscriptions and in the number of Eesidents the year 1911 attains a record. OFFICERS— PEGWELL. 153 If I add a few figures, I shall be able to Some Figures, indicate the steady progress of the Home from its beginning, as well as indicate how widespread in area is the popularity of Pegwjll as a residence after illness. I think these two tables will enable me to conclude the story of our first Convalescent Home to date : — Summary of the NUMBBB OP RESIDENTS, SUBSCEIPTIONS received, DONATIONS and " JOURNAL " RECEIPTS per annum of the Convalescent Home, Pegwell Bay, for each year since its establish- ment till December 31at, 1911 : — No. of Residents. Subscrip- tiona. Donations. Journal Sales. August, 1894, to June 30th, 1895. July 1st, 1895, to June 30th, 1896, 123 227 437 420 495 507 511 626 642 661 742 691 780 838 785 892 905 £ 321 546 1,028 1,022 1,287 1,210 1,194 1,378 1,471 1,576 1,738 1,643 1,961 2,158 2,189 2,112 2,246 £ 139 143 624 986 945 1,072 796 1,012 1,115 767 643 809 526 490 528 488 637 £ 30 145 July 1st, 1896, to December 31st, 317 1898 239 1899 238 1900 235 1901 258 1902 317 1903 424 1904 433 1905 458 1906 460 1907 490 1908 505 1909 578 1910 594 1911 694 10,282 25,080 11,720 6,415 County of origin op Residents at Pegweld in 1910 and 1911. Metropolis Kent Yorkshire Leicester Northampton ... Essex Bucks Berks Wiltshire Warwick Surrey Northumberland Lincolnshire .... 1910. 1911. 674 634 44 26 44 98 40 30 29 24 20 24 10 15 7 1 5 8 3 6 3 6 — 1 — 1 Notts Lancashire Staffs Somerset.. Shropshire Monmouth Durham .. Bedford ... Hants Glamorgan Norfolk ... Total ... 2 14 2 905 154 SALTBURN. Whilst I am compelled to deny myself credit Seen tN Dreams, for the discovery of Pegwell, I think I may claim it of the Saltburn Home. It was on April 29th, 1905, that I first found myself in Saltbm-n. The Durham Branch had been constituted that Saturday afternoon at a meeting in the Shakespere Hall, Durham, and I reached Saltburn at midnight, as the nearest station (as far as I could trace), from which to reach the Cleveland village of Brotton, wherein a workmen's club had been formed, which I was to visit. On Sunday morning I walked from Saltburn to Brotton along the path now familiar to thousands of clubmen, saw the club and its officers (a story quite worth telling here, also), and in the afternoon found myself back in Saltburn, with no means of reaching home till Monday morning, for the North-Bastern Eailway is scant of Sunday trains. I wandered round the peculiarly clean and orderly little town, and saw the present Saltburn Home building " To Let." I managed to get a look round and over it, and then went down to the beautiful sands to dream. How could we, tuould we ever, or how soon would we establish a second Home ? And, under the influence of the inspection of the building, the glorious sun and sands and sea, I thought me that here was the place and there the building. But I never dreamed that the latter would be available in the time, far distant as it seemed to me, when we should want it. I made close inspection of the slopes behind Cat Nab and overlooking the salt burn, in search of prospective site. And then I woke up, and came home. In this same year of 1905 two things forced Dreams ,, , ,, ,. , ^^ ,, themselves upon attention ; one, that Pegwell MATERIALFSE. .in,..!,.,, was availed of to the full, and two, that the counties of York and Durham were manifesting enormous club development. Erom consideration of these two things the dream of a second Home took more solid 165 shape, and, within a few months of my reveries at Saltburn, a circular was issued by the Executive in which £3,000 was offered from the Union funds if the Northern clubs would support the scheme of a second Home, the basis of which was set out. It was estimated that the building and furniture would cost £12,000. I had, of course, been busy, as had our Meetings in ^ , , . JNorthern ±5ranch secretaries, pushmg the Support. ... .,,__., idea at every meeting m the Northern area in the interim, and on June 23rd, 1906, the clubs of Golne and Burnley organised a big conference, with the Mayor in the chair, at Blackpool. The meeting was enthusiastic, and the only ripple on the smooth surface of agreement was caused by the endeavour to get the site then and there indicated. Of course, the undoubted charms of the Fylde Coast were dilated upon, with many tributes to its health-restoring power, but, as I listened, my mind went back to that Sunday afternoon at Saltburn, and dwelt again on the building I had seen there. Six months later (January 19th, 1907) came a great meeting at Wakefield, which finally raised the second Home out of the region of suggestion, and made it a thing to be set about forthwith. The meeting was held in the hall of the Wakefield Co-operative Society, with that loyal friend of the clubs, Alderman Kings well, J.P., Mayor of Wakefield, in the chair. This meeting was addressed by Mr. E. A. Brotherton, M.P. for Wakefield, Sir J. Compton Eickett, M.P., Alderman Hudson, and J. J. Dent, J. Argyle, and myself. And, whilst speaking of Wakefield, let me say that whilst many were the workers in the North, none, I think, compared with Mr. W. F. Adams, the secretary of the Wakefield Branch, in industry, com- petence, and enthusiasm. The clubs had begun to respond to the circular readily, and there was £1,000 in OF THE Site. yearly subscriptions guaranteed by February, 1907, and nearly £400 received in donations. The Executive 156 then sent a note to all clubs which had promised subscrip- tions, asking for nominations of site. Many places on the North- West and North-East were proposed, but on a ballot being taken, Saltburn received 85 votes, against 57 recorded for Blackpool. That it is admirably placed for railway service doubtless contributed to the result. Then it was discovered that the building I had seen had been taken as temporary premises by the Silcoates School and would be shortly vacated. In August, 1908, Mr. W. Wadman visited the said premises and made a report to the Bought. Executive, and on November 21st followmg a deputation of Northern Branch representatives, accom- panied by Mr. Wadman and myself, went to Saltburn to inspect. It was a horrible day, we saw Saltburn at its worst, and the Home, empty, barrack-like, and gloomy in its interior, by candle light. Then, at a conference held at The Queen," we discussed the situation, the money aspect and what could be done to transform the interior of a building noble in outward aspect, eternal in construction, but cheerless and repulsive in its barren and sombre dormitories inside. That the latter could be accomplished Mr. Wadman assured them. They behoved him. That the money would be all right I asserted. But, as in the Pegwell extension, there were those who were cautious and doubting. Eventually the conference decided unanimously to recommend the Executive to open negotiations for the purchase of the Home. This the Executive at once did. The price asked was £7,000 — less than half the original cost. We bluffed boldly and offered £6,000 at outside, in a " take it or leave it " tone. We waited anxiously enough for the reply, for we should have been very foolish not to have paid £10,000, if unable to obtain the place for less. In a week came the answer — £6,000 was accepted, and the second Convalescent Home came into being. WBAtiSHAW "^^'^^i^EScfiTloMESCO^' 167 I have not yet said anything to describe About the this building of which the Union had now Building. become possessed. It is of splendid con- struction, and will be a building as perfect as ever when the remnants of the original building at Pegwell shall have crumbled to dust. It was erected in 1872 by Sir Joseph Pease and was supported by him till financial disaster over- whelmed him. It occupies 6,000yds. of freehold land (5,922 to be exact) abutting on Marine Terrace and overlooking the lovely Hazel Grove. The land cost £2,012, or about 7s. per square yard. What its value is now I cannot say. The building cost £12,734. A total of £14,746. To produce such a building to-day would (with Land) cost £16,000 at least. Not then, this, a bad bargain for the Union, Its internal economy (except its unrelieved bareness, dormitory bedrooms, and absence of provision for social enjoyment) was admirably arranged, the Home proper in front, the great dining hall built like a church (over 30ft. from floor to ridge) in the centre ; and laundry, staff rooms and kitchen (lofty and oak timbered like a baronial hall) in the rear. There is a terrace and fine sweep of garden in front, and a large open space, now converted into bowling green and gardens, in the rear. It is the finest building in Saltburn, and would he a noteworthy and commanding edifice anywhere. The large kitchen garden, which had run wild, was converted into a howling green and flower garden, and some thousand trees and shrubs planted, securing both privacy and shelter from the Nor' -Easter, a fairly regular and boisterous visitor to Saltburn. The building acquired, Mr. Wadman was commissioned to transform the interior, and Transformed. on this some £2,500 was spent. How well was the work done only a personal inspection can convey. What was sombre, barren and barrack-like, became bright, comfortable, and splendid. The Daily Mail, after inspection, 158 termed it " a workman's Palace." It has been visited by hundreds of local residents and tens of thousands of clubmen, amazement and admiration characterising the sentiments of all. Of course many (and, oh I the pity of it, many of these being workmen) thought it " too good for the working man." But, happily, money was coming in well, and there was a prospect of more. For once in a way we were able to do almost all that we could wish, and so it is safe to say that nowhere in the world is there a workman's institution so mag- nificently equipped as the Club Union Home at Saltburn. Mr. Wadman devoted himself to the work in real enthusiasm. I think the clubman in him worked harder than the architect, but as both he laboured without tiring, and no man more deserved the encomiums heaped upon him and his work at the final opening ceremony. Amongst other features I may mention that each bedroom has a radiator, and each resident may thus have in his bedroom the degree of warmth he pleases. In 1911 the Committee added a Winter Garden, a pleasant lounge within shelter in any season, at a cost of £400. I say final ceremony, for we had two. The taking over of the building as it stood, and Opening. its dedication to our use was performed on Whit Monday, May 31st, 1909, by Mr. W. G. Urwin, J.P., chairman of the Saltburn District Council (Mr. Jesse Argyle, Vice-President in the chair), in the presence of some 5,000 clubmen and their wives. Never before had Saltburn seen such an influx of visitors. The work of alteration and redeeoration was not complete until September, and on Saturday, the 11th of that month, the Home was formally opened by the Eight Honourable (then Mr.) Herbert Samuel, M.P. for the Cleveland division. A luncheon (Mr. Dent presiding over a distinguished gather- ing, including a representative of every Union Branch) was first given, and Mr. Samuel then addressed a crowded 159 gathering of men and women in the south courtyard, to which gathering the suffragettes vainly sought admission, witli lady- like intent to smash up the proceedings. The gathering and the Home (as well as the complete outmanoeuvring of the suffragettes) came in for a great deal of notice from the Northern Press, and I think did much to establish the very much improved attitude towards workmen's clubs visible in many quarters. A small sub-committee consisting of Councillor THE FURNITURE. J. H. Bagshaw, E. Richardson, CO., J.P., and Martin Weatherburn had charge of the furni- ture arrangements, after the Executive Committee had approved certain samples. We determined, as I have indicated before, that only the best was good enough. As the Home now stands it is a model which each club should set itself to endeavour to imitate. If it were possible to pass every club member through the Home, as I earnestly wish it were, there would soon be a revolution in the furnishing of clubs, dismal and poor as some are, unambitious, commonplace, and imteaching as are many. When will all club committees learn that in the material environment with which they surround their mem- bers, no less than in the moral, lies their chief opportunity for usefulness ? The furniture, pictures, and equipment at Saltburn are as effective as the climate in the restoration of physical and mental health. I must devote a paragraph to the pictures, for The Pictures, they are one of the features of the interior, and I think my principal joy. For they represent the result of a personal appeal I made to the Southern clubs. My idea was that no nicer way of demon- strating the fellowship of North and South could be devised than that the South should supply the pictures for the Northern Home. This they did, excepting that Bradford, South Yorks, and Wakefield Branches insisted on contributing 160 a picture each. When we furnished Pegwell we were not quite happy in the result of our appeal for pictures. We asked for pictures and got photographs — one I remembered of the three waiters of the Club, who asked that the photo should be put up in the entrance hall ! It is difficult for a committee to decline any gift well meant, however unsuitable. So I asked and obtained the consent of the Executive to have full control of the picture supply, guaranteeing that I would raise £150 in an appeal to the Southern and Midland clubs. The result was amazing. I got my £150 all right — and another £250 worth of pictures as well. The Bleusis (through the generosity of Mr. B. Horniman — then M.P. — one of its members) sent a famous Academy picture, " Hagar and Ishmael," byMargetson, which had cost £100 ; the St. James and Solio an oil painting of a Yorkshire coast scene, by George Chambers (whose work may be seen in the Tate, Greenwich, and Kensington Galleries), which the club bought for £13 ; the Hatcham Liberal paid £10 for a delightful water-colour by H. H. Parker, " A Surrey Hayfield " ; the Northants clubs a £15 " Ledr Eiver," an oil painting by the same artist ; the Central, Mr. Wadman, South Yorks, Wakefield, and Bradford contributed other oil paintings by well-known men, and I purchased for £18 lOs. a noble oil by Gustave Breanski. But I think the " Two Cronies," presented by the Mildmay, with its magnificent frame, is the favourite of residents at the Home. Besides all these are some 300 other pictures, oils, water colours, and prints. I wish I could acknowledge here all who helped. In the wide north corridor, used as a lounge and smoke-room, I put up some of the water colours of Cynicus, which, if not " things of beauty," certainly are "a joy for ever " in their smile-provoking satire. Although there are over 300 pictures installed, we would, so wide and lofty is each room and corridor, be glad of more, and have cordially to thank " The Fellowship " (of which more anon) for its gift 161 Mr. and Mrs. Reed. of a large and boldly executed oil, " The Fellowship of the Sea," which now graces the dining hall. In the selection of a superintendent and wife the Homes Committee and Executive felt they had an anxious task. For on the character and temperament of these the success of the Home depends. The good fortune of the Union did not desert it, and in Mr. and Mrs. Eeed it has been as lucky (or as happily discriminate) as when the same task presented itself at Pegwell. Both have the exact qualities required, both are devoted wholly and solely to the daily life of the Home, both have earned the praises of the residents in their charge. They are, too, enthusiastic gardeners, and Mr. Eeed, as a mechanic, finds his early training of considerable use and profit to the Home's administration. In the matter of finance we have had none of Finance. the struggles which distracted us in the first extensions of Pegwell. The appeal for donations towards the building produced £1,500 before the formal opening. To December 31st last £2,526 had been received. The debt on both Homes — £8,000 — is now merged in the Jubilee appeal effort. But it will be interesting to compare the estimate made in the Union circular and the actual cost as indicated by the two first years' working. I put the figures in parallel columns and it wiU be seen how closely they compare : — Estimate. Experience. 1910. 19H. Number of Residents vearlv 600 £ 12,000 1,000 2,250 169. 593 £ 11,000 1,500 1,970 17s. 725 Cost of Bnildin^ Furniture £ 11,420 2,103 169. 6d. Estimated Donation before opening ... Cost of each Besideat weekly, exclud- ing depreciatiou and interest charges. 162 In the Donations, it will be seen, there was a generous response, outrunning the estimate. As I said in referring to Pegwell, it is invidious to mention names, as a gift of £5 from one club is equivalent to £50 from another, but I think I must mention the largest donors : The South Kirkby Diamond Jubilee, £100 ; the Hoyland Common, £82 10s. ; and (most welcome from the South) the Mildmay Carnival (1909) pro- ceeds, £70. The Home is now fairly on its feet and General- utilised to the full. It was thought by many that it would be necessary to close it during the winter months. That theory has been entirely upset, for the Home has never for a week been without residents. There is a happy life possible within doors, to which the construction of the winter garden has very materially contributed. The construction of the bowling green and the planting of shrubs in the garden cost another £200. Whilst there are many things possible to be done to improve Pegwell, notably its re-furnishing on a modern basis, it is difficult to see what more can be done at Saltburn, which is as near perfection as is presently possible. An analysis of the place of origin of the residents for the first two years may be interesting. It shows that the following Counties contributed : — 1910. 1911. 242 221 37 10 2 2 1 1 312 Yorkshire 377 33 Northumberland 3 Curoberland staffs London Total 516 725 The total reached at Saltburn in its first year was not reached at Pegwell till its seventh. But in those years the 163 accommodation at Pegwell was but 32, as compared with 52 at Saltburn. The following are similar tables to those shown for Pegwell on page 153 : — Summarj' of the NUMBBE OF RESIDENTS, SUBSCRIPTIONS received, aud Donations to the Convaleacent Home, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. No. of Eesidents. Subscrip- tions. Donations. 31at May, 1909, to 1 31st December, 1909 f 1910 64 516 725 £ 910 1,969 2,102 £ •885 618 225 1911 798 1,305 £4,981 £2,526 * Donations to Building Fund previous to 1909. The following table, begun only in 1910, indicates the number in residence at both Homes in successive months : — January February March ... April May June July Saltburn. Pegwell. 1910. 1911. 1910. 1911. 16 30 68 44 22 39 79 74 32 57 72 78 56 53 82 81 78 90 99 114 75 79 90 85 77 90 86 107 August .... September October .... November. December . 1910. 1911. 593 725 Pegwell. 1910. 1911. Ill 89 65 34 17 892 82 92 45 15 905 Method of Maintenance. The method by which both Homes are maintained is of purely voluntary character. Any club subscribes what sum it pleases. Such sum is placed to its credit, and for every resident sent the account is debited at the rate of 15s. per week, any credit balance being carried forward from year to year. Many, perhaps most, clubs which subscribe pay a fixed sum yearly — generally calculated at the rate of Is. per member per annum. 164 and this is found to be normally sufficient to cover all possible residents from the club. The Union contributes a grant equal to about £700 per annum. It will be seen (page 152) that the cash outlay on each resident weekly is about £1. Fifteen shillings is thus found by the club, the £700 making up the yearly balance of cost. The Capital outlay (apart from £3,000 given towards the cost of Saltburn by the Union) is raised by Loans, which are repaid from moneys received from clubs as Donations, i.e., gifts, securing no equivalent benefit, but for the purpose only of extinguishing the Debt. In January, 1911, the Executive, at the instigation of the Homes Committee, launched Scheme for ^^ appeal for the Extinction of the total Debt Debt EXTINCTION. Q^ j^^th Homes before June 14th, of this year. It was as follows : — " Dear Sir, — The Executive has been discussing the debt which remains upon the two Convalescent Homes, some £3,000 at Pegwell and about £5,000 at Saltburn. "It has, too, in mind that the Union celebrates its 50th birthday on the 14th June, 1912. " It earnestly desires that amongst the many methods of celebration of this Jubilee, the announcement that both Homes were free from debt would be amongst the most satisfactory. "The Union has now some 1,360 clubs, with about 400,000 members. If every club would guarantee to give a donation of 503. for each 100 members (equal to 6d. per member) before June 14th, 1912, the result would be not only to relieve the present Homes of debt, but to provide a sum of £2,000 in addition — which would be allocated towards the establishment of Homes in the South-West and North- West. " The amount is small. The result great. In no more fitting manner could the Jubilee of the movement be celebrated. "It is hardly possible to believe that there is any club which would not be able to give this guarantee. " The method the Executive would leave to each club. Some may care to at once meet such a guarantee by a donation from the funds, but the Executive considers that by efforts involving the active interest and help of the members is the better way found. Concerts, Whist Drives, Flower Shows, Bazaars, a Christmas or New Tear (or other periodical) Collection, or any of the hundred ways in which members may help, all these are at the discretion of the Club Committee. Will your Committee give such a guarantee ? Eemember that the money could be paid in instalments or just as the club pleases. All that is asked is the favour J. PASSHORE EDWARDS. OFFICERS— SALTBURN 165 of the Club's promise ; of the faithful fulfilment of which in its own time the Executive would have no doubt. "Please bring this matter before your Committee. " We propose publishing in the Journal the list of all clubs which will join in this great yet simple movement offering no serious tax upon any." The result cannot be accurately stated here, since many clubs have promised concurrence in the scheme whose Donation has not been received or only in part, whilst many clubs have not yet replied. There are, too, various schemes in progress which will not have reached fruition till June 14th. All that can be said is that on that date, 1912, the total cash received in response will exceed £3,000, a very welcome sum, though falling short of what was hoped. The Coal Strike and other industrial troubles, as well as the diversion of money by the " Titanic " Belief Funds, doubtless contributed to reduce the total from what it had been hoped it would reach. The Executive proposes to persist till the Debt is entirely removed. FURTHER HOMES. It will be appreciated that each of the above Homes is, apart from the measure of assistance given by the Union, aa described on the preceding page, entirely supported by the Subscriptions of the Clubs which make use of it by sending members into residence. Thus each Home depends upon a group of clubs whose support is adequate for that Home. There are thus about 220 clubs subscribing to PegweU and 300 to Saltburn. Obviously clubs which are so far removed from either Home that participation in their advantages is impossible, do not subscribe to either. These number some 800. There are some 200 clubs in the areas of the present Homes which do not participate in their benefits. It is the belief of the Executive that the, at present, unattached clubs are capable of maintaining a Home, if not two. It was at first considered that a third Home could be established in the South-West or Wales, and a fourth in the North-West in Lancashire. Whether there 166 is at present sufficient support possible for these two is uncertain. But that both should come into being is undoubtedly the wish and policy of the Executive. No definite attempt has yet been made to ascertain the possible measure of support likely to be given in the North- West, in which area are many clubs now subscribing to Saltburn. But a circular was sent to the South-West and Welsh clubs by the Executive offering to devote £3,000 towards the cost of the erection of a third Home, if adequate support could be reasonably anticipated. Here, again, labour troubles intervened, especially in Wales, from whence, by reason of the enthusiasm shown, the largest measure of support was anticipated. At the date of writing. May 31st, 1912, a sum of £480 had been given or promised in Donations towards cost, and an annual Subscription of £250 guaranteed. The minimum cost (unless good fortune enables a second "bargain") of the smallest Home could not be less than £8,000. The smallest Home, capable of being worked with efficiency, would necessitate an annual expendi- ture of £1,000 in maintenance. Given normal times this seems likely to be available. A further suggestion is the establishment of the third Home in North Wales available for the whole Western district, Midlands, North and South. But at May 31st, 1912, no definite steps in any direction have been taken. It would be improper and ungrateful to leave " The the subject of the Homes without a reference to the little coteries of clubmen who, under the above title, have set themselves the task of adding to the amenities of existence at both Homes. The plan (of which Mr. H. Dilks, of the Central Finsbury Club, is the author) is for 25 members of a club to band themselves together in a Birthday Fellowship. On each man's birthday he pays Is. and each of the others 2d., making 5s. in all, and this sum is 167 sent on to the Secretary of the Union, who acts as Treasurer. The object is stated to be to raise the standard of comfort and increase the amenities of residence at the Club Union Convalescent Homes." A meeting of representatives periodi- cally disposes of the totals received by gifts of Paintings, Overmantels, Easy Chairs, Curtains, and the like, of a class and character of the highest.* Up to May 31st, no less than 70 of these Fellowships had been formed from Hebburn to Llanbradach, and a total sum of £114 applied, or available for their purpose. Needless to say there is both desire and hope that the number of these bands may extend in all directions. Bach member of this honourable Fellowship proudly wears a badge showing either Home, of which facsimiles are here shown : — The establishment in the Jubilee year of a ' Fellowship " in every Union club would produce an income of over £9,000 per annum, available beyond the subscriptions, for the task of " increasing the amenities." " It were a consummation devoutly to be wished " ! * Some prefer to devote the first nioneys to Debt Extinction, but this was not the original intention. CHAPTER IX. The "Club and Institute Journal." It has been said that more capital has been sunk in unsuccessful efforts to float newspapers than in any other form of monetary dissipation. There are always a number confident of their ability to succeed if others have failed. They see the need for just such a paper as they have in mind, and are confident that the willingness of the public to purchase what is supplied to meet it, exists also. If this confidence coincides with the fact that a very real necessity for such a paper does exist, it is not surprising that the effort is made. In great democratic organisations, to say nothing of the special political activities of the workman, the need of a paper is patent — obvious and admitted by all. The number of persons to whom such a paper must appeal is known to be large. So that its success appears to be certain. Yet it is workmen's movements which contain the record of more journalistic failures (which so obviously and logically were sure of success) than any other. Political, Trade Union, and Friendly Society, in all these divisions of democratic activity has effort after effort been made by capable men, only to be met with disheartening want of appreciation. There is a great need for a paper. There are tens of thousands who want it, but it is not, therefore, to be concluded that there wiU be an adequate sale. The syllogism is never complete. The premises are perfect. The obvious conclusion is no conclusion at all. Yet hope persists. Struggling organisations with no money to spare, refuse to learn from others. In their case it will be different. They must have a paper. And one more is 169 added to the tale. The literary work is generally done gratuitously (which is not always tlie way to save money), and the honorary editors are cheered in a thankless task l^y a fire of criticism, often from non-buyers, which, coming from all quarters, is of infinite variety. The Club and Instituto Journal had something of this story. Yet, because this little book seeks to record the influences which have made the clubs and the Union what they are, most certainly the Journal cannot be left out. In 1864, two years after the founding of the Henry Solly, Union, the need for a paper was felt, and 1864. the Worhinrj Men's Club and Instituto Magazine was published in October of that year by Messrs. Jarrold and Sons. It was doulatless written and edited by Henry Solly. No copy of this paper remains outside the British Museum. Its price was threepence, and the accounts show £30 as having been received in twelve months by sales. The cost is not separately shown. It was discon- tinued in October, 1865, as the circulation was so small, and use made of the columns of friendly papers for the publica- tion of matters relating to the Union. But every year the absence of an organ of Hodgson Pratt its own was felt to handicap the Union, and 1875. in 1876 the Council determined to make another effort, so on Satm-day, May 15th, The Workmen's Club Journal and Official Gazette of the Worlcingmcn's Club and Institute Union (the current taste for protraction in titles running here) made its first appearance, Mr. Hodgson Pratt being the Editor. It was a large quarto in size, of eight pages, of which four were advertisements, and its price was Id. The contents were largely Union Notices, or reports of the Council Meeting, articles on " Provident Dispensaries," " The Condition of the Peasantry in Germany," and such Uke, with extracts from Mark Twain, and a column M 170 of Poetry. Matter of interest was doubtless found in it. But looking at it now it does not seem of a character likely to excite interest, nor to have had much of " club " matter in its contents. Someone writes demurring to the two-page articles, and suggesting that the contents should be more paragraphic. But Mr. Hodgson Pratt submits that men's minds are not to be treated, like looking-glasses, to a constant series of fleeting impressions. It will be noted that the habit of the time persists in this Editorial utterance. Eeaders were not to have what they wanted, but what they ought to want. The workman is everlastingly dosed with something the chief recommendation of wliich is that it is supposed to be "good for him." At the end of the twelve months it was found that the paper was selling less than a thousand copies weekly. The Pveceipts were £40, the Expenditure £331. It was plain that this could not go on. The experiment was tried of reducing the price to ad. and increasing the size to twelve pages. By some means not clearly shown this succeeded in so far that the yearly loss was reduced to £200, the circula- tion apparently rising to about 1,250 copies. But this was impossible to continue. The venture had involved the Union in a heavy debt, and in February, 1878, the Journal was suspended. Negotiations were set on foot to secure space in the Go-operative Nervs, but without success. The absence of the paper was keenly felt, and in 1881 arrangements were made with Social Notes, a penny weekly, which lasted till the end of that year, when it also became defunct. Financial troubles pressed upon the Union Mark Judge, (as will be seen in earlier chapters), but in 1883. 1883, there being a slight relief in the pressure, and the need for the Journal being more acutely felt than ever, it was (on Friday, July 6th, 1883) resuscitated (promises of purchases of 600 copies having been 171 received), Mr. Mark Judge, then a member of the Council, undertaking the Editorship of a fortnightly issue of eight pages, to be called Gluh and Institute Journal, price one- halfpenny. There seem still to have been curious ideas of what a club " paper should contain, for No. 3 (following a three-paged report of the opening of a club at Low Moor, Bradford), proceeds to devote two pages to "NOTES ON OUR FOOD RESOURCES," "A scries of articles descriptive of the collection of food resources in the Parke's Museum of Hygiene." Interest in this absorbing topic is kept from flagging by the aid of sub-heads such as : — Geoup 1. — Mammalia. — Sub-Group A : Oxen, Sheep, and Pigs.