So much for the proprietary of the Stock Exchange. Let us turn to the members, those who actually deal in the market. Their number is now about 5,000, and they are assisted by some 2,500 clerks, who also have the privilege of entering the Stock Exchange. In spite of appearances, no member of the Stock Exchange is a foreigner. Unless born a Briton, he must have resided in this country for at least seven years, and must have been naturalised for at least two years. For some years a rule was in force that before a candidate could be elected a member, he must serve at least two years' apprenticeship as a clerk in the House. This was one means by which it was attempted to limit the number of members at a time when the Managers were at their wits' end to find accommodation. The existing members, of course, welcomed the restriction, as it meant a limitation of competition; and, on the other hand, this limitation can hardly be said to have been a hardship for the public, for the number of members was by no means small, and certainly no one who desired to enter into a Stock Exchange transaction could ever fear that he would fail to find a broker. Moreover, the restriction was very desirable, inasmuch as it kept out of the Stock Exchange those adventurers who, possessing some money, or next to none, sought membership to provide facilities for gambling, just as they might seek membership of a baccarat club. Further, the business of a member of the Stock Exchange is one full of intricacy, of technicality, and of responsibility; and to enter upon it without some preliminary training, such as the couple of years' apprenticeship as a clerk affords, is to court disaster both for the adventurer and for those who may be involved in his transactions. The apprenticeship qualification has now, however, been abolished as a necessary preliminary to membership, although four years' clerkship (with a minimum of three years in the House itself) enables a certain limited number of clerks each year to obtain membership on special terms, the number so admissible being fixed each year by the Committee. All other candidates have to comply with another formality designed to restrict the number of members, each of them having to obtain the nomination of a member retiring in his favour or of the legal representatives of a deceased member. Moreover, each clerk admitted a member on the special terms has now to buy one Stock Exchange share, and every other candidate has to buy three shares. It goes without saying that in the admission of members account is taken of any previous business career that they may have had. No one is eligible for admission who has been more than once bankrupt or insolvent, and if he has once been proved insolvent, or has entered into any composition with his creditors, he must before admission have paid them in full and have obtained a complete discharge.