Second Chambers In Practice In Modern Legislative Systems Considered In Relation To Representative Government The Party System The Referendum PDF Download

Excerpt from Second Chambers in Practice in Modern Legislative Systems Considered in Relation to Representative Government, the Party System the Referendum: Being the Papers of the Rainbow Circle, 1910-11 As the Rainbow Circle has not previously published its transactions, perhaps a few words as to its nature and origin may not be out of place. The Circle was founded in 1893 by the late Mr William Clarke and Mr J. A. Murray Macdonald, who got together a small band of men interested in the study of social questions, which were with ever-growing insistence thrusting themselves upon the notice of serious politicians. The first few meetings were held at the National Liberal Club, and the first paper was read by the late Canon Shuttleworth of St Paul's. The place of meeting was soon changed to the Rainbow Tavern in Fleet Street, and it was thus that the Circle derived its name. Only a few meetings were held at the Rainbow, and since January 1895 the Circle has met regularly once a month for nine months in the year at the house of Sir Richard Stapley in Bloomsbury Square. The Society did not, however, consider it necessary to change its name. It could not have been called the "Square Circle," for, apart from other obvious objections, that title would not only have been more cryptic than its present one, but might have suggested to the uninitiated that the Society was attempting the impossible. Besides, the lowly origin of the name was not known to later members who were pleased by the imaginative notion that the Rainbow Circle was so called because, combined in one harmonious whole, it included every shade of progressive opinion (from the all red Socialism of Mr Herbert Burrows to the violet Liberal Imperialism of Mr Herbert Samuel), and because it seemed to symbolise the faith that, in spite of all vicissitudes, the cause of Progress would not ultimately be swamped by the forces of Reaction. In addition to those whose names have already been mentioned, the Circle numbered amongst its earliest members the late Mr B. F. C. Costelloe, Mr John A. Hobson, the Rev. A. L. Lilley, Mr J. Ramsay MacDonald, the Rev. Dr W. Douglas Morrison, Sir Sydney Olivier, the Right Hon. Russell Rea, the Hon. W. Pember Reeves, and Mr C. P. Trevelyan. The membership was originally limited to twenty, but when so many of the members entered Parliament, and their attendance became less regular in consequence, the limit was raised to thirty. Since 1897 Sir Richard Stapley has been the President, and it is mainly to him that the Circle owes what may perhaps be regarded as an unusually long life for a small and informal debating society. His kindly hospitality, his tact and sympathy, have kept the members together, and though violent differences of opinion are often expressed in debate, his influence has made anything like bitterness or rancour impossible. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.