The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-11 00:00:00

Modern Clubs.

(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
Within the last two or three years the number of clubs
in London have nearly doubled, and still others are being
daily commenced. At the beginning of the century "club
men" might bo counted by hundreds ; now tens of thou-
sands would be no exaggeration in speaking of their num-
bers. The club is no longer regarded as a luxury, but
almost an essential, by every one belonging either to the
upper or the middle classes of society. It has be-
come an integral portion of our social institutions, and ono
of the first things considered by a young man on beginning
life is, "To what club shall I belong ?" The practice has
reached such a pitch that for a man to be a member of three
clubs is a common circumstance, while to belong to as
many as four or five is by no means unusual. The custom,
which originated in the very highest classes, is now pene-
trating downwards, and even workmen have their clubs.
A few considerations on the general principles which
regulate the formation of these widely-spread institutions
may not be devoid of interest.

First of all it must strike every one as a curious fact that

it was in essentially domestic England that the club should
have originated, and that France, ever notorious for want
of due appreciation of "home," should have imported the
anti-domestic institution from us. We will not seek to
trace out the causes of this apparent anomaly, though they
would not perhaps be difficult to find, but content ourselves
with taking the London club as it actually exists. The
bond of union which has created and maintained these
associations varies widely. In some, such as Brookes', the
Reform, and the two Cannons, it is similarity of political
opinion. In others, such as the different military, naval,
and clerical clubs, it is a similarity or identity of profes-
sion. In others, again, the two Athenaeums, the Garrick,
White's, and the St. James's, it is similarity of tastes and
habits. With a few the bond of union has been produced
by a similarity in previous education—for example, the
Public Schools Club, the University, the Oxford and
Cambridge, etc. There yet remain one or two which
which have no apparent principle of cohesion. Among
them may be named the Wyndham, Arthur's, and the
Union. Now, we think that there is something radically
wrong in all these modes of association. If there is one
thing more than another which distinguishes the enlight-

ened man, it is the absence of class and professional preju-
dices. His judgment is unwarped by consideration for per-
sons, whom he rightly regards as nothing in comparison
with facts. A soldier who has committed an offence is not
the less guilty in his eyes because he is himself a soldier,
a clergyman not less obnoxious to censure because he also
wears a gown, a man about town because he belongs to the
same "set." By contact and intercourse with men of every
class, profession, and opinions, he has counteracted the ill
effect of the stereotyped, hereditary ideas and habits of the
home circle, the narrowing influences and conventionalities
of his profession. He has emancipated himself from the
restraining bonds of class or political party. In short, he is
a citizen of the world, not a mere member of a clique or
profession.

Does club life tend to produce such a man as this? We
answer confidently it does not. The soldier with the pipe-
clay and dust of Aldershot fresh upon him rushes up to the
Army and Navy Club, where he meets but the counterpart
of his recently left associates, and hears only a repetition
of the conversation to which he has been daily listening for
the last six months. The parson, tired of the society of
parsons and mutual clerical dinners, spends a few days in
London, and going to the Clergy Club, finds he has only
changed the scene, not the dramatis personx. The politician
drives from the House of Commons to the Reform, Carlton,
or Brookes'—for any real purpose he might as well have re-
mained in the smoking-room of the House, for he meets the
same person hears the same ideas propounded. The Oxford
Don makes a similar discovery at the University, and the
dandy who lounges into White's merely transfers himself
from Rotten-row out of doors to Rotten-row under cover,
and without the attraction afforded by the presence orladies.
In each case there is no freshness, no striking out of new
ideas by the conflict of opposite minds, no correction of
preconceived opinions, no insight to be gained into the feel-
ings of those not of his social circle, for all whom he meets
belong to the same set, have been brought up in a similar
manner, and hate opinions almost identical. Thus, at the
club, the soldier cannot emerge from the barrack-yard, the
sailor from his quarter-deck, the politician from the Houses
of Parliament, the dandy from Rotten-row. Consequently,
one great advantage which might be derived from club life
is unattainable under present circumstances ; namely, a
knowledge of other circles or professions, the suggestion of
new ideas, the extension of knowledge, and the correction
of prejudices. All clubs should be cosmopolitan, and, so
to speak, catholic in character. The Liberal, the Conser-
vative, the lawyer, the count' y gentleman, the traveller,
the artist, the man of science or letters, the soldier, the
sailor, the merchant, the dandy would there meet on
common ground. Each would contribute ideas, experi-
ence, and knowledge ; thought would be stimulated, pre-
judices rubbed away, tolerance and large-mindedness pro-
duced. Each would pay something into, each would receive
something from, the common stock, ,Class and professional
isolation would be diminished, conventionality receive a
death-blow, and an increased knowledge of different classes
and sets would result in augmented mutual esteem.

MARKETS---This Day.

HAY MARKETS.

SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, £4 10s to £5 8s Od; clover,
£5 108 to 16 8s Od; and straw, £1 8s to £1 13s per load.
Trade steady. _ _ - -•- -

CUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, £4 lOs to £5 8s ; clover,
lOs to £6 lOs ; and straw, £1 8s to £1 13s per load.
A steady demand.
IVIIITECIIATEL.—AIeacIow hay, £4 10s to £5 8s ; clover,
£5 103 to £6 lOs ; and straw, £1 8s to £1 133 per load.
Trado firm,