— The Ox. And then follow two pages in which all that is known of this useful animal is set forth, how that he belongs to the Natural Order of Euminants, what his status was in History and is in India ; how many there are of him, how you can get beef and tongue and sweetbread and black puddings out of him, etc. " Gowheel is occasionally used for making jellies, etc., and is frequently eaten by the working classes," is a recondite fact, the communication of which must have been received with breathless interest by the readers. The fact was that Mr. Judge, then, as now, an exceedingly busy man, had little if any time for his gallantly undertaken task. After a few months, Mr. Judge announces that he is unable to continue, and " arrange- ments have been made to edit the Journal from the Union Office," which means, it is guessed, that Mr. W. Minet has undertaken the job. The incurable modesty and self-effacement which has characterised the honorary workers in the Union from the beginning leaves this a guess only. But it is a fairly sure one. The paper now records nothing but club news, and the stir in the clubs which is making for the revolution of 1884 (Chapter V., page 82). 172 There begin to appear articles and vhymos written with distinct, if rude, vigour and force, signed by Eichard Gaston, a member ot the Boro' of Hackney Chib, of which the ioUowing is the first : — "Christmas TisrK in Youth and Age. " Old Father Cbristmag seems to me Quite chani^ed to what ho used to be ; I recollect I hailed the time 0£ mirth, and joy, and pantomime ; With Riftg and toys and Christmas cheer, I wished he'd stay throuf^houfc the year. His name won praises from my tongue ; The cause must be — that I was young. " On Christmas now I set no store ; In fact, he rather proves a boro, When for his sake long bills I pay, And, fleeced by all on Christmas Day, I feel that if be left this year. And ne'er returned, I'd shed no tear. He takes my comfort, ease, and gold ; The cause must bo — I'm growing old I " Mental pabulum doubtless as acceptable to the clul) members as the indelicate revelations anent the Ox. What was the circulation achieved is not anywhere shown, nor, owing to the form in which the accounts are presented, can it be accurately deduced from them. It probably reached 2,000 copies, and there was apparently but a small loss (as journals go) of about £20 on the first 20 issues. In February, 1884, an experiment is made by increasing the size to twelve pages as a " special issue" at one penny. Valuable articles on legal matters appertaining to clubs begin to appear, and club Balance Sheets are criticised in a kindly informing way, which renders the band of Minet obvious, for T. F. Hobson has not yet appeared, and other legal articles are signed by T. A. Nash. So, too, the series ot articles upon Account Keeping are certainly Miuet's. In July, 1884 (though there is a yearly loss of £90), success has so far met the renewed publication that it is announced that the paper will in future be issued weekly. In April, 1885, the size is increased 178 to twelve pages, and the price to one penny. But the appear- ance of Acrostics and Bret Hartu's " Left Out on Lone Star Mountain" indicates that there is difficulty in finding sufficient " club " copy. The result, of the increased price, was that the circulation of 2,000, readied at the time of change, fell off. The Editor complains of the difficrrlty within the limited range of topics possible to the Journal of making the paper interesting. But club members (Fletcher Pape and Gaston) write short stories, and Harry Cocking, of the Cobden Club, supplies verse, some of which is good, and some not at all bad, every week. The Cobden appears always to have a Poet on the premises, a practice preserved up to the date of the Jubilee. It is resolved to continue at one penny through 1885. But the loss grows, and is too heavy to be borne, and on March 12th, 1886, it is decided to allow the paper to pass for a while into a private venture. An agreement is made with Ernest Parke (now Editor of the Daily News and Leader 1886. , ... and of the Star), a young journalist delegate from the Peckham and Dulwich Club (not now existent), and for six months he undertakes to run the paper, the Union guaranteeing against loss to the extent of £2 weekly. The paper is enlarged in size to 12in. by 9in. and is of eight pages. Full reports of Council meetings appear, and in the general brightening of the publication the hand of the trained journalist is apparent. The paper has now a very definite Eadical tone. But even Mr. Parke cannot make it pay, and as he clearly can- not stand loss he gives back his trust. He, however, consented to continue as Editor for awhile till new plans could be made ; these continue till May, 1887. The loss in 1886-7 is £143. On Mr. Parke giving up, Mr. E. A. G. Cuerel, then most active in all good work for the 1887. Union, volunteers to take on the task as Honorary Editor, being allowed 10s. weekly for expenses. Eeporting is said to cost a further 10s. weekly. The 174 paper continues in the form in which it was cast by Mr. Parke, and compares well with its model. Ouerel, frail in health, feverishly industrious, clear sighted nevertheless, and practical, would put into the paper the maximum of effort, even if nearly every dinner hour suffers. But it does not " go." There is a loss of £100, and a committee is appointed in November, 1887, to consider the future. It need hardly be said that at the meeting which appointed the committee there was, as there had always been, a multitude of counsellors. And wisdom there must have been somewhere, for the opinions expressed ranged from every point in the compass of advice. That it should be a halfpenny only was the most insistent. The Committee reported on December 10th, but consideration was deferred till January, 1888. A vote of thanks to Guerel was proposed by J. H. (now Sir Henry) Dalziel, seconded by Ernest Parke, and supported by W. Minet, three men who " knew." Cuerel, in reply, said he never felt so happy in his life as he had done since he gave up the management of the Journal, with all the trouble it involved. Pour cncourager Us autres ! Mr. H. E. Boyce, Assistant Legal Adviser to the Local Government Board, was one of 18B8. . , those middle-class supporters of workmen s clubs who had remained continuously faithful, and represented the Teddington Working Men's Club on the Council. He believed he could succeed where others had failed. A pro- posal of the Committee to appoint a reporter-editor at £1 a week (!) was withdrawn. A proposal of Mr. Dalziel's, that an editor be engaged at £3 3s. per week, was defeated, and the offer of Mr. Bo3'ce to edit the paper with a subvention of £1 weekly for assistance was accepted for six months' trial. It was gallant, but unsuccessful. A special meeting of the Council was held on July 14th, 1888, at which it was resolved to appoint a paid Editor, and Eichard Gaston was elected, defeating J. H. Dalziel by two votes. Curiously, no report of 175 this meeting appears in tlie Journal. Tlie yearly loss tiad risen to £230. Mr. Gaston's iirst step was to enlarge the size of the paper by making it 15 inches by 10 inches, 1888-1894. L L J a 3 continuing with eight pages. He introduced a style of homely personality, and cultivated the musical and entertainment side. Special sketches, short tales, rhyme, and paragraphs with bold heading and plenty of space lightened the appearance of the sheet — a very needed reform. Correspondence was encouraged, especially the personal and satirical. Doubtless the paper had a fairly fixed circle of admirers. Its circulation rose to 4,000 copies weekly, and remained fairly constant at that throughout the six years of Gaston's control. He used it diligently to boom Union events, and within his lights served the Union cause most faithfully. Further reference to him appears on page 304. But the financial aspect of the matter was not improved. The item, " Editor's Salary and Expenses," £180 10s. 6d. was a new burden, and in 1889 the loss was £312. The rise in circula- tion brought caslr for sales and also advertisements, and in 1890 the loss fell to £158. Then the salary is fixed at £2 10s. a week and commission on advertisements. But, largely owing to increase in printing costs, the yearly loss rose steadily till it reached £240 in 1893. The Union was in financial difficulties, due to the daring Central Club and Hall venture. There was no money to stand the drain, and in June, 1894, financial necessity compelled the discontinuance entirely of the weekly issue, tlie Editorship went back again to the Office, Mr. Gaston and some friends bringing out a weekly entitled the Gluh World as a private venture. The first issue of the Journal in its present B. T. Hall, form was in July, 1894. It was a poor thing 1894. Qf fQ^j, pages, and dear at the halfpenny charged for it. The third issue increased to eight pages. The Convalescent Home at Pegwell, then just established, owed 176 much to its persistent advocacy, the Secretary of the Union acting as Honorary Editor, a post held to this date. Then some one suggested that the Union should bear the small cost of printing, and should give every halfpenny, for which the paper sold, to the Convalescent Home Funds. It was a brilliant idea. The circulation of the paper rose to 6,000, and has steadily risen since — to the great benefit of the Homes. Had the Executive foreseen that its oifer would mean ultimately a sum of £700 transferred annually from the general funds into that of the Home, it might have hesitated. But, as the circulation grew the Union's funds also increased in capacity to bear the transfer. And so the paper has gone on till the present time, when, with an issue of from 20 to 24 pages, and a circulation of 37,000, it has imposed on the Union's funds since 1893 an annual charge averaging but £10, giving in return free advertisement of all the things the Union wishes to communicate to its clubs, thus relieving the Union's funds of an expenditure for printing and postage which would exceed £200 per annum. To the paper's credit, too, must be placed the many thousands of pounds which, with it as the medium, have been raised in Donations to the Homes (pages 153 and 163). A word should be said of the enormous success of the " Campaign Issue" in 1908, which reached 100,000 copies and set the club world alight (page 219). CHAPTBE X. The Bbee Peoblem. In Chapters II. and III., which tell of the earlier days, it is recorded that wliilst clubs sprang up readily everywhere as the result of the Union propaganda, they almost as readily died after two or three, or, at most, very few years, of existence. There was much searching for causes, and many were discovered, one, the admission of lads as members, being doubtless a very powerful cause of decay. But it became plain to all in a very short time that the canker which steadily brouglit to naught all the best efforts of Solly and tho pioneers was the fact that beer was prohibited in all of these institutions. And thus at the first step the promoters of the clubs were brought face to face with a problem as vexing as that which confronted the vacillating Dane. " Beer or Not Beer." It was not a little hard that generous minds agog for the advancement of the democracy, and conscious of the tremendous evils of intemperance, should have had their eager footsteps checked by this apparition. Yet it is a problem which has vexed, and still vexes, others. It is still a fertile breeder of dissension in the State, if not any longer in tlie clubs or the Union. "Whether it is possible to rely upon the development of character sufficiently to rob the problem of its terrors, or whether it must be held that it is impossible to have Alcohol and correct conduct together ? Prohibition, — or Trust and Eaith ? A decision was not to be lightly come to. It is a problem which divides many now, when the workman is as he now is. It must have been more difficult when the workman was as he was 50 years ago. And many in deciding as they did against Prohibition had to cast overboard what had hitherto 178 been life-held convictions. Many others (with excusable disbelief in the workmen's moral power), refusing to do this, withdrew their countenance and cash. The extracts from reports of the Union, of conferences, of clubs, etc., contained herein may be said to tell their own story. In the end Teetotalism as a basis for the movement was abandoned, and Temperance and Moderation sought for. It is difficult to see how any other conclusion could have been reached. For whether Teetotalism be good or bad it is not a basis on which a workman's club can be reared. And it was plain to the many, who accepted the fact with reluctance, that if Beer was prohibited there would soon be neither clubs nor Union,'" or such clubs only as depended upon the support and subsidy of outsiders. This was not the kind of club the Union aimed at. From the first it desired that its clubs should be self- supporting and self-governed. And that, it discovered, a teetotal club could not be, the habits of the workman in the matter of beer and social intercourse being what they then were. Fifty years have passed away. A thotisand teetotal agencies have been busy. Parliament has been scarcely ever free from efforts at legislative regulation. The United Kingdom Alliance is ten years older than the Union, and has spent probably more than a million pounds in unsuccessful efforts at Prohibition. Drunkenness has died out almost in the upper classes, is dying in the middle, and is in a rapid decline amongst, at least, the better type of workmen. Yet the position of the problem as to whether clubs should supply alcoholic refreshments is the same as it was. A teetotal club can not be self-supporting and successful. The great * Sir Edward Clarke did not believe this nor does he believe it now. In a speech at the Victoria Club at Kew in April last he said : " At a conference in 1864 he moved, as an amendment to a decision that the qiTestion of the supply of alcoholic drinks be left to the clubs to decide, that the conference strongly recommended against it. This was carried against the chairman, and he was sorry that in many clubs they had alcohol. Had this been avoided, as in their club, he was sure that the movement would have done a far larger amount of good than at the present time." 179 majority of the best and foremost workmen still consider beer (used as a generic term embracing all alcoholio drinks) an indispensable adjunct to social life. Here and there, in some specially favoured circumstances, a teetotal workmen's club may, as at "Walthamstow, be found self-supporting. But that there are 20 such in the whole of England is extremely doubtful. "Workmen do drink alcoholic refreshment." If they drink, is it better that they should drink in a " pub," where tliey must, or in their own club, where they may, and no one questions them or cares whether they do or not ? That was the problem of 50 years ago. It is the horns of the dilemma on which clubmen now impale their critics. For 30 years or more it has ceased to form a subject of debate at Union meetings. The decision has been made. The results and consequences are known, and justify the decision. Working Men's Clubs have done more for Temperance than any other agency existent amongst adults. They are the only organisa- tions which operate upon adult character to any considerable extent. Workmen's attendances at Trade Union or Friendly Society meetings are casual and intermittent. Their attend- ances at Church or Chapel are, practically, if not entirely, NIL. "P.S.A." Meetings and "Brotherhoods" are popular with many who had not before been reached. But they are but the fringe of the mass. The clubs are, of aU others, the places where influences must be found to aii'ect the average workman's character, to wean him by discipline and honour from violence or excess. And well the clubs have done this. In those districts where workmen's cIuIds are the most numerous and oldest established there di'unkenness is found at its minimum. In districts where they have hitherto been unknown their '^ " He drank, but in a modest way, *' I takes my pipe — I takes my pot. Because he thought he needed it. And drunk I'm never seen to be He took his sober pot a day, I'm uo teetotaler or sot, And sometimes he exceeded it." And as I am I me.an to be." — (W. S. Gileeet) 180 introduction has worked a revolution. Nowhere amongst workmen is there so potent an agency against drunkenness as the workmen's clubs. This is a large thing to claim. And if it be true it not only justifies present pride, restores faith in the character of workmen, often denied, but also justifies the prescience of the promoters of the movement. That it is true the volume of " Licensing Statistics " is annually eloquent. Space may be found later to justify the claim. Here and now the record of how the problem rose and was treated. There can be no shadow of doubt that in its Prohibition, inception the Union, whilst disclaiming any connection with any Total Abstinence body, did aim at estabhshing purely teetotal institutions. " This Union is formed for the purpose of helping working men to establish Clubs or Iustitut;es where they can meet for conversation, business, or mental improvement, with the means of recreation and refreshment, free from intoxicating drinks " is the first clause of the first prospectus. (Page 14.) A paper by Solly in 1863 sets out as a Fundamental Eule (as does a Model Form of Trust Deed issued in that year by the Union) " that no Intoxicating drinks be allowed on the premises." Again, in a pamphlet " Working Men, a Glance at some of their Wants," ^vl'itten by Solly in the same year, he says: — " While the Union is altogether independent of the Total Abstinence Movement it aims especially at forming clubs in which intoxicating drinks shall not be admitted. The workmen themselves are most anxious to have their clubs free from what they feel to be so great an evil at the public house. " Fifty years hence it may be different. But I am quite sure that, for a long time to come, working men will tell us that a fundamental rule in all such clubs should be the total exclusion of intoxicating drink." This was the belief that the workman was a self-terrified person, who did not want to diink beer, but was afraid that if it were ever within range he would be compelled by his weaker self to buy some and be unable to restrain 181 himself to moderate quantity. Not a very dignified or resolute figure of Demos. Not a very trustworthy person to be given control of the State. But for Solly, and others (Mr. Westlake, of Southampton, quoted on page 24 : "it is a mistake to suppose that workmen wish for beer") there was not a long time to come" before discovering that their opinion upon what the workmen wished liad no sure foundation, and was one rather hastily formed. They, like many others then and now, had a habit of taking what one or two workmen may have said as the agreed opinion of that many-hued, many-headed class. " But it may be as well to state. Lord A Noble Lyttelton, who, at the request of Lord Dissentient. Brougham, became a Vice-President of tlie Union in October, 1862, and has ever since been one of its staunchest and most valuable supporters, made an emphatic protest early in 1863 against any attempt to impose restrictions on workmen's clubs in regard to the supply of malt liquors to members, and a special meeting of sub- scribers was called in consequence. The result was to rescind the rule originally passed prohibiting the admission of any club into the Union which allowed the consumption of such liquors." (" Social Gluhs and Institutes," by Bcv. H. Solly.) As tlius indicated, " a special meeting of the Local Option Council was held at 150, Strand, in 1863 AND RECOMMEN- , (exact date unknown), to consider a proposal DATIONS. to substitute in the prospectus (which states the society's objects and principles) a strong recommendation to Working Men's Clubs to exclude from their premises intoxicating drinks, instead of the stipulation that no ohib should be received into membership of the Union unless that exclusion were enforced." The proposal was made the subject of a lengthened dis- cussion. " Whilst the feeling was all but unanimous, both 182 among the moderate drinkers and the total abstinent parties, gentlemen, and working men'" that the introduction of intoxicating drinks into Clubs and Institutes (for the industrial classes), would be an injurious and uncalled for proceeding, Godfrey Lushington, M.A., the Eev. Baldwin Brown, and others, strongly represented that the toleration or exclusion should be decided by the clubs them- selves. Hugh Owen (Chairman of the National Tem- perance League) urged that the Union would exercise a wider influence by strongly reco7nmending the exclusion rather than making that exclusion a condition. " The Eev. Henry Solly drew attention to the fact that the adoption of the proposed alteration would not conflict with the Society's objects. The Council was more likely to get drink excluded by moral suasion than by peremptorily refusing admission to the Union. He mentioned that the Adult Education Societies and Union of Mechanics' Institutes were against intoxicants, but equally so against dictation." The following resolution was carried by a large majority : — "In reference to the use of Intoxicating drinks in working men's clubs, the Council are strongly of opinion that their introduction would be dangerous to the interests of these Societies, and earnestly recommend their exclusion. They make this recommendation simply on prudential grounds, the reasonableness of which, it is believed, the working classes will be the first to acknowledge." The above report is extracted from a fragment of yellow paper saved from earlier destruction in the Union Of&ce. What it is part of cannot be ascertained. Lord Lyttelton, to whom the meeting was due, was absent, because of an accident to one of his sons, as also was Edward Clarke, who was consistently opposed to any modification of the original plans, and still thinks that this resolution was one of two big mistakes on the part of the Union. + '^ There is no evidence of any " BIr-" having been present. f The other was the admission of clubs with political objects. 183 A logician, had one been present, might have pointed out that the resohition gave away the whole position, since if it be true that freedom plus moral suasion, and not prohibition, was the correct policy as applied by the Union to tlie clubs, why not equally correct as applied by the clubs to the individual member ? And, if so, then why recommend exclusion and prohiliition to the latter ? And what had the Adult Schools and Mechanics' Institutes to do with it ? Had they too been forced to the same conclusion in their organisations ? On May 12th, 1864, Lord Lichfield presided at a Conference called by the Union to consider, amongst other problems, tlie following : — " Is it desirable that Intoxicating Drink should under any circum- stances be introduced into Working Men's Clubs and Institutes? " Mr. Solly was absent ill, but he left a paper in which he stated that he believed tire arguments against admission were overwhelming. But he added that " tlie most curious fact at a previous Conference was the advocacy of admission of intoxicants to clubs by known and staunch teetotallers." He thought this indicated the need for consideration. The following is a summary of the discussion : — Mr, MOELEY (St. Martin's), though a Teetotaller, would not vexatiously oppose the introduction of beer into clubs. But he believed working men would wish to exclude drink and find in their clubs a refuge from its temptation. Mr. Peyton (Bethnal Green) argued in favom- of admitting beer. Mr. Westlake (Southampton) was of the opinion that the club itself should decide. It was of great importance that the members should learn self-restraint, which would be better than any external restriction.* Mr. Pelham (St. Martin's) was a teetotaller yet advocated the introduction of beer. * This is a great advance on 186'2. (See page 2i.) The speaker is probably the present Professor J. Westlake, K.C., LL.D. 184 Eev. W. Walters (Hanley) said beer could be brought into the clubs by members, but it was too much trouble and little ■was drunk. Mr. Pakington moved, and Mr. LOVELL seconded : " That this meeting entirely approves of the course adopted by the Council leaving the question of the admission of intoxicating drinks into working men's clubs to the decision of the members." Dr. BOWKETT (South Bromley) said beer was provided in their club without evil results and with benefit. He warned them against the exclusion of beer. Mr. Connolly (Southwark) said, as a working man himself, that the absence of beer was rather an attraction. E. G. Clarke, Esq. (Sir Edward), said to leave the resolu- tion as it stood was to apply non-approval or even censure on the original policy of the movement, which started with the express exclusion of all intoxicating drinks from the clubs. The time might come when beer could be introduced with safety. But it was no scandal to working men to say that the time had not yet come. The recommendation against that should be withdrawn, and he proposed to add to the resolution the words "while generally recommending their exclusion." Lord Lichfield and Hodgson Pratt opposed the addition, the latter saying it was tantamount to an inter- ference with the freedom of the clubs. The Hon. and Ebveeend S. Best said, if the clubs were to fulfil the wishes of the founders, the people who used them must be trusted, and he thought it would be safe and much better to leave the Club Committees free and unfettered even by a recommendation. The amendment was carried by a small majority, and the resolution as amended adopted as indicating the Pohcy of the Union. 185 Mr. Solly was not, however, convinced, and still believed that working men did not want l)eer. OF SOLUY. , . . He IS to be found writing to a gentleman, who is interested m the beginning of a club in Leicester, m 1865, that " as a matter of fact, it is the working men them- selves, almost invariably, who desire this exclusion," and this leads him to " submit that they are the best judges whether it is expedient or not." (Why not then leave it to thorn to decide ?) He knows of one club (name not given) where beer was introduced, " but there was so little demand that it became sour before the cask was finished, and proved to be too expensive a luxury." He sets out many reasons in favour of exclusion, and " earnestly hopes that the Leicester people will take the same view." As will be seen, they did, and, as usual, the club failed, — till it changed its mind. " But in consequence of the failure of a number of clubs " (says an "Occasional Paixr" published in June, 1867) " especially in South Staffordshire, the want of more general support from working men in many other cases, the success of the clulj at Leicester, which had decided on allowing beer to be supplied, the urgent representations made by many respectable intelligent working men in London and elsewhere, and the strong convictions of many of the Council and Vice-Presidents of the Union, as to the impolicy of recommending tiie total exclusion of Malt Liquors, the Secretary took measures for investigating the subject." Conferences were held in London, Handsworth, Oldbury, Wolverhampton, Leicester, Wednesbury and other places, and the evidence and conclusion was all in the direction (1) that workmen did desire beer, (2) that the clubs could not hope to exist unless it was permitted, and (3) that, if permitted, it had no evil consequences. AU this, it may be imagined, was a considerable blow to Solly and those who held with him. The evidence at the Leicester Conference (at which Mr J. Aljbot, of Wigston, spoke) was especially conclusive of the wrongness N 186 of his earlier advice. He, admitting that these conferences revealed " facts strongly militating against his earlier views," concludes the report of his investigations in the following words (the italics are not in the original) : — " In conclusion, it is of the highest importance in deciding on this question to observe lohat has not generally been realised hy the earlier promoters of the movement, that there is a very large number of respect- able working men who desire to have a pint of beer after the day's work is done, as much as a lady desires an afternoon cup of tea ; the stimu- lating effect to the person drinking, where the beer is unadulterated, not being in general greater in the one case than the other. They wish for no more, but they will take no less. And if they cannot get it at their club they will go for it elsewhere. But they would gladly take it where there was no inducement or compulsion to exceed the quantity." And, speaking at a further Conference at the Society of Arts on June 9th, 1868 :— " He had taken a very decided view on the subject of the introduction of Beer. He had since modified this view He did not wish to see working men treated like children. There should be no inter- ference by persons outside." Prom 1868 onward, therefore, it seems to have been accepted that the matter of beer or other supply must be left to the members of the clubs, that the clubs thus left free would supply malt liquors, that no harm would be done, and much good might result. It is a volte face, — compelled by the application of facts to Prohibitionist theory. It, and the result of the ensuing years, might yet point a moral to those who still believe as Solly once did. But Prohibitionists are too surely anchored in their faith to be shaken by experience. There was doubtless a good deal of discussion of the decision arrived at. Lord Lichfield, who from the first had Iseen, with Lord Lyttelton, keen on allowing beer, at a public dinner organised in aid of the Union's funds on May 10th, 1866, at Exeter Hall, the Duke of Argyll, K.T., being in the chair, referred to the matter : " As to refreshments, for him- self personally the last thing he would do would be to exclude beer and other drinks from these clubs. If they tried to exclude them they would keep away from the clubs the very persons whom they wished to get there." Official Sanction. Earl Carnarvon, Lord Lichfield, 187 At the Annual Meeting on June 8th, 1868, the new attitude was expounded by tlie President for that year, the Earl of Carnarvon, who said : — " A question which had excited a good deal of feeling and discussion amongst clubs both in Loudon George Howell. ^^^ j-j^^ country, and one which had caused a division of opinion, was, how far it was prudent and wise to allow the introduction of Alcoholic Liquors. If the intro- duction of Beer and Spirits were to lead to excess, there was no friend of the institutions who would not deeply deplore it. On the other hand, if these institutions were really to be rivals of, and substitutes for, the Public House, then, he felt, the introduction of such articles of consumption, under prudent regulations, might be very wise. It was a matter to be determined entirely by the good sense of the working men, and their feelings of what was right and proper, by the Club Com- mittees, and by the public opinion amongst themselves which would repress any tendency to excess." Lord Lichfield again refers to the matter. " He would like to say a few words about the introduction of beer into clubs. He was one of those who from the first had felt that it was a question which must be decided by the Committees and members of the clubs. He believed that if Beer were allowed in clubs men would be drawn away from the Public House and led to associate with those who were able to set them a good example in the matter of moderate drinking, and in other matters, and he thought this would be a great good." Following tlie Earl and the Lord came that particularly robust and sturdy artisan, George Howell (Bricklayer — after- wards M.P.), whose speech indicated that the workman was becoming impatient under the misconception of himself, and that things were at tlie parting of tlie ways : — " He thought the future of the Clubs depended on the settlement of this matter one way or another. It was useless to question whether Beer was physiologically beneficial — the subject should be treated in a commonsense way. Working men ought not to be more restricted than those of the upper and middle classes. People who advocated the allow- ance of beer in the clubs had, like teetotallers, no other motive at heart than the good of the community. If they wished to compete with the Public-House they must take the same ground to some extent. A club was being formed in connection with the society of which he was Secretary, and the Committee intended to allow Beer and Spirits." 188 This may end the references to the Union's official attitude So far as the Clubs and their attitude tlie following extracts from the earlier Eeports will speak : — HODDLESDEN (Batablished 1864). — " Smoking is The Beer allowed and beer allowed, limited to one pint. So Pioneers ^^"^ ^^ ^^^ answered admirably."* Some LEICESTER (Established 1866). — "I send you (1870) copy of our Rules, by which you will see that Experiences. ^^^ ^^ j^qj. j-estrict any member as to quantity, nor had we any occasion to do so Mr. Hodgson Pratt recently visited Leicester, and made particular inquiriea as to the result of admitting beer to the club. Many men who had been intemperate became sober men as a result of membership. These men thus restored to temperate habits would never have joined the club at all if there had been a Rule excluding the supply of beer." Northampton WOBKING Men's (Established 1865).— "When first started we began the wrong way, allowing only coffee, tea, and ginger beer, and young lads used to be the principal members, and men won't associate with boys. Since we have altered our Rules and allowed the Beer, etc., we have what may be called the cream of the working men." (1873.) St. James and SOHO. — "Until working men get all they want at their club they will not go there, instead of to the public-house — only a few youths and teetotallers would attend. This club, before occupying its present premises,, had been for two or three years conducted on teetotal principles. During that time it had never been truly a club, and had not attracted a large number of members. Since January (1868), when we opened in our new premises in Rupert Street, beer and spirits have been supplied, and the average membership has been 550. But a comparatively small quantity of drink had been supplied. If the same number of people bad been to the public-house, they would have consumed ten times the quantity." BATLEY WORKING MEN'S.