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.