Relations with Other Clubs.
In the 1920s apart from the Malta Union Club there were three other clubs whose membership was mainly composed of serving officers stationed in Malta these were the United Services Sports Club (now the Marsa Sports Club), the Royal Malta Golf Club and the Malta Racing Club. In the majority members of these clubs were also members of the Union Club and the respective club secretaries made ample use of the Union Club, due to its central location in Valetta, for the posting of notices of their activities, booking of amenities or services and singularly for the taking of wagers in sweepstakes in horse-racing.
While no charge was made by the Union Club on the other clubs as a goodwill gesture the other clubs' secretaries used to pay a gratuity to the Union Club hall porters. This was paid directly to the hall porters however the Union club committee decided in March 1923 to ask that all gratuities be paid to their secretary to ensure a fairer distribution of these monies.
In the aftermath of the First World War there was a cutback in the number of service personnel posted to Malta which reduced the income of the Club. This drop in membership was further aggravated by the late or non-payment of rents from the shops underlying the club and the building of the Sliema premises had taken a large chunk of the club's finances.
Various measures were taken to tighten the belt including the stopping of overtime by the staff while when a pair of iron gates were required for the Sliema club the Royal Engineers were asked to have a rummage in their stores in case there were some surplus to requirements.

How NOT to Apply for Membership.
A sure-fire way of how to impress the Committee not to elect you to being a member is the conduct of one prospective candidate, a Lieut.Eykyn. I quote verbatim from the minutes of the committee meeting held on 27th September, 1923.
"On the night of 24th September, at about 11.30 pm this officer went to the passage outside the pantry and took a telescope belonging to the Head Waiter Bonnett and a table knife. These he took on the terrace and played with them dropping the telescope three times on to the cement floor and damaging the brass work. He also broke a champagne glass. After the dance was over he took the cymbals from the orchestra and played them from the top of one of the poles carrying the electric light circuit where he had climbed. He threw beer bottles in the air smashing them on the terrace and also took Bonnett by the arm and shook him."
Quite a performance from a man who was obviously blind drunk. Surprisingly enough no drastic action was taken against Lieut. Eykyn and his letter of apology must have been an exemplar of what letters of apology should be as he was forgiven indeed re-instated as a candidate which proves committee members are not always as heartless as they are perceived to be by members. No mention is made in the minutes if he paid for the damage to the telescope.

Qui-Si-Sana Sea Front.
After the Sliema club was opened and up and running quite satisfactorily the lease of a small strip of land between the Qui-si-Sana foreshore and the boundary of the club was due to run out and the committee realised that if this was acquired by third parties any subsequent buildings would cut off the sea view enjoyed from the terrace which in summer had become very popular and the clubhouse would be hemmed in. Moves were immediately made to try and acquire this property particularly after Architect E. Borg representing the owners had informed the committee that a developer had already planned to erect flats "as high as possible" (sic).
The ownership of this piece of land was a complicated affair. The land originally belonged to the Confraternity for the Redemption of Souls in Purgatory but the Franciscan Order had the right of "Irkupru", a maltese version of first refusal. In turn both these bodies being religious entities the Bishop's Court (sic) also had a say in the matter. Palazzo Sliema had been the first property to be built on this land and its grounds covered quite an extensive area of the land between Qui-Si-Sana and Tigne Sea Front. The Sliema clubhouse stood on part of this land which in turn had been sub-leased to Admiral Hughes Hallett (hence Hughes Hallett Street) who built a villa eventually occupied by his daughter and from whom the Union Club had acquired their property.The lease was a temporary emphitheusis extending up to the year 2000 (as we all know to our regret!).
Various efforts and approaches were made to Miss Hughes Hallett and the confraternity but the price or the conditions were not always to the Club's committee liking particularly where price was concerned. Help however was at hand from quite an unexpected source. Malta being first and foremost under British rule of very strategic importance had a body composed of high ranking service officers known as the Clearance Rights Authority - the CRA for short. This little known and publicised body had the power to declare any part of the island vital for the defence of Malta and the right to veto any building applications which might impede the siting of guns or other forms of defence of the island. It is unclear from the minutes whether this plot of land was thus scheduled but the possibility was certainly mentioned to any prospective developers as well as the owners. The end result was that the plot of land in question was eventually - in 1927 a full four years later - acquired by the Union Club for a matching lease until 2000. The price as two shillings (24 euro cents) per square cane for a 850 square canes a total of £85 (euro102) per annum - a bargain if there ever was one.
As we all know today the land was acquired freehold by Mr. Joe Gasan whose heirs have now built the block of flats which the committee in the 1920s were so worried about.