1. General of the Society: Rhodes
2. Junta of Three:
Stead
Brett
Milner
3. Circle of Initiates:
Cardinal Manning
General Booth
Bramwell Booth
"Little" Johnston
Albert Grey
Arthur Balfour
4. The Association of Helpers
5. A College,
under Professor Seeley, to be established to train
people in the English-speaking idea."
Within the next few weeks Stead had another talk with Rhodes and a talk with Milner,
who was "filled with admiration" for the scheme, according to Stead's notes as published
by Sir Frederick Whyte.
The "ideal arrangement" for the secret society, as drawn up in 1891, never came into
effect in all its details. The organization as drawn on paper reflected the romantic and
melodramatic ideas of Cecil Rhodes and Stead, and doubtless they envisioned formal
initiations, oaths, secret signs of recognition, etc. Once Milner and Brett were made
initiates, the atmosphere changed. To them secret signs or oaths were so much claptrap
and neither necessary nor desirable, for the initiates knew each other intimately and had
implicit trust in each other without the necessity of signs or oaths. Thus the melodrama
envisioned by Rhodes was watered down without in any way reducing the seriousness
with which the initiates determined to use their own personal influence and Rhodes's
wealth and power to achieve the consolidation of the British Empire, which they shared
as an ideal with Rhodes.
With the elimination of signs, oaths, and formal initiations, the criteria for
membership in "The Society of the Elect" became knowledge of the secret society and
readiness to cooperate with the other initiates toward their common goal. The distinction
between the initiates and The Association of Helpers rested on the fact that while
members of both circles were willing to cooperate with one another in order to achieve
their common goal, the initiates knew of the secret society, while the"helpers" probably
did not. This distinction rapidly became of little significance, for the members of The
Association of Helpers would have been very stupid if they had not realized that they
were members of a secret group working in cooperation with other members of the same
group. Moreover, the Circle of Initiates became in time of less importance because as
time passed the members of this select circle died, were alienated, or became less
immediately concerned with the project. As a result, the secret society came to be
represented almost completely by The Association of Helpers—that is, by the group with
which Milner was most directly concerned. And within this Association of Helpers there
appeared in time gradations of intimacy, the more select ones participating in numerous
areas of the society's activity and the more peripheral associated with fewer and less vital
areas. Nevertheless, it is clear that "The Society of the Elect" continued to exist, and it undoubtedly recruited additional members now and then from The Association of
Helpers. It is a very difficult task to decide who is and who is not a member of the society
as a whole, and it is even more difficult to decide if a particular member is an initiate or a
helper. Accordingly, the last distinction will not usually be made in this study. Before we
abandon it completely, however, an effort should be made to name the initiates, in the
earlier period at least.
Of the persons so far named, we can be certain that six were initiates. These were
Rhodes, Lord Rothschild, Johnston, Stead, Brett, and Milner. Of these, Rothschild was
largely indifferent and participated in the work of the group only casually. Of the others,
Johnston received from £10,000 to £17,000 a year from Rhodes for several years after
1889, during which period he was trying to eliminate the influence of slave-traders and
the Portuguese from Nyasaland. About 1894 he became alienated from Rhodes because
of Johnston's refusal to cooperate with him in an attack on the Portuguese in Manikaland.
As a result Johnston ceased to be an active member of the society. Lord Grey's efforts to
heal the breach were only nominally successful.(9)
Stead was also eliminated in an informal fashion in the period 1899-1904, at first by
Rhodes's removing him from his trusteeship and later by Milner's refusal to use him,
confide in him, or even see him, although continuing to protest his personal affection for
him. Since Milner was the real leader of the society after 1902, this had the effect of
eliminating Stead from the society. (10)
Of the others mentioned, there is no evidence that Cardinal Manning or the Booths
were ever informed of the scheme. All three were friends of Stead and would hardly be
acceptable to the rising power of Milner. Cardinal Manning died in 1892. As for
"General" Booth and his son, they were busily engaged in directing the Salvation Army
from 1878 to 1929 and played no discernible role in the history of the Group.