210
NOTES AND QUERIES. cio* s. n. SEW. 10,
PITT CLUB.
(10 th S. ii. 149.)
ONE of the medals about which PITTITE inquires was exhibited in 1883 at a meeting of the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries. Upon that occasion I wrote a short paper about Pitt Clubs, which appears in the Archceologia JEliana, vol. x. p. 121 (see 'N. &Q.,'7 th S. v. 187, 357).
After the death of Mr. Pitt in 1806 these clubs were established throughout the king- dom to commemorate the services and main- tain the principles of that great statesman. The Pitt Club of London was inaugurated in 1808. Of that club the first president was the Duke of Richmond, and among the vice- presidents were Lord Chancellor Eldon and Sir Robert Peel. In the provinces clubs were founded at Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Carlisle, Carnarvon, Derby, Doncaster, Hali- fax, Hereford, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle- under-Lyne, North Shields, Norwich, Not- tingham, Reading, Scarborough, Sheffield, South Shields, Taunton, Winchester, Wol- verhampton, and York.
The Newcastle, or rather the Northumber- land and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Pitt Club commenced in 1814, and ceased in 1823. I have the first and two other anniversary publications (of extreme rarity) of this local organization. They all bear the same title- page : " Commemoration of the Birth-day of the Right Honourable William Pitt. By the Northumberland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pitt Club at the Assembly Rooms, New- castle-upon-Tyne."
On the first leaf are the arms, crest, and motto of Mr. Pitt, followed by dates in bold lettering :
WILLIAM PITT.
MDCCLIX May xxviii Born.
MDCCLXXXIII December xxvii First Cora
rnissioner of the Treasury and Chancellor of the .Exchequer.
MDCCCVI January xxiii Deceased.
Quando ullum invenient parem.
Then come lists of the officers and members of the Club, among which are representatives of most of the leading families of the district In the report of the commemoration in 182 appears the following affiliating resolution of the London club :
"Resolved unanimously: That in future the Members of the Pitt Clubs in the Country, on the Production of a Certificate of their Qualification to the J.reasurer, and to be deposited with him, may be admitted Members Extraordinary of this Club
n payment of One Guinea to the Exhibition Fund,
and Half-a-Guinea to the General Fund, towards
he Expences incurred in printing and keeping up
he Communication with the Local Clubs, but not
o have the Privilege of Voting as Ordinary Mem-
)ers ; and they may also attend the Monthly and
Anniversary Dinners when in Town, on payment of
the usual Charge for Non-Subscribers' Tickets, and
appearing with a Medal of the Country Club to
which they belong."
To this 1821 report is attached a summary of the speeches delivered at the gathering in
- he previous year, and a marvellous produc-
- ion it is. For there were no fewer than
ifty-nine toasts, all of which were drunk, the record states, with three times three ! As an illustration of the habits of political organizations in the " balmy " days of the Prince Regent, this toast list may be enshrined .n the pages of 'N. & Q.' Let me add that
- he company numbered sixty-eight, that all
}he members wore their medals, that the President, R. W. Brandling, Esq., was sup- ported right and left by the Mayor of New- astle and the High Sheriff of Northumber- land, and that music was provided by the band of the 6th Dragoon Guards.
TOASTS.
1. The King.
2. The Royal Family.
3. The Duke of York.
4. The Duke of Clarence and the Navy.
5. The'Im mortal Memory of the Late Right Hon. William Pitt.
6. The President.
7. The Constitution of England as by Law estab- lished.
8. The House of Brunswick, and the Principles which seated them on the Throne.
9. His Majesty's Ministers.
10. Charles John Brandling, Esq. [M.P.].
11. The Duke of Wellington and the Heroes who fought under him.
12. The Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland.
13. The Bishop of Durham and the Clergy of our Church Establishment.
14. Lieut. -Col. Brandling and the Officers and Privates of the Northumberland and Newcastle Volunteer Cavalry.
15. The High Sheriff of Northumberland.
16. The Mayor and Corporation of Newcastle.
17. The Members for Northumberland.
18. The Members for Newcastle.
19. The Wooden Walls of Old England.
20. The Chairman and Bench of Justices of Northumberland.
21. The Trade and Port of the Tyne.
22. The Right Hon. Lord Vane Stewart.
23. Major-General Sir Andrew Barnard.
24. The Rose, the Thistle, and the Shamrock.
25. Lieut. -Col. French and the 6th Dragoon Guards.
26. Absent Members of the Northumberland Corps of Cavalry.
27. Lieut. -Col. Sir Hugh Gough, and Officers of the 22nd Regiment of Foot.
28. General Terrot and the Corps of Artillery.
