BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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306 communities were not always accorded an enthusiastic response. Thus, in March of 1890 a controversy arose regarding the efforts of District Agent Major Barnett to form a Divisional Council for Thornbury in Gloucestershire. In calling a meeting of Habitations within the Division the agent decided to hold the gathering in Yate, a town located within the boundaries of Chipping Sodbury (Codrington) Habitation. The action angered the Ruling Councillor, Sir Gerald Codrington, and his Honorary Secretary, William Merrick, for not having been consulted on the matter. 8 3 A heated exchange of letters followed in which the Vice Chancellor, Lane-Fox, affirmed the inherent right of the Grand Council to call meetings in any district "for organizing purposes only." Codrington stressed the want of courtesy shown by the District Agent in failing to solicit support from the Habitation. Lane-Fox then sought to mollify Codrington, suggesting the oversight was unintentioned and a simple misunderstanding.84 The most revealing correspondence relating to the conflict were the letters written by Honorary Secretary William Merrick to the Ruling Councillor, Codrington. They reveal the jealousy with which local autonomy was guarded in such conflicts. In a letter to Codrington 83 Correspondence of Sir Gerald Codrington, William Merrick to Codrington, 21 February 1890; Lane-Fox to Codrington, 28 March 1890; Codrington to Lane-Fox, 29 March 1890; Codrington to Major Barnett, 29 March 1890; Lane-Fox to Codrington, 31 March 1890; Justice to Codrington, 2 April 1890; Codrington to Justice, 4 April 1890; Merrick to Codrington, 7 April 1890; Gloucestershire Record Office, D1610/X31. 84 Ibid., Lane-Fox to Codrington, 28 March 1890; Codrington to Lane-Fox, 29 March 1890; Lane-Fox to Codrington, 31 March 1890.
dated 21 February 1890, Merrick complained of a meeting scheduled to be held in Bristol regarding the formation of a Divisional Council. My own opinion is that each Branch or Habitation has quite enough to do to look after its own district without bothering with its neighbours. ... I don't think outside interference ever does much good.85 In the aftermath of a meeting held in Yate during March, 307 tempers flared. Merrick denied the rights of local, regional, and Central authorities to infringe on the territorial supremacy of Habitations, arguing in a letter to Codrington, "I defy local Ruling Councillors or anyone else to prove our nonjurisdiction." He added that many members of the Habitation were of the "opinion that the Grand Council is not up to much and is merely an association for finding employment for a lot of half pay army officers."86 Nevertheless, it must be noted that the conflict was successfully resolved by means of a personal appeal made by the Vice Chancellor, Lane-Fox, to Sir Gerald Codrington. In the final analysis what remains most striking is not the disagreements which surfaced occasionally, but the continual success achieved in minimizing tensions and obtaining the cooperation and alliance of the local Habitations and Conservative Associations, not only with respect to their central organizations, but also with respect to one another and the interests of the party as a whole. 85 Ibid., 21 February 1890. The 1899 Roll of Habitations lists the formation date as 22 March 1890. 86 A reference to District Agent, Major Barnett. Correspondence of Sir Gerald Codrington, 7 April 1890.
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BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMRO
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ABSTRACT BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND
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TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables Li
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LIST OF GRAPHS 1 Cumulative Distri
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PREFACE For a scholar embarking on
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Materials were also consulted at th
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INTRODUCTION The Primose League wa
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3 Conservative party leadership. Th
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5 government. It is, for him, a sys
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7 up in the early twentieth century
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9 Through an examination of a numbe
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11 . CHAPTER ONE Early Years, 1883
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country, albeit with the tacit supp
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15 districts to reflect the distrib
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17 marked most dramatically in the
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19 my allegiance to the Sovereign o
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21 leadership. 1 ? yhe Registrar wa
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23 at the meetings of .the Habitati
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25 Women in a sense had been active
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Although this was precisely the rol
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29 Ill As early as January, 1884 t
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The gains made in the recruitment o
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33 move intended to suggest the ass
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35 The Ruling Council enlarged its
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37 members charged with overseeing
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39 chairmanship of Gorst. 57 The P
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41 The political responsibilities o
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43 Conservative Cabinet. Balfour, A
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45 been taken, presumably at the in
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47 In many respects the formal adop
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49 existing institutions by means o
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Gains made in other spheres helped
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53 PRIMROSE LEAGUE LOCAL ORGANIZATI
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55 day decisions to its Executive C
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57 Between the years 1886 and 1888
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59 By contrast, District. Agents we
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61 As the organization expanded, ne
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63 meetings should be conducted at
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65 While the move to shift registra
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67 League. Consequently in Janyary,
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69 The idea of a great loose body o
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71 the League's formation. 44 A mor
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The controversy, which assumed its
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75 Habitations. 55 The dispute bet
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77 The direct-mail solicitation suc
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Lord Salisbury, as Grand Master, li
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81 Agency, a Primrose Gazette Commi
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83 CHAPTER THREE Politics, 1885-18
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85 minimizing the irreversible gain
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87 implementation until January, 18
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89 a source of popular support. In
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anquet held just prior to the 1885
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93 Political Secretary. A decision
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self-imposed restraints exercised d
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97 practiced by Habitations. 26 By
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99 The exact extent of League compl
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101 Lady Churchill recalled that at
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103 charge 1,222,000 pamphlets, lea
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105 He was perfectly prepared to dr
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107 Increasingly the party made inr
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109 in promoting a voluntary extrap
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Ill activities brought about by th
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113 "representative" conservative o
