¹ ‘To Your Tents, Oh Israel’, Fortnightly Review, vol. liv (1893), 569–89.Google Scholar

² See Second Chambers in Practice (London, 1911)Google Scholar, introduction by Ambrose Parsons, p. v; Hobson, J.A., Confessions of an Economic Heretic (London, 1938), pp 94–5Google Scholar. Other N.L.C. members who helped to formalize the Circle were Herbert Burrows, J.A. Hobson, Richard Stapley and Ramsay MacDonald.

³ Herbert Samuel Papers, A/10/1, House of Lords Record Office.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Second Chambers in Practice, p. v.Google Scholar

⁶ See meeting 275 (1924).

⁷ Hobson, , Confessions, p. 95.Google Scholar

⁸ Bullock was primarily responsible for Old Age Pensions, Fabian Tract No. 89. See Fabian Society Papers, Nuffield College, Oxford, E 3, varied correspondence in 1899.

⁹ McKillop conducted a few classes for the Fabian Society (see Ibid., C 7, Fabian Society Executive Committee Minutes, 19.3.1897, 22.4.1898; and Fabian News, 09 1896Google Scholar). He also lectured occasionally (Ibid., C 39, 11.2.1898 on ‘Socialism and Race’), though his proposal to write a Fabian Tract on Education was allowed to lapse following a report by G.B. Shaw. (Ibid., E 3,23.11.1899).

¹⁰ Fabian Society Papers, C 7, 22.9.1905 records the dropping of Samuel and W.P. Byles from the list of Fabian members, though there is no record of their activities, if any.

¹¹ See Spiller, G., The Ethical Movement in Great Britain: A Documentary History (London, 1934).Google Scholar

¹² Cp. Ratcliffe, S.K., The Story of South Place (London, 1955).Google Scholar

¹³ Cp. MacKillop, I.D., The British Ethical Societies (Cambridge, 1986).Google Scholar

¹⁴ Hobson, , Confessions, pp. 57–8.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Ratcliffe, , The Story of South Place, p. 67.Google Scholar

¹⁶ Spiller, , The Ethical Movement, pp. 67, 91.Google Scholar

¹⁷ MacKillop, , The British Ethical Societies, pp. 107–10Google Scholar; Golding, H.J. in The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Ethical Movement (New York, 1926), pp. 177–81Google Scholar; South Place Ethical Record, 03 1931, 2–3Google Scholar; Spiller, , pp. 99–109.Google Scholar

¹⁸ Spiller, , pp. 109–11Google Scholar; MacKillop, , pp. 147–62.Google Scholar

¹⁹ Cp. Spiller, , pp. 124–56Google Scholar; The Times, 7.4.1932.

²⁰ Fabian Society Records, B7/1.

²¹ Cp. Matheson, F.J., ‘A Clearing House for Social Reform’, Progress, vol. xi (1916), 53–63.Google Scholar

²² Progress, vol. iv (1909), 7.Google Scholar

²³ Cp. Koss, S., The Rise and Fall of the Political Press in Britain, vol. i (London, 1981), p. 388.Google Scholar

²⁴ Cp. Eyck, F., G.P. Gooch: A Study in History and Politics (London, 1982), pp. 231–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

²⁵ Second Chambers in Practice, op. cit. Matheson, one of the contributors, was working at the time for the publisher P.S. King who, during a short period of time published not only this volume, but books by Hobson and Harley.

²⁶ Samuel, H., Memoirs (London, 1945), p. 24.Google Scholar

²⁷ Hobson, , Confessions, p. 52.Google Scholar

²⁸ Golding, , op. cit., p. 180.Google Scholar

²⁹ The problem beset the Review from the start. See Clarke to MacDonald, 30.1.1896, Ramsay MacDonald Papers, P.R.O. 30/69/1200.

³⁰ Clarke was alarmed about the possibility of the Liberal Imperialism of Samuel and R.B. Haldane (‘that little band of men on the make … promot[ing] a bastard Liberalism & a lot of imperialist bosh’) penetrating the Review and infusing it with ‘all the everlasting humbug of the ‘New Liberalism’.’ (Clarke to MacDonald, 2.2.1896, Ramsay MacDonald Papers, P.R.O. 30/69/1200).

³¹ See Hobson, , Confessions, pp. 95–6Google Scholar, commenting on the breach between Robertson and Reeves, supporters of the war, and MacDonald, Burrows and (presumably) himself, seekers of an end to the hostilities.

³² Cp. also the difficulties hinted at in the R.C. minutes, P.R. Committee meeting (undated) following meeting on 8 January 1896.

³³ Cp. Samuel papers, A/10/6–25; Samuel, , Memoirs, p. 24Google Scholar. The Fabian Mews (09 1897)Google Scholar commented: ‘It is unfortunate that the public has not adequately supported the promoters of this excellent enterprise.’

