BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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purposes from behind which to launch a subterranean assault upon the
party leadership.
Despite the obvious obstacles in the way of League success at
the end of the year, steps were being taken to remedy the situation.
To this end, plans were made to establish a Habitation in the Strand
with which members of the Council would be associated and to encourage
the formation of associations elsewhere.24
The Council made
arrangements to print diploma forms and distribute them on an
individual basis.
In order to encourage greater participation, the
Council decided to place advertisements in some of the prominent
"Conservative" papers: The Times, Morning Post, Standard, Telegraph,
England, and Vanity Fair.25
This action established a precedent of
close ties with the Conservative press, most particularly the Morning
Post and subsequently England, both of which eventually featured
regular columns devoted to the League.
Perhaps the most significant development—at least viewed
retrospectively—was the decision made on the twenty-second of December
to accept women as honorary members of the League.
They would be
called "Dames," and contribute an entrance and subscription fee equal
to that of their male counterparts.26
24 While the decision to establish a Habitation was made on 1
December 1883, active steps to this end were not taken until the
following year. Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 8
January 1884. The original members included Abergavenny, Churchill,
Borthwick, Burnaby, Slade, Wolff, Dixon Hartland, Hoare, Hardman,
Gorst, Hopkinson, Seager Hunt, and Mitford. The Primrose League. Its
Rise, Progress, and Constitution, p. 3.
25 Minutes of the Grand Council of the Primrose League, 15
December 1883.
26 ibid., 22 December 1883.