BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

At this stage of development, the only category of membership
20
was that of Knight.
It was subdivided into two classifications: Knight
Harbinger and Knight Companion, the latter group eligible to apply for
a Harbinger designation after a year of service.
Members of the clergy
assumed a separate title, Knight Almoner, comparable to Knight
Companion.
Entrance fees and annual "Tribute" were set at a half-crown
apiece, the yearly contribution payable by the nineteenth of April.
The executive, as defined by the statutes, consisted of the
Grand Councillor followed by the three Executive Councillors, and the
Ruling Council.
Randolph Churchill occupied the position of Grand
Councillor, designated as a three year appointment.
Gorst, Wolff, and
Slade were Executive Councillors, posts subject to annual elections.
The Ruling Council, as of the end of December, consisted of thirteen
members.
They included the above named officers as well as Councillors
Burnaby, Mitford, Dixon Hartland, and Stone in addition to the newest
recruits, Sir Algernon Borthwick, Sir Henry Hoare, Bt., Seager Hunt,
William Hardman, and F.D. Thomas, the Registrar.16
The constitution of the members of the Council
suggests a
marked Birmingham connection as represented by Burnaby and Stone and an
equally vital Morning Post affiliation as indicated in the
participation of the newspaper's editors Borthwick and Hardman. All
the members of the executive, with the possible exception of Seager
Hunt, were strong supporters of Randolph Churchill
in his bid for party
1(5
Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 22
December 1883.