³⁴ Samuel papers, A/10/2, circular from R. MacDonald dated 27.2.1895.

³⁵ Ibid, A/10/5. Circular from R. MacDonald dated August 1896.

³⁶ ‘Introductory’, Progressive Review, vol. 1 (1896), 1–2.Google Scholar

³⁷ Ibid., 4.

³⁸ Ibid., 8.

³⁹ Witness C.P. Trevelyan's account to his mother immediately after his close friend Samuel had given his talk on the new liberalism: ‘Samuel and I have been trying to thrash out difficulties at the Rainbow Circle with the thinking Socialists. I think we make them come down a little from their ideal eminence-certainly we get our own minds clearer as to what we want.’ (Quoted in Morris, A.J.A., C.P. Trevelyan 1870–1958 [Belfast, 1977]).Google Scholar

⁴⁰ See meetings 9 (1895), 61 (1902), 101, 102, 103 (1905), 107 (1906) and 130 (1908). Cp. Freeden, M., ‘The New Liberalism and its Aftermath’ in Bellamy, R. (ed.), Victorian Liberalism (London, 1989).Google Scholar

⁴¹ Cp. Thompson, P., Socialists, Liberals, and Labour. The Struggle for London 1885–1914 (London, 1967).Google Scholar

⁴² Meetings 28 (1897), 38 (1898), and 105 (1906).

⁴³ Meeting 38 (1898). The milder discussion in the follow-up to the debate in meeting may be explained by Hobson's absence.

⁴⁴ Meeting 49 (1899).

⁴⁵ Meeting 50 (1900).

⁴⁶ See meeting 83 and footnote.

⁴⁷ Meeting 192.

⁴⁸ Meeting 71 (1902).

⁴⁹ Meeting 140. It is unclear whether Parsons considered their neutrality or their coolness towards, the attendance of women to be discreditable.

⁵⁰ Meeting 275.

⁵¹ Cp. A. Parsons to R. MacDonald, Ramsay MacDonald Papers, P.R.O. 30/69/1436/883, referring to the Rainbow Circle Dinner at Pagani's, Great Portland Street, on the occasion of the 300th meeting on 12.1.1927.

⁵² See invitation in British Library of Economic and Political Science, Rainbow Circle, Coll. Misc., 575/6.

⁵³ Meeting 29 (1897).

⁵⁴ Meeting 107 (1906).

⁵⁵ Meetings 132 (1908) and 177 (1913).

⁵⁶ Meeting 132.

⁵⁷ Meetings 156 (1911) and 211 (1916).

⁵⁸ Meeting 164 (1912).

⁵⁹ Meeting 133 (1909). Cp. also Hobson, J.A., A Modern Outlook (London, 1910), pp. 109–42.Google Scholar

⁶⁰ Meeting 19 (1896).

⁶¹ Meeting 91 (1904).

⁶² Meetings 21 and 23 (1897), 40 (1898).

⁶³ Parsons to MacDonald, 31.5.1907, Ramsay MacDonald Papers, P.R.O. 30/69/1151/133–6.

⁶⁴ Meeting 120 (1907).

⁶⁵ Meeting 122 (1908).

⁶⁶ For a recent assessment of Robertson, see Wells, G.A. (ed.), J.M. Robertson: Liberal, Rationalist, and Scholar (London, 1987).Google Scholar

⁶⁷ For a rare glimpse of the full selection process see the committee minutes prior to meeting 219 (1917).

⁶⁸ Meeting 153 (1911) recorded the largest attendance on record of 24 members out of 29 and four visitors.

⁶⁹ See especially meetings 100 (1905), 169 (1912), 200 (1915) and 242 (1920). See also Alden, P., ‘British Institute and National Council of Social Service’, Progress, no. 53 (1920), 431–7Google Scholar, who applauded Stapley's unselfish altruism, his intellectual interests and liberal views and who wrote of Stapley's various interests: ‘The Rainbow Circle was perhaps nearest of all to his heart.’ (p. 45).

⁷⁰ The fourth and last secretary, appointed in 1929, was S.S. Wilson.

⁷¹ The Circle's attitude to Parsons was demonstrated in a gift he received with an accompanying letter. See meeting 180 (1913). See also the letters from MacDonald to Alden (‘The prime Minister was terribly shocked to hear of Mr. Parsons' death’) and to Mrs. Parsons (‘I shall always remember him as the enthusiastic and devoted secretary of the Rainbow Circle’), Ramsay MacDonald Papers, P.R.O. 30/69/751/12, 326, both 9.8.1929.

⁷² Hobson, , Confessions, p. 96.Google Scholar

⁷³ See Hobson in meeting 225 (1918) and Gardiner in meeting 261 (1922).

⁷⁴ See Appendix I.

⁷⁵ See Appendix I.

⁷⁶ For this letter and the others mentioned, see British Library of Political and Economic Science, Coll. Misc. 575/6.

⁷⁷ see Appendix I.