BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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of a civil war.
The League obtained two million signatures in
affirmation of the plan as well as £12,000 and a pledge to house
between five and six thousand women and children.13
Grand Council minutes between 1900 and 1914 suggest an ever
intensive effort to maintain League functions despite a diminishing
base of support.
A continual effort was made to "resuscitate"
associations.
By June of 1904, 1,317 Habitations were on the Roll of
Habitations, 14 percent fewer than the 1899 figure and 24 percent below
that of 1888.
A special subcommittee on organization concluded that of
the 253 county Divisions in England and Wales, only 61, or 24 percent,
had Divisional Councils while 115 constituencies, or 23 percent, were
lacking Habitations at either the county or borough level. 14
Modifications were also made in the Central Office in the
aftermath of the 1906 and 1910 electoral defeats incurred by the
Conservative party.^
The reforms of 1906 may have had some beneficial
effect as evidenced by the increased levels of Tributes received at the
13 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 6
November 1913; 12 February 1914; 3 April 1914. It should be noted,
however, that not everyone was in favor of the program. A member of
the SGC, John Chisholm, resigned immediately upon learning that the
Scottish executive was going to promote the "Help the Ulster Women
Scheme," an effort he regarded as potentially treasonous. Scottish
Branch Minute Book, No. 2, 16 December 1913.
14
Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 1
November 1900; 3 October 1901; 17 October 1901; 5 December 1901; 4
December 1902; 15 January 1903; 22 October 1903; 21 January 1904; 17
March 1904; 14 April 1904; 2 February 1905; 16 February 1905; 2 June
1905; 19 October 1905; 2 November 1905; 18 May 1906; 17 February 1910;
3 November 1910; 16 February 1911; 6 July 1911; 15 February 1912.
Ibid., 16 June 1904; 11 July 1906.
15
Ibid., 11 July 1906; 31 October 1912; 21 November 1912.