AT NO. 10. DOWNING-STREET.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14853, 2 December 1911, Page 1 (Supplement)

AT NO. 10. DOWNING-STREET.

"A door-Knocker is to a man's house what a sign is to a shop or a tavern, and often it is something more., I realised this," says a writer in the National Magazine, "when I stood on tho doorstep of No. 10, Downing-street, Westminster, and gazed at the dull old 'door, of the official residence of Old England's Prime Minister.'-'' ':''■ ' " • ' " '

. What a knocker!. What, an interesting specimen of chiselled metal work! It is probably intended to" represent a lion's head, and yet Lord Beaconsfield once described to a friend this particular knocker as having a marked resemblance to the features of his political oppononet, Mr. Gladstone., • - '. . •■' i "There, is probably -no other knocker in existence that has been handled by so many distinguished persons. ' For- many Prime Ministers have resided" in the dingy, little red-brick mansion so /conveniently situated for the Houses of Parliament, and many great men have-been their visitors. Downing-street is 100 yards long „ arid 10 yards wide, and No. 10 is mean and shabby ;,• but, unimpressive as it is, it is the very hub of the British Government. Here Palmerston, Beaconsfield,' Pitt, Gladstone, and many another Premier have pre-; sided over "Cabinet meetings fraught' with the destiny of the Empire. ' ' ■> " '~ : Although Cabinet Councils may be held anywhere, their proper locale is 10, Downing-street.' The Cabinet room, situated on the ground-floor, is a finely-pro-portioned apartment, divided by columns in the Corinthian style, and the. walls are completely lined with bookcases filled with works of references and innumerable volumes of Parliamentary reports, familiarly known as Blue-books. " As' befits a. meeting-place or such a secret character, the doors are double, and communicate with carefully-guarded ante-rooms. There .are five double windows,' three of which look out into the garden at the rear of the house The room has a very business-like appearance, not unlike that of a foreign court, of justice. The seats are arranged in what one might call a series of pews, grouped round a central table covered with green baize. Desks upon folding rests are provided, and the seats are- comfortably upholstered. "The chamber is :by no means the ! kind of place for a lounge. In the days [ of Greville the Ministers were renowned for their knack of taking it easy. At that period tho Cabinet meetings were held in I a long, narrow, old-fashioned room upI stairs, where Ministers sat at .very close I quarters, so close, indeed, that one right j honourable member became unpopular with hjs colleagues owing to the fact that he had fallen into the bad habit of kicking the shins of those around him at intervals of a. minute or so.

"In Mr. Gladstone's later days the meetings of the Cabinet were . often held in a smaller and more convenient apartment, because .the Grand Old- Man.of politics had turned the Cabinet room into an office for his secretaries. Lord Beaconsfield had much affection for the room on tho ground-floor, however, and he had moved into it .for'his own personal, use. the chair in which the great Pitt used to sit. " The office of the Prime. Minister at No. 10 is a somewhat sombre room, and/is fitted with desks similar, to those to be found in a. manager's room of a bank...-? • " No Minister, secretary or other official is allowed to take notes, of the business transacted at a Cabinet meeting, and it is considered a breach of.confidence to keep a. private record of what is discussed. - u> "It is interesting, to, know that each member of the Cabinet is supplied with a key that fits .the", lock > of, a certain despatch-box retained by the Prime Minister. At any particular crisis, when important papers reach Downing-street,' | tho Premier, after perusing them, places them in the . despatch-box, and hands the box to a special messenger, who takes it round to each member of the Cabinet.in succession. Each member opens it' with his key, and relocks it after he has read the document it contains. In this way tho : papers are prevented from falling into the hands of strangers; or members of, Parliament who are not in the Cabinet." -, -i