BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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Four years later, the situation had been altered dramatically.
The computerized summary of the 1888 Roll
lists 1,730 Habitations,
distributed amongst Britain f s Colonies (ll), 18
Ireland (22), Wales and
Monmouthshire (124), and England (1,573).
While Scotland was not
included on the Roll, The Primrose League Gazette reports 147 Scottish
Habitations in May of 1889. 19
Of the 565,084 individuals recorded in
the 1888 Roll, 527,179 resided in England', 30,839 in Wales, 6,687 in
Ireland, and 379 in the Colonies.
The Gazette lists 44,520 members in
Scotland during roughly the same period. However, the official figures
provided by the newspaper overstate active participation relative to
the 1888 Roll of Habitations and therefore are to be regarded with some
qua!ification.20
Wherever possible Divisional
Councils were established to
correspond by name and area to Parliamentary county and borough
boundaries.
By 1888 the League had established 327 Divisions for
England, 21 for Wales, and 18 for Ireland representing, respectively,
75, 63.6, and 18 percent of the parliamentary constituencies in those
regions.
The extensive distribution of Divisions and Habitations
iy
They include India, Malta , Cyprus, Mauritius, British
Honduras, and Australia.
19
The Primrose League Gazette, 25 May 1889, p.9.
20 por restrictions regarding the calculation of membership
figures, see Chapter Four, footnote fifteen. The Primrose League
Gazette, 25 May 1889, p.9.