LONDON'S GREAT CLUBS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13491, 18 May 1907, Page 5 (Supplement)

LONDON'S GREAT CLUBS.

WHERE POLITICAL WIRE-PULLING

IS DONE. The influence wielded by the great political clubs of London cannot be over-estimated. Before now Cabinets have been made and unmade in the smoking-rooms of the Carlton and the Reform, and even in this democratic age a great deal of wire-pulling is done from the West End clubs.

The Carlton was founded in 1832 by a - number of Conservative noblemen and gentlemen, who were alarmed by the Reform j Bill of that year. It. was to be the last bulI wark of the aristocrats', liberties, and a : place. of refuge when the Liberal tide had' l overwhelmed the rest of England. The 1 eighteen hundred members—the present I strength of the club — each paid an eni trance fee of £40, in addition to an annual 'subscription of eleven guineas for. town members and ten guineas for country. I Five years after the birth of the Carlton 'its great rival, the Reform, came into existence, and, curiously ..enough, the premises 'were- taken next door to the Carlton, in |Pall Mall. No difficulty was experienced in i securing desirable candidates, and from the 'start it assumed' the leading position among : Liberal clubs. The entrance fee is the same as the Carlton, but the annual subscription is:a uniform one of ten,guineas, and 1400 j gentlemen- are now on its roll of membership. Election to either of these clubs is | both a difficult and tedious matter. Eldest sons of peers and members of Parliament I are allowed to come up at once for balloting, but less favoured mortals must wait from ten to twenty years before a vacancy occurs, and even then election is by no means certain. It has been said that many men have spent thousands of pounds to obtain a seat in Parliament, with the sole object of qualifying to stand immediately for election to the Carlton or Reform. Most ancient of party organisations, butfast losing its political 'complexion, is Brooks', in St. J;:mes'-slreet. Founded in 1764, it became famous as the rendezvous of Sheridan, Fox, and the Prince of Wales, who ' afterwards became . George IV. In those days it was the principal gaming. club in town. Fortunes were lost and won in a single night, and often Fox came from the House of Commons after making a great speech to lose thousands by daybreak. Today Brooks' is more social than political, and prominent members of the Government and the Opposition are members.-; When elected an entrance fee of thirty guineas is payable,* together with an annual subscription of eleven guineas. The' Devonshire is described as Liberal, but several prominent members sit in Opposition in both Houses of.Parliament, .It is a comparatively recent institution, being founded in 1875, "but it has no fewer than 1200 members, who pay ten guineas a year each for the privilege. \ In point of numbers the Constitutional is ( the greatest of clubs. No fewer than 6500 Conservatives are on its roll, and although the entrance fee varies between fifteen and twenty guineas,'the annual subscription is the comparatively''small one of seven guineas for town members or four guineas for country. What- this institution is to the Conservatives the National Liberal is to the party now in office. Founded in 1882 by Mr. Glads! it now possesses 6000 members, including over 500 members -of Parliament —a record number for any London, club. The subscription is six guineas, double that paid bv country members. Owing to the Home' Rule split in the 'eighties, the entrance fee .was abolished. ■ '