— " Since we introduced beer (1876) into our club we have made wonderful progress, both in finance and numbers. We have nothing to regret, but everything to rejoice for. Of course, all extreme teetotallers have left, but we have a few reason- able temperance men left with us j'et. We claim to be the real temperance refox'mers, because, unlike the extremists, we lay hold of the masses of the people." The above are typical of scores of others, and indicate that the clubs generally were availing themselves of the withdrawal of the proliibition. * So admirably that in 1894 it had completely emptied the village pub. The landlord refnsed to pay rent unless the Lady o{ the Manor closed the club. (See Rauken v. Hunt, Queen's Bench, 1891.) A SMALL BEGINNING. PALLION WORKING MEN'S— SUNDERLAND. A LANCASHIRE FRIENDLY SOCIETY CLUB. A TYNESIDE CLUB— LEMINGTON. 189 The following extracts from speeches made in Final Words. 1868 and 1869 may fitly close the narrative of the revision of the aims and the conversion of the Founders of the Union : — Mr. HODGSON Peatt (1868) : " Aa to the nse of beer, he had belonged to a West End club for years, and had never seen or heard of excess. Men of the highest position, who had the respect and confi- dence of the nation at large, were in the habit of drinking that beer or wine which some said could not be taken without the worst conse- quences. We must not have one law for the rich and one for the poor in this matter. He would be ashamed to take it for granted that no artisans could be trusted to take beer or spirits in moderation. He believed that the substitution of clubs for public-houses (which could only be done by allowing beer in the clubs) would make the nation temperate. Which was the best — to have that result without teeto- talism or have the present vast amount of drunkenness and a compara- tively small body of teetotallers ? " Rev. Hbnby Solly (1869) : "He feared that if we attempted to shut up public houses without providing substitutes for them, not much progress would be made. We wanted to say to working men : ' We offer you the clubs instead,' but did not see how this could be done unless the moderate consumption of beer in the clubs was allowed. He had been rather condemned by teetotal friends for making this concession ; but he now felt convinced that these clubs would never be efficient substitutes for public houses unless the members could get what refreshment they desired." Eollowing this change of policy, some 25 per cent, of the clubs which responded to the Union's requests for particulars, supplied beer in 1874, rising to 41 per cent, in 1878, and to 79 per cent, in 1883, after which no record was kept till recent years. In 1911, 96 per cent, supplied intoxicants. These 1,390 Clubs supplied during the year alcoholic refreshments to members at a total cost of £1,160,000,* or at the rate of one shilling of expenditure per member weekly. This means a yearly * The total yield ol the Club Tax of dd. in the £ on all purchases by 7,600 Clnbg (of all Itinds) of intoxicating liquor for 1911-1913 was £50,000, half of what wag estimated when the tax was imposed, representing a consumption of about ^3,500,000 worth of intoxicants, out of a total exiDcnditure throughoiit the United Kingdom of £160,000,000. 190 average of £2 12s. per member, which expenditure includes purchases for his guests or his wife, and in many clubs beer obtained for home consumption. Mr. G. B. Wilson, the Secretary of the United Kingdom Alliance, estimates that the average expenditure for every man, woman, and child, including of course teetotallers, in the United Kingdom is £3 12s. The claim of the Union, as suggested in the opening of this Chapter, is that its founders Clubs and _ by trusting to the character of the work- Drunkenness. man, did more for temperance than if they had unwisely and obstinately insisted upon Prohibition. That such a claim is true all who are personally familiar with workmen's clubs will know. Fortunately the annual volume of Licensing Statistics enables this to be demonstrated. If workmen's clubs have this influence, then their establishment in any appreciable numbers should tend to raise the level of national sobriety. It does. The County of Durham, because it is small, compact, and with conditions generally applicable to the residents therein, and because of the abnormal growth of workmen's clubs in recent years within its borders, forms an excellent object-lesson in demonstration of this claim. In this County twelve years ago the Union had no clubs. To-day it has 150. Here is a piece of virgin soil in which can be directly traced the influence brought about by the planting of clubs in nearly every mining village. The Licensing Statistics only go back to 1905, and the volume for 1911 is not yet published, so that only the figures for these five years can be shown. In that period there has been an increase of 43 clubs and a decrease of 278 Licences. There has been a decrease of no less than 2,098 in the annual convictions for drunkenness ! The percentages of convictions can, however, be shown for a longer period. The volume of Statistics for 1905 gave a table showing the average convictions for drunkenness in 191 quinquennial periods since 1894 ; and what leaps towards temperance the County of Durham has made can be seen : — Period Convictions for drnnkenness per 1U,000 of the population. 1890-1894 135-10 1894-1898 126-00 1900-1904 115-00 1906 106-32 1907 101-59 1908 93-79 1909 80-49 1910 (as based on 1901 Census) 67-89 1910 (actual figures 1911 Census) 52-30 These remarkable figures mean that thousands of men in this County have been weaned from and trained out of the habit of di-unkenness. They mean that, whilst of every 10,000 of the population there has been a decrease throughout all England and Wales since 1898 of 14 convictions, in Durham there has been a decrease of 83. Councillor Eichardson, John Bland, and their colleagues in the Durham Branch can with truth declare that the mission and the work of the Union, of which they are valiant officers, in Durham County has clone more to destroy drunkenness and promote temperance than any other agency yet brouglit to bear upon pitmen. It is not only in the districts where the growth \A/ 14 P D P of its clubs is new that the theory and claim of WORKMEN'S _ the Union holds good. In the old established Clubs Old ° Established °"^^^'-' towns, the towns which have had the benefit of working men's clubs long and numerously established, the result is seen in that they are the highest up in the list for temperance. Where clubs have been longest and are most numerous, where the members form a large part of the population, there drunkenness has been reduced to a minimum and proceeds almost to extinction. In a town like Swindon, for instance (a town of 50,000 population, with a working men's club membership of 6,000), the complaint of the Magisterial Bench is that the greater part of the persons charged are tramps and other such 192 strangers to the town. Including these and the habitual drunkards, the convictions in Swindon in 1910 were but 51 (43 men and eight women). Of these 18 liad been previously convicted, leaving only 28 males and &ve females convicted for the lirst time. If in parallel columns the figures for ten club towns and ten tovTns where the Union is not acquainted with a single work- man's club (except in Hull, where a small Socialist Club was established, and joined the Union in October, 1908) are shown it AviU illustrate the contention. Here again the percentage is based upon the 1901 figures, and not on the Census for 1911. WHITE LIST. BLACK LIST. Convictions No working men's Convictions "Club "Towns. per 10,000 of clubs Imown to tlie per 10,000 of population. Union. population. Wolverhampton 9'63 Tynemouth 159'28 Leicester 10-99 Birkenhead 1.51-9'2 Swindon ll'l Liverpool 126'84 Northampton 14-02 Middlesbrough 105-59 Huddersfieia 17-00 Salford 91-44 Halifax 17-90 Merthyr Tydvil 88-40 Burnley 20-01 Hull 76-25 Coventry 20-26 Warrington 75-45 Bradford 25-69 Swansea 66-28 York 31-42 Chester 65-76 It should be mentioned that though the average figure for all England and Wales is 49'80, the average for industrial centres is naturally higher than in agricultural or purely residential districts, and the average convictions per 10,000 in County Boroughs is 66'23. These few figures, which might be amplified by references to every county and town, sufficiently make good the case for the workmen's clubs in their claim to be a powerful tem- perance agency. They are pubhshed at a time when the laggard Licensing Statistics for 1911 have not yet made appearance. It is, however, certain that these will afford still fm-ther and more emphatic evidence of the rightness of the claim and of the valuable and beneficent influence of these clubs in any district in which they take root. CHAPTEE XI. The Clubs and Legislation. Cynics, and even others, may note that, whilst clubs were by no means uncommon in England, that many hundreds, indeed, maintained a flourishing, and many a shady, existence long before the Union began : it was not until Workmen's Clubs came into existence that politicians and publicists called for their control or regulation by legislation, although roving eyes of Exchequer Chancellors had glanced their way. The explanation, at least of earliest efforts, is simple enough. The demand sprang — as it still has its principal fount and maintenance — from two sources, widely apart, but both directed to the worliing class as the object of their ministrations. The middle and upper classes have been spared the constant fusillade of Teetotal Propaganda — by word, in pamphlet and on platform, and by deed in Parliamentary effort — either because they were felt to be above tlie necessity of this emphatic form of influence, or tliat such was powerless to affect them. The Publican (for it is an alliance of Publican and Teetotaller which inspired, and still inspires,* most efforts at Club Legislation), whilst he in some measure caters for the Middle Class, relies not overmuch upon it for his liveliliood, and has long been reconciled to the right of citizens, upon that social plane, or above it, to have their clubs. But when the Workmen, upon whose unregulated yet regular drinking propensities the whole prosperity of " The * " I thiuk both partieR. the Teetotal Party and the Licensed Trade, should meet and agree upon a Bill which will deal effectively with clubs." — Mr. Samuel Roberts, M.P. ffor the Publicans), in House of Commons, Friday. May 3rd, 194 Trade " was built, took heed of the counsels of the Union, and felt the spirit of the age impel them to combine in clubs, in which consumption of intoxicants was not an indispensable title to admission (as in a Public House), and in which such intoxicants, if and when consumed, did not contribute to the private profit upon which Boniface had hitherto maintained such respectable state — then a desire for the well-being of the community (curiously synchronised with personal interest) impelled the powerful influence of the Publican towards a demand for interference by the State with these distressingly numerous institutions. The emotions which moved the Publican were not identical with those which determined the greater number of " Temperance " reformers to set themselves against the clubs. These may, perhaps, be correctly stated to have found in a belief that nothing can possibly be good which is associated, in any form or degree, with alcohol" sufficient justification for a hostihty which has been as sustained as uninformed and unreasoned. Moving from each side of the House of Commons, the two great influences proceeded towards the suppression of the workmen's clubs. In 1863, Mr. Gladstone, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, had introduced in his Budget a proposal that clubs should pay the same Licence Duties as Hotels, but he remarked in referring to these, " effective provision will be made to prevent any annoying accompaniment, such as inter- ference at the discretion of a magistrate or liability to the visitation of the Police."* The propiosals for taxation were, however, withdrawn, owing, it was said, to the opposition of the West End clubs of London. In 1880 a deputation of Licensed Victuallers waited upon Mr. Gladstone (who was still Chancellor) and urged the * Speech in House of Commons, April IBtli, 1863. 195 taxation of clubs, alluding in extravagant terms " to the large numbers of workmen's clubs now arising." But the Union was now in existence, and Mr. Gladstone (who had been a subscriber) (page 20) consulted it, as he informed the Publicans he would. Mr. Hodgson Pratt drafted a reply, of which, like other documents of value, no copy remains, and Mr. Gladstone decided against the suggestion. He resisted an amendment by a Mr. Gourlay imposing the same licence duties on clubs as on Public-Houses, but in doing so " fully admitted hat it was a matter requiring consideration." Meanwhile, the friends of the workmen's clubs in Parliament were not idle, and in the Societies Act, Friendly Societies Bill of 1875, which codified 1875. ■^ and extended the facilities for the registration of, and conferred such boons upon, Friendly Societies, an addition was moved by Mr. J. E. HoUond, M.P., and accepted by the House, enabling, amongst other bodies. Working Men's Clubs, which were defined as " institutions for social inter- course, mental and moral improvement, and rational recrea- tion," to come within its provisions. The Bill became law with this addition, which has proved of incalculable advantage in assisting the correct government of the clubs which have taken advantage of the privileges it confers. Thus the first interference of the Legislature was beneficent. Apart from those pm'ely fiscal, the honour or dishonour of leading in proposals for club control by legislation lies with the Commis- COMMISSIONERS. r ., • ■ j- P "D i m, sioners of the rismg town ot Burnley. Ihe 1883. Commissioners, in seeking additional powers for Municipal Control, included in their Bill of 1883, proposals giving them right of entry into clubs and other powers to which the Union took strong objection. This was voiced in the House of Commons by Henry Broadliurst and Thomas Bmt, and the proposals were withdrawn. 196 For some occult reason the Treasury objected to political obiects being stated in any club AND Friendly , _, . . rules registered under the Eriendly Societies Societies Act. ° 1884 ^°^' ^^^ ^^^' 1^60^8'^''^^ Coui'tney, M.P., writing to the Eegistrar, is very strong, but very vague, about it. It would appear that Ireland and Ireland's affairs somehow affected the matter. It is an interesting reminiscence, in a year which has witnessed a Home Rule for Ireland BiU carried by over 100 votes, that so insistent was this problem that it has prevented for nearly 40 years any club registered under the Friendly Societies Act from stating political objects in its rules. No efforts of the Union availing to shake the Treasury from its determined stand, a BiU. was promoted by the Union to amend the Friendly Societies Act. This Mr. J. E. HoUond, M.P., took charge of for two or three sessions, when its failure to get forward apparently led to its abandonment. The next Bill was one frankly promoted by an alliance of the Licensed Trade, Mr. Gent 1888. Davis, M.P., for same, and the organised leetotaUers, represented by Mr. W. S. Caine, M.P. It was presented to the House in May, 1888. A Conference was called by the Union in tire Memorial Hall, Farringdon Stieet, London, at which the proposals were mercilessly criticised, Mr. W. E. Cremer, M.P., taking part. But the Bill was already dead, and was shortly witlidrawn. Its chief title to fame is as the first effort of the new Holy Alliance (Publican and Teetotaller), thenceforth to forget (at times) ancient feuds, and unite in brotherly action for the suppression of the Clubs. The imminent deadly fear of further attack Propose d led the Executive of the Union to consider Union Bills, whether it would not be wise to anticipate 1886 AND 1889. this by promoting a Bill drafted by and for the clubs themselves. Such a one was submitted to a conference called in 1886, but before its preamble could be HATCHAM LIBERAL CLUB, DEPTFORD, S.E. PANGBOURNE CLUB HOUSE. ENGINEERS' CLUB— GILLINGHAM, 197 debated the meeting decided against tlie Policy involved. The threats, however, continuing constant, the Legal and Parlia- mentary Committee in 1889 brought forward another Bill proposing that all clubs should Eegister with the County Council. But tlie Union Council rejected the proposal, holding that is was not the Union's business to promote Legislation. Seager Hunt, 1889. The next effort was a Bill introduced by Mr. Seager Hunt, M.P., the gin distiller, which sought to compel all clubs to Eegister and to render illegal all proprietary clubs, as they already were, though few M.P.'s seemed to be aware of that simple fact in law. Beyond its introduction nothing further is heard of this measure. A reference was made to clubs in a Parish A Cobb Nut. Council's Bill introduced by a well-known Liberal M.P., Mr. Cobb, Section 43 of which provided that a Parish Council might close all houses and premises, including clubs where intoxicants were supplied, on Sundays, Christmas Day, Good Friday, and any election day. The Bill got no farther than Mr. Seager Hunt's, Lord Randolph Churchill, 1891. In 1891, Lord Eandolph Churchill was induced to introduce a Bill which pro- vided for tlie Eegistration of Clubs with the County Council, the prohibition of the supply of intoxicants for consumption away from the club premises, and for Taxation based upon Annual Value on the following scale : — £10 and under £25 at the rate of 2s. in the £. £25 „ £50 „ „ 2s. 6d. £50 £100 £250 £500 £100 £250 £500 £1,000 £1,000 and upwards 3s. 3s. 6d. 4s. 5s. 6s. 198 The Bill had the merit of taxing the wealthier clubs at a higher rate than the poor, and the scale above, and its method, may be compared with the latest proposals in this direction introduced to the House of Commons on behalf of the Licensed Trade (London dissenting) by Mr. Samuel Eoberts, M.P. (page 222), remembering that in the interval the Club Tax has come into being. The Bill, however, failed to secure a second reading, and was heard of no more. During the years which intervened before the Many Other , „ proposals of the Home Secretary (Mr. Proposals, Eitchie), on behalf of the Conservative 1892-1895. Government, were introduced in 1901, the reformers, critics, and opponents of clubs were not idle. Not a single Session of Parliament assembled but found proposals before it. A Manchester Licensing Eeform Committee in 1892 propounded a Bill compelling registration with the Licensing Justices, taxation at 5 per cent, on the receipts from the consumption of intoxicants therein (compare with Mr. Lloyd George's 2j x^er cent, on purchases, in 1909), and providing penalties and refusal of renewal of registration if it were used for drinking purposes only, or there was drunkenness on the club premises. This Bill was introduced by Sir H. Eoscoe, M.P., Jacob Bright, M.P., C. S. EoundeU, M.P., and others. In an amended form it was reintroduced in 1894 and 1895, but never secured a second reading. There was, too, the United Temperance Bill of 1894, which modestly proposed a Licensing Fee calculated at 10 per cent, on the receipts for intoxicants ! Mr. Leonard Courtney (now Lord Courtney of Penwith) provided, in a Bill introduced in 1895, for registration on similar lines to Sir Henry Eoscoe's Bill. But he added that every member should pay an entrance fee of £1 ! (He was a Eadical.) The licensing fee was to be fixed by a popularly elected board, and there were penalties for di-unkenness. 199 Facilities were i:)rovicTed for anyone fco be heard in opposition to the annual registration of the club, and the supply for consumption " off " was prohibited. Mr. (now Sir) Herbert Eoberts (son-in-law to the arch enemy of the period, Mr. W. S. Caine, M.P.) had a Bill for Wales. It proposed that any body of more than ten persons associating themselves only for the supply of intoxicants should be liable to a fine of £5 each, or, in default of payment, imprisonment for three months. All these Bills received the watchful care Captain Grice- , ,, tt • t i- n 01 the Union, and, exceptmg one, ail came Hutchinson, , to naught. The exception was that mtro- 1893. duced by Captain Grice-Hutchinson and Mr. Newdegate, which, with a qualified blessing from the Government (Mr. Asquith, Home Secretary), secured a second reading on March 22, 1893 (Mr. E. H. Pickersgill, opposing), and was referred to a Select Committee. Before this Committee Mr. W. Minet and Mr. J. J. Dent (who had recently given up the Secretaryship of the Union) gave evidence. The sittings of this Committee were very hurried, and several witnesses offered by the Union were not heard. But quite a flock of spies and detectives hired by the publicans to obtain evidence, calculated to make a Parliamentary Committee's flesh creep, were heard. The statements of many of these were examined and confuted, in writing, to the Committee, by Mr. B. T. Hall, just appointed to the Secretaryship of tlie Union. The statements, without their correction, however, duly appeared in the Committee's report. The Bill as amended was reported to the House. It provided for registration, prohibited consumption off, and allowed entry by Eevenue Officers. A conference at which 348 delegates from clubs from all parts of England and Wales attended was held in the Union Hall on 30th August to hear a paper by Mr. Minet, which mercilessly criticised tlie faulty construction and unjust proposals of the BiH. 200 The Conference was keen and unanimous. But eight days before the meeting assembled, the Bill had passed away. In view of the most recent of proposals (that of Sir Alfred Gelder, page 223), and its present position in the House of Commons, it may be of interest to those who note historic or political parallels to recall the card sent out by its parents announcing the demise. It is written from the House of Commons on August 21st, 1893, by Captain G. W. Grice-Hutohinson : — " I have been, I regret to say, officially informed that the Government, in view of the contentious character of the Registration of Clubs Bill, cannot support its further progress during the present Session. I am sorry that such a measure, the principle of which was cordially welcomed by both Licensed Victuallers and the Temperance Party, should have to be withdrawn. The Bill, as amended in Select Committee, would have gone far to stamp out the bogus club, and could not have done the slightest harm to the bona-fide club. But, I suppose, so long as the Home Bide Bill occiqjies the attention of the House, there will not be the slightest chance of any really necessary reform being carried into law. The italics are, of com'se, not in the original. They recall the unity of sentiment between the Temperance " Party and the Publicans, and they renew the profession that it is only bogus clubs which are aimed at. The reference to the Home Eule Bill makes a note, written 19 years ago, peculiarly topical and prophetic, in 1912. A Bill for the Eegistration of Clubs outside "■ ' of the County of London was introduced in the House of Commons at the end of 1896, by Mr. Newdegate, Sir Mark Stewart, and others. It proposed to set up a Eegistration Authority in each County composed of Councillors and J.P.'s. Among other proposals was one to render membership of a club illegal under the age of 18 years. There was no chance of this Bill being discussed, and no action was taken by the Union. 201 Answering a question early in the 1895 The Royal „ • , , , , ^. bession as to whetner the Government Commission -, l , i ,•■ i proposed to take any action m the matter of ON THE , , Legislation for clubs, Mr. C. T. Eitchie, Home Licensing Laws. Secretary, replied that ' the question was a difficult one, and needed dealing with, and the Government would be glad if, without unduly interfering with legitimate clubs, they could deal with it." Towardsthe end of the same year it was announced that there would be appointed a Eoyal Com- mission which would inquire into and report upon the Licensing Laws. The Commission was composed of representatives of every interest. Brewers, Distillers, Gilbeys, Publicans, Teetotal Fanatics, Moderate Teetotallers, Temperance men — all had a representative. These were to be balanced by the addition of seven others of no particular views or interest. And so a fairly competent Commission was got together, with Lord Peel as Chairman and Sir Algernon West as Vice-Chairman. But in June, 1896, it was decided that the Commission should include Clubs in the scope of its inquiries. Immediately the Union claimed representation. Nearly two-thirds of the Commission, it pointed out, were members of the alliance between "The Trade" and Teetotallers, which had been so continuously operative against clubs. Its protest stirred Members of Parliament considerably. It was the beginning of an acquaintance with the clubs as an influence in politics. The new Secretary was at work. It was agreed on all hands that the clubs had a substantial grievance, but it was too late to appoint other representatives. This decision was communicated by Mr. Arthur Balfour in the following friendly terms : — "Mr. B. T. Hall. "September 21st, 1896. " Dear Sir, — I have been oommunioating with Mr. Sidney Peel, the Secretary of the Licensing Commission, on the subject of your letter of September 1st. It is for this reason that some delay has occurred in sending you a reply. "I fully understand, and sympathise with, the interest taken by your Executive in the proceedings of the Commission, which will undoubtedly 202 have to consider questions affecting all places where sales of intoxicating liquor take place. While, however, there are very grave objections to adding to the numbers of the Commission after substantial progress has been made with the inquiry, I do not think that the interests, either of the clubs belonging to your association or of the much larger number of political and other clubs throughout the country, will be in any way injured by leaving the constitution of the Commission unaltered. Many members of the Commission are much interested in the successful management of workmen's clubs, and have taken part in their establish- ment. Their great value is recognised on all hands, and the most anxious desire to do them justice animates, I have reason to know, both the Chairman of the Commission and all its members. "It would be of the utmost importance, no doubt, that the Com- mission should have the opportunity of examining such evidence as your Executive can place at their disposal ; and I am confident that to this the fullest and fairest consideration will be given. In this way the interest of the clubs will be far more effectually served than by the mere presence on the Commission of a single gentleman, appointed for the sole purpose of representing these institutions. "I remain, yours faithfully, "Abthue James Balfour." The Clubs were, therefore, to be tried by a jury two-thirds of whom were hostile, and they were to have no single representative on the Panel. If it did nothing else, the agitation had prepared the public for, and discounted, a possible hostile verdict. It would be a fitting place here to indicate the attitude taken up by the Union Executive Attitude then and now with regard to Legislation. TO Legislation. ° ° Then there was undoubtedly a large bulk of club opinion against any legislation on the subject. There is still some of this feeling remnant, chiefly in those clubs where the sturdy Eadical Individualist distrust of all Governments has not been submerged by the change in public opinion which made Sir William Harcourt declare that " we are aU Socialists now." The Executive accepted the proposition that the well-being of the community must prevail over all private or corporate interests. It admitted that there were in existence, principally in the West and East Ends of London, a large number of 203 "bogus" clubs, i.e., institutions brought into existence by individuals for private gain, wherein for such gain the worst instincts and weaknesses of the members, whether rich or poor, were deliberately cultivated and catered for. It sub- mitted, however, that these excrescences violated the Law as it was, and that the Police and Eevenue Authorities had sufficient power to suppress them. It, nevertheless, recognised that Bogus clubs brought discredit upon the whole, and so was ready to assist in facilitating distinction between good and bad clubs and in setting up some definite standard by which the test could be applied, as the Union itself applied to clubs which sought to enter into membership. That was its attitude in 1896. It is its attitude now. The case against the' clubs was presented principally by Teetotallers and Police Against the _, ^ , ,. „ Supermtendents. The Publicans formed Clubs. a Committee to collect evidence of the Clubs' shortcomings and wrongdoings, and this Committee made an appeal in the Press for assistance, pointing out that it was difficult to find out facts, or even the names and addresses of clubs. The difficulty as to the facts had not prevented in the preceding years a constant flow of criticism and allegations — " the dreary drip of defamatory declaration " at Banquets and in the Press. But to speak at a dinner was one thing, to give evidence was another. Hence the Committee's difficulty. Mr. B. T. Hall handsomely offered his assistance. " I enclose," he wrote, " a list of the names and addresses of over 500 clubs, into whose conduct you may enquire, and I will be glad to assist your inquiry in anyway." He saw Mr. Charles Walker, the Publican member of the Commission, and offered his aid again. It is to be hoped that they were all duly grateful. Their subsequent proceedings were wrapt in mystery. The quest seems to have produced httle, for it was announced that the " Trade " had decided to give no evidence whatever about clubs, presumably for the reason 204 which satisfied Queen Elizabeth about the failure of the Mayor to ring the bells of Taunton on her approach. The principal Police evidence against the clubs was given by the Chief Constables of Manchester and of Leeds. The first attributed all drunkenness after hours in Manchester to the clubs. Asked as to night houses and brothels, he replied that there were none to his knowledge in Manchester ! Subsequently light was thrown on the attitude of the Police in this town by the disclosure that at the time of this remarkable evidence were there not only brothels in Manchester, but that the principal of these were owned and run by the leading members of the Detective service, whilst all the Breweries paid a subsidy on a fixed scale to every Police officer from Inspector to Private. Swiftly, too, fell the sequel to the evidence of the Chief Constable of Leeds, he retiring in dishonour from his post, after threats of proceedings by the clubs. There was a lesser light. Superintendent CoUett, of Swindon, who, says the Commission Eeport, " drew a very bad picture of the clubs of Swindon. Eighteen out of twenty, he says, were badly conducted and produced a deal of drunkenness Mr. CoUett's evidence is probably rather highly coloured. Mr. Hall shows that he did not mention these things in his annual reports, and controverted other of his statements."* Apart from evidence of this character and of the undoubted existence of what the Commission described as " abominable * Extract from Club Journal report : — " I cannot do better," said Mr. Hall, referring to this, " than give you tile figures for the seven years to which ex-Superintendent OoUett refers. The proceedings taken against persons for drunkenness are as follow ; — 1890 1891 1893 61 100 1893 97 1894 86 1895 61 60 49 Thus taking no account of the increase in the population, the amount of drunkenness, already very low, has, since the hulk of the clubs came into existence, decreased viore than 50 per csnt." "But what are you quoting from?" asked Sir Algernon West. "From Superintendent CoUett's own reports to the justices," said Mr. Hall quietly, and there were none who felt that this was not sufficient. "Mark how plain a tale shall set him down." "Poor Mr. CoUettl " 205 dens kept by foreigners " in the West End of London, the evidence against clubs was of a fragmentary character, con- sisting principally of isolated instances of clubs alleged to have been misconducted. The London Police Magistrates spoke strongly in favour of workmen's clubs. The case for the clubs " was presented by Mr. B. T. Hall, the Secretary of the Working THE Clubs. ,,,„,, ._,.,,__. , Men s Olub and institute Union, who gave his evidence with remarkable lucidity and ability " (to quote the Eeport), and by Mr. Hugh Bryan, of the Association of Conservative Clubs, and Mr. John May, of the Yorkshire Federation of Liberal Clubs. Mr. Hall was under examination for several hours, and, on his rising at the conclusion, Sir Algernon West (then Chairman) spoke in a very encouraging and kindly way of the good work of the clubs, amidst a chorus of endorse- ment from the Commissioners present. It was generally felt that the attack had failed, and the defence had been invulner- able. The Eeport was awaited with easy confidence. Whilst referring to the evidence given on behalf of the Union by its Secretary, the following summary of the suggestions for legislation (if legislation were considered necessary) made by the Union are worthy of being set out : — Suggestions as to Club Registration. Made to the Licensing Commission by Mr. B. T. Hall on behalf of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union in 1897. 