The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-31 00:00:00

THE ROTUNDA CLUB.

After having passed through many vicissitudes,
the large building at the foot of the bridge in Black-
friars-road has fallen into the hands of a party of
gentlemen, who intend establishing there a new
sporting club, to be called the Rotunda Club and
Commission Exchange. The object the promoters
of the new club have in view is to provide accom-
modation on the Surrey side of the water similar
to that already in existence on the opposite side,
and to open an establishment there similar iii all
respects to the Victoria Club, with the addition of
Commission Exchange in close proximity. The
necessary alterations are now in rapid progress, and
what was a cold, cheerless, desolate building will
shortly be converted into a spacious and commo-
dious club house, containing billiard, dining, and
reading rooms. The annual subscription has been
fixed at one guinea, which will give the members
the right to all the privileges of the club and ex-
change, whilst to members requiring only the entree
to the exchange the annual payment has been fixed
at a mere nominal amount. The old building,
curiously enough, seems to be admirably suited to
the purpose intended, and very few of the
public can form any idea of the immense
area which has so long remained almost a burden
to its owners. The principle club-room, when de-
corated and furnished as proposed, will rival that
of many of our West-end clubs, and the accommo-
dation it is intended to give the members will be
quite on a par with those aristocratic establish-
ments. The gentlemen who have taken the initia-
tive in the matter seem to be determined to carry
out their work with the utmost spirit and energy, and
in order that the rules of the new establishment maY
be strictly enforced, the usual club regulations will
be most rigidly adhered to. The arrangements are
not yet quite complete, but notwithstanding that it
is intended to open the commission exchange to-
morrow at noon, as a goodly number of members
have already been enrolled, amongst them being
some of the leading men in the sporting world.
From the favourable opinions that have been ex-
pressed in many quarters, the new club promises to
be a very great success.

" THE UPPER TEN THOUSAND."—The nickname
of " The Upper Ton Thousand" seems to involve it
numerical mistake. It appears from some tables just pre-
sented to the Statistical Society by Mr. Dudley Baxter,
Ables based upon income tax returns, that 7,084 Per-
sons possess £112,610,000 a year, being one seventh
of the whole national income as returned, perhaps one-
fifth of the whole real income—much income being
..re"
turned twice, as that of the Stato employes— and one-
fourth of all the income derived from property. The
entire income of the 1,860,000 families which p y less
than £3OO a-year is not equal to that or thee°
Upper Seven Thousand. There are, moreover, only
17,564 households in England returning
more tbo
£l,OOO a year. It will be remembered also that 001
32,000 persons posseis in Great Britain more than 10 acres
a piece. The deduction from all these facts is, that there_
are but 7,000 families 'in England deserving to be called •
rich, that is, with more than £5,000 a year, and less thin
50,000 50,000 who are comfortable, that is, have more than .?°°
from all sources.—Spectator.
THE CLEEKENWELL EXPLOSION.—Dr. Lankester
resumed his inquiry into the circumstances attending the_
deaths of two of ,the sufferers, named hvaus, ho
Vestry-hall, St. Pancras, to-day, but the witnesses !bis
were examined were only those who have already Ore
their evidence at Bow-street.