BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

287
speaker retained by Grand Council.35
Political addresses referred continually to national issues.
Thus, when Crosland attended a Habitation meeting to extend his
appreciation for the support given him during the by-election of 1893,
his chosen topic was the Home Rule bill placed before the House of
Commons.
His passionate identification with the plight of Ulstermen,
perhaps more forceful
than many addresses delivered, nevertheless,
appeared to convey the sentiments of many members.
Loyal Irishmen would be perfectly within their rights
if they did resist under arms being handed over to
their enemies in the way the bill proposed (Applause.).
... If it did come to civil war those men in Ulster
would not be guilty of shooting men from behind
hedgerows, nor of maiming the poor dumb beasts, nor of
pouring tar on the heads of defenceless women.36
The remaining Habitations considered
in this chapter were
predominantly rural in character. Of these, only Whitehaven was
situated in a borough constituency. The associations examined from the
counties of Cumberland, Lancashire, and Gloucestershire distinguish
themselves from Birmingham and Huddersfield Habitations by representing
generally Conservative districts.
The borough of Whitehaven conformed to the overall national
political trends in the period under study, except in 1885 when the
district voted Conservatives while the country as a whole favored the
Liberals.
The most distinguished notables in the region were the
Lowthers, represented most prominently by the Earl
and Countess of
35
Ibid., 10 April 1886; 18 April 1887; 6 June 1887; 12 March
1888; 19 February 1891.
36
Ibid., 26 April 1893.