1. That all Clubs should be registered by an authority constituted for the purpose, which shall, if the rules, etc., conform to the regulations it may make, register the Club. 2. That all rules should provide (a) the method of election of Members, and that a minimum of at least seven days shall elapse between nomination and election ; (6) Under what circumstances membership lapses ; (c) The hours of closing and opening ; {d) The keeping at the Club of a list of the Members' names and addresses ; {e) The method of election of Committee or governing body ; (/) Provision for the complete control of the Club by its Members equally ; (g) Provision that rules may only be altered by a general meeting of members ; (h) Provision for the regular meeting of the Committee or governing body. 206 3. That each application for registration should be accompanied by sufficient sets of such rules as to enable one copy to be kept for the inspection of the public at the ofBces of the registering authority. 4. That all applications for registry be upon a form supplied by the registering authority, which shall provide for a sworn declaration by the applicants of the names of the responsible officers of the Club, and that no person whatsoever is financially interested, directly or indirectly, in the supply of exciseables. 5. That each Club shall make an annual return of its income and expenditure (from and for all sources) upon a form provided and duly audited and vouched. 6. That no visitors be permitted to enter a Club during hours when Licensed premises are closed. 7. That it be an offence for any visitor to purchase or attempt to purchase any drink in a Club. 8. That evidence of breach of rules should be evidence of mala-fides. 9. That all penalties should, on the second occasion of complaint, be drastic. 10. That an officer of the registering authority should have power (on reasonable suspicion as to the hona-fides of any Club) to attend such Club and inspect all or any of its books. 11. That no police officer be empowered to enter any such registered Club (save as a member) without the warrant of a magistrate. The Commission split over its Eeport, and HE EPORT consequently there was a Majority and a Minority Eeport, the latter being representa- COMMISSION. , , m -mi tive more of the Temperance section, ine parts of the Eeport quoted on pp. 207-8-9 are from the Minority Eeport. But they formed part of the Eeport which had been agreed to by the whole of the Commission before the split occurred. The Eeport was received with pleasure in the clubs. " It is impossible," says the Secretary of the Union in a preface to an issue of the Eeport, ' not to feel gratification with the tone of the references both to the Union and the workmen's clubs generally. . . . Clubs have been on their trial before a jury not predisposed to be friendly, and have had brought against them all the criticism which wealth and fanatical zeal could bring, and clubmen must judge whether the result is satisfactory — whether or no it supplies 207 one answer to the query ' What's the good of the Union ? ' " The following are some of the references : — The subject of the sale of intoxicating liquors in clubs has been much pressed upon our attention from various quarters. Temperance reformers fear that the good effect of legislative restrictions will be nullified, if the sale of liquor in clubs is allowed to flourish unchecked. Publicans are nervous lest customers should be diverted. Police officers and many others are astonished at a new development, which has not been thoroughly understood. We have also received the most valuable evidence from representatives of the clubs, notably from Mr. B. T. Hall, Secretary of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, who are most anxious to promote any legislation that will check bogus and disorderly clubs, while establishing the position of the genuine. NUMBBB AND DISTRIBUTION OF CLUBS. With a view of obtaining some information about the number of clubs now existing and their condition, we addressed circulars of inquiry to all the police districts in the United Kingdom. The Eeturn, though probably incorrect in some of its particulars, is on the whole a reliable one for that period (1896). It appears that the total number of clubs in which intoxicants were sold was 3,990 ; of this number 660 were in London, 1,583 in English counties, 1,291 in English boroughs having a separate police force, 122 in Wales, 157 in Scotland, and 178 in Ireland. Among English and Welsh counties, Yorkshire with 812 and Lancashire with 383 head the list. Cheshire has 89, Hants 67, Stafford- shire 60, Warwickshire 51, Glamorganshire 45. Among the boroughs, the figures being in addition to the county figures : — Manchester 85, Huddersfield 89, Bradford 81, Stockport 84, Oldham 69, Halifax 81, Leeds 61, Salford 30, Liverpool 49, Cardiff 29, Shefaeld 41, are the largest contributors. Dublin has 51. Three hundred and thirteen out of the total number are returned as proprietary clubs, but this cannot represent the real number. As regards subscriptions 1,098 have an annual subscription of £1 and over, 1,158 from 53. to £1, 1,405 from 2s. to 5s., and 329 23. and under. Bather more than one-half of the clubs open on Sunday, but in Wales the proportion is larger, 98 out of 122 ; and also in Ireland, 161 out of 178. On week-days 1,582 are open after 11 p.m., or in London after 12-30 a.m. The hours given may not always be adhered to, but they show conclusively that the greater part o£ the clubs are not formed with the view of evading the licensing laws, to say nothing of the rest. 208 Causes of the Increase. It is contended by some people that the club movement is largely due to a desire to evade the restrictions of the licensing law, and that any further restrictions would lead to an outburst of drinking clubs. Whatever may be the truth about the future, such an explanation is wholly inadequate on the figures supplied to us. It doubtless had something to do with the outburst of clubs in Cardiff after 1882, but even in 1896 Cardiff clubs numbered only 29, and since then about half of those remaining have been closed. The real truth is that the extension of the franchise, the spread of education, and a general improvement of conditions among the working classes have had a great effect in promoting clubs. Besides these, political influences have been at work. Mr. Bryan, secretary of the Association of Conservative Clubs, told us that the Association contained 587 clubs, of which about three-fourths sell intoxicants. He strenuously denies, as does Mr. Hall, that the activity of the club movement is due to desire for drink. "The main object of our clubs is good fellowship and education, concerts, lectures, and that sort of thing. I do not think the main object is drink in the least." The figures show that the club movement has not as yet attained any very great dimensions. Four thousand clubs selling intoxicants is not a very large total. No doubt, a certain class of club is, as we shall see, a very great evil, and should be put down with a strong hand, but these are comparatively few, and have attracted attention out of proportion to their numbers. After describing the Union, its constitution, and procedure at some length, the Eeport concludes : — By an arrangement with the Inland Kevenue a system of affiliation it permitted, by which a card can be issued to a member of one of the clubs, giving him honorary membership of all the other clubs in the Union. This privilege is carefully guarded, and precautions are taken to insure identification. We have described the rules of the Union at some length because they are a good indication of the lines on which legislation will be gladly welcomed by the better class of working men's clubs. Mr. B. T. Hall, Secretary of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, who gave his evidence with remarkable lucidity and ability, spoke very strongly of the many social and educational advantages which arose from properly conducted working men's clubs. The clubs felt very strongly the evils of bogus clubs, and desired to put them down. It would be hypocrisy to say that drunkenness did not exist in their clubs, but it was rare and always discouraged. The average expenditure on exciseables per member per week was about Is., including tobacco and mineral waters ; food was seldom supplied, because the men were not there at meal times. The Union would pledge themselves to the statement that where bona-ftde working men's clubs existed, drunkenness declined both statistically and really. 209 We fully agree with all that has been said by Mr. Hall and others as to the benefits to be derived from properly constituted and well-conducted clubs. We believe that such clubs can and will do much to meet the needs awakened among the working classes by education and general improvement of conditions for some better means of social intercourse and recreation than those provided by the public-house. Happily the days are passing when the public-house can be complacently described as the poor man's club. But there is, unquestionably, need for legisla- tion to assist the movement and check accompanying abuses. It is unhappily true that too many working men's clubs are cast naturally in the mould of the public-house, and old associations are not easily discarded. Too many clubs depend too much for their existence on the profits from the sale of intoxicants. But, even at the worst a club is more capable of improvement than the public-house, for a club, unless ostensibly formed for drinking purposes (in which case it should be summarily suppressed), has better objects in view, which sooner or later a public opinion will spring up and enforce. Under proper regulation great things may be hoped for from the club movement. HOURS OF Closing in Clubs. Other proposals are that clubs shall be subjected to the same hours of closing as licensed houses. We regard such restrictions as impracticable. Apart from the special difficulties arising in the case of clubs frequented by journalists, printers, waiters, and the like, whose duties may keep them up at night, there are obvious objections. Mr. Hall, when ashed on what principle of public order he would justify the fact that all clubs might be open all night, and yet that the public-house should be closed at 11 or 12 o'clock, replied, " Because a publican is a public trader, and a club is not. It is a private institution bound by its own conditions. It assimilates to a (private) house." NECESSARY Outlines op Legislation. Any legislation applying to clubs must be general in its application to all clubs alike. Its object must be to render the birth and continued existence of bogus clubs impossible, and to check disorder in badly- conducted but legally-constituted clubs, without putting any difficulties in the way of the formation and carrying on of genuine and well- conducted clubs. Mr. Hall toell laid down tlie limits of public interference in clubs : " If the restrictions and regulations were such as to make the public character supersede the private character of the club, it could not exist as a club, it would be intolerable." POLICE Entry. "We are of opinion that the present powers of entry by warrant possessed by the Police will be amply sufficient when supported by a proper system of registration." 210 The Minority Eeport, from which the preced- LEGISLATION , , ,. , , ., .11,, mg quotations are taken, after saymg tbe Proposed, . , , . , most practical suggestions we have received Minority: .,^,^111 came from the Working Men s Club and Report, Institute Union, many of which we have 1899. adopted in our recommendations," suggests legislation on the lines of — 1. Eegistration of all clubs. 2. All clubs must be in control of members only. 3. There must be no " tie " to brewer or distiller. 4. No personal interest of anyone in sale of exciseables. 5. Proper rules making provision for certain matters stated. 6. No supply for consumption off the premises. 7. Publication of duly audited balance sheet annually. Objection could be taken by process of law, sworn affidavits, etc., that the club is : — (a) A disorderly house. (6) Used merely for drinking purposes, (c) Causes habitual drunkenness. {d) Its rules are habitually broken. The Majority, as has been said, agreed practically with the recommendations of the Report. Minority given in the previous pages. Its own Eeport says : — • The most practical recommendation a that we can make are : — (1) That all clubs in which intoxicants are supplied should be registered. (2) That the onus of proving bona fides should be placed upon the club applying for registration. (3) That no club should be registered unless the club property be vested in all the members of the club or in trustees, and unless no individual member is interested directly in the sale of exciseable liquor on the club premises. (4) That the registering authority should examine the rules, and satisfy itself that the club is not formed solely for the purpose of the sale and consumption of intoxicating liquors, and that some check is placed on the election of members, the 211 privileges of honorary membership, and on the introduction of friends by members. (5) That the sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the premises be strictly prohibited. (6) That no person under 18 years of age be admitted as a member of a club in which intoxicants are sold. We are of opinion that the authority to grant certificates to clubs should be the stipendiary magistrates in towns and cities where they exist, and in other localities a court of petty sessions consisting of not less than three justices. While we believe that these regulations would mitigate the grosser evils of clubs and shebeens, it is iinpossibh to legislate for the suppres- sion of clubs or even to impede their increase. The greatest care is required lest an impetus be inadvertently given to undesirable institu- tions that would spring into existence merely for the purpose of distri- buting drink, while, on the other hand, undue interference or vexatious restrictions upon the many legitimate institutions that exist would provoke resentment and defeat their own ends. The Majority also, impressed by ttie evidence of Mr. B. T. Hall, recommended that the practice, by publicans and others, of giving testimonials to retiring police officers should be completely discontinued.* The Eeport was published in 1899, but nothing was done in Parliament till in the Wh ittaker opening Session of 1901 Mr. Caine introduced AND Caine. r ^ a BiH dealing with clubs. Mr. (now Sir) Thomas Whittaker moved an amendment to the Address, calling for legislation. Mr. Caine offered his Bill to the Government. In reply, it was announced that a Bill dealing with clubs was being prepared by the Home Secretary (Mr. Eitchie). In the beginning of 1902 Mr. C. T. Eitchie The First— j^^roduced the Bill. He had interviews AND Last- ^^^^^^ (.j^jg ^jt^-^ ti^Q Union Secretary. The Bill was read a second time and referred to a Grand Committee, the proceedings in which were carefully * Sir Algernon West (to Mr. Hall) : "You suggest that the police differentiate in their treatment between licensed houses and clubs— why should they ? " ^iiswer ;—" Because we do not give free beer to constables or gold watches to superintendents and inspectors." 212 and successfully watched and guided by the Union, "^ Mr. W. E. Cremer, M.P.,+ acting on behalf of the clubs. Every effort was made by both the Trade and the so-called Temperance " Section, led by Mr. Caine, to introduce objectionable matter into the Bill. All were, however, defeated. Mr. Eitchie solidly resisted everything of which the Union disapproved. " He had had the greatest sympathy and assistance from workmen's clubs. Their Union had refrained from public agitation against this Bill, because they realised the evil it was intended to meet. But he should not do his duty if he did not resist to the uttermost every attempt to harass or annoy, or to give power to others to harass and annoy, genuine clubs. He wished to acknowledge in the strongest possible manner the attitude of the Union." There was a desperate effort to prohibit the supply of drink for consumption away from the premises, but all were defeated or outflanked, and the BiU returning to the House in August became law before the end of the Session. Thus after 20 years of agitation an Act of Parliament regulates clubs. The Act deals with the situation purely from the consideration of the interests of the community, and all the efforts of those who sought to make it serve private interests and theories were defeated. That this is so, much is due to the attitude of Mr. Eitchie. On the third reading of the Bill he, speaking on behalf of the Government, said : " I am sure that the House will agree with me that we must enlist on our side in this matter the best opinion of the best clubs, including Working Men's Clubs. I know that that great organisation — the Club and Institute Union — not a political body, but which comprises a large body of Workmen's Clubs, is as anxious as the House can possibly be that the evils we complain of should be suppressed. If we do not carry * " The Club and Institute Union was a new tyranny introduced into that House It dictated privileges for its clubs which escept for its tyranny would never be granted."— John Bubns, M.P. t Knighted in 1907. DINING HALL— SALTBURN. DESIGN FOR STAINED GLASS WINDOW. DINING H ALL— SALTBURN. {Sec preceding page,) 213 the favourable opinion of tliese clubs with us harm will result." The Executive of the Union conveyed its thanks to him on the Act becoming law, and in reply received the following letter : — "Anguat 27th, 1902. " Mr. B. T. Hall. Dear Sir, — Please to convey to your Executive my great appreciation of their thanks for the attitude I assumed in connection with the club clauses of the Licensing Act. It ia a great gratification to me to know that in dealing with a very difficult question I have been able to give satisfaction to so important an organisation as that of the Club and Institute Union. For this result much ia owing to the intelligent attitude assumed by them and the advice and assistance rendered by yourself. "Yours truly, "C. T. EITCHIE." And SO came into existence an Act which, of little danger to genuine clubs, for a while completely extinguished the bogus club, which feared to register. Its provisions have enabled these to be again closed, when in after years they began to creep on to the register, and also to punish those clubs which are ill-governed, ignore their own Eules, or which permit drunkenness. Its provisions were made known to the clubs, which bought readily a little book by the Union Secretary,* and whilst the Act has been made the occasion of abuse by Benches of " the Great Unpaid," as all added power must enable, it has had no deterrent effect whatever upon the progress of working men's clubs, and has contributed considerably to the strength of the Union. The Act was followed in due course by an Scotland and ^^^ ^^^ Scotland. This is of a much more drastic character, and more completely incorporates the Union's practice and Eules, on which it was admittedly based, into actual law. It was found impossible to resist the objectionable provisions incor- porated because of the volume of support given by the Scotch * " The Licensing Act and Clubs " (65.000 copies of which were sold). 214 Members and because of the few genuine workmen's clubs in Scotland. The Act gives both to Town Councils and Police the power to oppose registration. The Town Council of Govan, against the advice of the Chief Constable, opposed the Fairfield Club, but failed to show any reason, and were ignominiously quashed by the Court. The Police opposed both the St. Mungo Club, Glasgow, and the Burns Club at Hawick, but in each case were repelled. This exhausts the tale of Union Clubs then in Scotland.* In Ireland an Act very similar in character to that of Scotland came into operation in 1904. The only Union club in Ireland has been undisturbed by it. In spite of the passing of these Acts H WORSLEY it would appear idle for the clubs to hope for Taylor, K.C. .^ -•r.nt- -»«- -n- t^t i m , peace. In 1905, JMr. H. Worsley Taylor, 1905. K.C, M.P., introduced a Bill to amend the 1902 Act, and to provide two additional reasons why clubs might be struck off the Eegister : — 1. That the premises were used mainly as a drinking club ; and 2. That the Eules were habitually broken. The first clause is from the Scotch Act, and was, and is considered, strongly objectionable by the Union. Left to itself, without pressure by official Whips, the House of Commons will never adopt a phrase which makes a new offence in such ambiguous language (see page 223). The second is akeady covered in the " not conducted in good faith " section of the 1902 Act. The Union communicated with Mr. Taylor, and the Bill was withdrawn. It may be considered as a further furtive effort of the Teetotal half of the Alliance. * Since this date the St. Mungo has closed and the City of Glasgow Club become a member of the Union. 215 In 1906, the Licensed Victuallers' Trade "The Trade" ^ ../1.11 •tt Protection Association (.which does not include Takes _ the Metropolitan Publicans) produced a Bill. 1906 ^^ constitutes clubs public-houses in all respects but one. They are to pay licensed duties (as per a scale embodied in the Bill), but not to be licensed, and are to be subject to the same law as licensed houses in the matter of Police Inspection and Hours of Closing and the jurisdiction over them of the Licensing Bench. In February, 1906, the Publicans had an Mr. Asquith. interview with the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, and their speakers, as may be expected, denounced clubs (workmen's clubs) and demanded further legislation. Mr. Asquith's reply was ominous. He said: — " To what was said on the question of Clubs I listened with a great deal of sympathy. I have long been of opinion, and am strongly of opinion now, that the law should be made stronger than it has hitherto been, and that the abuse should become the subject of effective legisla- tion, and more effective administration by the Police, the Magistrates, and the Local Authorities." Here was a bold hint at the imposition of the objectionable Scotch Act on England, and the Publicans retired greatly cheered with Mr. Asquith's sympathy. The Union Executive sent a strong note to the Chancellor, and expressed the hope " that the Union will be afforded an opportunity of meeting you prior to the consideration of any legislation affecting them." This hope was never to be realised. The Conservative Home Secretary (Mr. Eitchie) had considered such consultation as reasonable and necessary, the Liberal Prime Minister did not, although, as will be seen — he saw reason in doing so after his proposals had been launched. He, however, replied to the communication of the Executive on March 17th, 1906, that— "He understood the remarks of the deputation, and certainly intended his own observations to apply to clubs — no doubt forming a small minority of such institutions, which are carried on mainly for the purpose of supplying intoxicating liquors in what is regarded as 216 illegitimate competition with the public-house. It was very far from his intention to causa any reflection on the objects or management of the great body of genuine workmen's clubs." The Trade sent another deputation to inter- SiR Henry . „. ^ ^ i n td 4.1, view Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Prime Minister, on November 8th, 1906, and Bannerman. . received a reply m quite a diiierent tone. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman replied as follows, and showed how well he knew his case : — " Then you complain very much of the clubs — of the multiplication of clubs. Clubs were dealt with, as you know better or more vividly than I may remember it, in 1902. There may be some respects in which that legislation may be deficient, and further restrictions may be necessary, I do not pronounce any opinion upon that ; if there are, we should be willing to consider it, but I don't think the numbers quoted can be relied upon, because amongst other things that legislation required that every institution of the nature of a club in any sense had to be registered. " Mr. Bobinson : Only where intoxicants are supplied. " The Prime Minister : Yes, yes ; but every little coterie of men — it may be only a dozen or score who are in the habit of dining together regularly — every canteen or dining club had to be registered, and all these count as clubs, although they would not be at all within the same category or come within the same line of consideration as the public- house. That, I think, must affect materially the numbers that are quoted, and I doubt if there is a real increase — though I speak under correction entirely — in the number of what we should call genuine clubs. Genuine workmen's clubs which are real working men's clubs ought not to be harried or interfered with in any excessive degree ; at any rate, not beyond what is absolutely necessary. But the whole question deserves full examination and consideration, and I have no doubt that there will be every disposition to interfere with any illegiti- mate use of the liberties given, or left, under the Act of 1902 ; but, at the same time, there will be a strong desire to prevent undue inter- ference with perfectly harmless clubs in which no mischief can arise." The Clubs were, it was clear, safe enough whilst Campbell- Bannerman remained, but had reason for anxiety when Mr. Asquith, next in succession, should assume the command. Meanwhile the poor Bill of the Publicans was taken round to one Member of Parliament after another, but none could be found to put his name to it or introduce it to the House of Commons. It ultimately met with such small measure of success, and is further referred to later, 217 In 1906 Lord Eobert Cecil was said to have Lord introduced a Bill dealing with Clubs, but an Robert Cecil. 1896 application to his lordship failed to produce a copy, and it can be but surmised that he had in a careless moment undertaken to adopt the " Trade " Bill, but had hastily abandoned it on becoming aware of its nature and contents. Nothing further was heard of his lordship in. this connection. The year 1908 opened with fear and gloom Fears for the ^ for the clubs. Mr. Asquith had become Future. ^ January 1, 1908. P^™^ Minister, and a Licensing Bill was known to be in course of preparation. The Club and Institute Journal of January contained the following, quite Cassandra like, as facts afterwards revealed, Editorial Note, under the heading : " A Fateful or a Fatal New Year ? " :— "At the risk of appearing gloomy at a time when cheer should fill each mind, we venture to hope that clubs are preparing for what will be undoubtedly the most fateful year which in its 45 years of life the working-class club movement has seen. The Union is non-political, but it would not be far from the fact if we assumed that 75 per cent, of the Union clubmen voted for the present Government. These say that it is absurd to suppose that the Liberal Government will, without warrant of fact or national necessity, aim a blow at workmen's clubs at the bidding of a few fanatics who are known to be hopelessly out of touch and antagonistic to the healthier, manlier, liberty-loving character of the people. " Such clubmen are living, we honestly believe, in a fool's paradise, for nothing is more certain than the willingness of the Liberal Party to shipwreck itself at the bidding of these raucous-voiced sirens. It has been done before. It will be done again. It is but imitation of the ostrich not to see the situation clearly. We are glad to see that the Metropolitan Kadical Federation has spoken strongly and unitedly. We hope other Liberal organisations will do the same. If, in spite of this, the Government is still disposed to suicide, then it becomes the duty of its supporters, more than of others, to interpose forcibly and save it from itself and from those sad, and bad, men and influences who and which are hateful to nine out of ten Englishmen who harbour a sane mind in a healthy body." Speaking at Lancaster on Wednesday, January 15th, Mr. Asquith deepened gloom by his utterance : " There was a P 218 practical concensus of opinion that a large and strenuous effort must be made to reduce the facilities for drinking. But it was no use lessening and suppressing the number of public-houses if for each one suppressed we allowed a thing called a club, and which was nothing more than a drinking den, to be opened." The strong, even offensive, note of this and its repetition or adoption of the fiction that clubs spring up as a result of the closing of Licensed Premises convinced the clubs that a storm was indeed gathering. At the end of February, ]908, the Govern- Worst Fears ment Bill was introduced. The worst fears Justified. „ „ of the clubs were realised. It contained A Reactionary BiLu 1908 practically every objectionable proposal which the Parliamentary Committee on Mr. Eitchie's Bill had rejected. It sacrificed the clubs to the twin and united wolves of Teetotal Fanaticism and Trade Interest. It was as bad a Bill as the worst enemy of the clubs could have drafted. It distinguished between rich and poor,* it subjected clubs to the Licensing Bench. It gave the Police unlimited right of entry into clubs as into Public Houses. It closed a club for five years for a first offence, however small. It gave opportunities to any person or persons to object to the Eegistration and it gave the Licensing Bench, not the Police Courts, the power to hear such objections. It imposed personal liability and fine upon the club Secretary, and it added to the offences for which a club might be struck off the register the oft-objected to and ambiguous phrase, " that it is used mainly as a drinking club." Then ensued a fight, from which the Union emerged almost entirely triumphant, and the Tearing _ Government wiser men with a modified Bill. Campaign." As the honours are almost aU on the Union's side, there need be no lengthy or detailed description of the * It prohibited supply of intoxicants in clubs (or consumption off the premises in any smaller auaittitiea than 4i gallons of beer or Uvo aallo7is of whisky. ■219 campaign. The Secretary of the "Union set the heather aflame with an article, the chief characteristic of which was invective,* entitled The Eve of St. Bartholomew," which appeared in a " Campaign Edition," of 100,000 copies, of the Club and Institute Journal, published in March, as " A Call to Arms Against an Anti-Liberal, Eeactionary Proposal for Class Legislation." Great Conferences of clubmen were held in Leeds, New- castle, Manchester, Leicester, Southampton, Cardiff, and London, addressed by members of the Executive and by the Officers, where the objections of the Union were confirmed and opposition organised. It was not a very restful time for Members of the House of Commons. Interviews were had with groups of Liberal M.P.'s, with the Labour Party, the Labour-Liberals (then distinct from the Labour Party), and finally with Mr. Asquith himself. In the end practically the whole of the Government proposals to which objection was taken were withdrawn or amended, except the " mainly a drinking club," to which the Government obstinately clung. Belief settled on the clubs and on the Liberal and Labour Parties, who agreed that all the trouble was due to the fact that Mr. Asquith did not meet the Union before, instead of after, he had drafted his Bill. In fact, there can be no doubt that the Thomas Whittaker influence obtained the upper hand of the Govern- ment, which had not realised how clearly and definitely the clubs were capable of stating their case and how good that case was. In the efi^ort made, the Association of Conservative Clubs, the Federation of Liberal Clubs, and the small Kent Association rendered valuable aid. "What is, perhaps, worth recording, too, is that the " Trade," which — destitute of forethought and foresight — makes or seeks alliances hurriedly, endeavoured to enlist the force, which * " Let me assure Mr. Hall that if he thinks that Bright, Bradlaugh. and Glad- stone, even if combined, could be more scarifying than he is, he does himself an injustice." — " Sub Rosa," in the Morning Leafier and Northern Echo. 220 the Union had organised, to assist the Publicans' effort. And some clubs and clubmen, foolish and forgetful, fell into the snare. In the end, as is known, the House of Lords threw out the Bill, an affront which the Government was powerless to resent, or challenge. But the demonstration, which cost the Union over a Thousand Pounds, was not lost. Its memory wiU remain as a chastening influence on those who seek lightly and without due regard to lay violent hands on the clubs. Amongst the most persistent of the attacking journalists was Mr. G. E. Sims in the Beferee, and there ensued, between him and the Union Secretary, " some lively and entertaining correspondence, as one knowing the two parties might expect " {Kentish Mercury). " Dagonet " i^' Mustard and Cress") thus noted the end of the campaign : — The Govemment is granting concessions to enable it to get over the stream of opposition caused by its Bill. * * « • At this little game ol Bridge. Clnbs are Trumps. « « * « I hare my own views, and I haye not hesitated to express them, of the gross manner in which the registered Club system is abused. But I take off my hat to Mr. B. T. Hall. As a polite letter writer he has much to learn ; as a political organiser — nothing. His club campaign is already stamped with the Hall-mark of success. That the extremists were greatly chagrined at their defeat is not perhaps to be wondered at. Some words of one of them, Mr. Philip Snowden {" Count me frankly as an enemy "), may not be out of place as closing this tremendous incident in the Union's life. Writing on the matter in the Christian Comtnomuealth in November, 1908 (for the fight had occupied all the year), he said : — "The outstanding feature of the debate on the club clauses was the obvious state of fear and trembling under the threats of the Club Union, in which most of the members were. It is simply amazing that Members of Parliament, from the Government through every party in the House, should stand in such fear of offending the members of drinking clubs. M.P.'s who have been prominent as extreme Temperance men have been paralysed by the fear of the consequences of interfering with the members of these unlicensed drinking dens to carry on as their inclinations led them." 221 A word from Mr. (now Sir A.) Markham, and the story of this Bill concludes. On the Eeport stage, referring to the concessions to the Union, he declared : " The Bill is now nothing but a Bill to facilitate drinking in clubs." " Coming events," said Campbell, " cast The Club Tax. their shadows before." "When in January, 1908, the clubs learnt that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had asked his Supervisors to ascertain the Eatable Value of each registered club, taxation was obviously projected. In the Budget of 1909 there was a proposal to levy a Tax of 3d. in the £ on all receipts by clubs from their members in payment for intoxicants consumed. This was subsequently altered to 6d. in the £ on purchases. The Executive endeavoured to stir the clubs in protest. But the clubs "took it lying down," and many wrote in approval.