This Bill was eventually passed, and among the candidates for membership of the new London County Council was Lord Rosebery, who stood for the City of London. I had the pleasure of hearing him address several meetings, and, although from a public point of view he was a comparatively young man, he spoke with great thought and feeling, always carrying his audience with him. He was of course returned, and was elected the first Chairman of this important Council.
Notwithstanding that nearly all my life I have been more or less associated with politics, and for over forty years have been upon the register of voters, I have never voted on the winning side except on the occasion when Mr. A.J. Balfour stood for the City of London. I still hope I may do so before I die.
It was in the year 1885, after the passing of the Redistribution Bill, that I became more closely associated with politics. By this Redistribution Act, Middlesex (for many years it had been represented by two members) was divided into seven constituencies. I joined the Liberal Association in Hornsey, one of the new divisions, and the one in which I then lived, and from that time onwards took an active part in their proceedings. On the eve of the first elections in these divisions, we had a big send-off meeting of the Middlesex candidates at the Holloway Hall, at which the great Liberal veteran Mr. Samuel Morley presided. Many leading politicians were present, including Sir Charles Dilke, Mr. W.S. Caine, Mr. Alfred Milner (now Viscount Milner), who stood for the Harrow Division, Mr. S.D. Waddy, and others. Great enthusiasm prevailed, but the success at the polling booth was not as great as we anticipated, and the Hornsey Division returned a Conservative, which it continued to do until a fresh division of Middlesex took place under the Act of 1918. Mr. Carvel Williams, the champion for Disestablishment of the Church, was our president; he was a most able and eloquent speaker, full of work and energy and equal to any emergency, but although we had occasionally such speakers as Mr. Asquith, Mr. Lloyd George, and other leading politicians of that day, success at the poll was never obtained.
I was for many years chairman of the Council, and that brought me in touch with many men of light and leading. I was, however, compelled to give it up, as so many other duties had a more special call upon my time. In 1904 I was induced to join the non-political party which was standing for the London County Council Division of Stoke Newington, and was returned.
And here let me state that I have a great objection to party feeling in local affairs. It is quite bad enough when carried to extremes in parliamentary contests, but local affairs should be dealt with entirely from the local point of view of what is best and from none other. Having made many new friends and being elected to the Library Committee, I found myself in my element amongst books. Before the Free Library was started at Stoke Newington, with my good friend Mr. A.W. Mackenzie, I originated a private Free Library in the Finsbury Park District, and although this library was not very large it was very serviceable. It was carried on by voluntary aid and contributions, and, in accordance with the Act passed in 1892, afterwards taken over by the Council of Stoke Newington.
When this Free Library was opened, thanks to the Carnegie Trust, I had the honour of seeing my name engraved with others on a stone tablet as a record of those who were associated with the founding of it. My relations with Stoke Newington were always of the most pleasant character, as there were many book lovers on the Committee, among them being Mr. Wynne Baxter and Mr. Charles Welsh, the noted City Librarian.
It was during my membership of the Stoke Newington Council that I received tickets of invitation to the inauguration of the L.C.C. Passenger Steamboat Service on the Thames, which had been constructed at an outlay of nearly £300,000. Our present King, with some of the young Princes, headed the fleet of steamers which went from Temple Pier to Greenwich and back. Altogether it was a most pleasant trip, but events followed which brought this venture to an end, a decision from many points of view much to be regretted. It occurs to me, however, that if more attention were given to the banks of the Thames by building an Embankment on the south side similar to that on the north side, there is no reason why it should not eventually become in every way as attractive as the rivers which flow through so many of the Continental cities.
About this time I became a member of the New Vagabond Club, and enjoyed for many years the various dinners given to some of the leading men of the time. These were usually held at the Hotel Cecil, and I have known over 500 ladies and gentlemen to be present on some of the important occasions. The Club was very cosmopolitan: Bishops, Members of Parliament, the theatrical profession, authors—in fact, anyone who was then in the public eye was certain to receive an invitation to some of the dinners. When this club became incorporated with the old Playgoers' Club, many, like myself, felt that these Sunday festivities did not quite fall in with their ordinary way of spending the day of rest, and I was compelled to retire from it.
Another association of which I am particularly proud to be one of the vice-presidents, is the Booksellers' Provident Institution, and the Booksellers' Provident Retreat; the former I joined in 1869, and for over fifty years have been an active member on its committees. This great institution was inaugurated on February 15, 1837, at Stationers' Hall, and during the greater part of its existence it has had for its president some one representing either the house of Longman or Murray. It is an institution of which every member is proud, and should be more appreciated in the trade than it is, for it has done, and is still doing, work of great value to its necessitous members.