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Churchill's prospects further dimin
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117 Despite the lapse of time since
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119 Maximum annual earnings for the
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121 The Rev. J.S. Beckwith, speakin
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123 the most jealous religious comm
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125 Between the years 1885 and 1888
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Honorary Secretaries. At the bottom
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129 the highest level by the operat
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131 promoting supporters of denomin
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The women were prime movers in the
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135 Women assumed a proportionately
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137 More typical, perhaps, is Nails
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agents, and even the Vice Chancello
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141 which the revenues of the Grand
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143 TABLE 2 Grand Council Revenue
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145 TABLE 3 SGC Ledger and Membersh
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147 A Grand Council Precept was iss
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149 become involved in party politi
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151 notable female initiatives incl
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153 Perhaps more than anything else
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period of several years and found i
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157 However, the declining membersh
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159 multi-page handouts to single f
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161 the 152 reported in 1890. 61 O
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163 years later they proposed the e
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165 On the political front the Gran
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concerning Britain's economy and ov
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169 feature of the later years was
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171 on all great and vital question
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It seems significant that at the ti
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A new generation of imperial associ
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177 the war was the extent to which
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170 concerns in which Ireland was p
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172 they failed in their result, bu
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estoration of British supremacy and
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176 Certainly, the Primrose League
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Certainly the League was capable of
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180 Their victory in 1868 brought g
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182 II The best means available fo
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184 Elections 3 which provides a de
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186 stage of Habitation growth on a
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188 Appendices A, B, C, D, and E pr
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League made early inroads, almost a
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192 If we examine other regions of
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194 V Four years later, the situat
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196 The representation of the Primr
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198 The use of the census as a meas
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Cheshire county, located in Fawcett
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Habitation influence in Wales as me
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204 Even allowing for varying regio
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206 Another prominent feature exhib
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egion it appears to have reached it
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210 achievement is a significant on
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316 or 8.3 percent of all officers.
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undoubtedly highly esteemed in thei
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216 Hanwell might best be character
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218 a number of judgements. Individ
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Members of the military, none of wh
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222 caused many to regard his achie
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area, although a cotton factory and
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were attracted by the unique opport
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228 CHAPTER SIX Political Subcultu
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230 urban and rural communities whi
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232 II The "invention of tradition
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League, "the maintenance of religio
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236 As late as 1886, Gladstone's pe
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following passage is quoted at leng
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material ran round the various balc
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Deference has fared somewhat better
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244 Times are altered, and we have
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Periodic meetings were held to prom
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248 offered differentiating the var
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250 Bagehot exaggerated the extent
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252 actually held positions as Knig
Page 275 and 276: 254 The social advantages conferred
Page 277 and 278: 256 existing order by appealing to
Page 279 and 280: 258 House of Lords, and the Church
Page 281 and 282: 260 Wish they were dead.57 A compa
Page 283 and 284: 262 Conservatives were urged to uni
Page 285 and 286: 265 Conservative M.P.s' thanking lo
Page 287 and 288: 267 are Ladywood (Birmingham), Hudd
Page 289 and 290: 269 and counterbalanced by the enti
Page 291 and 292: 271 both in addition to an Honorary
Page 293 and 294: 273 League. In large measure this w
Page 295 and 296: 275 Prior to 1885 the rural communi
Page 297 and 298: 277 that all qualified voters suppo
Page 299 and 300: 279 Liberal Unionist member.*6 Des
Page 301 and 302: independently of ordinary Conservat
Page 303 and 304: 283 Relations remained uneasy in Bi
Page 305 and 306: Woolen manufacturing was the primar
Page 307 and 308: 287 speaker retained by Grand Counc
Page 309 and 310: In the case of both Bain and Helder
Page 311 and 312: 291 Catholics favoring denomination
Page 313 and 314: 293 The efforts of members of the e
Page 315 and 316: later, members reminisced "over the
Page 317 and 318: 297 The increasingly cosmopolitan f
Page 319 and 320: 299 in South Africa" and a donation
Page 321 and 322: difficulties, we have at last succe
Page 323 and 324: While special rights and privileges
Page 325: 305 exclusively of Dames.79 The re
Page 329 and 330: Begun in February of 1888, Whitehav
Page 331 and 332: 311 CHAPTER EIGHT Epilogue We [th
Page 333 and 334: 313 politics. Although it adopted t
Page 335 and 336: 315 the party like Walter Long, Leo
Page 337 and 338: 317 The years 1900-1914 were marked
Page 339 and 340: 319 London executive following the
Page 341 and 342: 321 Financial and minute records in
Page 343 and 344: who were occupiers in their own rig
Page 345 and 346: In part this misconception has been
Page 347 and 348: 327 century received a mixed respon
Page 349 and 350: 329 social and political reforms. I
Page 351 and 352: 331 BIBLIOGRAPHY I Primrose League
Page 353 and 354: 333 Thornbury Habitation Minutes,,
Page 355 and 356: Cannadine, David. "The Context, Per
Page 357 and 358: Gwyn, William B. Democracy and the
Page 359 and 360: 339 Mathias, Peter. The First Indus
Page 361 and 362: 341 Rempel, Richard A. Unionists Di
Page 363 and 364: 343 APPENDIX A London 1899 cumula
Page 365 and 366: 345 APPENDIX C Dorset 1899 cumula
Page 367 and 368: 347 APPENDIX E West Riding, Yorksh
Page 369 and 370: APPENDIX G County by County Analys
Page 371 and 372: APPENDIX H (Cont'd) Comparison of
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