* A deputation to Mr. Lloyd George from the Executive failed to convince him that 6d. on purchases was in excess of 3d. on Eeceipts, and the Tax came into existence, without exciting any very strong feeling. It was estimated by the Government that it would produce £100,000 annually. Not an estimate in keeping with the vivid stories of club drinking current and popularly believed, for it assumed that but 6 million of the 160 million pounds spent in intoxicants was the share of the clubs. The Secretary of the Union placed the figure at £60,000. The coUeotion showed that an average of £50,000 only is obtained. Thus the clubs are shown to drink only half as much as the Government experts guessed, and only three, or three and a-half, out of one hundred and sixty millions spent upon intoxicants can be put down to the clubs. If every " drinking club " were abolished, and the members did not transfer their drinking to the "pubs.," the National Drink Bill would be affected in no appreciable degree. The tax * Probable reason for this attitude lies in the fact that the proceeds of the new taxes were to be used for strengthening the Navy and for providing Old Age Pensions, with both of which objects, especially the latter, the great majority of club members sympathised. 222 equals a charge of 28 per cent, on the Eatable Value of Provincial Clubs, and 13 per cent, on those of the Metropolis. Publicans- Bill Again. 1912. In 1911 the search of the publicans for some Member of the House of Commons with sufficient disregard for his character as to become sponsor for " The Trade " Bill, met with success, and it was announced that Mr. Stanley Wilson, M.P., had undertaken, " at the first opportunity," to introduce the Bill promoted by the Licensed Victuallers' Protection League. But eventually it appeared that Mr. Wilson was like Lord Eobert Cecil — shy. The search was again resumed, and in 1912 Mr. Samuel Roberts, M.P. for the Ecclesall Division of Sheffield, undertakes the task. The Bill provides for Police Entry, restriction of hours, control by the Licensing Bench, and the application to clubs of the other restrictions upon Licensed Houses ; as well as other absurd provisions as for the Taxation of Clubs upon the following scale, based upon Eatable Value. This scale was devised in 1906, but it was in no way modified, by the promoters, by reason of the Tax on clubs imposed in 1908 : — AnDual ratable value oJ Club Premisea, whether part or the whole of a house ia uaed, to be taken aa for the purpose of the charges leviable in aooordanoe with this Act : — Eate ot charge under & s. a. £10 . . 2 5 £10 ar d under £15 .. . 3 £15 £20.. . 4 £20 £25.. . 5 10 £25 £30.. . 7 £30 £40.. . 8 10 Bate of charge. £ s. a. 10 £40 and under £50. £50 £100 £200 ,, £300... 17 10 £300 or above 20 £100... 12 10 £200... 15 It will be seen at a glance that the smallest clubs are the hardest hit, as many of these would, with the Club Tax, pay more than if the premises were licensed, whilst the Tax on great clubs such as the National Liberal would be but 3s. or is. per cent. 223 The Publicans' Bill was reintroduced in 1912, but was treated with the indifference which 1912. its provisions warranted, and the Union Executive and officers looked upon the year as one which would be free from any other legislative attack. But like a bolt from the blue fell a Bill promoted by the Teetotal extremists. Sir Alfred Gelder, M.P. for Brigg (Lines.), had secured the private Member's night, Friday, May 4th. Oppor- tunity was taken to introduce a Bill relating to Clubs, adding certain offences to the list upon conviction of which the club could be removed from the Eegister. Sir Alfred courteously consulted the Union Secretary, and made some concession to his criticisms of the draft. The main intent of the Bill was to prevent the promotion of working men's clubs by Brewers or Distillers, to which Mr. Hall assured him the Union would offer no objection. He, however, adhered to two clauses to which it was made clear to him the Union could not agree. These were the addition of the offences "that the Club is used mainly as a drinking Club," the old phrase to which the Union had always taken objection, although it had been carried by the House of Commons in the Government's 1908 Bill, and a new clause — " That the premises are, or the situation thereof is, not suitable or not desirable for the purpose of a club." The Bill when printed containing these two clauses, the Executive meeting at Batley (on the Good Friday previous to the Council meeting) resolved that unless they were withdrawn the Bill should be opposed, and directed the Secretary to take the necessary steps to secure this end. At tlie next meeting of the Executive, May 3rd, he was able to report that Sir Alfred had only secured the second reading of the Bill that afternoon, by giving the House an assurance that he would withdraw these two clauses, or should the Grand Committee, to which the BiU would be referred, decline to allow him to withdraw them, he would withdraw the Bill. 224 Mr. Samuel Eoberts, whose Bill at the same time lost all chance of discussion, spoke in the debate and expiessed a hope that he, as representing the Licensed Victuallers, could come to terms with Sir Thomas Whittaker and the extreme Teetotallers, and together fashion a Bill dealing with clubs which should be mutually satisfactory to both. This he appeared to think would conclude the matter and nothing else would be required to enable such a Bill to become law. If the clubs, and especially the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, could be removed from existence, his view would perhaps be a correct one. This chapter would not be complete without Other ^ brief reference to other Acts of Parliament Legislation p^ggg^ jq recent years affecting clubs. The Child Messenger Act, passed in 1901 made it an offence to send any child under the age of 14 as a messenger carrying intoxicating liquor. This Act affects club members only in the most indirect way. Thus, a club member purchasing a jug of beer at his club and sending it home by a child would be liable. The Children Act, 1909, affects clubs only so far as a Children's Party might be held therein, when it obliges a certain number of adults to be present. No child below the age of 14 years may be employed in a club between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The Cinematograph Act requires all haUs where inflammable films are used to be licensed. This includes clubs. The Workmen's Compensation Act, and the Insurance Act, of course, affect club servants. The Shop Hours Act does not. What has been the result of this long- sustained effort at, and small accomplishment Clubs and in Legislation ? How has it affected the Union. ° Union, how the clubs ? There can be no doubt that its influence has been wholly beneficial to both, apart from the annual cost of the tax, as no payment of taxes 225 can benefit the payer. The Act of 1902, by enabling legal differentiation between good clubs and bad, sets a seal, and gives guarantee of good conduct, on those which remain. It has in no way prevented the growth of workmen's clubs, since these have increased at a greater rate since it came into being. If it menaces those who would be lax in management and low in standard, it is good for such, and injures in no way those which have no fear of its provisions. The repulsed attempts of others have had the effect of developing a loyalty and comradeship which is beyond valuation in the life of an organisation. Stress and adversity and war bind in comrade- ship more closely than prosperity, and it may be doubted whether it will be for the good of the Union — or even of the clubs — when, if ever, this hitherto constant attack shall cease. CHAPTEE XII. Policy and Aim. It is sometimes said by critics who make claim to knowledge that the Union has in recent years departed from the original intention of the Founders. If this were true it would not imply reproach, since the Union must now be judged by present policy and intent, whether such is in agreement with the views of the Founders or no. The intention of the criticism is, of course, to suggest that it is in recent years only that clubs in the Union were allowed to decide for themselves whether they should supply beer or other intoxicants. Eeaders of Chapter X. will have noted that so early as 1864 the passage " free from intoxicating drinks " was modified so as to leave it to the discretion of the clubs, with, however, a strong recommendation for their exclusion. It will be seen that this recommendation came soon to be abandoned. It is certainly not made now. The Union has never been called upon in recent years to advise as to whether intoxicants should be admitted. If it were, it could but answer that no club was admitted to the Union in which such a matter was not one entirely for the members to decide. It would make certainly no recommendation for their exclusion. For not only has experience shown that they may be admitted with safety, but also that the great bulk of work- men will not go to teetotal clubs, and that in consequence the latter can never be self-supporting. The absence of the members means that they may be spending their leisure in the public-house, where nearly one-half of the money expended upon refreshment makes private gain, whilst if the drink were obtained in a club it would make for corporate usefulness. 227 would pay for the reading room, or for the other amenities placed at the service of the man who drinks not at all. Even many teetotallers will not go to teetotal clubs, for that they are teetotal is a proof that they are not self-governed, and that the too close grip of the parson's hand," given in 1866 as the reason of the failure of several clubs, is the compelling force and not the vote of the members. Scores of teetotal clubs, faced with ruin, have decided to be a proper club," but there is no record of any club which has supplied alcoholic refreshments ever going back on this decision. If the workman wiU not come to a teetotal club, if he wiU not drink tea as a beverage of leisure (and he will do neither), then if the object is the benefit of the workman, it is sheer waste of effort to set up an institution for him to which he will not come. And the Union is entirely opposed to any efforts to establish clubs FOE workmen, whether set up by Philanthropist with amiable intent to order others lives, or by Brewer with more sordid intent. Workmen's clubs should be set up BY the members, and by the members alone. Every donation asked, as every donation received, though it may seem an acceptable thing in early days, is a step down from the plane of perfect self dependence on which all such clubs should be built, and which alone affords them sure guarantee of success. That the clubs in the early days were not so formed is true. But that does not make the aforesaid attitude incompatible with the founders' ideas. They distinctly looked forward to the time when clubs, and also the Union, should be entirely self-suppoiiiing. To reach such a time, to accomplish such an end, was their aim. The time has long since come. Subsidised clubs, without free control by members, belong to the childhood of democracy, and are out of place in the days of manhood. If, then, there were no clubs except such as are commenced and are controlled by their members, there would be no question as to whether intoxicants should be " allowed " therein to discuss. 228 There should be places of resort where man may meet his fellow man in selected company, where no question of compulsory purchase of liquor can arise, where he need not drink when he does not want or cannot afford, and where if he does not drink he shall not be consequently a social pariah. But in which, too, if he does wish to drink, he may — with the certainty that if the money handed by him in exchange for his drink is in excess of the wholesale cost, the difference is coming back to him, and to the non-drinkers, in the shape of the many amenities of the club. If the surplus on the purchase of drink does not supply these, then subscriptions — or charity — must. It seems sheer economic folly to compel men to devote money to the enrich- ment of the publican which might otherwise be devoted to the good of his fellows and himself. And till all workmen are teetotallers, instead of perhaps 5 per cent, of them (and they not the most gregarious), as at present, there seems no escape from this dilemma, and club life for workmen is rendered impossible by insistence on prohibition.* Thus the Union frankly recognises that without intoxicants the movement would not have grown to what it is, if indeed it had lived beyond the first ten years of its life. And the recognition of this fact governs all its policy and affects its aim. But to return to the Founders. The sentence from the Eeport quoted at the head of Chapter III. sufficiently indicates the hope of the earlier workers. The Eeport of 1866-67, from which it is quoted, adds : " The working classes are well able, under ordinary circumstances, to support such institutions as these without extraneous aid, if they could be brought to value them as heartily as they value their great Trade, Friendly, and Co-operative organisations." The Eeverend Harry Jones, who seconded the adoption of the Eeport at the Annual Meeting on June 18th, 1867, " dwelt * I do not believe that -workmen, any more than other classes, will congregate ■where these refreshments are not to be obtained. But your club supplies them, whilst it is not obliging anyone to lay out money, except just when he pleases. — Professor Beesley, May, 1869. 229 on the necessity of men raising themselves by their own exertions and the importance of it being felt by the working class that they were not treated in a spirit of Patronage. The success of a club in which he had taken much interest (the St, James' and Soho) was mainly owing to the absence of patronage."* It is said, too, that the promoters of the Union desired the clubs to be mainly educational institutions. This is not so. The movement began because it was seen how the old Mechanics' Institutes, which kept the educational as the principal side, had failed of their purpose. Mr. Solly reports the attitude in the earliest days : " We have masters all day, said an intelligent artisan to me, we don't want other masters at night." Mr. Andrew Johnston, M.P., presiding at a Conference of Subscribers in June, 1869, " thought it was dangerous to attempt to do too much in Working Men's Clubs. He regarded them simply as rivals to the Public-House. Educational classes might in some cases be combined with them, but he did not think the promotion of education should be the real purpose of the clubs." Lord Stanley, opening a club in Cheshire in the same year, urged that what working men wanted were clubs, not schools in disguise. That Mr. Solly, fuU of his mission, believed every good thing which appeared to him desirable could be achieved by the organisations which he had called into being, may be conceded. But even he did not hope to achieve much at first,"!" and a few years' experience brought further wisdom, whilst others were not so optimistic, nor did they think that the pressing of pedagogic teaching upon unwilling adults * " If working men do not care to Bet np a club for themselves, and stick to it, no patronage or coaxing will produce anything likely to last." — "East and West London," by the Rev. H. Jones {Smitb and Elder. 1875). + " The basis of a Workman's Club, viz., the talking and smoking-room — is simple enough, and, with the recreation department, will be the principal feature in it for a long time."— Bev. H. Solly to the Social Science Association, 1864. 230 would conduce to the prosperity, or was, in fact, any integral part of its work. This finds expression in the address of Lord Eosebery in 1875 (page 51). It may be taken for granted that, whatever hopes or ideas moved the very first Council (that the clubs should be religious bodies was put forward and debated), an acquaintance with the facts and with the workman led to very substantial modification of attitude. Equally true is it that absurd and extravagant ideas were held, and claims put forward, as to the ultimate effect of these clubs upon the workman's character, which were not immediately realised, and have, perhaps, only in part been realised yet. As much may be said of the establishment of Popular Education and a Free Press. Has but a fraction of the enthusiastic dreams of their advocates been realised ? Yet that both have been an incalculable blessing to our land none now could surely be found to deny. And when one realises what were the habits and manners of the great bulk of the workmen years ago : habits of attire, of speech, of standard of comfort, and in relation to the use of intoxicants, he cannot but realise how considerable has been the revolution here also. That in this the clubs have played a part it would be sheer blind animus to deny. That their influence was limited may be true. They were but a small part of the industrial army. Clubs were few, because they did not appeal to workmen in the days of their ignorance and rudeness and insobriety. They established their influence as a more educated class arose, intelligently conscious of its capacity for achievement by co-operation. It is but in recent years that workmen's clubs have become any considerable part in the social life of the wage-earner. Even to-day they number but three thousand at the most, whilst there exist ninety-two thousand " on "-licensed houses. There are yet large patches upon the map where no workmen's club can be found. There is 231 hardly a district where there is not room for many more. The Workmen's Club as a National Institution is but upon the threshold of its career. At the end of 50 years it sees itself established with a definite future before it. Instead of three, there should be fifteen thousand of such clubs, as assuredly at the end of a second fifty years there will be. To secure it is the Union's aim. The clubs are forcing themselves upon public attention. Opinion must be formed about them. And they, and their Union, will not allow this opinion to be formed without full acquaintance with the facts. At present it depends upon imagination, upon rumour as to what somebody has heard about clubs in some unnamed place — never the place in which the speaker is I Not thus and here, but so, and there ! Or, it is dependent upon some legend of what was supposed to have happened in an East End club in London many years ago. This is not the way to put an institution upon trial. Personal inquiry, personal acquaintance, is the only way. And fortunately this is being cultivated. And so one reads head lines : — "IN PRAISE OF WORKMEN'S CLUBS. "THE MAYOR AND CHIEF CONSTABLE AT ." or "RBVOLUTION IN CLUB LIFE. "MR. , M.P., AT THE WORKINQ MEN'S CLUB." or the like. The particular change is not in the clubs, although it is agreed that they steadily progress in character, but in the critics, who for the first time possess themselves by sight and acquaintance with a correct view of what the place and what the men are like, finding, as a result, that the clubs and their members are no worse than their fellows, but both a little bit better. It is the aim of the Union to speed this bettering, to see each club-house high above and a constant example to the daily habitation of the workman. It is its aim to see the 232 members, in demeanoiar, in bearing, in tolerance and true courtesy, gentlemen who will leaven democracy with a new spirit, who will make manliness no enemy of courtesy, discipline no enemy to freedom, strength and depth of view no enemy of tolerance or free debate. This work the Union will persist in in all seasons. It cannot afford to wait till " after the present political agitation shall have ceased," as Solly did, thinking apparently that political agitation was but an intermittent apparition. The aim of the Union is to inspire in its Branches and in its Clubs a band of Preachers who by example and action, as much as by exhortation, will inculcate love for order, for fraternity, and for comfort — physical comfort ; who will awaken in the seared and satisfied souls of the labourer a demand for warmth and colour and beauty in life — will be the foe to contentment with things that are poor and squalid and mean. These men, living, moving, and having their daily being amongst the workers, will surely exercise an influence which the casually heard (if heard at all) exhortation from the pulpit can never accomplish. It is not always an easy task. The workman accustomed, in the free anarchy of social life, to tell a man off if I want to," to be " thumbs up with him " if he feels disposed, resents remonstrance, restriction, and the compulsion of gentleness, as a reproach to his manhood. But if the fellow member, the club officer, who insists, is a man whose character leaves him untouched by any suspicion of namby-pamby, goody- goodyness (most abhorrent of vices), the remonstrance has weight, and if it has not, the restriction, being made by self-government, is perforce submitted to. " Do you want to make the place a chapel?" said a Durham miner to his President who had rebuked him for violence of language. "No!" was the reply; "just a club!" It was worth a dozen sermons. And, unlike sermons, it reached its mark. 233 The Union aims at tlie erection of club-houses which in character and equipment shall be a constant moral influence, unconsciously, by the irresistible power of environment, moulding and shaping those within its range. It aims at clubs being the centre of social life, where the members of the Parish or District or Town or other Council may, after its deliberations are over, meet and on common and so neutral ground, divested of all the circumstance and paraphernalia of party debate, talk over, with pipe and glass, the problems of their city or village. The Union aims at seeing clubs no longer divorced from the home. It would have the clubs' power of corporate action used to bring brightness and knowledge also into the lives of the wives of members. The Library and the Concert Eoom may do much to cheer the grey life of a woman with little or no other opportunities for recreation. Clubs are condemned as divorcing a man from his home and family — of selfishness. Hundreds of clubs open Library and Concert Hall or Lecture Eoom to the wives of members. They are condemned (by the same folk) for bringing women into such an atmosphere. There is very much indeed which workmen's clubs may do for workmen's wives and children, and it is the aim of the Union to secure that what may be, shall be. The hope of the Union is that the clubs shall not only be the resort of public administrators, but the ground from which these shall spring. Every year thousands of workers learn by service upon club committees the method and rules of procedure and the conduct of business. They learn, too, something of the great world, of correctness, of caution, of discreet and sure practice, which is covered by that word. The uses of cheques, of stock books, of ledgers, and of audits, the absolute need for precision and security in every step taken, opens to most of them a new sphere. It forms the food upon which administrative capacity is fed and reared. And if democracy has a need more clamant than any other Q 234 to-day, it is for willing servants with administrative capacity. The want is felt. The aim of the Union is that the clubs shall supply it — as they do to some extent in the present day.* True, that five or six thousand of its members are members of governing bodies (see page 246) is little enough. But it is something — the beginning of things. In many districts in Yorkshu-e a visitor in the workmen's club will be introduced to the club President — " also Chairman of the District Council." If it is not the Chairman, it is the Secretary who holds that post. Of the men he will faU into conversation with he will find that many are or have been on the Council or Education Committee, or are Overseers of the Poor, or the like. That this shall be the case in every district where there is a workmen's club, or are clubs, the Union aims. It is the place of clubs in the State to breed and harbour the human instruments of democratic service. The Union aims at the development in the moral equipment of democracy of the twin virtues of manliness and inde- pendence, without which exist the workman must ever remain an inferior in the social economy. Its poHcy with regard to the supply of intoxicants, its insistence on self-government as a basis for its clubs, are inspired by this aim, as is the provision of Convalescent Homes hy and for its members. No man should attain physical health at the expense of his moral stamina, and the shadow of charity weakens the moral fibre more than sun- light strengthens the body and nerves. To beg of others for the favour of an order for admission to a charity is, in the judgment of the Union, a heavy price to pay for what can * Mr. W. Johnson, M.P., writing on December 22nd, 1888, said : " Will you convey to the Council of the Union and to all who have taken interest in the club move- ment my thanks for the many advantages which are offered by the Union which have been so useful to me. As one instance of the use of this movement, resulting directly from these examinations I have been able to make myself serviceable to my fellow working men of this district for several years past, and they have now, without seeking on my part, nominated me as the working man's candidate for the Bedworth Division on the County Council of Warwickshire. I may say that the working men's club has given me the opportunities for qualifying for this position and, if elected, I trust to do my duty to those who place confidence in me." 285 be provided collectively by the payment of Is. per annum by each. The Union aims, in the free and equal relations of club Ufe, to destroy the social predominance of the financially stronger man, and to destroy the deference and even servihty with which such are all too often and too much regarded. Inequality in wealth is not incompatible with perfect social equality. A man who secures obeisance by 'treating" right and left is perhaps a welcome figure at a public-house bar. He is a nuisance, and should be wholly intolerable in a club. He is not yet always and everywhere BO. It is said that there are still clubs where ability to spend money makes itself obvious on the ballot paper, and secures a deference unwarranted by personal character. The Union's aim is that it shall not be so, that character and ability shall be the only wealth with which esteem be purchased, and give title for service. Nowhere is patient merit less scorned than in the workmen's club. The Union aims (and this more than all else) that its clubs shall be instruments, not only of added happiness of the day, but that they, by their daily influence, may waken in each member a constant desire for a wider life, a wider share in the joys of which both nature and science are so opulent. It sees that the future of the workman opens into a life where the narrow views, the dwarfed standards, the unreadiness for pubUc service which characterise present-day democracy, leave it all unable for its task. It aims that its clubs, amongst other influences, shall shape the workman's habit of thought his standard of life, his desire, to prepare him for this better life, and, by training, to equip him in capacity to undertake its manifold duties and responsibilities. CHAPTEE XIII. The Clubs. What manner of places are the Clubs of Workmen ? What are they like structurally ? What is their atmosphere, the aim and ideal, and, more especially, the practice of their governing bodies ? What influence do they exert upon their members, and so upon the communal life of the district in which they are placed ? What are some FACTS about them — what place, for instance, has the consumption of intoxicants in their economy ? What can be said to be known of them ? These are the questions which one may imagine asked by an inquirer bent upon Truth, anxious for knowledge of institutions which, as they organise the leisure of over half a million male workers at least (if the inquiry be limited to the Union Clubs alone), must, of necessity, profoundly affect the character, the ideals, and the personal conduct of the democracy as a whole. So considerable a leaven must affect the lump. Workmen's Clubs should not fear such queries, and they do not. Their attitude has been one of permanent invitation to inquiry, and of challenge to criticism. They have continuously begged of those who would deal with them to knoiv them. In the main, they have pleaded in vain. Their critics, almost as much as their enemies, have possessed a power which enabled them to a view of clubs satisfactory to themselves and fully justifying their designs, without the necessity, or the suspicion, of personal acquaintance, and without the need of any knowledge. It must be confessed that it is well-nigh Structure, impossible to present any general picture of a working-class club-house, so vastly do they differ in character. Something of this is due to location, to 287 the type and earnings of members, and more to the years of the club's establishment. Yet it is true that there are clubs no better housed now than 20 years ago, and not a whit the better off. These are clubs without ambition, a too ready content. There are clubs, especially in towns, confined by long leases to houses too small for their requirements, but without hope of expansion. These are the unfortunate, to which security of tenure has not proved an unmixed blessing. Some of these have done their best to make the interiors bright, if the capacity is small. Some, it must sadly be admitted, are apparently content with a perpetual and dingy gloom. But these are the few, mostly to be found in London and the large towns (as distinct from the villages) of the North. Where it is so difficult to expand, and where the surroundings are drab and drear, ambition slowly dies. The majority of clubs are progressive, eager for exterior and interior physical development. The virtues of paint and distemper every year become more appreciated, and if there is a general defect in the matter of the relation of the majority of the clubs to their houses, it is an over-eagerness to build, to improve, to advance beyond the discreet limits of financial capacity. Some very pleasing and comfortable clubs may be found in Southern, Midland and Northern villages, and Urban districts, a sign that he who runs may read of the rising standard of workmen and the character of their clubs. In the mining villages of Durham and Northumberland especially, and in a lesser degree of Yorkshire, club houses may be seen excelling anything dreamed of by the most enthusiastic clubman of 30 years ago. Lancashire offers some worthy examples, and London is not without evidences of the highest level of modern working-class club life. The Eastern Midlands, Northamptonshire, and in a lesser degree Leicestershire, provide, in some areas, a very high level of club-house. Wales is a district comparatively new 238 to club life and newer to club ideals. But the right spirit is visible, and will soon produce satisfactory results based on the model of some of the Clubs already to be found therein. The average rating of Provincial Clubs ranges from £312 in the case of the Ushaw Moor Club, Durham, which is the highest,* to the little Club of 34 members at Brandsby, Yorkshire, which is rated at £1 only. The average ratable value is £54 in the Provinces. In London it averages £105, the highest being the Mildmay Eadical Club at £500, and the lowest the St. Mark's Surbiton Club at £13. The average in each group of Counties is as follows :■ — £ London 105 South Wales 78 Eastern Counties 75 Northern 63 East Midland Counties 60 Scotland and Ireland 60 Southern Counties 45 Home „ 42 Yorkshire 40 Lancashire and Cheshire 37 West Midland Counties 37 Southwest „ 30 But averages do not help much, and a small, even a fair- sized club may inhabit part of larger premises which, in them- selves, provide the exterior desired. The varying differences in site value must also be considered. Thus, in a rural district, the ratable value would indicate a better club-house than in the case of a club in a large town, where the site value would be a considerable part of the total. It will be seen from the com- paratively low average that, whilst some clubs occupy club- houses of considerable dignity and value, the domicile of most is but a modest one. It is in this direction that succeeding years, * By an error of the secretary, who gave the total cost (I) instead of annual value, the Coldhurst Conservative Cluh appeared in earlier editions as the highest. 