Of course, there are many markets one hardly notices in a hurried tour round the House, but we have glanced at the principal. We have also noticed here and there the boards upon which quotations are marked and record is made of the prices at which business is done. We have also noticed the Waiters' Stands, about twenty in number, placed in various parts of the House, pulpit-like, or rather rostrum-like, erections, each with its small sounding-board above, so that the important announcements which emanate from these stands may be well heard in the House. But we shall learn more of the uses of these internal features of the Stock Exchange, marking-boards, waiters' stands, and so on in subsequent chapters.

Upon this market-place something approaching three quarters of a million sterling has been spent. It does not belong to the members as such; it is the property of the proprietors, who, roughly speaking, must be members of the Stock Exchange. When at the beginning of the nineteenth century it was decided by the members of the Stock Exchange of that day to erect a new building, some of the more enterprising of them subscribed £20,000, and they laid the foundation-stone of the present edifice, which has been vastly extended since and is still growing. The share capital is now £260,000 and the debenture capital £500,000. All new members are now required to hold one or more shares, and only members are allowed to hold the shares except in the case of these few proprietors who acquired them before the end of the year 1875, when a new deed of settlement came into force. These proprietors, their executors and legatees, may hold the shares although they are not members, but in other cases where the shares fall into the hands of those who are not members, or where they are in the hands of one who ceases to be a member, they must be transferred to a member within twelve months. Anyone, whether a member or not, may hold the debentures, which are secured by a floating charge on the whole property, although they carry no mortgage rights.

The proprietors of the Stock Exchange draw a great part of their revenue, of course, from the entrance fees and subscriptions of the members, who pay a rent, as it were, for their stands in the market-place; and a considerable portion of the revenue comes from the rent of the brokers' offices which form part of the building. The interests of the proprietors are controlled by directors, who are called Trustees and Managers. Before they can be appointed they must have been proprietors for the preceding five years, and must hold at least ten shares at the time of their nomination. Their task, as may easily be imagined, is no light one. They are nine in number, as they have been ever since the present constitution came into force at the beginning of last century. It is theirs to provide a fitting market-place for the important transactions carried on by the members and their clerks, who number about 7,500 in all. To provide accommodation for such a population, with all the requirements of ventilation, heating, and lighting, as well as facilities for work at high pressure, which modern business demands, would tax the organising capabilities of any body of men. The principal officers of the Stock Exchange responsible to the Managers are their Secretary, the Architect and Surveyor, and the General Superintendent. It is not surprising that grumbling criticism is sometimes heard; the matter for surprise is that there is not more of it, especially considering the rapidity of the growth of the number of members, and the difficulties in the way of extending the size of the market-place. These difficulties are constantly being overcome; offices are absorbed into the main area, corridors are swept away, the utmost ingenuity is exercised in the creation of space.

The enlargements and alterations and the provision of facilities for expeditious dealing and of conveniences for the comfort of the members naturally mean a large amount of expenditure; but, in spite of this, the Managers have always succeeded in making the market-place pay its proprietors, and pay them handsomely. On the four hundred shares of £50 each, which formed the original capital of the Stock Exchange when it was opened in 1802, there were no dividends for the first three years, but then a series of annual £10 dividends set in, with the result that within seven or eight years from the outset the whole of the capital had been returned in dividends. Until the end of 1853 the shares remained £50 paid, and by that time no less than £571 had been paid on each share in dividends. As there was a £25 call in 1853, the shares became £75 paid, and in 1854 a dividend of £13 was distributed. In the following year there was no dividend—the fabric of the Stock Exchange had been entirely rebuilt—but a call of £25, making the shares £100 paid. On these £100 the dividends amounted in the years 1856 to 1867 inclusive to £192. Then in 1869 there was again no dividend, but a call of £25, and in the next seven years, from 1869 to 1875 inclusive, the dividends amounted to £490 10s., and the calls to £155. Thus, at the end of 1875, when a reorganisation of capital took place, the shares had become £280 paid, and on each of these had been distributed £1,266 10s. All this is to show that the Stock Exchange was a huge financial success from its inception—that the market-place has paid its proprietors. By a further reorganisation of capital the shares had become £12 paid in 1882, and in that year the dividend was £3 18s. It went on increasing steadily for many years after that: £5 being paid for 1888, £6 for 1893, £7 10s. for 1896, £8 for 1899, £9 for 1900, £10 for 1904, and £12 for 1905. This £12 a share has so far been the maximum rate of dividend. In May, 1911, a call of £1 a share was made, making the shares £13 paid, and the most recent dividend was £10 10s. a share. The liability on the shares is unlimited, but no more than £2 can be called up in any one year. The market price of each £13 share has for some time been round about £160, whilst the 3 per cent. debentures are quoted at about 83.

