BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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and counterbalanced by the enticing prospect of varietal entertainment.
The method was to serve the Conservatives well in the years to come.
The blend of political and social activities sponsored by
Habitations was in no respect unique.
Greenall and particularly
Garrard have both noted the "modern" character of "popular
Conservatism" in the Lancashire town of Salford between the years 1868
and 1880. 2
The use of entertainment as a means of attracting members
was also applied in Salford by the opposition.
In 1879 an inaugural
ceremony was held by the Greengate Liberal Club, located in one of the
poorer districts in the town.
The public was encouraged to participate
in the amusements offered.
A science exhibit was one of the featured
attractions.
Mr. Wooley provided an electric battery, and, by
permission of the patentee, a splendid telephone; Mr.
William Leach exhibited a polariscope, a microscope
etc.; Mr. Arthur Shafto amused the people vastly by a
series of electric shock administered to the audience
by his battery. There was a large and varied display
of botanical and rare geological specimens.3
The Primrose League distinguished itself from the organizations
sponsored by Conservatives and Liberal parties between the Second
Reform Act and the 1880 General Election by the rapidity of its growth,
the size and breadth of its operations, and the uniformity of its
functions.
No other organization in Britain was able to match its
2
R.L. Greenall, "Popular Conservatism in Salford," Northern
History, vol. 9 (1974), pp. 125, 127, 135, 137-38. John A. Garrard,
"Parties, Members and Voters After 1867: A Local Study," The Historical
Journal, vol. 20, no. 1 (1977), pp. 146-47, 149, 151.
3 Garrard, "Parties, Members and Voters After 1867," The
Historical Journal (1977), p. 150, citing the Salford Weekly News, 17
March 1879, p. 3.