239 immediafcely succeeding years, may sea considerable progress. Since 1908, when the figures were collected from clubs for the first time, the average in London has increased by 7 per cent., and that of the Provinces by 22 per cent. To many, workmen's clubs are never right. To some they are poor and sordid and mean. To others, like the Chief Constable of Wakefield, they are too pleasant and comfortable. They are, he averred, the cause of domestic dissension owing to this. The man is dissatisfied with his home, and is disinclined to stay therein. It is but too much to be feared that the worthy Chief overstates the facts. There are in this respect considerable differences. Some clubs, and these it cannot be said are the majority, maintain a high level of comfort. Others are content with conditions which are but little in advance of tlieir homes. In the majority there is a level of comfort above, but only slightly above, the level of the individual member. Some clubs, especially the more modern, have a correct appreciation of the value of pictures in adding to the amenities of social life. Others, these happily a decreasing class, remain content with Brewers' Mirrors and Advertisements, or those of someone's famous pies, or the like. In few is there anything approaching the level which all should and could attain, were it not for the content with sordid and mean environment which still hampers the workman's advance. Sawdust or sand is going, but not yet gone, from all clubs as a flooi>- covering. Linoleum takes its place, though sometimes it is seen dirty and ragged. Carpet has not yet been given a wel- come. Probably there are not a dozen workmen's clubs in England where carpet will be found on either stair or floor of any room. Yet the wild mob's million feet tread it with appreciation at the Tower or Palace at Blackpool and the like. The club man is yet " 'umble, so 'umble," and still thinks that comfort and- ease in 240 leisure is right enough for the other folks, but not for the likes of " him. Still, here, too, a new spirit is arising, and the standard of comfort does rise in the equipment of the club, even if but slowly. Most clubs at least appreciate the value of light and brightness, but there are still those who consider that a reduced light bill is actually an economy. The Average Membership. It used to be asserted that a workmen's club sprang up as every licence was forfeited. Since the two things have been proved to have no relationship,* the assertion is made, with as little knowledge of the facts, that there has been a considerable accession in the membership. As a fact, the average member- ship of each club fluctuates but little after the first few years of establishment, unless contributed to by special circum- stances, such as the erection of a factory within its ambit. The great increase in the clubs of the Northern Counties has brought into existence a class of club which has a higher average membership than that of other districts, and this has affected the average over the whole Union area, but slightly only, as the following table, of the average number of members in each Union club will show : — 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 287 293 296 293 296 303 307 The following table will show how the average membership varies in different groups of counties, and the fairly stationary average over the seven years. The year 1905 is taken as a starting point because it is alleged that it was the Act of 1904 (which began the great annual reduction of Licences) * From 1904-1910 there has been an increase of 1,165 clubs of all classes, and a total decrease ol 7,445 On-Licencea. The increase in clubs, too, has taken place in districts where licences have also increased. In 31 out of 73 County Boroughs clubs have decreased as licences decreased. A very complete analysis of the Betums appears in the United Kingdom Alliance Year Book for 1912. 241 which is responsible for the alleged corresponding increase in the membership of workmen's clubs. District. Average, 1911. Average, 1905 Metropolis Home Counties Southern Counties South-Western Counties Eastern Counties Bast Midlands West Midlands Lancashire and Cheshire Yorkshire Northern Counties Wales and Monmouth ... Scotland and Ireland 334 360 209 220 243 273 180 173 541 459 271 2.58 232 235 211 224 339 295 446 402 286 256 335 269 How Many Working Men's Clubs ARE There p This is a question which cannot be answered unless the term " Working Man's " Club can be defined. There are clubs which do not include that adjective in their title which are members of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union. There are, too, many political clubs which do so characterise themselves. Conservative Working Men's Clubs are common. The Association of Conservative Clubs numbers 1,500, probably half of which would call themselves, or do call themselves, working men's clubs. Amongst the Athletic Clubs and Dining Canteens will be very many of a working class character. Whilst the total of all the institu- tions registered as clubs, i.e., all places where intoxicants are supplied to members, is known, and the totals for each county published in the annual "Licensing Statistics," the Home Office declines to collect a detailed Eeturn which would show the character, title, subscription, and membership of each, although such a Eeturn, as all these particulars are given to the Justices' Clerk by each club, would be readily available for collection. Leaving out Conservative Clubs from the Working Men's Clubs, and including them in the political class, the following is the estimate made in the April, 1912, issue of the Gluh and 242 Institute Journal of the divisions into which the total is spht : — Workmen's Social Clubs (including, say, 300 Political — other than Conservative — Clubs) 2,000 Trade Union and Friendly Society Clubs 250 Upper and Middle-Class Social Clubs 1,000 Conservative Clubs 2,000 Liberal Clubs (not Working Class) 600 Masonic Lodges, Works Clubs, Canteens, Golf, Cricket, and Football Clubs, etc 1,750 7,600 Of 1,445 clubs which were members of the Consumption ^^ . , , r -,r^-,-, -, nnr^ Union at the close of 1911, 1,390 consumed OF Intoxicants. intoxicants in their club-house. The total amoiint paid by 427,000 members for the same amounted to £1,127,000, or about Is. per member per week. These figures are taken from the club balance sheets,''' and the total is verified by the total payment of Club Tax. The differences making the gross average are somewhat considerable, and the following table will show what is the average yearly payment per member in each of the electoral divisions. The price paid by members in Welsh clubs is higher than in others, and this must be remembered. Average T,- .„-„. No. of Amount permem- ■"''^™''''- members. spent. bei per annum. £ £ s. i. Wales 1.5,438 63,315 4 2 1 Metropolis 43,499 160,960 3 14 Scotland and Ireland 1,261 4,365 3 9 3 Northern Countiea 94,947 276,732 2 18 3 East Midlands 25,708 72,537 2 16 5 Southern Countiea 22,928 61,435 2 13 7 Lancashire and Cheshire ... 47,917 114,995 2 8 West Midlands 20,297 47,893 2 7 2 South -Western Countiea ... 3,015 6,590 2 3 9 Yorkshire 126,327 268,888 2 2 7 Home Counties 16,507 34,544 2 1 10 Eastern Countiea 9,149 14,650 1 12 Totals 426,993 1,126,904 2 12 9 * The Union clubs are registered imder the Friendly or Industrial and Provident Societies Act, and, in addition to submitting their balance sheets to the Union, make a Financial Return, available for public inspection, to the Registrar of Friendly Societies. 243 Eeaders must be left to draw their own moral. The facts here set out may enable the many tales told of excessive drinking in workmen's clubs to be adorned with accuracy. When a workman's club is brought to the Food in bar of judgment, whether magisterial or in THE Clubs. j, discussion, Are meals supplied there ? " is certain to be a question. And if the answer is, as it must of necessity be in nearly every case, in the comparative negative, the club is at once condemned as " mainly a drinking club." How a workman can possibly have his meals at his club, and what would be the effect upon domestic economy and rela- tions if he did, none of the inquirers — and judges — stop to consider. If a workman is employed near his club, he is near his home. He cannot afford to " dine out." And the opinion of Mrs. Workman, sitting at a solitary meal at home whilst her good man did the same at the club opposite, would be worth hearing. If the workman is employed, as in London, often miles away from his work, he is miles away from his club — which, too, would not be open were he near it. Conse- quently, except in a few clubs in special circumstances like those adjacent to the Woolwich Arsenal, or other great Works, no meals are provided, and cheese, biscuits, sand- wiches, hard-boiled eggs and the like, the evening snack, or the hurried emergency meal, are all that is provided, except in the largest of clubs, where cold joints, etc., are ventured. Probably workmen's clubs will continue to be condemned because their members do not take their meals in them. They must be consoled with the thought that such condemnation is as naught compared with the abuse which would assail them if they did. Probably there is no aspect of a workman's club life which is the topic of more absurd OF Opening and ,.,,.,,. reference than the hours m which his club is Closing. opened, or more particularly at which it is closed. Popular jokes, made 30 or 40 years ago, still do duty. 244 about a night spent at the club as explaining a return home at 3 or 4 a.m. or later. There is, too, a form o£ reference to clubs by opponents which is perfectly correct, yet serves its purpose and intent by suggesting something which is not — "Clubs may keep open all night." The may is not italicised in print, or emphasised in spoken word, and it is understood and repeated as " do keep open," etc. Yet the author, if challenged, is perfectly safe. Clubs may, but they do not. This chapter can speak, of course, only for the workmen's clubs of the Union. What, then, are the facts ? If it be argued that the statement which follows is unverifiable, it must be replied that this is not the fault of the Union, which has vainly urged the Home Office to publish the facts, which are within the care and acquaintance of every Justice's Clerk and open to public inspection at his office. In London few workmen's clubs open on week-days before 6 p.m., as their members are nowhere in their vicinity tiU after that hour. They close on week-days, other than Saturdays, with few exceptions, at the same time as Licensed Houses. On Saturday the majority remain open till 12-30. In the provinces the great majority close at the same time as licensed houses, some few half-an-hour after, as many half-an-hour before. On Saturdays half-an-hour or an hour later. That so great a part of the working community would order their own hours so absurdly as to spend the time needed for sleep in prolonged drinking — for it is presumed that is what is expected to be deduced from the 4 a.m. stories — can only be believed by those who, like Philip Snowden, M.P., are assured the workman in the lump is bad, and seeks only for greater powers of gratification of evil inclinations. A little reflection will show that such a policy would not pay a club, and would leave it destitute of all but the wastrel and dissolute, who never did and never will maintain any club. DIAMOND JUBILEE CLUB, SOUTH KIR , of the Parish Council since the passing of the Act constituting such, had served six years on the Cramlington Sclrool Board, three of these as Chairman. "Was several years the Secretary of the Cramlington Liberal Associa- tion. In the early "eighties" he took an active part in University Extension work, won the Gladstone Scholarship (the first offered in Northumberland) in 1884, and holds a Vice-Chancellor's certificate. In social and educational work amongst miners his service was always sought and always readily given. Strong Trade Unionist and Labour man, with Liberal leanings, as becomes the brother-in-law and constant comrade in arms of Thomas Burt. Although maintaining interest in all other questions, devotes himself now entirely to the Club Movement, and is President of the Northumberland Branch. Is a Cockney, born in London in 1860. More tlian 30 i^ears a member of the Hackney Knowues Gladstone Club, he has been its President for 20. A 36 years' member of the Cigar Makers' Trade Union, he has been member of Executive, Vice-President, and President of that body. Big and burly, fond of a joke, and sings a good song. Is the Union's oldest representative in the "West of England. Mr. Jenks is a Birmingliam man, who migrated to Swindon 25 years ago. In the Midlands he was closely associated with the Adult School movement, and was the recipient of a testimonial on his departure in appreciation of his services as a class Secretary. He has been President of the Swindon Branch for 17 years, and club life in that town and in the West owes much to his wise judgment, tactful and diplomatic ciiaracter, and irreproachable example. He has hitherto resisted tlie many efforts made to induce him to seek 313 municipal lionours, which we think is to be regretted, for no more worthy servant of democracy sits on any Council than he. Of Leeds, who took the place vacated by T. Allan ^Wright Warner, is a compositor by trade, and has all his life been associated with Club, Trade "Union, and Co-operative work. Though a resident in Leeds for 42 years, he was born in Castleford, where his father was one of the founders of the Workmen's Institute and Co-operative Stores. A member of the Kingston Unity of Oddfellows, he was the pioneer of the establishment by Friendly Societies in Leeds of clubs as homes for their movement. In 1899 he was appointed Chief Secretary of that Order, is Editor of its Quarterly " Miscellany," and is a well-known lecturer upon historical and musical subjects. W Table, showing Financial Pro{ ress of the Union, from 1863 to 1911 . No. of ToTAi. Capital. Value of Land, Buildings, and Receipts during Year, Assoo'te ,^ Subscriptions m and DonatioDB Year. uluba in Bliare Reserve. Fixtures (after o o a "^ s and Pass Sale o£ Goods. 1 a to 1 « Onion Loan. Deprecia- tion) d as below. 111 •3 Cards. ■? i Conva- lescent Home. Gener'l Fund. £ £ £ £ £ £ i I £ £ 1863 175 8 2 717 1864 9 14 13 6U 1865 7 15 C ii ! 1412 1866 5 10 7 1082 1867 "'26 2 8 658 1868 a76 1 2 467 1869 6 3 296 1870 a88 10 8 531 1871 i a28 , , 7 6 503 1872 s a87 6 17 580 1873 238 7 11 , 628 1874 1 ^ 186 , , 12 12 , 443 1875 -s '. J Not , , 17 ' 3 13 , 703 1876 .2 . I stated , , 31 22 9 f 35 1,054 1877 1 234 , , 30 41 4 1( 30 1,057 1878 ,2 No Balance Sheet in R eport. 651 1879 ia; al20 , , 32 65 4 7 '. 885 1880 a303 , , 35 118 1 603 1881 a356 , , 41 162 372 1882 al50 41 1?8 '19 841 1883 a80 55 188 9 , 332 1884 42 58 272 11 31 388 1885 69 58 402 24 1 55 279 188G 83 60 498 111 2 32 232 1887 328 258 .. 77 606 226 12 216 1888 365 570 57 705 262 1 33 165 1889 328 'l77 708 88 1,064 398 3 37 204 1890 384 193 1,158 , , 96 1,138 366 5 51 e338 1891 422 217 1,712 113 1,188 479 5 42 «216 1892 410 6,893 2,322 /,984 144 1,170 576 6 21 cl83 1893 421 16,322 2,816 17,635 140 1,182 495 5 43 2 176 1894 460 17,777 2,545 19,804 139 1,080 492 4 50 358 121 1895 518 18,916 2,225 19,290 173 1,264 636 cl 26 393 80 1896 571 17,905 2,578 18,950 190 1,412 815 1 44 536 45 61897 627 18,611 3,858 19,335 195 2,314 2,056 3 90 1,312 66 1898 649 19,75'2 5,331 24,354 243 1,817 1,564 3 41 1,696 46 1899 701 21,970 6,9Y7 25,191 275 1,901 1,835 3 72 1,896 44 1900 710 20,647 8,506 25,058 342 2,324 2,313 3 71 1,917 37 1901 751 19,384 9,755 24,621 407 2,264 2,661 4 11 1,990 34 1902 808 14,864 11,209 24,145 398 2,691 2,781 4 45 2,390 33 1903 9.37 13,534 13,359 24,661 "26 493 3,337 3,245 5 46 2,584 24 1904 1002 12,308 14,779 24,015 38 517 3,100 2,861 6 75 2,354 19 1905 1041 10 595 16,960 24,769 555 697 3,086 2,728 6 93 2,434 40 1906 1105 9,88^ 19,183 29,.321 2,701 755 3,587 2,812 6 23 2,445 23 1907 1195 8,057 21,124 28,810 2,813 937 3,780 3,290 7 18 2,490 22 1908 1273 8,147 23,389 28,418 3,017 1,160 3,986 3,315 7 96 2,648 22 1909 1822 11,389 28,490 37,241 2,656 1,143 4,242 3,381 8 58 2,766 9 1910 1373d 10,510 30,440 36,698 729 1,240 4,390 3,702 8 41 4,821 13 1911 1445 8.087 33,633 37,000 762 1,423 4,677 4,170 8 97 5,790 8 a DeflcitB. b 18 months, previous y ear's acconnte hftvlnR terminated iu June. c From this date iaaued as a halfpenny monthlj' Instead of a penny weekly .Tourna]. d AiFiliated Co-oper;>tiTe Societies now excluded and total of clulB only given. g Includinf! Exhibition Dojiationa. CHAPTBE XVII. Appendices and Tables. rules of the union As recorded in the Beport of 1875. I. — Membership of the Union. The Members of the Union shall consist of all such persons as may contribute to its funds not less than £5 in one sum, or who may subscribe not less than 5s. annually; of delegates from affiliated Clubs which subscribe not less than 5s. annually ; and of Honorary Members appointed under Rule II. II. — Honorary Members of the Union. The Council may elect as Honorary Members of the Union any persons who have rendered, or may be thought likely to render, special assistance in promotion of the objects of the Union, the reasons of such election being entered in the Minute-book. III. — Election of Council and Ofpioebs. The Members shall, at their first meeting, and at every subse- quent Annual Meeting, elect from their own body a President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer or Treasurers, together with a Council, not exceeding thirty-six (exclusive of the Representative Members elected under Rule VI.), for the management of the business of the Union. The President, Vice-Presidents, and Treasurer or Treasurers shall in addition be ex-officio members of the Council. IV. — Appointments made by the Council. The Council shall annually select from their own body a Chair- man and four Vice-Chairmen, and shall have power to appoint all necessary Committees and honorary or paid officers, assigning to the latter such salaries as they may deem necessary. The Council shall also have power to appoint Vice-Presidents in addition to those appointed at tha Annual Meetings. V. — Executive Committee. The current business of the Union shall be carried on under the direction of an Executive Committee, the members of which shall be selected from the Council, and appointed at the first Council meetings held in .January, April, July, and October, and at the first Council meeting after the Annual meeting. The Committee shall, at the first meeting after such appointment, select a Chair- man for the quarter. Any vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be filled up by the Council at its next ensuing meeting. 816 VI. — Rbpbesentative Members op the Cottnoil. The Council shall, immediately after each annual meeting of the Union, elect on their body a number of members, not exceeding nine, belonging to the affiliated Clubs, there being not more than five of these from the Metropolitan Clubs. The affiliated Clubs in the Metropolis, by means of delegates attending at meetings to be held for the purpose at the Union Office (or, when unable to send delegates, by means of communications addressed by their respective Committees to such Delegate Meetings), shall suggest names of persons for selection by the Council as Representative Members. Of the names so suggested to the Council the latter shall elect five. No such representative shall be an officer of the Union. Persons appointed under this rule to be Members of the Council, shall be, whilst they so continue, Honorary Members of the Union. VII. — Nomination of Persons as Membees or the Council. It shall be in the power of any member of the Council to nominate persons to fill vacancies in the Council, and such nomi- nations may be made at any regular monthly meeting of the Council. The name of the person so nominated shall be sub- mitted for election at the next ensuing monthly meeting, due notice being given in the circulars convening the meeting. Every such nomination shall be accompanied by the name of the pro- poser and seconder. Vin. — Record of Attendance at Council Meetings and Voidanoe of Office. Any member of the Council, not being ex-ojficio, not having attended meetings of the Council four times during the year, shall thereby cease to be a member. IX. — Paid Officials. No paid official of the Union shall be eligible to be a member of the Council with power to vote. S. — Bye-Laws. The Council shall have power to make Bye-laws for regulating their proceedings. XI. — Meetings op the Council. At the meetings of the Council five members shall form a quorum. All questions shall be decided by the vote of the majority. The Chairman shall only have a vote in case of an equality of votes, and shall have only one vote. XII. — Special Meetings of the Council. The President or the Executive Committee may call a special meeting of the Council at any time, and for any purpose, provided 817 they give at least a week's notice, and state the purpose of the meeting to every member of the Council. The Chairman of the Executive Committee or the Honorary Secretaries jointly shall have the power, on the same conditions, of calling such meetings at their discretion, and shall also do so on the requisition of any five members of the Council. XIII. — Annttal Meeting oe Members of the Union. A General Meeting of the members shall be held in each year at such time and place as the Council may deem most suitable. A notice of the time and place of holding the Annual Meeting shall be advertised fourteen days before the day of holding the same, and the members shall be informed seven days previously by circular. In the event of non-members being invited to such meeting, only members shall be entitled to vote. XIV. — Annual Report and Audit. The Council shall submit to the Annual Meeting a Report of their proceedings, and a Statement, prepared and certified by a professional or Government Auditor, of all moneys received and expended on account of the Union during the year, and also of all its assets and liabilities. XV. — Special General Meetings op the Society. A Special General Meeting may be convened by the President, Council, or by the Executive Committee ; in the latter case, on a requisition signed by not less than twenty members, including at least three of the Council ; such requisition to state the object of the proposed meeting. A notice of the meeting to be sent to each member not less than seven days before holding the same. At any General Meeting seven shall constitute a quorum. XVI. — Alteration op Rules. These Rules shall not be altered but by a General Meeting, called for the purpose, or by the Annual Meeting, when the intention of any proposed change shall have been stated in the notice calling such meeting. BYE-LAWS. 1. The meetings of the Council shall be held at the Offices of the Union. 150. Strand, on the last Saturday in every month, at 3 p.m. 2. At least four days' notice shall be given, by the Secretaries, of every meeting of the Council, to every member thereof, with a list of agenda. 3. The Vice-Presidents shall be requested, at the commence- ment of each year, to signify whether they are desirous of receiving notices of Council meetings, and, in the event of their 818 not answering, it shall be assumed that they are not desirous of notice. 4. No resolution which appears in the Minute-book of the Council shall be altered or rescinded at any subsequent meeting of the Council, unless notice has been given at a previous ordinary meeting of the Council, and inserted in the notice con- vening the meeting. 5. The Executive Committee shall consist of not niore than nine members, and shall meet at least once a week, or oftener if necessary, and three shall form a quorum. No expenditure for objects not authorised previously by the Council, exceeding £10, shall be incurred during the month by the Executive Committee. 6. The minutes of the Executive Committee for the preceding month shall be read at the usual monthly meeting of the Council next following, and the Council shall take such action thereupon as they may see fit. 7. The Organising Secretary (if such an officer shall have been appointed by the Council) shall have a seat on the Council, and shall be eligible to the Executive Committee, but without a vote in either case. 8. The duty of the Organising Secretary shall be principally that of visiting Clubs and of attending meetings held , for their estab- lishment or improvement. 9. The Organising Secretary shall submit a report of his pro- ceedings to the Council at their monthly meetings in such form as may be prescribed from time to time. He shall also submit at each meeting of the Executive Committee next preceding the monthly Council meeting, accounts of his expenditure for the preceding month, and the Committee shall examine such accounts, and present them to the Council. 10. The delegates from affiliated Clubs, referred to in Rule VI., shall be formally appointed from time to time by their respective Clubs, and shall be required, whenever attending meetings of delegates summoned by the officers of the Union, to produce credentials of their appointment by their Clubs. Such credentials must bear the signature of the Secretary of the Club which they represent, and must certify that such appointment has been made at a meeting of the members of the Committee of the Club. Such credentials must also be dated, and show for what period the appointment has been made. No Club can appoint more than one delegate for one and the same period. 11. With reference to Rule VIII., a Record-sheet of attendance shall be kept in the Office, and shall be laid before the Executive Committee on the first Friday of each month. 819 RULES OF THE WORKING MEN'S CLUB AND INSTITUTE UNION. Revised and Adopted at a Special General Meeting of Members, held at Westminster College Hall, on Saturday, March 8th, J 886. I. — Odjeots. 1. To form a centre of communication between the Members of Working Men's Club and Institutes and others, of all classes, desirous of improving the condition of the people of the United Kingdom. 2. To help the industrial classes to establish and maintain Clubs and Institutes where the Members may meet for business, mental improvement, and recreation. 3. To maintain a Circulating Library, with the best works in the English language, in all departments of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics, for the use of the Members of Clubs and Institutes affiliated to the Union. II. — Constitution. 4. The Union shall consist of Corporate Members, Members, Honorary Members, Associates, and Associate Clubs and Institutes. 5. Corporate Members shall be those Clubs and Institutes which shall, subject to the approval of the Council, be affiliated to the Union, and shall subscribe to the funds of the Union one halfpenny per olub-member per month. 6. Members shall be those persons who subscribe not less than £5 in one sum, or an annual sum of not less than 5s. 7. Honorary Members shall be those who may be elected as such by the Council of the Union. 8. Associates shall be those Members of Clubs and Institutes which are Corporate Members ; also those Members of Associate Clubs and Institutes who pay Is. per annum for the Union Associate Card. 9. Associate Clubs and Institutes shall be those Clubs and Institutes which shall, subject to the approval of the Council, be affiliated to the Union, and shall subscribe not less than 3s., or such other sum as the Council may from time to time determine, per year to the funds of the Union. III. — OFriOEas. 10. The Officers of the Union shall be a President, Vice-Presi- dents, and a Council; all to be elected annually, and to be eligible for re-election. 320 11. The President and Vice-Presidents shall be elected annually by the Council previous to the Annual General Meeting, and shall be ex-officio members of the Council. 12. Each Corporate Member paying to the funds of the Union for from fifty to tico hundred Associates, and each Associate Club or Institute having a similar number of Associates, may elect one Member of the Council. Two or more Affiliated Clubs or Institutes which do not individually contain fifty Associates may join together to make up that number, for the election of a Member of the Council. 13. Each Corporate Member paying for from tivo hundred up to five hundred Associates, and each Associate Club or Institute having a similar number of Associates, may elect two Members of the Council. 14. Each Corporate Member paying for any number of Associates above five hundred, and each Associate Club and Institute having a similar number of Associates, may elect three Members of the Council. 15. Any Associate Club or Institute in the Provinces, at a dis- tance of more than twelve miles from Charing Cross, which subscribes not less than 10s. annually to the funds of the Union, may elect one Member of the Coancil. 16. The annual Election of Members of Council by Corporate Members, and other Clubs and Institutes entitled to representa- tion, shall take place in April. 17. Twenty-four Members of the Council shall be elected by the Annual General Meeting of the Union. All candidates for these twenty-four seats to be Members or Honorary Members, and to be nominated by a Member or Honorary Member. All nomina- tions to be sent in to the Council at least four weeks before the date of the Annual General Meeting. 18. Any Member of the Council who shall be absent from the Meetings of the Council for six months shall vacate his seat, unless the Council shall otherwise determine. 19. The Council shall appoint a Chairman, a Treasurer, and such other Honorary Officers as they may deem desirable from the Members or ex-officio Members of the Council; also an Auditor, a Secretary, and such other paid officers as may be required, who shall not be ex-officio Members of the Council. 20. Interim vacancies may be filled up by the Council, excepting any vacancy in the representation of Corporate Members or Associate Clubs or Institutes, which shall be filled up by the Club or Institute represpnted. 321 IV. — Meetings. 21. The Annual General Meeting of the Union shall be held during the month of May in each year, for the purpose of con- firming minutes, receiving a report from the Council, the balance sheet, and electing twenty-four Members of Council. 22. Special General Meetings shall be held whenever the Council may think it desirable to convene them, or whenever fifty Members of the Union or five hundred Associates make a requisition to the Council for the purpose. Such requisition to state the business for which the meeting is to be called, and the words of the resolu- tion or resolutions, with names of proposers and seconders, to be submitted to the meeting. 23. The date, time, and place for holding all General Meetings shall be fixed by the Council, and notice of the same shall be sent to every Member, Honorary Member, and afiiliated Club or Institute, at least seven days before the date of the meeting. Corporate Members and Associate Clubs and Institutes to be entitled to send to every General Meeting one Delegate for every hundred or part of one hundred Associates they represent. 24. At all General Meetings, twenty-one Members, Honorary Members, or Delegates from Affiliated Clubs and Institutes, shall form a quorum ; but only Members and Honorary Members shall be entitled to vote in the election of Members of the Council. Except at meetings convened by requisition, any business approved by the Council may be taken into consideration, but only when notice of the same has been included in the notice convening the meeting. 25. The Report of the Council shall include the names of Members of Council elected by the Affiliated Clubs and Institutes for the ensuing year, and the notice convening the General Meeting shall give the names of candidates to be submitted to the meeting for election. 26. The Balance-sheet, showins all income and expenditure, shall be made up to the end of March in each year, and, after being certified by the Auditor, shall, with the Annual Report of the Council, be printed and distributed before the Annual General Meeting. 27. Meetings of the Council shall be held on a regular day once in each month. Not less than five shall form a quorum. The Chairman, in addition to his vote as a Member of the Council, shall give a casting vote in cases where the voting is equal. 