CHAPTER III
THE MEMBERS AND THEIR CLERKS

So much for the proprietary of the Stock Exchange. Let us turn to the members, those who actually deal in the market. Their number is now about 5,000, and they are assisted by some 2,500 clerks, who also have the privilege of entering the Stock Exchange. In spite of appearances, no member of the Stock Exchange is a foreigner. Unless born a Briton, he must have resided in this country for at least seven years, and must have been naturalised for at least two years. For some years a rule was in force that before a candidate could be elected a member, he must serve at least two years' apprenticeship as a clerk in the House. This was one means by which it was attempted to limit the number of members at a time when the Managers were at their wits' end to find accommodation. The existing members, of course, welcomed the restriction, as it meant a limitation of competition; and, on the other hand, this limitation can hardly be said to have been a hardship for the public, for the number of members was by no means small, and certainly no one who desired to enter into a Stock Exchange transaction could ever fear that he would fail to find a broker. Moreover, the restriction was very desirable, inasmuch as it kept out of the Stock Exchange those adventurers who, possessing some money, or next to none, sought membership to provide facilities for gambling, just as they might seek membership of a baccarat club. Further, the business of a member of the Stock Exchange is one full of intricacy, of technicality, and of responsibility; and to enter upon it without some preliminary training, such as the couple of years' apprenticeship as a clerk affords, is to court disaster both for the adventurer and for those who may be involved in his transactions.

The apprenticeship qualification has now, however, been abolished as a necessary preliminary to membership, although four years' clerkship (with a minimum of three years in the House itself) enables a certain limited number of clerks each year to obtain membership on special terms, the number so admissible being fixed each year by the Committee. All other candidates have to comply with another formality designed to restrict the number of members, each of them having to obtain the nomination of a member retiring in his favour or of the legal representatives of a deceased member. Moreover, each clerk admitted a member on the special terms has now to buy one Stock Exchange share, and every other candidate has to buy three shares.

It goes without saying that in the admission of members account is taken of any previous business career that they may have had. No one is eligible for admission who has been more than once bankrupt or insolvent, and if he has once been proved insolvent, or has entered into any composition with his creditors, he must before admission have paid them in full and have obtained a complete discharge.

Then every applicant for membership, before his application can be considered, must be recommended by three guarantors, reduced to two in the case of candidates who have served as clerks in the House or Settling Room for four years, of which at least three must have been in the House. These guarantors must have themselves been members for not less than four years, and must engage to stand surety for their nominee in the amount of five hundred pounds each for a period of four years. They must have personal knowledge of the applicant whom they recommend, and of his past and present circumstances; and should he fail within the four years, they each hand the five hundred pounds over for the benefit of his creditors. No member is allowed to be surety for more than two new members, and, of course, any indemnification of the guarantors by the applicant for membership is out of the question. The guarantors have to state that they are not indemnified and that they do not expect to be. Should a guarantor receive indemnification subsequently, and the new member fail, the guarantor is compelled to hand over to the creditors the sum so received, as well as the amount of the surety. Every means is taken in this and other ways to make sure of the guarantors being independent of the new applicant.