BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

Scotland and Ireland have been excluded from the comparison: the
former has no detailed Habitation listing available for 1888, while
205
numbers for the latter are too small
to provide a point of reference.
A somewhat surprising feature manifested
in a comparison of the
two Rolls is the considerable amount of Habitation reformation which
took place. Thirty-seven percent of associations listed in 1888 do not
appear by 1899, an additional 28 percent forming during that same
period.
Divisions also underwent a significant realignment as twothirds
of those listed in 1888 disappeared by 1899. The total number
of Divisions representing England and Wales during these years declined
by three percent, although when measured alone, Wales actually managed
to increase is count by one.
The relatively strong performance of
Divisions throughout the country as compared with the more rapidly
declining Habitations reflected the strong emphasis at the Central
Office and executive levels of local
organization in maintaining these
intermidate
administrative bodies.
The numbers of Divisional
and Habitation officers between 1888
and 1899 declined by a seemingly insignificant 6.2 percent. However
the percentage is somewhat understated due to the inclusion of 198
Scottish officers.
If we consider only those regions listed in the
1888 and 1899 Rolls, Ireland, Wales, and England, a more dramatic
picture emerges.
While Ireland made slight gains, increasing its total
from 41 to 47 or 7.3 percent, Wales declined by just under 10 percent.
The largest and most significant area of Primrose activity,
England,
lost 11.3 percent of its local
leadership between 1888 and 1899.