28. Special Meetings of the Council shall be convened when- ever the Council may direct; also when any ten Members of the Council shall make a written request to the officer whose duty it 322 may be to convene tlie meetings of the Council. Notices con- vening Special Meetings to state the business for which they are called. v.— Bte-Laws. 29. The Council shall have power to make Bye-laws for the regulation of all matters connected with the Union, provided always that such Bye-laws shall not be contrary to the Rules of the Union. VI. — Alteration of Rules. 30. The Rules of the Union may be altered only by a majority at a General Meeting; but no proposal for altering any Rule shall be submitted to a General Meeting unless with the approval of the Council, or 500 Associates, or at least 50 Members of the Union, signified in writing. The Union shall only be dissolved upon the recommendation of the Council ; and then only after a resolu- tion for that purpose has been carried by a three-fourths majority of those present at two consecutive General Meetings called for the purpose, at least three weeks intervening. 323 RULES OF THE UNION As amended and registered m April 30th, 1910. First registered April 18th, 1889. All Previous Rules Rescinded. 1. — Interpretation and General Qualification. In the construction of these rules, including this rule, the following words and expressions have respectively the meanings following, unless the subject matter or context is inconsistent therewith : ^ (a) Words importing the singular or plural number respectively include the plural and singular numbers, and words importing the masculine gender only include the feminine gender. (b) "The Act" means the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893-5. (c) "Friendly Societies Act" means the Friendly Societies Acts, 1896-1908. (d) The words "registered office," "land," "property," "the Treasury," "Chief Registrar," and "the Assistant Registrar," shall have the same meaning as in the Act. "The Treasury regulations" mean the regulations made by the Treasury under the Act. (e) "The Metropolitan District" means the area within a radius of twelve miles from Charing Cross. 2. — Name. This society shall be called The Working Men's Cltjb and Institute Union Limited, in these rules called the Union. The name of the society shall be kept painted and affixed on the out- side of every office or place in which the business of the society is carried on, in a conspicuous position, in letters easily legible, and shall be engraven in legible characters on its seal, and shall be mentioned in legible characters in all notices, advertisements, and other official publications of the society, and in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, indorsements, cheques, and orders for money and goods, purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the society, and in all bills of parcels, invoices, receipts, and letters of credit of the society. 3. — Objects. The objects of the Union are: To carry on the business of general advisers, teachers of the doctrine of association for social or ameliorative purposes, publishers, stationers and booksellers, general traders, agents and manufacturers, both wholesale and retail, of any article which may assist the development of the 324 clubs. The Union shall have full power to do all things necessary or expedient for the welfare and protection or assistance of its members, and for the accomplishment of all objects specified in its rules and in the Act (see also Rule 27). 4. — ReQISTEBED OlTlOB. The registered office shall be Club Union Buildings, Clerkenwell Road, London, E.G., in the County of London. It may be changed by a resolution of not less than two-thirds of the members voting at a special meeting of the Council called for that purpose. In the event of any change in the situation of the registered office, notice of such change shall be sent within fourteen days there- after to the Registrar in manner and form provided by the Treasury regulations in that behalf. 5. — Members — Clubs . Members of the Union shall consist of such companies or societies, or sets of trustees acting for the time being on behalf of incorporated bodies as were members at the date of the passing of these rules, or which shall be admitted to membership in the manner provided in these rules. Any such company, society, or incorporated body admitted to membership is referred to as a " Club " in all succeeding rules. 6. — Shares. Each club shall hold two withdrawable shares of the value of 5s. each for each 100 of its individual membership, or fraction thereof, provided always that no club shall be required to hold more than eight shares. The full name and address of all such clubs shall be entered in a share register, as prescribed by the Act. Any club ceasing to remain a member under these rules shall forfeit a sum equal to the value of the shares held by it at the date of such cessation of membership. Sliares shall not be transferable, and no interest or dividend shall be paid or credited to a club on any shares. 7. — Application for Membership. (a) An application for admission to membership shall be in the form provided, and shall be for such number of shares as these rules require, and such application shall be considered by the Executive at its next meeting. When reported upon to and approved by a majority of representatives present at a meeting of the Council the name of the applicant shall be entered on the list of clubs which are members of the Union and the register of shares hereinafter mentioned, for the number of shares required to be held by these rules. (h) No club shall be admitted as a member unless notice of its application, together with its full name and address, has pre- viously been published in the " Club and Institute Journal," or in 825 such other manner as any meeting of the Council may direct, and unless the consideration of such application has been notified in the agenda of the meeting of the Council at which such applica- tion is to be considered. (c) No society capable of being registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, or under the Friendly Societies Act shall be admitted unless the society be so registered, unless the Council, on the recommendation of the Executive, shall dispense with this condition. (d) No applicant which supplies alcoholic drink shall be admitted, or continue to belong to the Union if admitted, if the subscription paid to it by its members is payable for a less period than one month, nor which shall have bound, or shall bind, itself to deal exclusively with any brewer, distiller, or other tradesman, nor unless the following rule is adopted by it: "If at any time alcoholic refreshments shall be provided on the club premises, then, should any visitor to the club, not being a member thereof, pay, directly or indirectly, for refreshments served to him, the member introducing such visitor shall be liable to expulsion from membership on the fact being duly proved ; and it shall be the duty of any officer or member of the club, becoming aware of such breach of the rule, to report it at once to the secretary or committee." (e) No applicant which supplies alcoholic refreshment to its members in the Metropolitan district shall be admitted, or if admitted continue to belong to the Union, if the subscription paid to it by its members is less than 6d. per month or 5s. per annum. (/) Notice of the refusal of an application, or of the entry of the name of any applicant on the Hst of clubs which are members of the Union, signed by the secretary, shall be sent to the applicant at the address mentioned on the form of application within one week after such refusal or entry is made. 8. — Annual Subsoeiption. Every club shall subscribe to the funds of the Union an annual fee of 10s. for each 100 of its own membership, or fraction thereof, provided always that the fee payable in any one year shall not exceed £2. Such payment shall be due on the 1st of January in each year, and shall be calculated upon the membership then appearing upon the books of the said club. Provided always that-, such clubs as belonged to the Union before September 16th, 1897, shall pay an annual fee of 5s. only for each 100 of its own member- ship, or fraction thereof, and that the fee payable by these clubs shall not exceed £1 in any one year. 9. — Cessation of Membebship or Privileges. (a) Any club failing to pay the fees provided in Rule 8 before February 1st in each year shall be suspended from all privileges. 326 and shall have a notice sent to it to that eifect, and if such fees are not paid by March 1st, the member shall be removed from the list of clubs belonging to the Union, and shall forfeit all shares allotted to it, which shall thereupon be cancelled. (6) A club may be suspended from the privileges of member- ship of the Union or expelled by the vote of two-thirds of the representatives present at a special meeting of the Council upon a charge of conduct detrimental to the Union, and the nature of such charge shall be communicated to the secretary of such club (at the address registered in the books of the Union) at least fourteen days previous to the date of the said meeting. (c) Any club which shall supply alcoholic refreshment to any persons other than its own members and associates holding the Union associate and pass cards, who are honorary members of such club under its rules, and as provided in Rule 11 of these rules, shall receive a notice to discontinue such practice, and, unless it be discontinued within one month of such notice, the club may be expelled from the Union. (d) A club so expelled shall forfeit all shares held by it at the date of the resolution for its expulsion. (e) No expelled club shall be re-admitted except on the recom- mendation of the Executive, and by a vote of two-thirds of the representatives present at a meeting of the Council. (/) The Executive shall have power, on being satisfied that any club admitted under these rules has ceased to exist, to order the removal of the name from the list of clubs which belong to the Union. 10. — List op Clubs which ake Members of the Union. The Executive shall keep, at the registered office, a list of the names and addresses of all clubs which are members of the Union, which shall be open at all convenient times to inspection. None but those clubs, the names of which appear on such list, shall have any privilege of membership, and the Executive shall cause to be erased therefrom the names of all who cease to be members of the Union under these rules. 11. — Associates or the Union. Associate cards, at the price of 6d. each, and pass cards at the charge of id. per month, shall be supplied to clubs which are members of the Union, upon condition that all duly qualified holders of such cards conforming to all the regulations relating thereto, who shall be termed "Associates" under these rules shall be admitted by such club to the privileges of honorary membership. Any club which shall accept this condition and receive such cards for its members and admit such Associates 327 shall incorporate as one of the registered rules of the said club the following : — HONOEART MEMBERS. In the event of the club acquiring such a share or shares as is provided in the Brules, and so long only as the club shall remain a member of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union Limited, Associates of the said Union shall be honorary members of the club, subject to such regulations as are herein provided or may from time to time be made. An Associate before being admitted to the club must produce his subscrip- tion card (showing that his subscription to his club has been paid for the current month), the Associate card of the Union, and the pass card issued by the Union for the current month, and must write his name and that of his club in a book to be kept for that purpose. The doorkeeper or other appointed official shall compare the signature in the book with that on the Associate card, and on being satisfied that they are the same, shall admit the Associate. Honorary members shall have the same rights and privileges, and be subject to the same rules and bye-laws as ordinary members, except that they must not vote at any meeting of the club, be supplied with exciseable articles for consumption off the club premises, take books out of the library, or introduce visitors. The Committee shall have power to refuse the admission of such members in such cases, and to limit their admission to such times and parts of the premises as they may deem necessary in the interests of the club, and notice of such limitations shall be sent to the Secretary of the Union. A club may refuse to admit Associates under age, women, any person or persons who have been suspended or expelled from any club or any person or persons specially debarred by resolution of the general committee of the club to which admission is sought. GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 12. — Cou.MCiL Meetings. (a) Meetings shall consist of representatives api)ointed by the clubs, who shall be termed the Council. Every club may appoint one representative for every two hundred, or fractional part of two hundred, of its membership, but no club shall have more than three representatives. Every representative shall have one vote. The meetings of the Council shall be quarterly, annual, and special. (b) The business of the quarterly meetings, which shall be held in the months of January, April, July, and October, in alternate districts, shall be : — To receive from the Executive, or any other officers, reports upon the business of the Union and the state of its 328 finances and general affairs. The Executive shall present a printed report of its proceedings, together with a statement of cash received and expended during the preceding quarter. To approve or not the admission of clubs to membership of the Union, or to terminate such membership. To make bye-laws, provided always that they are not contrary to these rules. To transact any other business relating to the work of the Union. (c) The Executive may fix the time and place for quarterly meetings, which, where no other place is so fixed, shall be the registered olfice. (d) The annual meeting shall be held at the registered office in May. (e) At least fifteen days previous to each quarterly or annual meeting the Secretary shall send by post to each club a notice of the time and place of such meeting, an agenda of the business to be transacted, and credentials for the number of representatives entitled to attend. In the case of the quarterly meeting he shall, at the same time, forward to each club the report and financial statement already referred to, and in the case of the annual meet- ing a copy of the annual report and balance sheet for the preceding year, as provided in Rule 13 (ni). (/) A special meeting shall be convened by the Secretary either on an order of the Executive, or upon a requisition signed on behalf of 20 clubs, by the Secretary of each on the instruction of the committee, and shall be held as soon as is possible after the receipt of such orders or requisition at the registered office, unless the Executive fix any other place. (g) A special meeting shall not transact any business other than that specified in the notice convening it. (7i) If the Secretary does not convene a special meeting for seven clear days after a requisition has been delivered at the registered office, the reqnisitionists may give such notice of the meeting as is provided by the following rule, and shall have a claim upon the Union for all reasonable costs properly incurred in giving such notice. (i) Notices convening special meetings shall state the time and place thereof, and every purpose for which they are convened, and shall be posted, together with credentials for the number of delegates entitled to attend, to the registered address of all the clubs not less than six clear days before the day of meeting, unless the Executive unanimously direct a shorter notice to be given. (j) No meeting shall proceed to business unless at least 25 representatives be present within half-au-hour of the time of meeting, otherwise such meeting shall stand adjourned for at least seven clear days, of which adjournment notice shall be 329 posted to the registered address of each club. But if it be a meeting convened by requisition it shall be absolutely dissolved. (k) Every meeting shall have a chairman, who, in the absence of the President of the Union, shall be the vice-president, or in his absence such person as the meeting selects. The chairman shall not vote unless the votes are equal, when he shall have a casting vote. (I) No representative, except by special leave of the meeting, shall be permitted to take part in any meeting unless he hold the official credential card. 13. — EXBOHTIVB. (a) The Union shall be managed by a committee of management, to be called the Executive, consisting of twenty persons, each of whom must be at the time of his nomination, and during the term of his office, a member of a club under these rules. The Executive shall be elected for two years, and seven shall form a quorum. (6) For the purpose of the election of the various members of the Executive the clubs shall be grouped into seven electoral districts, each of which shall nominate and elect their proportion of mem- bers. Such districts and numbers of members shall be according to the following schedule : — No. of Members- 1. Metrgpolis (the area comprised within 12 miles radius from Charing Cross) and the Home Counties. — Middlesex, Essex, Herts, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex 6 2. Wales (including Monmouth) ; West Midlands (Derby, Stafford, Shropshire, Hereford, Glou- cester, Warwick, Worcester) ; Ireland ; South Western (Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset) 2 3. Southern Counties. — Dorset, Hants, Oxford and Wilts 1 4. Eastern and East Midlands. — Lincoln, Cam- bridge, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedford, Leicester, Rutland, Huntingdon, Notts, Northampton, Berks, and Bucks 2 5. Lancashire and Cheshire 2 6. Yorkshire 4 7. Northern Counties. — Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland; and Scotland 3 20 (c) No person shall be eligible for nomination or election, or, if elected, shall continue to sit unless he be a financial member of a club within the area of nomination and election, but any club may nominate a member of any other club within the said area. 330 (d) The first elBction shall be as soon as practicable after the registration of these rules, and subsequent elections in alternate years. Elections shall be by ballot, conducted in the following manner : — (e) Not later than the seventh day in October the Secretary shall send to each club a nomination paper, which shall entitle such club to nominate as many candidates as there are members to be elected for the electoral division in which it is situate, together with a list of the attendances of the retiring members of the Executive. Such nomination paper shall be returned to the Secretary not later than the 30th day of October. (/) Not later than the seventh day in November the Secretary shall forward to each club a ballot paper on which the names of the persons nominated shall appear in alphabetical order, and such club may vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies to be filled, and each vote so given shall be counted as equal to the number of representatives which the club is entitled to send to the Council under Rule 12, sec. (a). Ballot papers must be returned not later than the 7th day of December, otherwise they will not be counted. (g) The nomination paper and the ballot paper shall be in such form as the Council shall approve, and the votes shall be counted by the Secretary under the supervision of four scrutineers, one of whom shall be elected at each of the four quarterly meetings of the Council preceding the election. (h) Each member of the Executive (including the honorary officers) shall be entitled, whilst engaged upon any duties properly attached to his office, to recoupment for expenses at the following rate, in addition to the third-class railway fare, i.e. : five shillings per day (or part of day) for loss of working time, plus an allowance of four shillings for each half-day, or seven shillings and sixpence for each day engaged, with a further allowance of five shillings for hotel expenses if necessarily away from home at night. (i) Any member of the Executive being absent from three consecutive meetings shall, unless he send before the third meeting close an explanation which the Executive consider satisfactory, vacate his seat. No business shall be transacted unless a quorum is present. (j) Any vacancy arising on the Executive, or among the Scrutineers, may be filled by the Executive from the membership of the clubs in the district in which the vacancy arises, or the Executive may order that the vacancy be filled by election in the manner provided. (fc) Subject to the direction of any meeting of the Council, the Executive shall meet at least once a month, but a special meeting of the Executive may be called by a notice in writing, stating the special object, given to the Secretary by five members 331 of the Executive, and shall be held within seven days after the receipt thereof. At least three clear days' notice of such meeting must be given to each member of the Executive. No business shall be done at the meeting other than that named in the notice. (l) The Executive shall control all business carried on by or on account of the Union. It shall from time to time engage, remove, or discharge all employes other than the Secretary, and fix their duties, salaries, or other remuneration, and may require them to give such security in such form as it approve or determine. (m) At the end of December in each year the Executive shall prepare a statement of accounts and balance sheet for the year ending December 31st, in such form as the meetings from time to time direct, and lay it, duly audited by the auditor appointed under Rule 20, before the Annual Meeting of the Council, at which meeting a report of the work of the Union for the year shall also be presented. (n) The Executive may appoint sub-committees, but no sub- committee shall have power to incur any liability without the express sanction of the Executive. 14. — OrFicEES. (a) The Honorary Officers (who shall be ex-officio members of the Executive, and may attend and vote at all meetings) shall be a President, a Vice-President, and a Treasurer. They shall be elected at the annual meeting and shall be eligible for re- election, and if no successor of either is appointed on the termina- tion of his year of office, shall continue in office until the next regular period of election. Any vacancy occurring amongst the honorary officers may be filled by the Executive ; but the person so appointed shall continue in office only till the next annual meeting. (b) The President shall take the chair, and in his absence the Vice-President, if present, at all Council and committee meetings. (c) The Treasurer shall discharge any functions relating to the receipts or payments of the Union which the Executive may direct. (d) The Secretary : There shall be a Secretary of the Union, who shall be appointed and removable by a special meeting of the Council, which shall fix his salary. The following shall be his duties : — 1. He shall summon and attend and keep minutes of all meetings of the Council, of the Executive, and, if so required by the Executive, of any sub-committee ; 2. He shall make such returns as the Executive require ; 3. He shall have charge of the documents and other papers of the Union, and shall keep the accounts in such manner as the Executive direct ; 332 4. He shall keep all the books and accounts required to be kept under these rules or the Act, and shall receive all payments due from clubs and others, and pay all such moneys to the bank without deduction whatever at such times and in such manner as the Executive direct ; 5. He shall prepare and send all returns required to be made to the Registrar (Rule 21) ; 6. He shall in all things act in the discharge of his duties under the direction and control of the Executive. 15. — Removal op Offioers or Members or Executive. An officer or a member of the Executive may be removed from office at any time by two-thirds of the representatives present at a special meeting of the Council. 16. — Accounts of and Security by Officers. (a) It shall be the duty of every officer having the receipt or charge of money, his executors or administrators, at such time as the Executive may direct, or upon demand made, or notice in writing given or left at his last or usual place of residence, to give in his account, as may be required by the Union or the Executive, to be examined and allowed or disallowed by them, and on the like demand or notice to pay over all moneys and deliver all property for the time being in his hands or the custody to such persons as they appoint. (b) Every ofiicer having receipt or charge of money shall, before taking upon himself the execution of his office, give the security of a guarantee society in such sum as the Executive directs, conditioned for his rendering a just and true account of all moneys received and paid by him on account of the Union at such times as these rules appoint, or as the Union, or its Executive, require him to do, and for the payment by him of all sums due from him to the society. 17. — Books of Accounts and Inspection op Same. All books of accounts, securities, documents, and papers of the Union, other than such (if any) as are directed by the Executive to be kept elsewhere, shall be kept at the registered office, in such manner and with such provision for their safety as the Executive may from time to time direct. Any member or person having an interest in the funds may inspect all the books of account of the society at all reasonable times, but no person unless an officer of the society or specially authorised by a reso- lution thereof can inspect the loan or deposit account of any other member without his written consent. 333 18. — Payment oi" Moneys into Bane. All moneys received from the clubs which are members of the Union or otherwise on behalf of the Union shall be placed to the account of the Union with such bank as the Executive select. 19. — Payment by Cheques. All payments above £5 shall be made by cheques, signed by the persons appointed from time to time by the Executive, and countersigned by the treasurer or his nominee. 20. — Auditors. A Public Auditor under the Act, or two representatives of clubs which are members of the Union, one of whom shall be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, shall audit the accounts of the Union, and shall be nominated and elected at the Annual Meeting at which the accounts shall be submitted for approval. Such Public Auditor or auditors shall have access to all books and accounts of the Union, and shall examine every balance sheet and annual return of the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects, and shall verify the same with the accounts and vouchers relating thereto, and shall either sign the same as found by them to be correct, duly vouched, and in accordance with law, or shall specially report to the meeting of the Union, before which the same is laid, in what respects they find it incorrect, un vouched, or not in accordance with law. 21. — Annual Return to Registrar and Supply of. (a) Every year before the 31st March the Secretary shall send to the Registrar the Annual Return, in the form prescribed by the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies, required by the Act, of the receipts and expenditure, funds and effects of the society, and of the number of members of the same up to the 31st December then last inclusively, showing separately the expenditure in respect of the several objects of the society, together with a copy of the Auditor's report, if any. (b) It shall be the duty of the Executive to provide the Secretary with a sufficient number of copies of the Annual Return for supplying, gratuitously, every club or person interested in the funds of the Union, on his application, with a copy of the last Annual Return of the Union for the time being; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary to supply such gratuitous copies on application accordingly. (c) It shall be the duty of the committee of management to keep a copy of the last balance sheet of the society for the time being, together with the report of the auditors, always hung up in a conspicuous place at the registered office of the society. 334 22. — Seal of the Union. The Seal of the Union shall have the device of a cirolSj con- taining a portrait of Hodgson Pkatt, and its registered name in the margin. The seal shall be kept in the custody of the Secretary, and shall be used only under the authority of a resolution of the Executive, and in the presence of two members of the Executive and the Secretary, all of whom shall witness the sealing of the document. 23. — Loans. (a) The Executive, with the approval of the Council, may obtain, on such terms as to the time and manner of repayment as it thinks fit, advances of money at interest for the purposes of the Union from time to time from any person, society, com- pany, or other organisation, whether a member of the Union or not, upon the security of agreements, or promissory notes, bills of exchange, or of mortgages (either legal or equitable) of its property ; (5) The total amount so obtained shall not exceed for the time being £100,000, or any inferior limit fixed by a meeting of the Council. 24. — Power to receive Deposits. The Executive, within the total limit mentioned in Rule 23 (6), may receive any sums of money from clubs or others, on deposit at interest, repayable on such notice, being not less than two clear days, as they fix from time to time, provided that such deposits shall be received in instalments of not more than 10s. in any one payment, nor more than £20 in all from any one depositor. 25. — Power to make Advances or Investments. The Executive may invest the funds of the Union at such rate of interest and on such terms as they see fit on the security of any society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, or under the Building Societies Acts, or of any company incorporated by Royal Charter or Act of Parliament, provided that such society or company has its liabihty limited ; in the Post Ofiice Savings Bank ; in the Public Funds, in any investment permitted by the Trustees Act, or in any other manner allowed by the Act, including advances to its clubs on the security of real or leasehold property. 26. — Branches. (o) Any Such number of clubs as may from time to time be fixed by the Executive may, with the approval of the Executive, form themselves into a Branch for carrying out locally the objects of the Union, and such Branch may elect, by any method it chooses, a committee and such officers as it may deem necessary. 335 The Executive shall have power to allocate such sums as it may deem necessary to assist any such Branch to meet the expenses it may incur. (b) Branches may hold general meetings at such place as their Committee may determine, previous to the quarterly meetings of the Council, in order to consider the agenda of business to be transacted at the next meeting of the Council. Votes at such branch general meeting shall be counted for and against each and every proposition, and the numbers shall, if one-half of the societies or companies forming the branch were represented at the meeting, be added to the votes taken at the quarterly or annual meetings of the Union. Provided that if an amendment to any proposition contained in the agenda of business to be transacted at a meeting of the Council is carried at a branch general meeting, that amendment shall, if in order, be put in the same form at the meeting of the Council, and the question shall be decided by the total votes given thereon, both at the branch general meeting and the meeting of the Council. Pro- vided also that in the event of any such amendment being pro- posed as a substantive resolution at a meeting of the Council, it shall be open to any representative present to move an amend- ment to it, although such amendment may not have been sub- mitted to the branch meeting ; and any representative present at a meeting of the Council shall be at liberty to move any resolu- tion relating to the business on the paper, although the question may not have been discussed at any of the branch meetings. This same order of procedure shall also apply as between special meetings of the Council and the branches. (c) A copy of the resolutions passed at all branch general meetings shall be forwarded during the week following the meeting to the Secretary of the Union who shall submit them to the next meeting of the Executive. (d) Each branch committee may appoint a representative to attend the annual meeting of the Union, and the travelling expenses of such representative and an allowance upon the scale fixed by Rule 13 (h) may be paid out of the general funds of the Union. (e) Representatives of clubs belonging to a branch may attend and vote at either the meetings of the Council or the Branch meetings, but may not vote at both. 27. — Application of Profits. Any profits which may accrue shall be applied as follows : — (1) In reduction of the value of the fixed stock and plant of the Union, at the annual rate of not less than 10 per cent, on fixtures, and of 24 per cent, on buildings. 336 (2) To a General Fund to be used as follows : — (a) In promoting mutual intercourse between members and others interested in improving the condition of the people of the United Kingdom ; 1 (5) In promoting education by the estabhshment of classes, examinations, and scholarships, in providing lectures, and in assisting any associations providing educational facilities for working men and women ; (c) In maintaining circulating and reference libraries of the best works in all departments of literature, science, art, and politics, for the use of the members ; (d) In promoting such social, provident, and recreative objects as may from time to time be found desirable ; (e) In the provision and maintenance of, or subscription to, convalescent homes, orphanages, hospitals, or other insti- tutions for the relief of the members of the clubs belonging to the Union ; (/) In any other legal manner or purpose. 28. — Disputes. All disputes arising between a member of the Union (or any person aggrieved, who has for not more than six months ceased to be a member, or any person claiming through such member or person aggrieved) and the Union, or any officer thereof, shall be dealt with as follows : — (o) Appointment of Arbitrators. — There shall be five arbitrators who shall be appointed by a meeting of the Council, none of whom are directly or indirectly interested in the funds of the Union. (b) Mode of Selection. — In any case of dispute the Secre- tary of the Union, or such other person as the Executive direct, shall, in the presence of some one appointed by the complaining club, write the names of the arbitrators for the time being upon separate pieces of paper, and place them so that the names shall be concealed; of these papers the repre- sentative of the complainant club shall draw three, and the persons whose names are so drawn shall be the arbitrators to decide the dispute. (c) Vacancies in the number of arbitrators shall be filled by the first meeting of the Council after they occur. (d) Two arbitrators shall be competent to hear and decide any question, but shall, before hearing it, appoint an umpire, by whom, if they differ, the question shall be determined. (e) The costs of an arbitration shall be borne as the arbitrators direct, and each party shall deposit £5 to abide their decision. 337 29. — Right of Members to Demand Investigation. It shall be the right of one-tenth of the total number of members, or if the number of members at any time exceed 1,000, it shall be the right of 100 members, by an application in writing to the Chief Registrar, signed by them in the forms respectively provided by the Treasury regulations in that behalf — (o) To apply for the appointment for one or more inspectors to examine into the affairs of the Union, and to report thereon. (b) To apply for the calling of a special meeting of the Union. Either such application shall be made upon such notice to the Union, and shall be supported by such evidence for the purpose of showing that the applicants have good reason for requiring such inspection to be made, or meeting to be called, and that they are not actuated by malicious motives in their applica- tion, as the Chief Registrar shall direct. 30. — Supply op and Alteration of Rules. (a) It shall be the duty of the Executive to provide the Secre- tary with a sufficient number of copies of the rules, to enable him to deliver to any person on demand a copy of such rules on pay- ment of a sum not exceeding Is. for non-members and 6d. for members, and of the Secretary to deliver such copies accordingly. (b) Any rule of the Union may be rescinded or altered, and any new rule may be made, by a majority of two-thirds of the votes recorded at a special meeting of the Council, and no alteration shall be valid unless it shall receive such a majority of votes. No amendment of rules shall be valid until registered. 31. — Dissolution. The Union may at any time be dissolved by the consent of three-fourths of the members, testified by the signatures of the duly authorised signatories appointed by each to an instrument of dissolution in the form provided by the Treasury regulations in that behalf. INDEX. Abbott, J. 48, 72, 185 Abercorn, Duke of ... 54, 72 Aberdare, Lord ... ... ... 55 Adams, Maurice... ... ... 148 Adams, W. P 137, 155 Adderbury Club 10 Affiliation Pees ... 24, 27, 28, 30, 39, 40, 45, 78, 108 Aim of the Union ... 16,226 AUam, W 43 Allan, Mr 30 Alliance Club 86 Alton Working Men's Hall ... 23 Amalgamated Society of Chasers and Engravers ... ... 117 Amalgamated Society of Coal Porters 117 Amalgamated Society of House Painters and Decorators ... 117 Amalgamated Society of Bail- way Servants 117 Annual Pee 39 Anstruther, Sir Robert... ... 55 Anti-Club Legislation 68 Applegarth, Robert 30 Argyle, J.... Ill, 144, 145, 155, 158, 292 Argyll, Duke of... 21, 26, 27, 29, 34, 40, 54, 79 Arnold, Matthew 79 Arthur, Rev. William 54 Associate Cards ... 45, 60, 73, 78 Associated Carpenters and Joiners ... ... ... ... 117 Asquith, Rt. Hon. H. H. 215, 217 Athletics ... 40, 72, 80, 98, 125 Athletic Festival 98 Ayrton, Acton S. ... 26, 55, 79 Babbs, John 45, 56, 63 Bagshaw, J. H. ...Ill, 137, 159, 808 Bainbridge, John ... 13, 20, 39 Baker, H 87,101 Balfour, Rt. Hon. Arthur J. 135, 201 Barnes Artizans' Club ... ... 86 Barnett, Canon ... ... ... 122 Bastard, Horlock ... ... 9 Batley Working Men's Club ... 188 Battersea Liberal Club... ... 86 Bayly, Mrs. and Captain ... 20 Bayly, Rev. R. L. ... 8 Bazley, T., M.P. ... 130 Beach, W. W. Bramston ... 54 Beasley, Mr ... 72 Bebbington, John 13,20 Beckett, Sir William A. ... 19 Bedford Club ... 39 Bedford, Duke of 21, 31, 34, 42 Beer Question 28, 177 Beesley, Professor 228 Belgrave Club, Tunbridge Wells 23 Bennett, Curtis ... ... ... 94 Bennett, W. P. L 86 Bennett, W 141 Bermondsey Club ... ... 48 Berry, B 56 Berry, W. H 123 Berry, W 137 Best, Hon. and Rev. S 184 Bethnal Green Club 23 Birkbeck, Dr 7 Birmingham Club ... ... 23 Birth of the Union 13 Blackburn, Alderman ... ... 148 Bland, John 138, 191 Blatchley, E. R. ... 45, 56, 87 Booth, Charles 248, 293 Borough of Battersea Club ... 91 Borough of Pinsbury Club ... 86 Borough oJ Hackney Club ... 91 Bowkett, Dr 184 Bowley, Samuel 19, 54, 79 Boyce, H. E 174 Boyland, Mr. and Mrs. ... 147 Brabazon, Lord 69, 72, 143 Bradford and Halifax Branch 139, 160 Bradford Working Men's Insti- tute 23 Bradlaugh, Charles, M.P. ... 89 Branches : — Bradford and Halifax ... 139 Bucks 137 Colne and Burnley ... ... 140 Durham 138 East End 133 339 Branches — continued. Haddersfield 139 Lancashire and Cheshire 29, 30 Leeds 138 Leicestershire... ... ... 141 London... ... ... ... 30 Manchester 64,110,128,133,135 Metropolitan 128 North-East London ... ... 141 Northants ... 110, 128, 136 North Kent 142 North Staffs 141 North-West London 141 Northumberland 139 South-East London ... ... 141 South Wales 133, 140 South Yorkshire 137 Spen Valley 139 Staffordshire 136 Swindon 110, 136 Wakefield 137 Worcestershire 90 TorkCity 138 Brassey, Lord ... 72, 102, 116 Brassey, Sir Thomas 26, 54, 62, 71, 79, 80, 100 Bridport Working Men's Mutual Improvement Association ... 23 Bright, Jacob, M.P. ... 130, 198 Brighton Working Men's Club 23 Brighton Working Men's Insti- tute 8 Briscoe, J. I., M.P 19 Bristol Club 23 Broadhurst, Henry, M.P. 68, 73, 195 Brock, Rev. W 19 Brodrick, Hon. G. C. ... 41, 54, 79 Brotherton, E. A., M.P. ... 155 Brougham, Et. Hon. Lord 7, 13, 19, 26, 27, 29, 34 Broughton, Miss Phyllis ...150 Brown, J. S 86 Brown, Rev. J. Baldwin 20, 64, 182 Brown, Thomas 308 Brown, W. H 138 Bryan, Hugh 123 Bryanston Club 86 Buccleuch, Duke of ... 21, 31 Buckmaster, J. C. ... 44, 56 Bucks Branch 137 Burnley Town Commissioners 195 Burns, John, M.P. 99, 122, 212 Burt, Thomas, M.P. 68, 70, 79, 195 Butterworth, S 140 Bye-Laws of Union (1875) ...317 Caine, W. S., M.P. 100, 196, 211 Calthorpe, Right Hon. Lord ... 19 Cambridge, Duke of 70 Camden and Kentish Town Club 86 Campbell-Bannerman, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry, M.P 216 Campbell, E 145 Canterbury, Archbishop of 54, 79 Carlisle, Bishop of ... 55, 79 Carlisle, Very Rev. Dean of ... 19 Carlyle Club 86 Carnarvon, Earl of ...39, 54, 187 Caroe, W. D 102 Carpenters' Company ... ... 70 Cavendish , Lord Frederick, M.P. 53, 55, 70 Cecil, Lord Robert, M.P. ...217 Central Club 117 Central Hall ... 27, 31, 41, 101 Central London Branch of the Electrical Trade Union ... 117 Chalmer, Rev. E. Boteler ... 10 Chambers, Miss Janet ... ... 20 Chamberlain, Right Hon. J., M.P 21 Charlton Village Working Men's Club 9 Charterhouse Club ... ... 39 Chelmsford, Earl of ... 32,55 Cheltenham Working Men's Institute ... ... ... 8 Cheshunt Working Men's Insti- tute Chess Competition Chichester Working Men's Club Chichester, Very Rev. Dean of. Child Messenger Act Children's Act ... Chipping Norton Club ... 10 23 29 23 19 224 224 23 Christian Socialist Movement ... 10 Churchill, Lord Randolph 100, 197 Cinematograph Act ... ... 224 Circulating Library 26, 38, 39, 47, 71, 80, 97, 115, 124 Cain, James Louis ... 86 City Companies ... ... 70 Clapton Club ... 23 Clark, Andrew, M.D. ... 39 Clarke, Sir Edward G ,"k.o. 13, 20, 178, 184 Classes ... 7, 26, 32, 38, 40 72, 97 Cleasby, Sir Anthony ... 70 Cleaver, E. C. ... ... 86 Clubs :— Adderbury ... 10 Alliance ... 86 Barnes Artisans' ... 86 Batley ... 188 340 Cluba — continued. Clubs — continued. Batteraea Liberal .. 86 Liverpool ... 23 Bedford .. 39 London Nelson ... 86 Belgrave (Tunbridge Wells). .. 23 London Patriotic ... 86 Bermondsey .. 48 Loughborough ... 86 Bethnal Green .. 23 Mansfield ... 23 Birmiagham ... .. 23 Mildmay ... 150 160, 162 Borough of Battersea... .. 91 Morley ... 86 Borough of Finsbury... .. 86 New Clifden Social ... ... 86 Borough of Hackney... .. 91 Newcastle ... 139 Brighton .. 23 Northampton ... 188 Bristol .. 23 North London ... 86 Bryanston .. 86 Netting Hill Workmen's Hall 11 Camden and Kentish Town. .. 86 Park Town ... 86 Carlyle .. 86 Peokham 23,91 Central .. 117 Pimlico... ... 23 Charlton Marshall Village . .. 9 Primrose ... 87 Charterhouse .. 39 Eamsgate ... 23 Chichester .. 23 Rotherham ... 23 Chipping Norton 10, 23 Salford ... 10 Clapton .. 23 Scarborough ... ... 23 Cohden 73, 86 Soho ... 23 Colonnade (Clare Market) 9, 23 Somers Town ... 23 Commonwealth .. 86 South Kirkby Diamond Jubilee Cromwell .. 86 162 Devonport .. 23 South Shields Working Men's 28 Devonshire .. 86 South Shoebury ... 23 Dulwioh .. 92 South wark ... 39 East London .. 86 St. George's Mission ... ... 23 Eleusis .. 160 St, James' and Soho... 27, 34, 38, Enterprise .. 86 45, 87, 150, 160 188, 229 Farringdon 23, 39 St. Marks, Grosvenor Sq lare. 87 Forest Hill .. 23 St. Mathias, Salford Working Gravesend .. 23 Men's ... 23 Grosvenor .. 48 St. Pancras 23, 87 Hackney .. 39 St. Paul's ... 87 Hackney Radical .. 91 Sunderland ... 23 Hackney Wick .. 86 Tower Hamlets Radical ... 87 Hatcham Liberal ... 7 1, 160 United Radical 87,91 Hammersmith 71, 86 Vauxhall Bridge ... 87 Haddington .. 86 Wakefield ... 23 Hereford .. 23 Walthamstow 23,25,34 Hertford Village .. 9 Walworth ... 23 Hoddlesden 25,3 4, 188 Wandsworth ... 23 Holloway .. 23 Wednesbury ... 23 Hounglow .. 23 West Bromwich ... 23 Hoyland Common .. 162 West Cliff (Brighton) ... 28 Ifaiey .. 10 Westminster Working Men's. 11 Kentish Town 23, 39 Wolverhampton ... 23 Kettering .. 150 Club and Institute Journal ... 61, Kingham 10, 23 69, 74, 81, 98, 108, 115 151, 168 Kingston .. 23 Club Tax ... 221 Laurencekirk .. 23 Club Union Buildings ... 100, 116 Ledbury .. 23 Cobb, Mr., M.P. 100, 197 Leicester .. 188 Cobden Club 73,86 Lincoln .. 23 Cocking, Harry ... 173 Littlemore .. 10 Coffee Taverns ... 66 341 Cole, Mr 71 Cole, Sir H., K.C.B. ... 53,55 College, The Working Men's ... 10 Collett, T. C 86 Collier, Sir E. P 55 Colne and Burnley Branch ... 140 Colonnade (The) Working Men's Club 9, 23 Commonwealth Club ... ... 86 Connolly, Mr 184 Constitution, The New 85 Constitution, Further Changes.. 88 Consumption of Intoxicants ... 242 Contests 48, 98 Convalescent Homes 143 Cooper, Miss Adeline ... 10, 20, 35 Co-operative Congress 99 Co-operative Movement... 10, 36 Corbett, J 143 Council (First) 20 (1876) 55, 56 „ (First Elected) 86 Coulson, Mr 31 Courtney, Leonard, M.P. 196, 198 Craig, Miss Isa 20 Cranbrook, Viscount 79 Cremer, W. E., M.P. ...31,196,212 Cromwell Club 86 Crossley, F., M.P 19 Crowder, A. G 71 Cubbon, A 56 Cuerel, Eodolfe ... 95, 121, 173, 301 Cyprus Club 67 Dalziel, Sir J. H., M.P. 96, 174 Darwin, Charles... ... ... 48 Davies, J. P 140 Davis, Gent, M.P 196 Davis, H 87 Davis, J. H 142 Dawn of the Idea 11 Debt 44, 51 DeBunsen, Eev. H. G.... 54,79 Dent,J.J.... 24, 76, 84, 99, 103, 120, 122, 146, 151, 155, 158, 199, 288 Derby, Earl 32, 54, 79 Devonport Club 23 Devonport Working Men's Asso- ciation ... ... ... ... 23 Devonshire Club ... 86,143 Devonshire, Duke of ... 21, 26, 27, 31, 34, 41, 54, 70, 71, 79 Dickinson, Dean 127 Digby, W 87 Dilke, Sir O.W., Bart., M.P. 55,79 Dilks, H 166 DUlon, W 141 Discussions ... ... ... 7 Dockray, K. T. S. ... 135, .308 Donations and Subscriptions 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 40, 42, 43, 70, 74, 78 Dorman, J. W 145 Dorrell, Edwin 87, 121 Dowling, Mr 72 D'Orsey, Eev. A. J 20 Draper, J. 87 Drapers' Company ... ... 70 Du Boulay, Eev. F 86 Ducie, Eight Hon. Earl of 19, 54 Dulwich Club 92 Dunton, J. 86 Durham Branch... ... ... 138 East End District East London Club Ebury, Lord Edgcumbe, E. ... Educational Work ... 133 ... 86 55, 79 ... 87 32, 96, 124 Edward VII., His Majesty King 34 Edwards, Henry... ... ... 54 Edwards, J. Passmore ... 73, 121, 145, 148 Edwards, Mrs. Passmore ... 150 Eiseuhart, Mr 45 Elcho, Lord 55,72 Electrical Trades Union ... 117 EleusisClub 160 EUam, W. J 135 Ellis, Ben 145 Elwood, H. A 86 Ely, Very Eev. Dean of ... 19 Enterprise Club 86 Entertainments 32, 48, 99 Excisable Articles, Sale of ... 58 Eykyn, Eoger 55 Farringdou Working Men's Club 23, 39 ... 21 ... 141 ... 166 ... 125 74, 107 ... 314 Fawcett, Henry Pellowes-Smith, J. P. ... Fellowship, The Figures of Increase Financial Position Financial Progress Finch, Charles B 86 Finlay, SirB., Q.C.M.P. ...115 First Legal Fight 66 First President ... ... ••■ 19 First Vice-President 19 First Council 20 First Eeport 28 First Want, The 8 Fishbourne, T. ... 45, 56, 87, 132 342 Fiahmongera' Company ... 70 Fison, Mra. William 20 Five Yeara' Progreas (The Firat) 33 Food in Cluba 243 Fooka, H 141 Foreman, T 86 Foreat Hill Club 23 Fortescue, Bt. Hon. Earl 19, 53, 54, 79, 98 Foater, Alfred 87 Foater, T. Gregory 48 Franks, W. E 20 Friendly Societies Act ... 26, 73, 195 Friendly Societies Act and Political Cluba 196 Fritz, W. J 87, 121 Fuloher, Edward 86 Fuller, Henry A 86 Gardiner, W 71 Garrity, Councillor Edward ... 307 Gaston, Richard... 172, 173, 174, 304 Gelder, Sir Alfred, M.P. 200, 223 George, F. E 142 George, EightHon. Lloyd, M.P. 67, 198 Gibson, Rev. H., M.A.... 19 Gilchrist Trustees 71 Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E . 20, 28 67 , 194 Gledhill, Councillor A.... 139 , 311 Goldsmid, Sir Julian ... 55 Goldsmiths' Company ... 70 Goldsmiths and Jewellers Society 117 Gourlay, Mr 195 Grafton, Duke of 21 Oraff V. Evans 68 Grantham, Mr. Justice 122 Gravesend Club 23 Gray, J. G 119 Green, J. F 119 Grey, Sir George 26 Grice-Hutchinson, Captain 199 , 200 Groavenor Club 48 Gurney, Ruasell, Q.C. ... 19 Guthrie, Rev. Dr. 19 Hackney Club 39 Hackney Radical Club... 91 Hackney Wick Club 86 Haigh, D.F 139 Hall, B. T., 94, 104, 119, 175, 199, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 211, 218, 223 , 295 Hall, E 47 Hall, Rev. Newman ... 19, 55 Halifax WorkingMen'sInstitute 23 Hamilton, Lord Claud ... ... 72 Hamilton, W. A. B 56 Hammersmith Club ... 72, 86 Hampshire Diatrict Union ... 90 Hardwick, William, M.D. ... 56 Hardwicke, Dr. ... ... ... 143 Harria, Lord ... 55, 79, 90, 134 Harrison, Frederic 79 Harriaou, T. C 140 Hart, David 86 Hastings, G. W 19, 55 Hatcham Liberal Club... 71,160 Hawkins, W. S 121 Healy, D. 133 Heaaman, John ... Heddington (Wilts) Club Headlam, Eev. S. D. ... Henneasey, A. N. Herbert, Auberon 37, 40, 41, Hereford Club ... Hertfordshire Village Club Hervey, Lord Francis ... 71,73 Heward, A 56, 87 Heywood, J., F.R.S. ... 19, 55 Hill, Alsager Hay ... .. 44 Hill, Hamilton Hay 56 Hill, Henry (Designer of Asso- ciate Card) Hill, John Hill, M. Davenport Hill, Mr Hoare, Hamilton N. Hoare, Henry ... Hobson, T. F., ... 87 86 54 23 46 110, 136, 308 19 71 43,56,69,143 ... 31, 38, 43 90, 93, 96, 122, 172, 285 Hoddleaden Club ... 25, 34, 188 Hodgaon Pratt Memorial ... 346 Hodgson Pratt Scholarship ... 119 Holden, Councillor A. A. 142, 307 Holland, E. T 56 HoUond, J. R., M.P. 79, 96, 195, 196 HoUoway Working Men's Club. 23 Holmes, J. H 145 Hopes, Emmanuel ... 86, 90 Hopton, J 138 Hopwood, Sir Francis 70 Horniman, E 160 Horaburgh, Miss ... 29, 31 Horsfall, T. C 133 Houghton, Lord 80, 130 Hounslow Working Men's Club 23 Hours of Opening and Closing Clubs 243 Howell, George, M.P. 29,31,39,122, 129, 187 343 Howell, J. 141 Howell, J. S 74, 76 Hoyland Common Club ... 162 Huddersfield Branch 139 Hudson, Alderman 155 Hughes, Bev. J. Pritchard ... 133 Hughea, T., B.A. 19, 28, 55, 79 Hulme Working Men's Institute 12 Hunt, Eobert 13o Hunt, Seager, M.P 197 Huxley, Professor T. H. 55, 72 Iddesleigb, Earl Iffley Village Club Industrial Exhibitions Institutes : — Bradford Working Men's ... Brighton Working Men's ... Cheltenham Working Men's Chestnut Working Men's ... Halifax Working Men's Hulme (Manchester) Working Men's Mechanics' South Shields Working Men's Insurance Act ... Intoxicants, Consumption of ... 60 10 23 23 23 12 7 8 224 242 Jackson, A. E 56 Jackson, Ealph Ward 55 Jarman and Son 149 Jenkins, Rev. Canon, M.A. 19, 55 Jenks, T 136,312 Jeune, Francis 39 Johnson, J. ... ... ... 137 Johnson, William, M.P. 80, 96, 234 Johnston, Andrew, M.P. ... 229 Johnstone, Sir Hartcourt ... 41, 48, 53, 55 Jones, Eev. Harry 228 Jones, J. B 87 Jones, Lloyd 72 Jones, Stanley 133 Jozirnal (Tlie) ... 26,69,74,81, 98, 108, 115, 151 Jubilee Scheme for Debt Extinction 164 " Jubilee " Scholarship 125 Judge, Mark ... 69, 75, 81, 84, 87, 170 Kellett, J 86 Kennard, Lieut. -Colonel B. H. 55, 79 Kent Association of Town and Village Clubs 134 Kent Union of Institutes 129, 131 Kentish Town, W.M. Club 23, 39 Kettering Working Men's Club. 150 Kettle, Sir Rupert 55 Kingham Reading and Recrea- tion Club 23 Kingston Club 23 Kingswell, Alderman 155 Kinsman, J. W ... ... 140 Knowles, George 312 Lamport, Charles 56 Lanoashiie and Cheshire Branch 29, 30 Laurencekirk Club 23 Laurie, A. P 124 Lawes, Mr. 9 Lawrence, Henry W. ... ... 56 Lawrence, Mrs 43 Lawrenson, Mrs. ... ... 74 Lawson, Wilfrid, M.P. ... 28 Layard, A. H., M.P., D.C.L.... 19, 55, 129 Lectures 26, 30, 32, 40 Ledbury Club 23 Leeds Branch ... 138 Leese, Councillor H., J. P. ... 141 Legislation, Clubs and 193 Legislation, Union's Attitude ... 202 Leicestershire Branch ... ... 141 Leicester Club 188 L'Estrange, Eev. A. G. ... 56 Levi, Professor Leoni 72 Lewes, Professor Vivian ... 124 Lewis, Councillor W. J. ... 141 Libraries, Club ... ... ... 32 Library, Circulating 26, 38, 39, 40, 47, 71, 80, 97, 115, 124 Licensed Victuallers ...67,194, 215 Licences ... ... ... 39, 59 Lichfield, Earl of 26, 27, 34, 39, 54, 183, 184, 186, 187 Lincoln Club 23 List of Officers and Council (1876) 54 Litchfield, E. B., B.A 20 Littlemore Village Club ... 10 Liverpool Club ... ... ... 23 Local Option ... ... ... 181 London, Bishop of ... 55, 79 London Branch ... ... ... 30 London Effort 10 London Nelson Club 86 London Patriotic Club 86 London Society for the Exten- sion of University Teaching.. 124 Loudon Trades Council 30, 117 344 London Working Men's College 10 Lome, Et. Hon. Marquis of 48, 54 Loubet, President ... ... 123 Loughborough Club 86 Lowe, J 56, 63 Lubbock, John 55, 79 Lucraft, Benjamin ... ... 45 Lushington, G., M.A. ... 20, 182 Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Lord 19, 26, 28, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42,45,48, 54, 69, 73, 79, 90, 129, 181, 186 Lyttelton, Hon. and Eev. W. H. 19, 54 Macdonald, Alexander, M. P. ... 63 Maddook, C 86 Mahoney, William 86 Main Object, The 37 Manchester Branch 64, 110, 128, 133, 135 Manning, Sergeant, Q.C. Manning, Mrs. (Sergeant) Mansfield Club Maori King, The Markham, Sir A., M.P. Marlborough, Duke of ... Marriott, Sir W. T., K.C 19 20 23 80 221 21 12 56, 68 145 309 56, 87 10, 28, 29 ... 205 55 7, 8, 11, 16 ... 87 48, Mason, T. .T. Matthews, James Maurice, C. E. ... Maurice, Kev. F. D. May, John McArthur, William Mechanics' Institutes Mellish, J. C. ... Members of Public Bodies ... 246 Mennell, A 138 Mercers' Company ... ... 70 Metoalf, A. 138 Metropolitan Association of Operative Plasterers ... ... 117 Metropolitan Branches... ... 128 Metropolitan District ... ... 133 Mildmay Club ... 150,160,162 Mills, A., M.P 67 Minet, W. 69, 72, 81, 85, 87, 88, 90, 94, 171, 199, 281 Mitchell, Mr. Mobbs, J. G. .. Mocatta, P. D. .. Monthly Journal Morgan, W. Morley Club Morley, Mr. Morley, Samuel .. Morton, Edward 39 310 79 26, 28 87 86 183 29, 55, 70, 143 86 Mount-Temple, Lord ... 55, 79 Mowatt, Frank 55 Mundella, Kt. Hon. A. J., M.P. 48, 55, 79, 103 Mutual Improvement Societies. 7 Nash, T. A. 83, 87, 88, 90, 172 Nash, Vaughan 98 National Association of Opera- tive Plasterers... ... ... II7 National Liability Company ... 12 National Union of Bakers and Confectioners ... ... ... I17 National Union of Clerks ... 117 National Union of Shop Assistants ... ... ... I17 Neill, W. M. ... 13, 19, 55, 79 Newcastle Working Men's Club 139 New Clifden Social Club ... 86 Newdegate, Mr., M.P. ... 199, 200 Newton, Joseph 56 Noel, Ernest 54 Northampton Working Men's Club 188 Northants Branch 110, 128, 136 Northants Clubs 160 Northcote, Et. Hon. Sir Stafford M.P 32, 47, 55, 58, 79 North-East London Branch ... 141 North London Club 86 North Staffs Branch 141 Northumberland Branch ... 139 North-West London Branch ... 141 Netting Hill Workmen's Hall... 11 Numerical Progress ... ... 48 Objects of the Union O'Callaghan, J. ... Odger, George ... Overstone, Lord... Oviatt, N. W. ... Owen, Hugh, Sir Pagliardini, T. Pakingtou, J. S Palmer, George Pape, Fletcher Parke, Ernest Parker, C.F. Park Town Club Pass Cards Paterson, Mrs. 14 86 30 65 144, 145, 148 ...20, 65, 182 87 19, 184 79 ...84,86, 173 173 86 86 ...45, 73,108 .56, 87, 100 Paterson, Thomas 29, 32, 33, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 47,56, 63, 64, 275 Paterson, Thomas, Memorial... 100 Pearson, E. S 58 345 Pease, Sir Joseph 157 Peckham Club 23,91 PegwellBay Con valeaoent Home 144, 153 Pelham, Mr 183 Penny Readings 26 People's College, Sheffield ... 10 Peppin, T. S 122 Perry, C.T 148 Peyton, Connelly ... 27, 41 Peyton, Mr 183 Pickersgill, E., M.P 199 PimliooClub 23 Plummer, John ... ... ... 56 Pooklington, Mr. 129 Political Clubs and Friendly Societies Act 196 Portal, Wyndham 90 Praed, Sir Herbert 48, 53, 69, 272 Pratt, Hodgson ...28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 53, 55, 56, 63, 64, 78, 79, 85, 87, 88, 90, 91, 98, 100, 118, 129, 133, 143, 145, 148, 169, 184, 189, 249, 264 Pratt, Hodgson, Memorial ... 346 Pratt, Hodgson, Scholarship ... 119 Pratt, Mrs. Monica 119 President (First) 19 President (1876) 54 President (1884) 79 President (1909) 120 Preston, Alfred 56, 87 Primrose Club 87 Prince of Wales ... 21, 29, 31, 70 Prohibition 180 Prospectus, First of Union ... 14 Provincial Branches ... ... 128 Publicans' Bill, 1912 222 Public Lectures in Clubs ... 30 Punshon, Rev. W. Morley , M. A. 19 Pyle, A. R 87 Queen Victoria, Donations from 42, 70 Queen Victoria, Gifts of Books 40 Ramsgate Working Men's Club 23 Ranken V . Hunt 24,285 Rathbone, T., J.P 19 Rawlinson, Robert ... ... 55 Raynham, Viscount, M.P. ... 19 Reading Rooms 7 Recreation 16 Reed, Mr. and Mrs 161 Registration Fee 45 Registration of Union 88 Report, First 23 Representation 44 Richard, Henry, M.P 55 Richards, Evan Matthew ... 55 Richards, Councillor H. T. ... 310 Richardson, Councillor R., J.P. 138, 159, 191, 307 Biokett, Sir J. Compton, M.P. . 155 Ritie Shooting Contests 72 Ritchie, Rt. Hon. C. T., M.P. 198, 201, 211, 213 Roberts, C, M.P 109 Roberts, Herbert, M.P 199 Roberts, Samuel, M.P. 67, 193, 198, 222, 224 Robertson, Rev. P. W. ... 8 Robinson, Rev. Canon, M. A. 19,55, Rodaway, J. W 86 Rogers, Rev. William, M.A. ... 53 " Romany Dramatic Club " ... 70 Boscoe, Sir H., M.P 198 Rosebery, Rt. Hon. Earl of ... 28, 51, 70, 80, 230 Rosebery, Countess of 70 Rotherham Club 23 Rothschild, Lord 71 Roundell, C. S., M.P 198 Rowland, F. A. A 56 Royal Commission on Licensing Laws 201 Royal Help 70 Rules, The First 61 Rules of the Union (1875) ... 315 Rules of the Union (1884) ... 319 Rules of the Union (1910) ... 323 Buskin College 97,115,124 Ruskiu, John ... ... ... 28 Russell, Lord John ... ... 72 Rutland, Duke of 21 Rylance, Rev. J. H. ... 13, 20 Salford Working Men's Club ... 10 Sal tburn Convalescent Home... 155 Saltburn Convalescent Home, Opening ... ... ... 158 Samuel, Rt. Hon. Herbert, M.P. 158 Sands, W. H. ...63, 69, 72, 83, 87, 88, 90 Saturday Afternoon Visits 40, 80, 98, 124 Savage, G. P 56, 63 Scarborough Working Men's Club 23 Scott, A. J 19 Scott, Bussell 20 Seaside Home 66, 74, 143 Sedgeley Workmen's Hall ... 23 Semley, W 139 346 Shaftesbury, Earl of .. . 29, 41, 55 Shires, T. . 137, 311 Shore, G ... 95 Shorter, T ... 20 Shrewsbury, Earl of . 27, 55 Silver Plate Workers . ... 117 Silver Trades Council . ... 117 Sims, G. B ... 220 Skegness Disaster ... 121 Slack, H. J ... 56 Small Silver Workers' Society.. 117 Smiles, Samuel 39 Smith, J. Abel, M.P. ... 19, 27 Smith, Edward H 86 Smith, MissE 41, 43 Smith, W. H 55, 79 Snowden, Philip, M.P... . 220,244 Social Working Men's Club Association, The ... ... 41 Soho Working Men's Club ... 23 Solly, Kev. Henry, 7, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 39, 40, 41, 42, 56, 68, 81, 120, 129, 169, 182, 189, 229, 249, 260 Somers Town Club 23 Southampton Workmen's Hall 23, 24 South -East London Branch ... 141 South Kirkby Diamond Jubilee Club 162 South Shields Working Men's Club 8, 23 South Shoebury Club 23 South Wales Branch ... 133,140 South wark Club 39 South Yorkshire Branch 137, 160 Spencer, A. J 87 Spencer, Rt. Hon. Earl 19, 55 Spen Valley Branch 139 St. Albans, Duke of 21 Staffordshire (Wolverhampton) Branch 136 Stanley, Dean 40, 47, 54, 62, 69, 72 Stanley, Lady Augusta... 40,47,62 Stanley, Lord 229 Stansfeld, James, M.P. 65, 79 Stephen Tayler Scholarship 121, 125 Stevens, James 311 Stewart, Sir Mark, M.P. ...200 St. George's Mission 23 St. James and Soho Club 27, 34, 38, 45, 87, 150, 160, 188, 229 St. Mark's Club, Grosvenor Square 87 St. Matthias, Salford, Working Men's Club 23 Storrar, John, M.D 55 St. Pancras Club 23,87 St. Paul's Club ... 87 Stroud, W. G 95, 123 Subscriptions ... 21 Sunday League Concerts ... 245 Sunday Observance ... 245 Sunderland Club ... 23 Swanwick, Miss Anna .. 20, 55, 79 Swimming ... 72 Swindon Branch ... 110 Swinnerton, F. W. ... 309 Symons, Cyrus ... 39 Taxation ... ... ... ... 44 Tayler, Stephen Seaward 28, 39, 47, 53, 55, 56, 63, 65, 84, 87, 88, 118, 120, 148, 150, 249, 268 Tayler, Stephen Seaward, Scholarship 121, 125 Taylor, H.Worsley.K.C, M.P. 214 Taylor, P. A., M.P. ... 55, 79 Tea Meeting (Monthly)... 27,29 Temperance Movement 11, 16 Temple, Charles 86 Thick, Frank 56 Thomas, Rev. D. ... 12, 20 Thomas, W 87 Thompson, John 309 Thurstaus, W 137 Torrens, W. T. McCuUagh 55, 79 Tournaments 29 Tower Hamlets Radical Asso- ciation 87 Tower Hamlets Radical Club... 87 Toynbee Hall 32 Tozer, J 141, 310 Trollope, Anthony 72 Tubbs, Mr 45 Turner, J. H 140 Turner, Mrs 70 Tutorial Class 124 Twining, Miss E 20 Tylee, Mr 75 Tyndall, Professor 79 Underwood, C 110 United Kingdom Alliance ... 178 United Patriots'Friendly Society 117 United Radical Club ...87,91,122 Urwin, W. G., J.P 158 Van Laun, H. J... Vaughan, James Vauxhall Bridge Club Venning, W. C. ... Verney, Frederick W. Verney, Captain, R.N. ... 87 ... 26 ... 87 ... 143 56, 63, 87 ... 87 347 Vice-Presidents (First) . Vice-Presidents (1876) , Vice-Presidents (1883) . Vice-President (1909) . Village Clubs ... Waddington, M Wadham, J. T. ... Wadman, W. Wakefield Branch Wakefield Club ... 19 64, ,55 ... 79 ... 292 9 80 87 151, 156, 160 ... 137, 160 23 Wales, The Prince of 21, 29, 31, 70 Walker, Charles 203 Walker, David 56, 87 Waller, W. C 97 Walrond, Rev. M. S. A. 55, 56 Walters, Eev. W 184 Walthamstow Club ... 23, 25, 34 Walworth Club 23 Wandsworth Working Men's Club 23 Wanless, J 139 Waterman, Orlando 56 Watkins, A 141 Watson, Dr. Forbes ... 55,72,79 Watson, James ... ... ... 56 Weatherburn, Martin 139, 159, 312 Webber, Eev. ThoruhiU 56, 87 Wednesbury Working Men's Club 23 Weigall, W. A., and Lady Eose 143 Wellington, Duke of 21 Wemyss, Earl of 79 West, Sir Algernon ... 201,205 Westall, William 86 West Bromwich Working Men's Club 23 West Cliff (Brighton) Working Men's Club 23 Westlake, Mr. ... Westminster, Dean of Westminster 24, 183 ... 79 Duke of ... 21, 48, 54, 62, 70, 72, 79, 90 Working Men's 11 Westminster Club ... Wheatley, W 71 Whitlock, J 56 Whittaker, Thomas ... 211, 219 Wilson, George 139 Wilson, G. B 190 Wilson, J. F 56 Winch, George 87 Winchester, Bishop of 55 Wolverhampton Club 23 Women's Trade Union League . 37, 65, 102, 117 Wood, G 140 Woodfleld, E 86 Woodball, Mr 151 Woods, E. W 86 Worcestershire Branch... 90, 131 Workers' Educational Associa- tion 97, 124 Working Men's College (The) 10, 96 Working Men's Colleges ... 16 Working Men's Club and Insti- tute Union ... ... ... 14 Working Men's Clubs and Licences 59 Workmen's Clubs and Drunken- ness ... ... ... ... 190 Workmen's Compensation Act . 224 Wright, Allan 313 Wright, William 86 Yeovil Mutual Improvement Society 7 York City Branch 138 HODGSON PRATT, Social Reformer Born January 10th, 1824. Died February 26th, 1907. HODGSON PRATT MEMORIAL LTD. Kegistered Office ; 60, KnatohbuU Road, Camberwell, S.E. Bankers : Co-oPEEATrvE Wholesale society Limited, Manchestee. President : ANEURIN WILLIAMS, M.A., J. P. Hon, Secretary : J. J. DENT. Committee : Eepreseutative of W. T. CHARTER The Co-operative Union Limited. ISAAC MORT „ Co-operative "Vv'holesale Society Ltd. J. FREDERICK GREEN „ International Arbitration and Peace Association. ANEURIN WILLIAMS , International Co-operative Alliance. E. W. MUNDY Labour Co-partuership Association. C. E. MAURICE , National Council of Peace Societies. B, T. HALL , Working Men's Club and Institute Union. LEONARD POCOCK , Working Men's College. HODGSON PRATT. The Hodgson Pratt Memorial has been registered as a corporate body for the purpose of keeping alive the memory of one of the greatest workers of the last century for the principle of Associa- tion and Human Brotherhood, as exemplified in the Co-operative, International Peace, and Workmen's Club Movements. He was also an earnest supporter of the Women's Trade Union Movement, and of all forms of Education for the workers. A man full of the highest ideals, of generous enthusiasm for all movements which tend to improve the welfare of those less fortunate in position than himself, he spent all the best jears of 349 his life in self-sacrificing devotion to public work on behalf of the Community. For many years he gave the whole of his time to unceasing work in committee and public meetings without fee or reward, and at his own expense, travelled to all parts of the country inspiring audiences to action by his eloquence and enthusiasm, afterwards keeping up a correspondence with all who cared to write to him for guidance and advice. There are to-day very many workers for human progress whose first enthusiasm was aroused by their acquaintance with him, or by his eloquent addresses, which always raised the thoughts of those who listened to the highest and noblest ideals. In his presence it was impossible to think of mean or sordid subjects. With all his power and influence and marvellous capacity for work, he was the most modest of men, always giving to others the credit which he would have been fully justified in claiming for himself. For many years, from its formation in 1869, he was an active worker on the Central Board of the Co-operative Union ; he was the founder, and for many years the Hon. Secretary of the Guild of Co-operators ; for more than 40 years he laboured to build up the Working Men's Club and Insti- tute Union, during many of which he acted as Hon. Secretary, as Chairman of Council and Executive, as Editor of its "Journal," and for 18 years as its President. He was one of the founders of the International Arbitration and Peace Association, of which he was President up to his death, and was the inspirer of, and worker for, innumerable Peace Societies on the Continent of Europe. His sympathies were world wide, and he knew no barrier of nationality, of colour, or of creed. He was the friend and helper of all who cared for the welfare of the human race. The work of the Memorial Committee, which is elected by the various organisations for which Mr. Pratt worked during his lifetime, takes the form of providing an Annual Hodgson Pratt Memorial Lecture, Hodgson Pratt Essay Prizes, Travelling Scholarships for workers, and grants of books to workers who are students of the subjects in which Mr. Pratt was interested. It is hoped that the Fund may be sufficiently increased to enable the Committee to establish a Hodgson Pratt Memorial Scholarship at Kuskin College, Oxford, and to devise other forms of useful work which will help to keep alive the memory of this great and good man. The Committee therefore earnestly appeal for annual subscrip- tions and donations towards this work. Cheques and Post Office Orders may be forwarded to the Hon. Secretary, J. J. Dent, 60, Knatchbull Road, Camberwell, S.E., or paid direct to che credit of the Hodgson Pratt Memorial Limited at the Co-operative Wholesale Society's Bank, Manchester. DATE DUE CAVLORO Cornell University Library HD8383.H17 Our fifty years :ttie story of ttie Workin 3 1924 002 150 211